Fidelma quickly examined the chamber. She noticed that the door to the adjoining chamber was slightly ajar and remembered that Iuna had said she slept in the room next to Trifina.
She walked across the chamber and pushed the door open. Again she saw that the bed was empty — but here the bedlinen had been pulled back as if in haste. A jug had been overturned near the bed; it had fallen onto a thickly woven carpet, spilling some water, but obviously the carpet had cushioned it so that it had not broken, nor would it have created any noise as it fell.
Fidelma was about to walk out of the room when she noticed a dark stain on the linen sheet. She moved across and peered at it, wishing there was more light, then she put forward a finger and touched it. It was damp. She raised the finger, examined it and realised that it was blood.
She stood undecided for a moment or two before leaving through the main door into the corridor. She was about to go back to rejoin the others when she remembered the object of her mission — to locate Ceingar. Riwanon’s maid had been allocated a nearby chamber.
Fidelma paused and knocked upon the door. She was not expecting an answer and so, when none came, she merely opened the door and looked inside.
She was expecting another empty bed. In that expectation, she was unfulfilled. For Ceingar lay in the bed. She lay on her back, her white face turned to the ceiling, her mouth open slightly, and her eyes wide and staring. There was a knife buried in her chest and the dark stains of blood were all over her body and over the sheets.
Fidelma did not have to examine the knife too closely to see that it was a dagger — with the emblem of a dove on its handle.
There was a sense of shock in the fortress after Fidelma had told the others about her grim findings. Only her own quiet authority stemmed the mood of panic among them. There was much disquiet among the servants and the guards at the news. Macliau had retired to his chamber in his now usual uncommunicative mood. His dazed features seemed genuine enough, and Fidelma saw that he had taken a small amphora of wine with him. Only Riwanon and Budic remained in the great hall.
‘I just pray that my husband, Alain, reaches here safely,’ Riwanon confided to Fidelma. ‘There is much evil here in Brilhag and I do not think we will be safe until he arrives.’
‘I agree that there is much evil,’ Fidelma replied quietly. ‘And with your continued permission, I shall try to make what sense I can of these events.’
Riwanon made a small gesture with her hand.
‘I am afraid, my Hibernian sister, there is little you can do here. I was foolish to suggest that you could help. After all, you are in a foreign land and do not speak our language. Best stay here in safety and pray for the safe arrival of my husband. I was wondering if we should send a messenger to hasten him.’
‘While it is wise to be cautious, his messenger said he would be here before dusk today. I feel I must do what I can, however limited my means of doing so,’ insisted Fidelma. ‘But, by all means, send one of your men to find your husband.’
Riwanon smiled softly.
‘You have a good heart, Fidelma. If you feel you must persist in your enquiries, then carry on. You have my authority to do what you can to resolve the mysteries that beset this place.’
‘Your authority?’ pressed Fidelma.
‘My full authority,’ confirmed Riwanon. ‘But I will remain here with Budic as my bodyguard until my husband comes.’
Outside the great hall, Eadulf said: ‘I don’t understand this. Is there a logic that Ceingar be killed and Trifina and Iuna abducted?’
‘Even in the most bizarre set of circumstances you will find a logic, Eadulf,’ Fidelma replied. ‘From what you have told me of your finding of Ceingar, I think there is a reason why she was killed. But the abduction of both Trifina and Iuna is more puzzling. Let us see if we can trace how they were taken from their rooms and by what method transported.’
It was at that moment that Bleidbara approached them. His features were set hard.
‘We’ve found another body,’ he announced.
‘Is it Trifina or Iuna?’ asked Eadulf immediately.
‘Neither. It is one of my men who was on watch at the small harbour below. His throat was cut. I think that Trifina and Iuna were removed by boat.’
‘Kidnapped on the Koulm ar Maro?’ Fidelma asked.
‘Without question,’ asserted Bleidbara. ‘You know that I have been scouring these islands under the orders of Trifina for the last week, searching for this Koulm ar Maro? Yet I have not found its hiding-place. They must have raided the fortress last night.’
‘But why kill Ceingar? Why abduct Iuna and Trifina?’ Fidelma was thoughtful. ‘It doesn’t make sense unless…’ She paused and then asked: ‘What is the last place you would look for Trifina, if she was abducted?’
‘The last place?’ Bleidbara looked puzzled. ‘I do not follow your logic, lady.’
Fidelma pointed across the headland, saying, ‘You would not look for her in her own villa…on Govihan?’
‘But there are servants on Govihan — Heraclius the apothecary and others. Why would she be taken there?’
‘Because, as I have said, that is the last place they would think that we would look. Come on, let us sail for Govihan. You have your ship ready, it should not take long.’
Below, they could see the Morvan, still anchored in the bay.
Bleidbara looked undecided for a moment and then he shrugged.
‘I suppose it is worth a try,’ he admitted. ‘I certainly have no better idea.’
On the quayside Boric joined them. He seemed excited.
‘One of my men saw something, just before dawn,’ he told them. ‘He observed a man carrying the body of a woman on his shoulders, place her into a boat and sail off.’
Bleidbara stared at him, astounded. ‘Then why didn’t he report it immediately?’ he almost shouted.
Boric spread his hands. ‘The man was fearful lest he get into trouble. He shouted a challenge and when the man carrying the body did not stop, he loosed an arrow — which he was sure hit him. However, this man did not stop or release his burden. He climbed into the boat, hoisted sail, and away went the boat before the guard could reach it. It was then that the sentinel realised his mistake — and this is why he failed to report the matter.’
‘Mistake?’ Bleidbara stared at him. ‘I don’t understand.’
‘The man he shot at was Iarnbud, and the orders of the lord of Brilhag are that Iarnbud is his bretat and has the right to come and go as he will. My guard only mentioned this to me just now when he heard the news of the disappearance of Trifina and Iuna. He is still afraid of being punished for shooting at the bretat.’
Bleidbara was angry. ‘The man is an imbecile and shall answer to me when I return. He is sure that Iarnbud was carrying the body of a woman? In what direction did his boat go?’
‘To the islands — he is not sure where.’
Fidelma looked grimly at Bleidbara. ‘We will try Govihan first,’ she said.
The young apothecary from Constantinopolis greeted them on the island of Govihan. He looked shocked when Fidelma told him the purpose of their visit.
‘We have not seen Trifina since she returned to Brilhag with you, lady, the day before yesterday,’ he said. ‘As for the lady Iuna, she scarcely visits here.’
‘I thought it was too simple,’ Bleidbara said glumly, turning to Fidelma ‘But we had better search the villa now we’re here.’
‘We will do what we can to find the lady Trifina,’ Heraclius said, calling one of the maids to gather the servants together.
The search of the villa proved futile; even Heraclius, under Bleidbara’s instruction, unlocked his stone-built hut so that they could look inside, but on condition that they touched nothing. As they came out, and Heraclius relocked it and disappeared through the walled garden to find out how the other members of the household were proceeding, Bleidbara, Fidelma and Eadulf stood on the clifftop, surveying the sea before them.