Fidelma looked grim. ‘I know all about the ambition of Ultán of Armagh. He is not the first Comarb of Patrick who has wished for Armagh to be established as the primacy in all five kingdoms and the churches to be brought under the Rule of Rome. To do that he must first ensure that Imleach’s claims to be the primacy of Muman are discredited. But, surely, this is not what these events are all about?’
‘I scarce know myself, Sister,’ confessed Brother Mochta. ‘All I know is that my brother turned to the subject once again and this time to the Holy Relics of Ailbe. How clever he was. He played on my vanity. I had told him that there was a date on some of the Relics which would prove the date when Ailbe was made bishop. He said he would believe if he could see the Relics. I told him to come to the abbey but he refused, saying that it was not seemly that my twin brother should be seen at Imleach with the tonsure of Rome. It was a silly excuse but I did not think more of it. Instead, I suggested that he came in secret to the gate which led into Bardán’s herb garden one evening and I would show him the Relics. He agreed and said that this would resolve the dispute between Armagh and Imleach.’
Fidelma looked thoughtful. ‘It was naïve of you to believe him.’
‘He was my brother. Even then I did not suspect his devious mind.’
‘So what happened?’
‘The following evening, at the appointed time, I went to the chapeland, unobserved, took down the reliquary box. I was about to take it to the assignation when something made me pause. Perhaps I had begun to suspect him, so I decided to take only Ailbe’s crucifix as a token of proof, for there is a date inscribed on the back. I brought the crucifix from the reliquary to the gate of the herb garden. There was my brother outside with the archer … God forgive Baoill! He snatched the crucifix from my hand and demanded to know where the rest of the Relics were. When he realised that I had not brought them, he became uncontrollable. He struck me so that I fell against the gate and blood poured from a wound.’
‘That explains the dried blood on the gatepost,’ Eadulf said.
‘It was then I realised that my brother’s intention had been to steal the Relics all along.’
‘Do you think that it was his own plot or had someone put him up to it?’ asked Fidelma. ‘Ultán of Armagh, for example? The plan to discredit both Ailbe and Imleach seems clear.’
‘All I know is that my life was in the balance. I think my brother would have killed me. Then Brother Bardán came along. He had come to gather herbs. He saw the attack and used a staff to beat back my brother and his companion. They had Ailbe’s crucifix. As Bardán secured the gate my brother threatened that others would come and take what I would not give.’
‘Then surely it implies that your brother, Baoill, and his archer friend were not acting on their own account?’
Brother Mochta inclined his head in agreement.
‘That is true. I was in too great a state of shock to take such matters in at that time. Bardán helped me back to my chamber and I told him the story as I knew it. He told me to tell Abbot Segdae at once that the crucifix of Ailbe had been stolen. I could not bring myself to do so because I wanted to give Baoill time to reflect on his crime and return it. I still could not believe that my own brother had turned into such an evil person.’
‘But he did not return it, obviously,’ Eadulf pointed out.
‘Some days went by. He did not return with it. I decided to go in search of him.’
‘Wasn’t that dangerous?’
‘I asked Brother Bardan to come with me. We went to Cred’s inn. There was one of the Cashel merchant’s drivers there, looking strangely at me.’
‘That was because he had seen you come to the inn several days before,’ murmured Eadulf.
‘I did not see him.’
‘He saw you.’
‘Well, Cred came out and I told her that I was looking for the archer and his companion.’
‘She said that she knew nothing of a companion …’
‘Which is true,’ asserted Fidelma. ‘Your brother, being your twin, could not afford to show himself openly in the township because of his likeness to you. He would be remarked upon. He stayed outside.’
‘Cred said that the archer was hunting in the hills,’ Brother Mochta continued. ‘Bardán and I walked on a bit, rather aimlessly, in case we discovered the archer. Then we returned to the abbey. Bardán usually left the side gate open and we returned towards the herb garden. We were in the stretch of yew-trees before crossing the heather field, not far from the gate, when my brother suddenly appeared. He had, apparently, been waiting for us.
‘I demanded the crucifix that he had stolen and he demanded the entire reliquary and its contents. He threatened me. I refused and he laughed and said that he only sought to make things easy. We would not like the next visitors to Imleach.’
‘What then?’
‘I told him that he was mad. He replied that he had the backing of a powerful prince and that it was Muman that was mad not to bow down to the inevitable. There would be one primacy for all five kingdoms and one power ruler over the whole.’
Fidelma brightened. ‘Those were his exact words?’
‘Yes. Those were his exact words.’
‘I think I see the hand of Mael Dúin, King of Ailech, in this plot. What the Comarbs of Patrick seek for Armagh, the Uí Néill kings seek for their dynasty. They want to turn the High Kingship of Eireann into a strong central kingship, like the emperors of Rome. This mystery is dissolving. Go on, Mochta. What then?’
‘We turned in disgust, Bardan and I, and left Baoill to his ranting. We began to walk across the field to the gate …’
‘We know the spot,’ intervened Eadulf.
‘We were halfway across the field when there was a whistle in the air and the next thing I felt this pain in my shoulder.‘He raised a hand and touched his wound. ‘I fell forwards. Bardán later said that he saw the archer, my brother’s companion, standing at the edge of the yew-trees and fitting another arrow to his bowstring. Bardán grabbed me and began to half drag and half propel me to the gate. We just made it when the man’s second shot caught me in the leg.’
‘Did no one in the abbey observe this?’
Mochta shook his head. ‘You have seen that area. It is not overlooked by any window nor is it a frequented area. Bardán helped me inside, shot home the bolts, and then helped me to my chamber. Beingthe apothecary, he was able to remove the arrows, which, thank God, had not penetrated deeply, and dress the wounds.
‘It was then we discussed what best we should do. It had become clear that my brother and his friend were part of some conspiracy to discredit Muman as well as Imleach. But why? For what purpose, I do not know. What was of more immediate concern to me was the threat to attack and steal the Relics. I was afraid many of the brethren would be killed in such an event.
‘We spent some time talking about this and then we decided that I should disappear with the remaining Holy Relics. Bardán would ensure that on the following day the news that the Relics and I had disappeared was spread. We hoped, by this method, that we would deflect any attack or attempt to steal them from the abbey and the community would therefore be saved from harm.
‘No one had seen me come back injured to the abbey. Having had my wounds bound I would go to Vespers and be seen. Then I would return to my chamber. That was an uncomfortable experience for while my wounds were bound, they were painful. I was in considerable distress. However, once the service was over, I returned to my chamber.