She turned to her brother and those gathered with him.
‘Having discovered the conspiracy, and realising that the death of Bran Finn played a central role in the matter, I come back to that very point. Bran Finn had travelled from the land of the Déisi Muman to visit Étain in the Glen of Lunatics, to ensure that she was adequately provided for and to get information for Brother Ailgesach. Being a noble who believed in protocol, he first came to Cashel, to pay his respects to you. While there, he saw Drón and Ailill — or, rather, they saw him. He must have said something which alerted Ailill to the risk that knowledge of the conspiracy might be obtained by the Prince of the Déisi. Bran Finn went on to see Abbot Ségdae at Imleach and then on to the Glen of Lunatics. By what means I cannot know, he discovered that Étain possessed a Laigin locket containing a message which was evidence of the complicity of Fianamail, King of Laigin. Finn was making his way to keep that rendezvous with Ailgesach at Fraigh Dubh when Ailill came upon him or, indeed, was lying in wait for him.’
‘How was that possible?’ demanded Colgú. ‘Ailill was a guest at Cashel.’
‘You will remember that on the day before Bran Finn’s body was discovered, our cousin Ailill went hunting? He was late back with nothing to show for his pains, but boasted of a near-miss with a red deer. It is possible that a warrior of Ailill’s ability could have a bad day at the hunt, but I doubt that he was hunting for deer. He was hunting for Bran Finn and found and slew him. He took the contents of the locket but, stupidly, he left the locket itself which bore the emblem of the Laigin King.’
‘What was inside the locket?’
‘As I said, we shall never know exactly. I should suspect either an assurance from Fianamail or a message to him. Whatever it was, it would be evidence to implicate Fianamail which we now, alas, lack. With Bran Finn dead, Ailill returned to Cashel. We saw tracks of a horse further along the stream.’
‘But surely Bran Finn was riding a horse?’
‘He was, but Ailill led it away after he had done the deed and turned it loose upon the heath at Fraigh Dubh. The carpenter, Saer, told us that he had seen a horse running wild on the Black Heath that morning.’
‘Are you saying that Ailill killed Drón as well?’ demanded Gelgéis.
‘Dego had requested reinforcement because he was suspicious that the raiders might be laying a trap. Once Colgú had left Cashel with his warriors, it was Ailill who persuaded Drón to bring his daughter to Durlus for safety. I presume the purpose was to meet up with Cronán and await the arrival of Fianamail. This was where Ailill made a mistake. He tried to throw the blame for the decision to come here on Drón. This would have made Drón look guilty. At that stage no one outside the conspiracy knew the raiders were led by Étain or of her religious fanaticism. But Ailill knew. When we spoke at the stables here, he said, “What need we fear of a band of religious fanatics, raiders out of the Glen of Lunatics led by a crazed old woman?”’
‘Why kill Drón?’ asked Brehon Áedo.
‘To keep him quiet before he could speak to me. Drón had become suspicious; he had asked to see me. When Eadulf and I went to his chamber we passed Ailill coming from that direction. We arrived in Drón’s chamber to find him dying. His last word misled us. He simply said “Étain”. Maybe he had heard that she was leading the raiders — she, who had been his wife and the mother of his precious daughter. I am not sure if there was anything else. Anyway, Drón was dead.’
‘And what of the murder of Étain? Was that Ailill again?’
‘Now that was a great mistake on Ailill’s part. He thought he could release the old woman and guide her to Colgú’s chamber where she could be persuaded to attack him in her frenzy. Then his plot could proceed as before. Colgú would be assassinated and Cronán and the King of Laigin would enter Durlus. Ailill would be declared the rightful heir to the throne of Muman. The problem was that Étain had her moments of sanity as well as insanity. She refused to cooperate. Her enemies were the religious, whom she saw as betraying the True Faith, or her own conception of the Faith. It was not with Colgú. She resisted Ailill and he killed her.’
‘But Eadulf swears that her last words as she was dying were “my daughter”. That implied her attacker was Dúnliath,’ pointed out Colgú.
‘That was my misinterpretation,’ Eadulf admitted. ‘In fact, she was expressing her fear for her daughter not of her daughter.’
Colgú’s features lightened. ‘A fear because Étain knew that by marrying me, her daughter, Dúnliath, would be in danger from Ailill?’
There was a moment’s silence and then Fidelma raised troubled eyes to her brother. She wondered whether he knew the truth. Then she said, ‘In her last moment of sanity, I think Étain feared for her daughter’s safety if Ailill’s ambition was fulfilled.’
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
It was several days later when Fidelma and Eadulf were seated in Gelgéis’s reception chamber alongside Colgú and Tormeid. There was a lighter atmosphere in the room than there had been on previous occasions. Dúnliath had been allowed to depart from Durlus with the body of her father for burial at Gabrán. Ailill had been buried without the ceremony which, in other circumstances, would have been his due as an Eóghanacht prince. His grave would remain unmarked for he had forfeited those rights. All the Uí Duach hostages at Liath Mór had been released and Sillán and the survivors of Cronán’s men had been taken under escort to the fortress of Tuaim Snámha, the Prince of Osraige, for him to mete out justice. It was accepted that he had not been involved with Cronán in his conspiracy with Fianamail of Laigin.
Colgú, however, was looking tired and careworn as he told them that he had just received a message from the Chief Brehon of the Five Kingdoms, Brehon Sedna.
‘Brehon Sedna is now in the Laigin capital of Ferna,’ he told them. ‘The threat of warfare between Laigin and Muman has entirely receded. He sends us news that Fianamail of Laigin has withdrawn his army from the borders of Osraige and disbanded it.’
‘And Fianamail’s excuse for massing them on the border in the first place?’ asked Gelgéis with a cynical smile.
‘It was the excuse that we expected. Fianamail has assured the High King that he only assembled his warriors and marched them to the border as a means of protecting his kingdom when he heard reports that Muman was erupting into civil war.’ Colgú pulled a face. ‘Fianamail adds that he is delighted that this has turned out to be false information.’
This was greeted with a hoot of laughter from Tormeid.
‘So I don’t suppose the Chief Brehon is proposing to punish Fianamail for his role in this conspiracy?’ Fidelma asked dryly.
‘As there is no proof that any warrior of Laigin entered Osraige with hostile intent, or any other part of the Kingdom of Muman, the Chief Brehon felt there are no grounds to impose the bórama. Laigin does not have to pay the tribute to Tara for breaking the peace,’ confirmed Colgú.
There was muttered disapproval from Tormeid but Colgú did not seem upset.
‘You might say that there was punishment enough for Fianamail.’
‘How so, brother?’ Fidelma was surprised at Colgú’s easy attitude to the decision.
‘The recent entreaties from Laigin and her eloquent ambassador Moling, the Bishop of Ferna, for the bórama to be withdrawn have been totally rejected. The tribute will remain in force and will become payable for the foreseeable future. Laigin’s territorial ambitions will continue to be held in check.’