then. I prevailed on them, at that time, telling them that a judge should be sent for.’
‘Let’s get this straight,’ Brother Meurig said slowly. ‘Do you claim that you saw the boy in the act of. .?’
Fidelma cleared her throat and was about to speak when Gwnda pre-empted her obvious comment. ‘I saw the boy standing over the body. That is all. But it does not take a sharp mind to understand what had happened.’
‘In my country, the laws of evidence are strict. You cannot swear to what you did not see,’ Fidelma observed dryly.
‘The same laws apply here, Sister,’ agreed Brother Meurig. ‘Opinions or interpretations of witnesses do not constitute evidence. Gwnda knows this well. A judge will draw his own conclusions from the evidence. How was the girl killed?’
‘Strangled after she was raped. There was bruising on the neck. The body was seen by Elisse, the local apothecary. He says that heavy pressure was applied and the girl was prevented from breathing long enough to kill her.’
‘How did this apothecary deduce that the girl was a virgin but had been raped before death?’ queried Fidelma.
Gwnda appeared momentarily embarrassed by the subject. ‘There was a great deal of blood. . you know, on her nether clothing.’
‘Was the body warm when you came upon it?’ asked Eadulf, once again trying to phrase his question in an intelligible form.
Gwnda stared at him as if he were a half-wit.
‘Brother Eadulf means, did you examine the body yourself?’ interpreted Brother Meurig.
‘I did not touch it. I saw that the girl was dead. That was obvious without an examination.’
‘But you cannot say if she had been dead for some time by the time you came on her and Idwal?’ Fidelma asked, having seen the point that Eadulf was making.
‘The boy was still standing over her. It was obvious that the killing had only just happened.’
‘It is not obvious to us,’ Fidelma sighed. ‘You did not see the killing and there are many ways to interpret what you saw. Has Idwal actually admitted that he killed the girl?’
‘Of course not.’
‘Of course?’
‘I have not known anyone to voluntarily admit to murder.’
‘So he has denied that he killed her?’ Brother Meurig did not sound happy. ‘Did he admit that he raped her?’
‘The boy denied that as well.’
‘Has he consistently denied being responsible for Mair’s death?’ pressed Fidelma.
Gwnda nodded slowly.
‘Has he volunteered any explanation?’ asked Eadulf. ‘What does he say happened?’
Gwnda was nonplussed.
‘Was he ever asked for his explanation of events?’ Brother Meurig was worried.
Gwnda saw the disapproving expressions on their faces. ‘He was not,’ he admitted. ‘I am no lawyer.’
There was a short silence which Fidelma broke by observing: ‘A pity that you did not touch the body to see how long she had been dead. We might have learnt something from that.’
Gwnda chuckled grimly. ‘Only the boy’s guilt.’
‘At least that would have been something, wouldn’t it?’ returned Fidelma icily.
Brother Meurig rubbed his chin, his face creased into a frown of irritation. ‘Everyone seems to have condemned the boy without asking his story. What motive is he accused of having? Why had he killed the girl?’
‘Easy to answer,’ replied Gwnda. ‘The girl rejected his advances. He raped her in uncontrollable passion and then, realising his crime, he killed her. I would have thought that much was obvious.’
Fidelma had expected his answer. ‘Are we sure that Mair, as a dutiful daughter, which you assure us was the case, rejected the advances made by Idwal, if, indeed, he made any?’
Gwnda stared at her in distaste. ‘You will not be welcome in this community if you impute things about those who cannot now defend themselves.’
Fidelma’s expression did not change. ‘I am sorry if you think I am doing so, Gwnda of Pen Caer. I do not speak frivolously and I thought the purpose of Brother Meurig’s inquiry was to ascertain the truth. In pursuit of truth, questions have to be asked and answers given. Sometimes the questions might imply things that are distasteful. It is not the questions that are distasteful but occasionally the answers.’
Brother Meurig rose from his seat, shaking his head sadly. ‘In this matter, I agree with Sister Fidelma. It appears that we have arrived just in time to guide this matter into the proper legal strictures. We must question the boy, Idwal. However, the hour grows late and we must find hospitality for the night.’
‘You are welcome to the hospitality of my hall, of course,’ Gwnda said, trying to exude courtesy once he saw Meurig supported Fidelma.
‘Then we shall accept it,’ Brother Meurig replied, speaking for all of them.
‘Should you need anything, please inform Buddog. I am without a wife and my daughter is still too young to take on the duties of running this household. Buddog will see to your wants. I myself must go to have a word with Iorwerth about the disgrace that he has brought on Pen Caer this night.’
‘We would like to question the boy Idwal before we retire for the night,’ Fidelma said quickly.
‘Then Buddog will show you to the stables where he is held. It is a dark night.’
Chapter Six
Buddog met them at the door with a lantern. She held the light high in strong, capable hands as she conducted them across the yard to the dark stables. Fidelma had a passing thought that the hands did not go with the handsome features of the woman, for they seemed hard and callused by manual work. Buddog did not seem relaxed or friendly towards them. She spoke only when spoken to and then was monosyllabic, holding her head with jaw jutting upwards slightly aggressively.
‘Have you run this household for a long time, Buddog?’ Fidelma asked pleasantly as they began to cross the yard.
‘Not long.’
‘A few weeks?’ There was a tone of mockery in Fidelma’s voice. She disliked imprecise answers.
She noticed the servant’s lips tighten a little.
‘I have been in this household for twenty years.’
‘That is a long time. So you came here to work when you were a young girl, then?’
‘I came here as a hostage,’ replied the woman shortly. ‘I am of Ceredigion.’
They had reached the stable door. Buddog paused with her hand on the latch and turned to Brother Meurig.
‘You will need this lantern, Brother. I know the yard in the darkness so I can find my own way back.’
Brother Meurig took the lantern.
The woman hesitated and then said with a quiet intensity to the
With that, she turned and became a shadow in the darkness.
Fidelma broke the surprised silence. ‘I think, Brother, you will have to ask Buddog to explain her views.’
Brother Meurig sighed softly. ‘Undoubtedly, Sister. She seemed rather vehement.’
The boy, Idwal, was chained in an empty stall. He strained away from them as they entered, moving into the furthest corner like some frightened animal. He could not move far for he was still bound with his hands behind him and had the chain around one ankle. Fidelma wrinkled her nose in disgust.
‘Does he have to be contained in this fashion?’ she demanded.
Brother Meurig did not support the idea of loosening his bonds. ‘If the boy is a killer, then there is no cause
