‘Bleidbara and Boric, and Boric is a first-class tracker, could find no signs of any attack along the forest track where it was said to have happened. Nor could Boric find tracks of Riwanon and Budic’s horses fleeing back to Brilhag, hotly pursued in the manner that had been claimed. Bleidbara and his men — Eadulf was with them — came across the camp of the raiders and Ceingar, the maid.’
‘They arrived there as Ceingar was being raped,’ Riwanon reminded her.
‘Indeed, they did. Either Ceingar’s lover was among these raiders or else she was a young lady of loose morals. From what Eadulf told me, she was not protesting against the man’s amorous attentions. When she was returned to Brilhag, she was scared. In her hysteria the truth might have come out, but she was sent to her chamber before I could question her.
‘Iuna realised the arrival of King Alain was imminent and nothing must go wrong with the plan. Perhaps even Budic gave the order. Ceingar had to be silenced. Iuna had already killed Maelcar and had no compunction about doing the same to Ceingar. Iuna is a cold-blooded killer.’
‘Then why didn’t she kill me then?’ demanded Trifina. ‘Why did she simply kidnap me after she had killed Ceingar?’
‘You were needed alive for the time being to mislead everyone into believing the Dove of Death was definitely a member of the house of Brilhag. King Alain was due to arrive: the conspiracy was about to come to fruition. Iuna and one of her followers from the Koulm ar Maro took you bound and gagged from your chamber down to a boat in the harbour. You were taken to The Barnacle Goose where you were placed as a prisoner, but were well treated and given free range of the captain’s cabin. They needed to keep you in good health for when Budic made his accusation against the house of Brilhag.’
Bleidbara was clearly chastened and his face reddened as he realised that his suspicions about Trifina had not been justified.
‘Iuna then returned to the fortress, perhaps to establish her own alibi. Budic was about to make his bid for power but Iuna, having set up the circumstances, was no longer needed. She had been useful to him and he had used her ambition to help his own cause. However, he also knew the dangers of that ambition and was determined that Iuna should never be his Queen. Indeed, while he had probably made all sorts of promises to her, such an outcome had never been his intention.
‘His plan for her was quite horrible. On her return, after Trifina was abducted, he went to her room. Whether by guile or by force, he got her to eat mushrooms which contained a Death Cap fungus. Once prepared, it is hard to spot the differences in fungi, so perhaps it was by guile. Budic did not count on the fact that Trifina, aware that the Koulm ar Maro was trying to discredit Brilhag, had an able spy watching. That was Iarnbud.’
‘How much more of this rubbish do I have to listen to?’ Budic demanded, the smile now gone from his features.
‘Iarnbud came ashore at Govihan alive and managed to tell us the story. He took Iuna from her chamber and carried her to his boat. His aim was to find Heraclius, Trifina’s apothecary, as he knew that he might be the only one with the skills to find an antidote for her.’
‘And did he?’ enquired Lord Canao quietly. The great hall of Brilhag had fallen silent since Fidelma had begun her summary.
‘A guard unfortunately saw Iarnbud as he carried Iuna to his boat. When challenged, he did not stop and therefore was shot at. An arrow found its mark but Iarnbud managed to get his boat out of the harbour. Unfortunately he was too weak — maybe he had passed out — and was unable to sail directly to Govihan. It was not until late the next day that he made landfall there, came ashore, told us the tale and then died.’
‘So everything you have to say is pure conjecture,’ observed the bretat Kaourentin, feeling it was about time he tried to take charge of the situation. ‘You have no witnesses.’
‘I am not given to making conjectures without means of supporting them,’ replied Fidelma in a dangerously soft tone.
‘Then where are your witnesses? Where is the evidence to-?’
Budic interrupted the bretat, full of arrogance again.
‘Let her explain why I would poison Iuna if, as you say, she had helped me in this ridiculous plot and was my mistress? Your argument is full of flaws. You are better suited to take your place among the bards and storytellers, Sister Fidelma, than to plead before a court of law.’
‘You wanted to be rid of Iuna so that, after King Alain’s death, you could marry your real mistress, whose union with you would enhance your image when you claimed the kingship.’
‘And do you name her?’ demanded King Alain, in a terrible voice. It was now self-evident to most people where her logic led and whom she would name.
Fidelma raised her eyes to those of Riwanon.
‘You are Budic’s mistress, lady. It was a matter that puzzled me greatly. Why were you so keen to give me, a foreigner with a poor knowledge of your language, the responsibility of investigating the murder of Abbot Maelcar? With the murder committed under the same roof as where you were staying, as Queen, you had to be seen to be doing something. It would have otherwise been suspicious. Obviously, you did not expect me, with the disadvantages I have mentioned, to discover anything at all.’
Riwanon’s jaw was thrust out defiantly but it was Budic who replied with a laugh.
‘So where is your proof? Iarnbud died on the shore of Govihan — should we take the word of a dead man? This Taran of Pou-Kaer, the captain of the Koulm ar Maro, is at the bottom of Morbihan. The few survivors cannot identify the Dove of Death. So who else will support your fantasy?’
Fidelma turned towards him.
‘You forget that Iarnbud had brought Iuna with him to find Heraclius the apothecary so that he might administer an antidote to the poison. Iuna was alive when she was brought ashore on Govihan.’
For a moment there was a deathly silence in the great hall, broken only by the crackle of flames from the fire.
Then Budic sprang up; his chair went over backwards and his sword appeared in his hand as if conjured there from nothing. With a terrible cry of rage, he leaped towards his shocked father. As quick as Budic was, Bleidbara was faster — for his dagger flew swiftly from his hand and embedded itself in Budic’s sword wrist. The weapon dropped as he gave a scream of pain. Then the King’s bodyguard came forward to restrain him. Another guard appeared quickly at the side of Riwanon. She had slumped in her chair, pale and shaking.
King Alain rose unsteadily.
‘My son is condemned by his own actions.’ His voice was thick with emotion. He glanced down at the bretat Kaourentin. ‘I think the accusation against Macliau, son of Lord Canao, can now be dismissed. My son Budic will be punished under our laws for all the crimes he has committed against me and against my peoples.’ He turned to Riwanon. ‘Do you have anything to add to what we have heard?’
There was an imperceptible shake of the woman’s head and a suppressed sob.
‘Then know that you, too, must face the consequences for your part in this conspiracy.’ King Alain turned his back on her.
After the guards had taken them away, King Alain addressed Fidelma, his face still bearing the marks of shock and sorrow.
‘I am grateful to you, Fidelma of Hibernia. Thankfully, Iuna has survived to bear witness against my son, otherwise he might have continued to feign his innocence.’
Fidelma answered with a sad smile.
‘I am afraid that I was being frugal with the facts,’ she said in a tired voice. ‘It is true that Iuna was alive when we brought her ashore in Govihan and Heraclius administered to her. But she was unable to speak and, indeed, she died befores he could say anything to confess her guilt or to implicate Budic in her death. It was merely logical deduction that ensnared Budic and Riwanon. Their guilt produced their own confessions.’