A Prayer for the Damned

‘Drón saw Sister Marga emerging from Ultán’s chamber and a short time afterwards went there and found Ultán dead. This was before Muirchertach Nár was seen leaving that chamber and proof that the king of Connacht did not kill Ultán. But Drón kept that fact to himself, thus withholding evidence that would have proved Muirchertach’s innocence.’

‘So are you identifying Marga as the murderer?’ Brehon Barrán queried.

Fergus Fanat, sitting close by Blathmac, groaned loudly and held his still bandaged head in his hands. Fidelma did not look to where Sister Marga was sitting, pale-faced but with composed features.

‘Fergus Fanat also saw Sister Marga emerge from Ultán’s chamber and leapt to the same conclusion as Drón. Sister Marga did have good reason to hate Abbot Ultán. Marga had gone to Cill Ria because of her abilities as a scribe and it was while she was on a visit to Ard Stratha that she met and fell in love with Fergus Fanat. Abbot Ultán intervened when she made a request to leave the community. In this case, he himself developed a sexual passion for Marga, a young attractive girl, and he forced her to satiate his needs under what manner of coercion I can leave to your imagination. Sister Marga ended the relationship with Fergus because she felt unclean.

‘She came here hoping for an opportunity to escape Ultán’s clutches. On the night of his death he had summoned her to his chamber and she had no option but to obey. When Fergus Fanat and Drón saw her leaving his chamber, Abbot Ultán was still alive. She did not learn of his death until the next morning. Later that day, she saw her old love, Fergus Fanat, but he made no effort to respond when she tried to speak to him and she thought the relationship was over. Later she went on the boar hunt. It was an attempt to escape to Laigin, away from Drón and his acolyte Sister Sétach to whom I shall return in a moment.

‘As she was doing so, she fell in with Fergus Fanat, who professed that he still loved her. She told him what had happened but Fergus Fanat chose to believe that she was guilty, and not only guilty of Ultán’s murder but later that of Muirchertach.’

‘For what reason would she kill Muirchertach?’ demanded Brehon Barrán.

‘Fergus Fanat thought Muirchertach must have seen her leaving Ultán’s chamber. That he tried to coerce her into helping him against Cill Ria and she had eventually killed him to silence him.’

‘I tried to protect her in spite of her guilt,’ cried Fergus Fanat.

‘This was nonsense,’ snapped Fidelma. ‘Marga was innocent of both crimes. But Fergus Fanat’s love was not sufficient for him to have faith in her. He wanted her, that is true. He announced that he was going to see Blathmac to tell him that she was the killer and ask Blathmac to protect her for his sake. This Fergus Fanat had the makings of a martyr! Can you imagine Marga’s mortification, her feelings, at this pronouncement? A man claiming to love her but not believing in her innocence? What could she do?’

Fergus Fanat had risen angrily. ‘What did she do?’ he cried shrilly. ‘You know well what she did. I went to see Blathmac and I was just outside his chamber door when she came up behind me and hit me over the head, trying to silence me. Then she fled from this fortress.’

‘That is not so,’ replied Fidelma calmly. ‘You went down the corridor, passing one of the alcoves in which, you told me, you saw no one. It was after you passed by this alcove that you said you were struck over the head. Your assailant could only have been hiding on the ledge outside. You agree that you did not see the assailant?’

‘I told you I heard the rustle of her clothes and I identified her by the perfume that I smelled as she came up behind me.’

‘You told me that you detected the odour of lavender.’ She took a vial from her cíorbholg and handed it to Caol. ‘Let Fergus Fanat smell that.’

Reluctantly, Fergus did so.

‘Was that the odour that you perceived?’

‘It is not.’

‘But that is the perfume that Marga always wears — and it is honey-suckle. I am afraid you must learn to distinguish your scents, Fergus Fanat.’

‘I know the odour. .’

‘It is Sister Sétach who uses lavender and she does so for medicinal reasons. It was pointed out that she had difficulty sleeping and therefore used lavender as a means of relaxing into sleep. Brother Conchobhar will tell you of the medical properties in this connection. It was Sister Sétach who tried to stop you. She and Drón desperately wanted to take Marga back to Cill Ria.’

‘Why?’ demanded Brehon Barrán.

‘When I put that question to Brother Dr6n, he put forward the feeble excuse that it was to have her punished under the Penitentials, as practised in Cill Ria, which would bring down harsher penalties than our law. If Fergus Fanat told Blathmac that he thought she was guilty of these murders then their plan would be upset.

‘Marga had been so distressed that she told Sétach what Fergus Fanat was about to do. She then fled the fortress. Sétach told Brother Drón, who went after her. But this time he was misled by Ordwulf’s attempt to entice him into an ambush. It was left to Sétach to prevent Fergus Fanat from telling Blathmac. But Fergus was mistaken in identifying Marga as his attacker just as he was wrong in accusing Marga of the murders. And just as Drón and Sétach were also wrong in believing that Marga had killed Ultán and Muirchertach.’

‘This is a tangled skein, Fidelma,’ Brehon Barrán said. ‘You say that Brother Drón’s reason for seeking to hide the fact that he thought Marga guilty of these murders and take her back to Cill Ria was simply to bring her into harsher punishment? I find that a very weak reason.’

‘I also said that I found it feeble. It was the mystery that almost prevented me from looking for the real murderer.’

‘How is it explained?’

Fidelma turned to where Sister Sétach was now quietly sobbing. ‘Eadulf found the answer, perhaps unwittingly. Drón asked Sister Sétach to go to Ultán’s room after his murder and retrieve something. When Eadulf and I found her there she claimed she was trying to retrieve his belongings as holy relics to return to Cill Ria. In fact, she wanted to remove the documents in his trunk. Records of Ultán’s embassy to get the religious leaders of the five kingdoms to recognise Ard Macha as the primatial seat.’

Brother Drón had sunk in his chair with a despairing moan.

‘Among the documents was a copy of a work in Latin — the Liber Angeli — which tells of the miraculous appearance to the Blessed Patrick of an angel announcing that Ard Macha should hold supreme authority over the churches and monasteries of the five kingdoms. That book was used to good effect in persuading some of the abbots and bishops to recognise the claims of Ard Macha.’

Fidelma glanced to Abbot Ségdae of Imleach. ‘Tell Brehon Barrán what you told me before we entered the hall.’

Abbot Ségdae rose. ‘Simple enough. Ultán and Drón, when they made their demands at Imleach, tried to use the Liber Angeli, the Book of the Angel, to persuade me to give Ard Macha recognition. But I had been in Ard Macha on a pilgrimage many years ago and this book was not then known. My steward, Brother Madagan, and I refused to let it sway our consideration.’

‘And with just cause,’ added Fidelma. ‘The proof that this book was a forgery was in the papers in Abbot Ultán’s box which Drón wanted so badly to get his hands on. This Liber Angeli was written but a short time ago. It did not exist when Abbot Ségdae was visiting Ard Macha, nor were stories handed down before that time of any visitation from the celestial world. The book is a collection of claims by various northern churchmen combining to argue that Ard Macha should be recognised as the central authority of the Faith in these kingdoms. The scribe who, under Abbot Ultán’s authority, was forced to compile these stories was Sister Marga.’

Brehon Barrán turned to the girl.

‘Is this true?’ he asked sternly.

‘I wrote merely what I was told,’ Sister Marga confessed. ‘Abbot Ultán knew I wrote a fair hand. I told Sister Fidelma as much. I did not realise the story was entirely untruth. I thought they were some old traditions that I was putting down.’

‘So now we see why, if Ard Macha’s campaign for recognition was to succeed, those documents and,