‘Come, Eadulf. You are a Christian. You are an enemy to no one.’
‘Not so. An enemy can be perceived as well as real. Just the very name Saxon is enough for some people to want to encompass my early death.’
‘I feel that is more in your perception than in others’. Perhaps if you did not fear these people, they might not hate you in return?’
Eadulf was intelligent enough to realise that she was talking logic, but centuries of attitude were hard to cast aside.
‘There are other things to consider apart from my fears and hates,’ he said sulkily. ‘What are your plans now?’
He did not see the look of sad sympathy with which Fidelma regarded him in the darkness. ‘You are right. We are wasting time. I think we should return to Gwnda’s hall. It is no use going to see Iorwerth now. I want, however, to question him about what we have learnt from Elen this evening. I also want to see what we can draw out of Iestyn.’
‘What about warning Gwlyddien of this plot?’
‘If young Dewi is to be trusted, he or someone from the abbey of Dewi Sant will be back here by tomorrow afternoon. We can send a message back by them.’
They had reached the township and were riding by the great unlit bonfire. On top of it, they noticed, the straw man from Iorwerth’s forge had been placed. Fidelma halted her horse, staring at it, and then, to Eadulf’s surprise, she broke into a low chuckle.
‘What is it?’ demanded Eadulf.
‘What a fool I am. I could have answered one of our questions some time ago.’
Eadulf waited impatiently.
‘I’ve just realised what tomorrow is. . the bonfires and straw man.’
‘What?’ demanded Eadulf.
‘It is the Samhain festival.’
Eadulf frowned, recognising the name of the native Irish festival: ‘You mean the eve of All Hallows Day?’
‘The one night of the year when the Otherworld becomes visible to this one and when the souls of those we have harmed in this life can come back and exact retribution from us,’ confirmed Fidelma.
Chapter Seventeen
Fidelma was already awake and dressed when Eadulf arose the next morning. She was seated eating a meal of fresh-baked bread and honey washed down by sweet mead. She looked up as he entered and smiled a brief greeting.
‘Is there any sign of Gwnda yet?’ he asked as he sat down and reached for the bread.
When they had returned on the previous evening, the lord of Pen Caer was not in his hall and Buddog told them that she did not expect him to return. He was visiting some friends. So they had eaten a frugal supper and gone directly to bed.
As if on cue, the door opened and Gwnda entered. To their surprise he greeted them with a smile and a civil tone.
‘Elen has spoken to us,’ were Fidelma’s first words.
Gwnda joined them at the table. ‘Did she tell you that it was I who suggested that she do so?’ he asked.
‘She told us that you offered no objection to her telling us the story,’ replied Fidelma. ‘Frankly, I am puzzled. When we last saw you, you were totally opposed to our involvement in this matter.’
The black-bearded lord shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
‘I might have been wrong in my opinion about Idwal,’ he confessed, yet without any indication of remorse. ‘I felt it best that you hear her story.’
‘You might have been wrong?’ There was a bite to Fidelma’s voice. ‘The boy has been killed.’
‘When my daughter told me her story, I began to see that there could be another explanation for Mair’s death.’
‘Which would mean that Idwal was innocent,’ pointed out Eadulf.
‘It would mean that a great wrong was done to the boy,’ Gwnda admitted, although his tone was hardly that of a penitent. He seemed almost cheerful.
‘A wrong in which you have played both an active and a passive part,’ Eadulf sternly reminded him.
‘If any wrong has been done then I am willing to take my share of the blame in the matter,’ said Gwnda. ‘But the fault first of all lay with the outrage of the mob.’
‘Let us examine your share of the blame,’ Fidelma said. ‘You were the first person on the scene when Mair was murdered and you caught Idwal. What did you say brought you to the woods at that hour?’
Gwnda considered the question. ‘I can’t remember. I was just out riding.’
‘It seems that several people were in those particular woods that morning. Mair and Idwal. Iestyn. . even Buddog.’
Gwnda’s facial muscles suddenly tightened. His mood seemed to change and for the first time he appeared anxious. ‘The woods span the main track to the south. It is not surprising people were about.’
‘Until your daughter spoke to you, you had no doubts about Idwal’s guilt. But now you have?’
Gwnda shifted his weight again as he considered his words. ‘My daughter has the doubts. I am not convinced that she is right.’
‘Did you come upon Mair and Idwal by accident that morning?’ Fidelma asked.
‘I did. I found Idwal actually bending over her body. That I have said before. I went through the details with Brother Meurig.’
‘Brother Meurig is dead, so tell us what happened that morning again.’
Gwnda shrugged indifferently. ‘I came across Idwal bending over Mair. She was dead. Within moments, I heard the sound of voices raised. Idwal stood up and started to run and so I caught him. Moments later Iorwerth arrived with men from the township. You surely know the rest?’
‘All along, you have maintained that Idwal was guilty. You have even defended his lynching. You refused to let us make inquiries about it. But now. . now you appear to suddenly change your mind. I cannot help but wonder why?’
‘I am lord of Pen Caer. I am not answerable to you,’ Gwnda responded. ‘Anyway,’ his voice softened, ‘if my daughter’s life is in danger then I am willing to admit a mistake. Didn’t I send for the
‘It did not prevent him from having no trial at all,’ Eadulf observed dryly.
‘Whether he killed Mair or not, I still believe that he killed Brother Meurig in his attempt to escape. Therefore his death was not without justification.’
‘Were you there when he was hanged?’ Eadulf suddenly asked.
Gwnda shook his head vehemently. ‘I did not arrive until afterwards. Someone told me that some of my people had caught the boy and by the time I reached the spot he was dead.’
‘As lord of Pen Caer it is your task to see that justice is done. Yet you seem to have exonerated those who killed him.’
‘I understood their anger against the boy.’
‘But now you say that he might not have been guilty of Mair’s killing?’ pointed out Fidelma.
Gwnda was silent.
‘You were vehemently opposed to our making inquiries into this matter yesterday afternoon, yet a short time later you approved of Elen speaking to us.’
‘There is nothing strange in that. I have not changed my attitude. I still maintain that you have no right to interfere in this matter. You are here only to deal with the mystery of Llanpadern. Nothing has changed. But Elen wished to tell you about Clydog as you seem to have the ear of King Gwlyddien. I do not object to that. As I hope I
