Smoke in the Wind

‘They have returned, and have even questioned me and Iorwerth. The stupid woman is more concerned about finding out who killed Mair than anything we may do.’

‘Could Iorwerth have told them anything that can be traced to us? That Ceredigion idiot should not have taken his horse to Iorwerth’s forge.’

Iestyn shook his head quickly. ‘What can they learn? Information requires informants. Iorwerth knows nothing; there is no means by which they can discover our plan before it is too late.’

Corryn was silent for a moment. ‘You may well be right, my friend. Yet the Sister is no fool. I have heard that these advocates of the courts of Éireann are clever and resourceful. She certainly is. So is the Saxon. I could not believe how simply they tricked Clydog and escaped from his camp. But seeing is believing. ’

‘When the time comes, you will be able to deal with them, lord,’ Iestyn said. ‘Anyway, they cannot know anything.’

‘Nevertheless, Iestyn, I do not like the fact that they are here asking questions.’

Iestyn chuckled reassuringly. ‘I am ready for them, lord. Have no fear. The plan is safe. It is Mair’s death that seems to concern them.’

‘I shall rely on you, Iestyn,’ replied the other evenly, ‘for you know what betrayal merits.’ There was a sudden silence between them. Then Corryn turned to his horse and mounted it.

‘Keep me informed through the usual sources, Iestyn. If Morgan obeys his orders, then we should expect some action from Gwlyddien soon. Once he begins to move. . the kingdom is ours!’ He raised his hand in farewell, and set off into the night.

Iestyn stood watching him vanish in the darkness and then turned back to his dog. It had been lying down outside the barn, head between its paws, watching. It now uttered a faint whine.

‘Get back, Ci, you stupid animal.’

The dog rose and barked.

Iestyn hesitated and glanced round. Fidelma and Eadulf sank lower behind the pig pen wall.

‘Oh, I know,’ came Iestyn’s voice. ‘I forgot to feed you. Don’t worry. I have a bone for you.’ He turned back into the house.

Fidelma grabbed Eadulf’s arm and was up over the wall in a moment. The dog saw their movement and began to bark again. They heard Iestyn’s irritable voice faintly.

‘Shut up, stupid! I’ll bring your bone in a moment!’

In the darkness, Fidelma led the way as hurriedly as she could to the horses. ‘Come on, let’s be away from here,’ she whispered.

They turned their mounts away from the barn, and the moon suddenly emerged from between the cloud banks. It was pale and low down on the horizon and did not really illuminate the darkness.

‘We can’t go back on the track,’ said Fidelma. ‘If Iestyn unleashes the dog it will overtake us, and Corryn’s already on that path. He might turn back.’

Eadulf examined the stream. ‘We can cross here. It appears shallow enough. Lead on, Fidelma.’

Obediently, she entered the water and urged her horse across. The sound of her passage was muted by the fact that a little way upstream, the stream gushed and cascaded through a barrier of boulders and rocks, almost like a waterfall. Eadulf followed swiftly behind. He could still hear the dog’s frenetic barking behind them.

The horses mounted the bank with ease and were soon immersed in the mass of dark trees growing along that side of the river. Finding a path was difficult but eventually they came across a very narrow track which allowed them to proceed in single file. It seemed to lead in the direction of the township.

It was when they had moved quite a distance along it that Eadulf, who had been suppressing a number of questions which had come to his mind, finally allowed them to bubble over. He broke the silence.

‘Why didn’t we remain and question Iestyn as we intended?’

They came to a clearing and Fidelma halted her horse to allow it to rest. ‘It would not have been a good time,’ she said.

‘Corryn had gone,’ pointed out Eadulf. ‘Our appearance might have surprised Iestyn. Made him confess.’

She shook her head. ‘On the contrary, I think that even Iestyn might have realised why his dog had been making such a fuss. As it is, we now have an opportunity to go back armed with knowledge which Iestyn does not realise we possess.’

‘I must admit that I am totally confused,’ confessed Eadulf. ‘Every time I think matters make sense they get even more obscure.’

Fidelma patted the neck of her horse absently. ‘I am beginning to see a faint light for the first time, Eadulf,’ she said confidently.

‘How so?’

‘What we have stumbled on is a conspiracy to overthrow Gwlyddien and take over the kingdom of Dyfed. I think that what happened at Llanpadern is connected with the conspiracy.’

Eadulf thought for a moment. ‘A conspiracy from this neighbouring kingdom of Ceredigion?’

‘Ceredigion plays a central role.’

‘Are you saying that the Hwicce are involved with Ceredigion in this affair? I cannot believe that. The Hwicce of all people would not interest themselves in the ambitions of a Welisc ruler.’

‘Doesn’t it depend on the incentives, Eadulf?’

‘You might have a point if you spoke about any of the other Saxon kingdoms, but the Hwicce are a frontier people. They simply would not involve themselves in the affairs of the Welisc.’

‘Are you so sure?’

‘I would wager money on it. Having learnt of this conspiracy,’ Eadulf went on, ‘don’t you feel that we have outstayed our welcome in these parts? Should we not get back to the abbey to tell Gwlyddien that his kingdom is under threat?’

‘We will certainly warn him,’ agreed Fidelma, ‘but this is not the time to desert our investigation. There are too many unanswered questions here to simply leave and then let Gwlyddien attempt to sort out who is behind this conspiracy against him.’

Eadulf groaned inwardly. Deep down he had known this would be Fidelma’s reaction. For the first time, however, he was driven primarily by apprehension; a desire to leave this place of his blood enemies and return to the land of his fellow countrymen: to get back to Canterbury. He had had enough of the dangers of being among the Welisc.

‘What else is there to know?’ he demanded. ‘We know that Clydog and Corryn are involved and this man Iestyn is in on their secret. We know that an Hwicce ship is sailing round the coast and you claim that it is somehow involved in a conspiracy.’

‘Knowing these things hardly helps,’ pointed out Fidelma patiently. ‘Knowing exactly how they interrelate would be more useful. Perhaps knowing the answers to the myriad questions that arise. . that would be useful as well. Did Clydog murder Mair? If so, who killed Brother Meurig and why? Why was Idwal so conveniently killed? What is Gwnda’s involvement in this? Why is Iestyn so respectful to Corryn? You heard the manner in which he addressed him. You see the many questions that pile up one after another?’

Eadulf held up a hand as if to still the stream of her remorseless queries. ‘I concede that there is much that we do not know. Why doesn’t Gwlyddien send some of his own barnwrs here to find out? Why us?’

‘Because you may remember that we accepted his commission.’

‘I remember,’ said Eadulf in resignation.

‘It is not in my nature to leave a task half finished,’ added Fidelma. ‘Finis coronat opus! ’

‘In other circumstances I would agree,’ muttered Eadulf. ‘But I cannot help a feeling of fear while in this kingdom.’

‘You do not have to tell me that, Eadulf.’ Fidelma’s voice was grim. ‘I have never seen you so nervous of your surroundings before. Not in Rome, nor in my own land, nor, indeed, when you faced death in Fearna. What is it about this land, this people, that makes you so apprehensive?’

Eadulf’s lips were a tight thin line as he contemplated the matter. ‘I have told you before that there is enmity between my people and the Britons. The Welisc are enemies of my blood.’