‘You are putting words into the girl’s mouth,’ protested Abbess Fainder.
Fidelma took Fial’s hands in both of hers and held them out for the rest of the company to inspect.
‘Have I also made these marks on her wrists, Abbess Fainder?’ she asked quietly. There were sores around the girl’s wrists which showed where they had been constrained. ‘I think Fial could also show you the sores around her ankles as well.’
Coba had already ascertained their existence.
‘Were you bound, child, on the boat?’ he demanded gruffly.
When the girl did not respond, Fidelma gently encouraged her by repeating the question. Fial dropped her head a little.
‘I was.’
‘How could anyone do this to a novitiate?’ demanded Abbess Fainder, finally accepting the evidence of her eyes. ‘Whoever did it, they have a lot to answer for.’
Fidelma shot her a look of cynicism.
‘Gabrán has answered for it, Abbess, if you will recall. The same manacle marks were present on Gormgilla, according to your physician, Brother Miach.’ Then she turned back to the girl. ‘However, Fial was never a novitiate at Fearna nor any other abbey. Isn’t that so?’
Fial shook her head.
‘You told me-’ Abbess Fainder burst out, but was silenced by a gesture from Fidelma.
‘Let us hear your story, child. You and your friend Gormgilla were brought to Fearna on Gabrán’s boat some weeks ago, weren’t you?’
‘We were not friends until we came to know each other after Gabrán took us as prisoners on his boat,’ the girl replied.
Abbess Fainder stared angrily at her. ‘This is not the story that you told the court during the trial of the Saxon.’
‘There are many tales that were told to that court which need to be changed,’ Fidelma replied waspishly. ‘Let the girl continue. Where did you come from?’
‘Our fathers both were
‘Are you claiming that Gabrán was buying young girls and selling them along the river —
‘Not to the abbey,’ corrected Fidelma. ‘Gabrán probably took the girls downriver to Loch Garman and sold them to slaver ships who took them God knows where.’
‘But Gormgilla and this girl were supposed to be novitiates at the abbey,’ protested the abbess. ‘This girl herself claimed that she was a novitiate.’
‘Fial has just told you that they were not. Tell us, Fial, about that night when Gabrán’s boat arrived at the abbey while you were being taken downriver.’
The girl blinked rapidly but she had exhausted her tears now.
‘Gormgilla was younger than me, only twelve. When we were brought aboard Gabrán’s boat he singled her out and …’ She let her voice trail off.
‘We understand,’ Fidelma assured her.
‘We did not know where we were going because we were kept in the dark cabin and shackled all the time. I knew the boat had halted, and that it had lasted for some time. Gormgilla and I were nervous as to how long we would be shut up in that filthy-smelling place. Then the door opened and Gabrán came squeezing in. We could smell alcohol on him. He unlocked Gormgilla’s shackles and she asked him where he was taking her.’ Fial paused for a moment, remembering the scene.
‘What did Gabrán say?’ prompted Fidelma.
‘He said that he was taking her to share some pleasure to help pass away the night. Then he dragged her struggling into the other, bigger, cabin and I was locked in darkness on my own. It was not long before I heard Gormgilla screaming. There were other sounds too — sounds like a struggle. Then all was silent.’
She paused again as if trying to come to terms with her memories before continuing.
‘I do not know how much time passed. The hatchway opened suddenly. At first I thought it was Gabrán returning for me but it was another member of his crew — the same man who had brought us on board the boat. I do not know his name. He told me to be absolutely quiet and said that I would be free and rewarded if I did what I was told without question.
‘He took me into the adjacent cabin where the other boatmen slept,although Gormgilla and I never saw them; we saw only Gabrán and this particular crewman. I don’t think the others even knew that we were on board. In this cabin I saw Gabrán; he was stretched out on the deck and I thought he was in a drunken stupor — I had often seen my father in a similar way. I realised soon afterwards that there was blood on his clothes and he grasped a piece of bloody cloth in his hand. By him sat a man in the robes of the religious but with a heavy cowl over his face; in the darkness I could not see his features. He seemed nervous and one hand fumbled with his crucifix which hung around his neck beneath his robe.’
‘Is this another tale to discredit my abbey?’ Abbess Fainder’s tone was one of disbelief at the entire story.
‘I speak the truth,’ the girl protested with some spirit. ‘I can only say what I saw.’
Fidelma patted the girl gently on the arm in encouragement.
‘You are doing well. What did he say to you, this religieux?’
‘He said nothing. The sailor did all the talking. I was told that there had been an accident. That Gormgilla had been killed and it was essential that the right man should be punished. At first I thought that he was referring to Gabrán for I had no doubt then that it was he who had killed my poor companion.’
‘But he did not mean Gabrán?’
‘No. He told me that Gormgilla had left the boat to go onto the quay. He said that there was a Saxon staying at the abbey. He had raped and strangled Gormgilla. The Saxon would not be caught unless I testified that I had seen him kill her.’
‘What?’ Abbess Fainder appeared astounded. ‘You say that you were told, with the approval of a religieux, to tell lies about something so important?’
‘I knew it was all a lie but I also knew that unless I agreed to tell it, I would be dead as well. I was to say that I had stood behind some bales and had seen this Saxon attacking my friend. I could identify him by the fact that he wore a different tonsure to all other religious and this tonsure was described to me. I was also to say that I and Gormgilla were novitiates at the abbey.’
‘How could you make that claim if it was not true?’ sneered the abbess. ‘My mistress of novitiates would have denounced such a deception.’
‘Except that she had just gone on a pilgrimage to Iona,’ Fidelma reminded her.
‘I was told that no one would doubt my story,’ added Fial.
Fidelma glanced at the abbess. ‘As I recall, you supported the story, Fainder,’ she said. ‘You identified the girls to your stewardess as novitiates, didn’t you?’
There was a silence before Fidelma asked firmly: ‘Who else identified Fial as a novitiate?’
Abbess Fainder fell silent, frowning in thought.
Mel cleared his throat. He had been considering Fial’s story.
‘The girl did appear from behind the bales. She could have come from the boat. But she did tell me …’
‘Indeed,’ Fidelma interrupted impatiently. ‘She had been on the boat the entire time. It makes sense of the points that I made to you about the inconsistency of her position on the quay. However, let her continue the story. When it was realised that Gormgilla’s body had been found, some quick thinking had to be done.’
‘Not by Gabrán, he was drunk. The girl said so,’ interposed Coba with interest. ‘Who do you think arranged this elaborate lie?’
‘The person who employed Gabrán; the person in charge of this terrible trade in human suffering,’ replied Fidelma confidently. ‘It seems that by coincidence, that very person had arrived on the quay with one of Gabrán’s crew just as Gabrán had killed Gormgilla. They grabbed the drunken man, probably knocked him unconscious to be able to manage him properly. Then they dragged him back on board and dumped him in a
