held no fears for them or for the great antlered stag who paused now and then, like some impressivestatue, staring down at them as if anxiously watching their progress as they climbed steadily upwards. The stag would pause for a while and then turn, with a curious barking bellow, and urge his charges to increase their pace. They would bound upwards for a while before pausing once more to graze.
The path was almost indistinguishable from the grazed grassy inclines around them but Fidelma pressed on, moving at an easy pace around the shoulder of the rounded hill. The winds were bluff and Eadulf found himself bending his head, not only to avoid contact with the wide open spaces but to meet the onslaught of the strong gusts. He prayed that his horse would not become too skittish for he did not know whether he would be able to hold on to the beast.
Suddenly he was aware of Fidelma halting.
‘What is it?’ he demanded.
‘See for yourself,’ she replied.
Eadulf plucked up courage for a quick nervous glance.
The L-shaped valley stretched away below them. He had an impression of some buildings far below and he dropped his gaze as soon as he could.
‘What is it?’ he asked again. ‘Archú’s valley?’
Fidelma turned and gazed at him thoughtfully.
‘Do heights bother you, Eadulf?’ she asked in concern.
Eadulf bit his lip. There was no point denying it.
‘Not heights exactly,’ he replied. ‘It is a fear of being on high exposed places, not so much of falling downwards but of falling outwards. Does that sound strange?’
Fidelma shook her head slowly.
‘You should have told me,’ she rebuked softly.
‘I would not be of use to anyone if I confessed this fear.’
‘My mentor, Morann of Tara, once said that a mouse can drink no more than its fill from the stream.’
Eadulf was puzzled.
‘That sounds like an obscure philosophy.’
‘Not so. We must recognise our weaknesses as well as our strengths. Only then shall we know the strength in our weakness and the weakness in our strength.’
‘Are you telling me that I should have accepted my fear and told you?’
‘What else should you have done? Had I been forewarned then I might have been prepared if anything had happened.’
Eadulf sighed impatiently. He disliked talking about his weaknesses.
‘This is not the time and especially not the place to debate my failings.’
Fidelma was immediately contrite.
‘Of course,’ she said consolingly. The contriteness was not suited to her character but it seemed genuine enough. ‘I am not thinking clearly. From now on we shall be descending. You were right. Below is Archú’s farmstead. This is the valley of the Black Marsh.’
Eadulf set his shoulders.
‘Then let us set forth,’ he said irritably. ‘The sooner we begin the descent then the sooner we shall reach the bottom.’
Fidelma continued to lead the way carefully. The deer herd had drifted off some way and Fidelma observed that they had left the main track. While steep, it was not impossible to move along at a reasonable pace. Only now and then did they have to pause to negotiate some sheer part of the path, where a drop of only two feet caused the elevation to seem more precipitous than it actually was. At one or two points, they had to twist and turn and double back on themselves several times within a space of a few yards. But eventually they came to the more gentle lower slopes of the hill where clumps of ash trees and briars formed a boundary marker through which they found a reasonable pathway.
As they emerged from the copse of ash and beech they found two horsemen waiting for them. They were both armed with bows, arrows drawn.
‘Sister Fidelma!’
The startled voice of Archú halted them. Fidelma supposed that the second man was one of the men Dubán had left behind. Archú immediately put down his bow and was apologetic.
‘We did not know who you were.’
‘We saw two figures coming over the shoulder of the hill. A strange route,’ muttered the warrior with him.
‘Strange and dangerous,’ sighed Eadulf, wiping the sweat from his brow.
‘We have been watching you for the past hour for my companion here spotted you soon after you appeared over the hill. Why were you taking that precipitous path? It is only sheep and deer that I have seen upon the mountain.’
‘It is a long story, Archú,’ Fidelma replied. ‘And if Scoth could provide us with some refreshment we shall tell it to you.’
‘Of course,’ Archú agreed eagerly. ‘Forgive me. Let us ride up to the farmhouse.’
The warrior was still looking suspiciously up at the mountain.
‘Were you being followed, sister?’ he asked.
Fidelma shook her head.
‘Not that I know of. Did you see anyone following us?’
‘No. But we must be careful. Have you heard that Muadnat has been killed?’
‘Yes. We came here some hours ago and saw Dubán on the road. He told us that he had left you and another man to guard young Archú in case Agdae decided to do something foolish.’
Archú turned to his companion.
‘Perhaps, you should stay here a while and check if anyone else comes over the hill. But I shall take Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf to my house.’
The warrior accepted the instruction without comment.
Fidelma and Eadulf followed Archú towards the distant farmstead.
‘This is a bad, bad business, sister. If Dubán had not left his men behind yesterday, so that they were witness to the fact that Ihad not stirred from the farmstead, then I have no doubt that I would be in grave trouble.’
Fidelma did not bother to answer. That much was obvious.
‘I knew Muadnat all my life and although he hated me, I cannot say his death leaves me unmoved. But he was my cousin. May he rest in peace.’
‘Amen to that,’ agreed Eadulf, having recovered his spirits a little.
‘And how do you stand with Agdae? Did you know he was Muadnat’s adopted son?’
Archú grimaced.
‘That I did. He is also my cousin. His parents were killed in some pestilence many years ago. Agdae survived and Muadnat brought him up in his own home. My mother told me that Muadnat wanted her to marry him but she rejected Agdae for my father. We did not like each other, I confess it freely. He was raised with Muadnat’s lack of tolerance and dislike of me.’
‘And you dislike him in turn?’
‘I cannot say that I could feel other than dislike. Agdae is not a likable person.’
‘Who do you think killed your cousin?’ Fidelma asked the question sharply.
Archú was silent for a time; for such a long period, in fact, that Eadulf thought he was refusing to answer the question. But then the young man gave a long sigh.
‘I do not know. Nothing makes sense any more. The deaths of Eber and Teafa were distant to me. Their deaths did not really concern me. But Muadnat’s death was closer to me, even though I disliked him. I do not understand it.’
Scoth greeted them at the farmhouse door.
The second warrior whom Dubán had left behind had come forward to take their horses.
Archú led the way inside.
