Suffer Little Children

things. I will procure the best advocate to defend you.'

Midach's face dissolved in anguish as he gazed toward Fidelma.

'It is my fault. It is my grievous fault! I put the fear of Dacan in him.' He swung round to face the Chief Brehon. 'Can you accept my guilt in place of this boy?'

Barran shook his head.

'The boy is now beyond the age of consent. He has an adult's responsibility. As for putting the fear of Dacan in him, you merely gave it some tangible form, for apparently the boy already hated Dacan and, through hate, feared him.'

'Yes, he acted out of fear. Even Fidelma of Kildare admits that much.'

'That may be so. But to deliberately implicate an innocent person brings a worse crime.'

'A further word, Barran,' Fidelma interrupted. 'This court will have done its duty in absolving the abbot of Ros Ailithir and the king of Muman from any culpability in the death of Dacan of Fearna. This assembly must confine itself to considering the claim by Laigin for compensation. It is now up to the court to rule on that matter. It has no further function.'

'Nechtan will have to come before a further court to answer for his actions as, indeed, will Salbach, whose crimes greatly outweigh all others. Let that further court decide the degree of guilt that is on Nechtan's shoulders. And I will, if Nechtan so wishes, stand with him as his advocate, for I believe no boy, whether he has just reached the age of choice or not, should live in such fear of his life as the three sons of Illan have had to live this last year. I think that fear goes in some way to ameliorating his guilt if not absolving it.'

Midach was staring at Fidelma in astonishment, as were many others in the court.

Barran cleared his throat impatiently.

'I thank you, Fidelma of Kildare,' he said dryly, 'for reminding me of the issues at stake here. Yet I do not think I or the assembly would have forgotten them.'

Fidelma hung her head at the Chief Brehon's gentle irony.

Barran turned from Fidelma to Forbassach.

'Advocates of Cashel and Fearna, have you completed your pleas and counter-pleas?'

Fidelma hesitated before adding: 'I would just remind the court of what I said in my opening. Dacan, as has now been admitted by his own brother, Noe of Fearna, came to this kingdom in stealth to discover the whereabouts of the sons of Illan to use them for the political purposes of the kingdom of Laigin. I contend this subterfuge caused Dacan to forfeit any claim he or his relations have under the laws of hospitality. Responsibility does not lay with the abbot of Ros Ailithir nor ultimately with Cashel.'

'Secondly, I have revealed the real culprit to be Nechtan, son of Illan of Osraige, who killed Dacan because he believed that his life, and the lives of his younger brothers, were in danger. It is not the jurisdiction of the court to rule on his culpability but I would add that there are extenuating circumstances to Nechtan's act.'

Fidelma returned to her seat and sat down for the first time since she had risen to plead.

Barran motioned to Forbassach to sum up his case and to rebut that which he did not agree with.

The advocate of the king of Laigin had been bent in discussion with his unhappy-looking young king and the stony-faced abbot of Fearna. He turned round and rose, speaking hesitantly,

'Laigin now accepts that Cashel is not responsible for Dacan's death. But a death has taken place and the law must find responsibility.'

Barran turned and held a whispered conversation with the High King and then Ultan of Armagh. After a moment he turned back to address the assembly.

'The case before this court was simple. Sister Fidelma has reminded us of it. It was to adjudicate whether the responsibility for the death of Dacan lay at the door of Cashel. If so, the demand of Laigin was specific. Laigin demanded the kingdom of Osraige as the sum of the honor price of Dacan. The evidence that we have heard results in the adjudication that responsibility does not rest with Cashel. Therefore it follows that the demand for the honor price is dismissed. Osraige continues, as it has these last six centuries, to owe its allegiance to Cashel, its kings paying tribute to Cashel and not to Fearna.'

There was a ripple almost of verbal applause as the judgment was given.

Barran held up his hand for silence.

'Nevertheless, with the agreement of the High King, there are other matters which I feel this court should consider in passing this judgment. We have heard why such a tragic path of death and destruction has been followed here. It has its roots in the fact that the people of Osraige do not find the kingship imposed by the family of Ciaran of Saighir, a kingship from the family of the chieftains of the Corco Lofgde, to be a just kingship. The Blessed Ciaran had, misguidedly we feel, established the Corco Lofgde in Osraige. It is now time for the descendants of the native kings of Osraige to return to their rightful role. We would admonish the king of Cashel to take steps to ensure that the people of his petty kingdom of Osraige choose freely whomsoever they wish to govern in accordance with the laws of rightful succession.'

Colgu rose, his face solemn.

'Nothing grieves me more than to hear what has transpired in my kingdom. This bloodshed of the innocent shall not go unpunished. No longer can the family of the chieftains of the Corco Loigde have any moral right to rule Osraige. The people of Osraige shall choose. It shall be so. My oath of honor, it shall. I pledge it before this court.'

The Chief Brehon acknowledged Colgu with a smile.

'Your words have gladdened your High King. Then there is one more admonishment that we feel it is in our judgment to make. It will be left to a court of Cashel to fix the degree of guilt and the amount of fine and compensation which must lay at the door of the unfortunate Nechtan. However, we have heard enough at this court to say that Dacan's honor price is tarnished by his deceptive undertaking on behalf of Laigin. The fine for the death of a scholar of Dacan's standing is fixed in law at seven cumals, that is the value of twenty-one milch cows. The true honor price for a man of his ecclesiastic standing is twenty sed, the value of twenty milch-cows. A total of forty-one sed would be the sum payable by whoever is found guilty of his death. However…'

Barran looked towards the king of Laigin.

'It will be seen that there are other culprits in this matter. This court will direct that those who asked Dacan to proceed with his task disrupted the peace of these kingdoms and threatened a bloody war. They must share responsibility. The honor price for a king of a province is sixteen cumals and because that king has besmirched his honor, sixteen cumals has to be made payable from the king of Laigin to the High King.'

Fianamail was pale and sullen but silent.

'A further seven cumals shall be payable by Fianamail to the king of Cashel for the casting of a shadow on his honor. That is the judgment of the court. Does Fianamail of Laigin have anything to say?'

The young king rose hesitantly, seemed about to speak and then shook his head and sat down. He whispered to his dalaigh.

Forbassach, as advocate, rose.

'Laigin accepts the admonition of the court,' he said quietly. 'Cedant arma togae … let arms yield to the gown of the law.'

'That is as it must be,' agreed the Chief Brehon, solemnly. 'The business of this assembly is now ended.'

Epilogue

Fidelma was sitting with her brother on the bastion of the walkway of the abbey's high walls overlooking the inlet. The small bay was quiet and deserted now, apart from a few local coastal barca and fishermen's boats. The great assembly of ships bearing the High King and his entourage, the Archbishop of Armagh and Fianamail of Laigin and his retinue, had all departed. Even the threatening warship of Mugron, which had seemed an immovable part of the scenery of the inlet, had weighed anchor and followed the Laigin fleet away from the coasts of Muman. What was left was a quiet, tranquil scene.

'Truly, Fidelma,' Colgu was more boisterous and no longer looking tense or weary, 'you have shown that your reputation is well founded.'

Fidelma gave an indifferent shrug.

'There is nothing to be satisfied about,' she replied. 'If I were not the instrument of the downfall of these evil