the scribe called for order, it was Eadulf who now took the floor in front of Cathen. Fidelma stood ready to support him. They had agreed between them the course of the presentation.
‘Prince Cathen, my knowledge of the speech of the Cymry is not so fluent as that possessed by Sister Fidelma. I trust you will bear with me if I stumble in my search for the right words and phrases.’
Cathen smiled indulgently. ‘I have knowledge of Latin and of the language of Éireann should you wish to explain yourselves in either of those tongues. Have no fear, I am sure that there will be no misunderstanding.’
‘Thank you. Sister Fidelma has explained one of the two mysteries with which we have been involved at Pen Caer. But the greater mystery was the one which brought us here in the first place. The mystery of the disappearance of the brethren of Llanpadern in whose community your own brother, Rhun, lived and worked. I will now explain how that poor community was taken prisoner, and why most of them are now dead or taken into slavery.’ Eadulf turned to Cadell. ‘Bring forth the prisoner Clydog.’
There was a stir as two guards escorted in the handsome outlaw chief. He wore his usual twisted smile. He glanced about him defiantly as if indifferent to the proceedings. Then he saw Eadulf standing before the court as his prosecutor and sneered openly.
‘Well, well,’ he murmured, ‘it seems the court of Dyfed has placed a Saxon in charge. Is there no talent among the men of Dyfed that you have to appoint your blood enemies to govern your courts?’
‘I am presiding at this court, Clydog,’ snapped Prince Cathen sourly. ‘Whatever happens here, you will answer to me or to my father Gwlyddien. Continue with your presentation, Brother Eadulf.’
Eadulf examined the arrogant features of the outlaw for several moments. Then he asked sharply: ‘Prisoner, do you wish to appear before this court of Dyfed as Clydog Cacynen — Clydog the Wasp, a common outlaw and thief? Or is it as Clydog, son of King Artglys of Ceredigion, that you would prefer to be heard?’
The silence in the hall was absolute.
Finally Clydog gave a low musical chuckle. ‘Well, Saxon, it seems that you and your Gwyddel friend have sharp eyes. I will agree to answer as Prince Clydog of Ceredigion.’
Eadulf turned back to Cathen, who was regarding Clydog in astonishment. ‘You were right, my lord, when you first suggested, at our meeting at the abbey of Dewi Sant, that Ceredigion was behind this intrigue. With your permission, I will adopt the same method of presentation as Sister Fidelma in attempting to explain what befell at Llanpadern and what it means. I will tell the story and should we need witnesses or explanations then they will be provided.’
Cathen gave an indication with his hand that Eadulf should proceed. He seemed too surprised to speak.
‘Ceredigion has long cast envious eyes over Dyfed. You told us that. In their plotting, Clydog came here to this heartland of Dyfed to attempt to sow alarm and dissension. It was easy to hide with his men in the forest in the guise of outlaws.
‘What was the plan? A very simple one. If Dyfed could be made to believe that some outrage had been committed against them by the Saxons, an outrage which would cause Gwlyddien and yourself to raise an army and march on the Saxon kingdoms, it would leave Dyfed totally undefended. Once its fighting men had left, the Ceredigion could march in and take over the kingdom. A simple enough strategy.’
Cathen shook his head. ‘Simple but unworkable. The people of Dyfed would rise up and fight the Ceredigion. They would not accept the rule of a Ceredigion prince. Our warriors would march back and fight.’
‘I will come to that problem, for it is one which had been catered for,’ replied Eadulf. ‘However, like all simple plans, it was open to mistakes. It started with two coordinated actions. One of Artglys’s allies, Morgan of Gwent, was to raid the Saxon kingdom of the Hwicce. The plan here was to entice an Hwicce warship to chase Morgan along this coast. The Saxon ship had to be seen and rumours of a Saxon raid spread. That part of the plan succeeded but not in the time it was meant to.’
‘What do you mean?’ demanded Cathen.
‘The second part of the plan, which Clydog was to fulfil, was where things went badly wrong.’
Clydog, still standing between his guards, interrupted with a sneer. ‘Nothing went wrong except your interference, Saxon!’
Eadulf ignored him. ‘Clydog was to raid one of Dyfed’s religious centres and the news of this and the slaughter of its brothers by Saxon raiders would cause the people of Dyfed to demand swift retribution. Gwlyddien would be forced to march on the Saxons.’
‘But what mistake was made?’ pressed Cathen.
‘As we now know, the community of Llanpadern was chosen for the raid. But Clydog raided the monastic settlement too early. Why? Only Clydog and his men know the answer. Perhaps it was the impatience of his character. Perhaps it was because he had received wrong information and thought the Saxon ship had already arrived. But the Hwicce ship had not yet been sighted off the nearby coast, and it was essential that local people see the ship at the same time that the community was attacked. That was the plan. The raid on Llanpadern worked well. Seeing themselves at the mercy of armed men, the brethren offered no resistance and were not immediately harmed. Clydog looted the valuables in the chapel and also took the livestock, presumably to sell. But the main thing was that Clydog now had prisoners and, according to the plan, had to wait for the Saxon ship to arrive.’
‘I do not see the logic of this,’ intervened Cathen. ‘Why not slaughter the brethren at once? It was a risk to keep prisoners.’
‘A greater risk to slaughter them before it could be shown to the local people that Saxon raiders were present. The entire plan rested on this, as I have said. When no word of the Hwicce ship was brought to Clydog, the prisoners had to be removed from Llanpadern. To keep them there would have been equally foolish. The prisoners were split into two groups; half, with Father Clidro, were taken to Clydog’s forest lair, the other half to Morgan’s ship which lay hidden in a secret cove.’
Cathen was beginning to look angry now. ‘By the living God! My brother was a member of that community. I did not see eye to eye with him but he was my brother. There’ll be vengeance against Ceredigion for this sacrilege.’
‘Let us wait for talk of vengeance until we have seen what happened,’ Eadulf advised. ‘Morgan’s ship, as I say, had arrived and took half of the brethren on board. All twenty-seven members of the community were alive at this point.’
‘Is my brother still alive?’ demanded Cathen.
‘Let me tell this story as best I can,’ insisted Eadulf. ‘Clydog’s major mistake was raiding too early.’
Prince Cathen was shaking his head. ‘In what way was a mistake made? I am not sure I follow this well.’
‘No sooner had Clydog removed the brethren from Llanpadern than first Brother Cyngar and then Idwal arrived and found Llanpadern deserted. There was no sign of an attack on the community. They went off to relay the news of this mystery disappearance. Clydog did not realise this.
‘It was not until the next night that the Hwicce ship, pursuing Morgan, sought shelter in a nearby bay. Nearby, Clydog’s men were watching for its arrival. They had taken seven of their prisoners down to the shore.’
‘Are you going to be able to prove any of this, Saxon?’ interrupted Clydog.
‘Oh, yes.’ Eadulf turned to him with a quick smile. ‘As the Saxon ship anchored, two men came ashore from her. You and your men attacked them and succeeded in taking one of them prisoner. This was an unexpected bonus. You had a real Saxon warrior in your hands.
‘You and your men waited until dawn, hiding nearby. As you hoped or planned, some local people came along and spotted the Saxon ship which then set sail. It was then, Clydog, that you ordered seven of your prisoners to be slaughtered and left on the foreshore. Proof that they had been killed by Saxons was placed by their bodies. Are we correct so far, Clydog?’
The Ceredigion prince was disdainful. ‘You do not need my approbation, Saxon, for your fanciful tale. Where is your proof?’
‘Prince Cathen,’ Fidelma interrupted, speaking to the prince of Dyfed. ‘I wish to make an unusual request. I would like Clydog taken to the back of the court and gagged so that he cannot interfere until I am ready.’
‘That is not legal. .’ protested Cathen.
‘But necessary, I assure you,’ insisted Fidelma, glancing meaningfully to Eadulf who nodded briefly.
