‘Finish?’
‘I asked you why it was that you remain in this country and so near Aldred’s Abbey when it endangers you and your followers and you could easily find a safer haven elsewhere.’
Aldhere sat down for the first time, poured a large measure into his goblet and sipped it thoughtfully.
‘It is a good question,’ he mused.
‘And does it have a good answer?’ Fidelma pressed.
Aldhere returned her gaze, his face wreathed in a smile.
‘Oh, I believe so. I am here searching for justice.’
Fidelma inclined her head in acknowledgment.
‘Eadulf has told me of your story. Falsely accused of cowardice. An elder brother who wishes to see you destroyed for disinheriting him. But why remain here? How will that achieve justice?’
Aldhere leaned forward, suddenly serious.
‘It is because I have faith, Sister.’
‘Scripture says that faith is the substance of things hoped for without evidence. What is it that you hope for?’
‘I have been robbed of my property. My character has been ruined. My reputation tainted. Yet I have faith that my character may be vindicated and my property restored; that my persecutors may be brought to justice. That is my faith, Sister, and that iswhy I and my followers will not be driven forth from this land of the South Folk, which is our land by right of birth and sword. We came here four generations ago and drove the Welisc from this land, where they had grown indolent and degenerate. We are of the Wuffingas, descendants of Woden, and what we take we will not give back.’
Fidelma sat back with lips pursed in disapproval.
Eadulf glanced at her nervously but she did not say anything for a moment or two.
‘You have explained your philosophy well, Aldhere,’ she said quietly. ‘Now, what can you tell me about your brother? I presume that he would share your principles?’
Aldhere looked uncertain. ‘What do you want to know about Cild?’
‘You have given Brother Eadulf here the impresson that Cild was always unbalanced.’
Aldhere shrugged. ‘He had strange moods and sometimes he would do things which were not driven by logic. He loved power, he loved wealth. Those were the only two things he ever loved.’
‘He did not love Gélgeis?’
‘She was a chieftain’s daughter. He probably loved the power and wealth he thought he would inherit.’
‘But these strange moods — you say he had them from a child? Do you know when they became manifest?’
‘He was not liked by my father,’ Aldhere said. ‘I told the holy gerefa here. Before Cild grew too strong, my father often beat him and used to lock him up as punishment.’
‘Was your father justified in this?’
Aldhere shook his head. ‘I think the rogue moods that Cild displays were inherited from my father, who was a difficult man.’
‘Your father never punished you in the same manner as Cild.’
‘Never.’ Aldhere smiled grimly. ‘Cild was always singled out by him.’
‘And your mother? What role did she play in this?’
Aldhere sniffed. ‘My mother died when we were young and my father’s mistresses did not enter our lives. We were left to ourselves and Cild had his own world to retreat into. But why do you ask these questions?’
‘I am a little confused as to when Cild came back from the kingdom of Connacht. Was that before or after you had been outlawed?’
‘Before.’
‘Did he come back to Bretta’s Ham when he arrived from Maigh Eo?’
‘No. He went straight to the abbey of Aldred. He had managed to be appointed abbot there.’
‘He took his wife with him?’
‘He did. She was not a religieuse but went to live with him.’
‘When did you first meet her?’ asked Fidelma.
‘I told the gerefa here.’
‘Tell me.’
‘It was when I first went to the abbey, after which it was clear that my brother and I would never agree. Then, after I was outlawed, I saw her again.’
‘And what was your opinion of his wife?’
Aldhere rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘As I told the gerefa, she was a sweet girl, innocent. How she had been persuaded to marry Cild, I do not know. She was the opposite to everything I saw in my brother. He was immoral, ambitious, thinking with his sword arm before his mind.’
‘It sounds as if you liked the girl,’ Fidelma observed.
Aldhere flushed slightly. ‘I did not dislike her. She was Cild’s wife. She came to see me here in this encampment simply because I was the brother of her husband. She wanted to help.’
‘Remind me, what happened after you were outlawed?’
‘Cild claimed my title and lands. Ealdwulf only compensated him with a small share and told him that he should remain as a religious. He affirmed Cild as abbot over the community at Aldred. I believe Ealdwulf was already anticipating the decision at Whitby, for the moment that decision was made he issued a decree that all those religious holding to the Columban order should be expelled from the kingdom.’
‘Yet at that time Cild and Gélgeis were living happily together at Aldred’s Abbey?’
‘Happily?’ There was a note of derision in Aldhere’s voice.
‘You question that?’
‘Such an innocent young girl could not have been happy with Cild,’ he replied sharply.
‘You may well be right. On the other hand, it is amazing in life how couples we believe are mismatched are completely compatible,’ reflected Fidelma. ‘I am more interested in whether you knew of any reason for discord between them? I mean, to your personal knowledge.’
Aldhere say back and gazed moodily at his mead as if an answer lay in the clay pot.
‘I had the impression that she was unhappy,’ he said.
‘Did she tell you as much?’ pressed Fidelma.
‘Yes, she did.’
‘When was that?’
‘When I met her.’
Fidelma frowned. ‘She said this on her first meeting with you at the abbey, before you were outlawed?’
He shook his head. ‘No, this was afterwards, when …’
‘How many times did you see her after you came here?’
‘I saw the girl a few times for she used to go walking near the abbey. The river stretches nearby and there are woods there.’
‘What did she tell you?’
‘That since Cild had not been able to get his own way about his claim to be thane of Bretta’s Ham, he had become morose and restless. He displayed a cruelty that she had not thought possible in one who claimed to follow the religious life.’
‘Did she say that Cild was cruel to her?’
Aldhere’s lips thinned. ‘She did.’
‘Why do you think that she felt able to confess this to you?’ asked Eadulf thoughtfully. ‘You were, after all, a stranger even though you were Cild’s brother. And the very fact that you were Cild’s brother would surely not be conducive to an exchange of confidences.’
‘I don’t see why not. She knew that Cild had treated me as cruelly as he treated her. She was alone. She wanted someone to talk to. Someone to share her desolation with. I think it is natural.’
‘What do you know of the circumstances of Gélgeis’s death?’
Aldhere glanced at her suspiciously. ‘What should I know of it?’
‘I ask what you know, not what you should know.’ Her reply was so tart that he blinked rapidly for a moment.
‘Only the story that she had wandered into Hob’s Mire near the abbey and been sucked under its treacherous bog,’ he said, regaining his easy manner.
‘And this was a year ago?’
‘About that. Yes.’
‘When was the last time you saw Gélgeis before that?’
‘Two days before she died,’ replied Aldhere.
‘Two days?’ queried Fidelma. ‘You are absolutely sure of that?’
Aldhere grinned. ‘Absolutely sure.’
‘Were you having an affair with your brother’s wife?’ Fidelma asked abruptly.
‘An affair? Not as such,’ came the reluctant response.
Fidelma smiled sceptically. ‘What would be your interpretation of your relationship with your brother’s wife? I am intrigued to know that there is a relationship which can be described as not an affair as such.’