Fidelma was impatient.
‘How about mines? Did you ever hear of mines in these hills?’
Archú thought carefully before shaking his head.
‘There may be mines but I could not point you to one. What is all this about?’
‘We found …’ began Eadulf but winced on receiving a sharp kick under the table from Fidelma.
Archú and Scoth gazed at Eadulf in surprise.
‘We found that we wanted to know some of the geography of the area,’ Fidelma said before turning to regard Eadulf with concern. ‘You appear to have had a sharp pain, brother. Did I not warn you that the cider was potent?’
Eadulf grimaced in annoyance.
‘It is nothing,’ he muttered. ‘Perhaps a cramp from walking.’
‘It has been a long day and we have not eaten. We should return to the rath.’
‘But you must stay and eat with us,’ Scoth invited.
Reluctantly, Fidelma shook her head.
‘Alas, we cannot. If we don’t leave now we shall not return until after nightfall. Not a time to be abroad on unknown roads.’
They made their farewells and began to ride back towards Araglin.
‘You did not have to kick me so hard, Fidelma,’ admonished Eadulf sulkily. ‘You should have told me if you did not want the young ones to know what we had discovered on the hill.’
‘I am sorry, Eadulf. But it is best that we keep our own counsel for a while. It is clear that someone wanted to keep that mine a secret. The logical answer is, as it is on Archú’s land, that Muadnatwas trying to operate the mine without anyone knowing, especially young Archú. The path to the mine leads from his land. So have we stumbled across the real reason why Muadnat was so desperate to cling to ownership of his cousin’s property?’
Eadulf whistled softly.
‘I see. Muadnat was trying to keep the land in order to exploit the mine.’
‘A mine belongs to the person on whose land it is. The permission of that person must be given before it can be worked by anyone else,’ agreed Fidelma.
‘Yes, but that does not get us anywhere near solving the mystery of the murder of Eber and Teafa.’
‘Perhaps not. But it is strange that Menma seems to keep appearing in this mystery and …’
She halted so abruptly that Eadulf wondered if she had spotted some new danger and anxiously searched the surrounding countryside.
‘What is it?’ he demanded after a while.
‘I am a fool!’
Eadulf was quiet.
‘I should have spotted this before.’
‘Spotted what?’ Eadulf tried to keep his curiosity in check.
‘Menma. Remember how I said it was Menma who led the attack on Bressal’s hostel?’
‘Yes.’
‘And now Menma appears at the mine?’
‘Yes. But I do not see …’
‘What was the connection between Bressal and mines?’ demanded Fidelma.
Eadulf appeared to be thinking carefully.
Fidelma almost ground her teeth with frustration at his slowness.
‘Bressal had a brother …’
Memory returned to Eadulf.
‘Morna who was a miner. He had a collection of rocks …’
‘More importantly,’ interrupted Fidelma, ‘Morna had returned home recently saying he had made some discovery which would make him rich. He took Bressal a rock.’
Eadulf rubbed his chin.
‘I am not sure that I follow.’
Fidelma was patient.
‘I believe that the rock came from the cave on Archú’s land. That was the spot which Morna had found contained gold and which he believed would make him rich. I believe that Menma attacked Bressal’s hostel in order to recover the rock.’
‘Why?’
‘Because the find was meant to be kept a secret. Bressal’s brother Morna betrayed the secret.’
‘Are you saying that Menma is in charge of this mine? I would not have thought him intelligent enough.’
‘I think you are right. Someone else is behind this affair. It comes back to Muadnat. Menma was merely ordered to ensure that whatever Morna had told and shown his brother Bressal remained a secret. It was a coincidence that we were at the hostel at the time and were able to drive off the attack.’
Eadulf shook his head as he digested this.
‘I had suspected that the attack was inspired by Muadnat to get rid of Archú,’ he said. ‘For Muadnat would have known Archú would have been staying there that night on his return.’
‘I thought of that at first but then Muadnat knew that Archú and Scoth had no money to stay in a hostel. Also, being on foot, they would hardly have reached the hostel that night. But we carried them on our horses. Remember that I also paid for their lodgings? No, there was another motive and we have found it.’
‘Then the reason was simply to keep the secret of whatever riches have been discovered in that cave?’
‘I am sure. I think that I became sure yesterday.’
Eadulf looked helpless.
‘You have lost me, Fidelma,’ he confessed.
‘Yesterday we discovered an unknown body on Archú’s farm. It was a body of someone who was neither farmer nor warrior. The calloused hands, the dust of hewn rock which lay on the man’s clothing told me that he belonged to one particular profession.’
Eadulf’s eyes lit up.
‘You recognised that he was a miner?’
‘I also asked you whether he reminded you of anyone.’
‘He did not.’
‘You should be more observant, Eadulf. He had the same features as Bressal. The unfortunate corpse was Morna, the brother of Bressal, the hostel keeper.’
Fidelma lapsed into a contemplative silence as they continued their journey through the valley of Araglin to the rath.
Crón appeared to be anxiously awaiting their arrival, standing by the door of the assembly hall to receive them.
Chapter Sixteen
Crón hailed them immediately they entered the rath. Fidelma and Eadulf dismounted and Eadulf led the horses off to the stable. Fidelma joined Crón at the door of the hall of assembly. There was no one about except the old servant Dignait, who was tidying up the hall.
‘Leave us, Dignait,’ Crón called.
The old woman glared suspiciously at Fidelma, turned and left through a side door.
Fidelma sat down on a bench and the tanist, hesitating a moment, sat near her. For a few moments no one spoke and then Fidelma prompted her.
‘You wish to see me?’
Crón raised her ice blue eyes to Fidelma for a moment and then dropped them.
‘Yes.’
‘Dubán has spoken to you, I suppose?’
Crón coloured hotly and nodded.
‘I have told Dubán that I am no simpleton,’ Fidelma said carefully. ‘Did you think that you would be able to feed me on half truths for ever? I know that you hated your father. I want to know why?’
‘It was a matter of shame,’ Crón replied after a short pause.
‘Best if the truth were out, for suspicion and accusation fester in dark secrets.’
‘Teafa also hated my father.’
‘Why?’
‘My father abused his sisters.’
Fidelma had already expected such an answer based on the information Father Gormán had told her.
‘Did he physically abuse them?’ she asked for clarification’s sake.
Crón sniffed: ‘If by physical abuse you mean that he made them lie with him — then, yes.’
‘Was it Teafa who told you this?’ Fidelma solicited.
‘Some years ago,’ she agreed. ‘There; I have said why I hated my father. But I did not hate him enough to kill him. Truly, it does not seem that you are any closer to solving the murder of my father or Teafa.’
‘Oh, but I am,’ smiled Fidelma. ‘In fact, what you have told me means …’