Atonement of Blood(20)

‘But why go to all that bother? Why not just take his horse into the woods and leave it there?’

‘Perhaps the man cared about his animal and didn’t want any harm to befall it. There are wolves and boars that roam the woods around here,’ Eadulf replied.

Fidelma shook her head. ‘There are too many oddities that need answers.’

‘I think it is more than mere coincidence that we found the girl in the same hut the assassin chose,’ Eadulf said firmly.

‘Yet she has told us enough to find proof how she came there. We will have to ride out to Ordan’s place and question him, and we must make enquiries about the man she encountered who told her where the hut was. There will not be too many men on their way to the fields at that hour at this time of year.’

‘Perhaps she thought that we would simply take her word for that?’ Eadulf said.

‘Perhaps, but I do not think she is so naïve – not if her experience of life is as she says. We will take her up to the palace and keep her in safe custody while this investigation is going on.’

‘Do you really think that her story has merit? I mean, can you believe that her own father would sell her to this chieftain …’

‘Fidaig of Sliabh Luachra? Such things, while against the law, are not unknown, I’m afraid. Sliabh Luachra is a strange, brooding place. It’s the Mountains of Rushes – a marshy area among the mountains for it is not just one mountain. You may have seen the twin peaks from a distance on your journeys to the west. Those peaks mark the southern extremities of Luachra territory. They are called the Breasts of Danu, she who was the ancient mother goddess of our people before the new Faith came to us.’

Eadulf suppressed a slight shiver.

‘I have seen them when I passed near those mountains tracking down Uaman, Lord of the Passes of Sliabh Mis, when he kidnapped little Alchú. I remember how a local inn-keeper told me that the ancient gods and goddesses still dwell among the marshes up there.’

‘Indeed. I have passed through the territory only once and had to spend a night in a small glen called the Glen of Ravens, where it was said the ancient goddesses of death and battle dwelled. It is not a place to stay if one is of a nervous disposition.’

‘We certainly seem to have avoided it in our travels,’ observed Eadulf, ‘and we have been to most other places in this kingdom. What of this chieftain, Fidaig?’

‘I know of him as a profane and evil man. He once came to Cashel to pay his respects to the King at the time of our wedding feast. You probably don’t remember him.’

‘As I recall, there was a great deal happening at the time,’ replied Eadulf dryly. ‘Among other distractions there was the murder of Abbot Ultán. However, when Colgú defeated the Uí Fidgente at Cnoc Áine, I presume that Fidaig was their ally?’

‘Curiously, he was not, although I heard that the Luachra had a small band that fought there, commanded by a son of Fidaig. Fidaig claimed that they had mustered without his consent and therefore he was not responsible.’

‘To my mind, it seems that the girl is connected in this,’ Eadulf repeated.

‘But would she have been that forthcoming about being a bondservant in the household of the Luachra chieftain if there was such a conspiracy and she was part of it?’

‘It is the only explanation I can see. But that reminds me – what did she mean when she said that her father was like Oenghus Tuirbech? You seemed to understand, but I do not think Gormán or Della did. I certainly did not.’

Fidelma’s expression was serious. ‘Oenghus Tuirbech was supposed to be an ancient King descended from the race of Eremon. He was called Oenghus the Shameful because he forced his own daughter to go to bed with him and begat a son called Fiachaidh Fear Mara. Oenghus had him put into a canoe and pushed out to sea because he could then claim that his son’s blood was not on his hands.’

For a few moments Eadulf stood frowning at her and then he realised what she was saying.

‘So she meant that her father … ?’

Fidelma sighed deeply, cutting him off and saying, ‘Let us get back to the others. We will have to keep the girl at the palace while we go to see Ordan and check out her story. Perhaps we can also verify the matter of the man going to the fields who told her where the hut is.’

Eadulf suddenly looked nervous. ‘We did promise little Alchú to take him riding.’

Fidelma was about to make an exasperated retort when she suddenly relaxed, saying, ‘The rath of Ordan is not so far distant. Our son can ride with us when we go to see the merchant.’