Dancing With Demons

‘I did not know you were up, Brother.’

Eadulf pretended to stifle a yawn as he saw the girl flush guiltily.

‘I have only just risen. I am looking for water to wash. Was there someone else here before me? I thought I heard a voice.’

‘Oh, it was only Brónach. She is in charge of us.’

‘Ah. I don’t think we have met her yet.’

Cnucha shrugged and went on kneading oatmeal. She gestured with her head towards the wash room. ‘The water is heating ready for you.’

‘Thank you.’

Her tone had been dismissive and so the opportunity to develop theconversation was thus lost. Eadulf, with a sigh, accepted it with good grace.

Abbot Colmán arrived, as promised, as they finished their morning meal and took them to the royal residence called Tech Cormaic. It was a large rectangular building of two storeys with several outhouses, standing inside the ramparts of the royal enclosure, well away from the defensive system that surrounded the buildings of the nobles who dwelt at Tara. The High King’s house was built of a variety of woods, but chiefly of oak and yew. The slinntech darach, the overlapping boards of polished oak, which comprised the roof, shone in the morning sun.

The abbot led the way to the massive double doors of thick oak. A guard with a drawn sword resting against his shoulder saluted Abbot Colmán and stood to one side.

‘It would appear that the assassin entered this way in the dead of night,’ explained the abbot as he opened the doors.

‘And these doors are never locked or bolted?’ Eadulf enquired, seeking confirmation of what they had been told the previous night.

The abbot gestured at the ramparts that surrounded the royal enclosure. ‘To get here, one has to come through many guarded gates, and the main gate to the royal enclosure is always bolted and guarded on the inside.’

‘But the assassin did reach here,’ Eadulf pointed out softly.

Abbot Colmán flushed but did not respond.

Fidelma made no comment either as they passed into the dimly lit hall beyond, for there was only one window providing light. This, called a forless, was placed above the door. Its glass panel was thick, opaque, and the light it emitted was little enough. The main light came from pungent-smelling oil lamps.

Again Eadulf pursed his lips thoughtfully. ‘It was a lucky coincidence for the assassin that the guards were not where they should have been, on guard within this hall. They were not here because they had heard a suspicious noise in the kitchen — is that right?’

The abbot nodded.

Eadulf raised his eyebrows a fraction. ‘Perhaps the assassin had more than luck on his side,’ he muttered.

‘We will question these guards when the time comes,’ Fidelma said, smiling acknowledgement at Eadulf for picking up the point. ‘Certainlyit seems that the assassin had exceptional luck. Is there an entrance to the kitchen area from here?’

‘The kitchen is a separate building at the rear. There is a door at the back of the hall and the meals, once cooked, are carried into the High King through it. It is usually locked during the night. The commander of the guard has a key.’ Abbot Colmán hesitated and then pointed up the stairs. ‘From here, the assassin would have gone up these stairs.’

‘Are all the bedchambers above the stair?’ Eadulf asked.

‘Not all. The High King’s apartments are there. There are rooms for his family and for his personal attendants. On this floor, the ground floor, there is a room for the commander of the Fianna, the High King’s bodyguard. When Cenn Faelad stays in the royal house, he has a chamber on this level also. There are rooms for some of the servants here as well. There is a private chamber for the High King’s meetings with his advisers which also serves as a library, a small room for meals when there is no great feasting to preside over, and the remaining rooms are given to storage and bedchambers for the maids.’

‘Very well,’ acknowledged Fidelma, following the layout as the abbot indicated it. ‘So we shall follow the steps of our assassin, through these main doors, across the hall, which is luckily empty of the guard, and up the stairs. Proceed.’

The abbot led the way up the broad wooden staircase and halted on the landing.

‘To the left is the High King’s apartment, through that door. The next door enters into the apartments reserved for his family when they stay here. Needless to say, they are residing elsewhere in the royal enclosure at the moment.’

‘And those other doors?’ Fidelma queried, indicating the ones in the corridor leading to the right off the landing.

‘The far door is the chamber of the High King’s bollscari, Brother Rogallach.’

‘Bollscari? What exactly is the difference between the factotum and yourself?’

‘I deal with administrative matters for the High King whereas the bollscari is in charge of all the domestic servants.’

‘And these servants — who are they?’

‘His personal attendants, three females and three males. I think you have met two of the females for they are attending you in the guesthouse.’

‘What are their normal functions?’

‘They are in charge of cleaning here, one of them is the cook, and so on.’

‘So, only the servants and the commander of the Fianna were staying here that night?’

The abbot hesitated before replying. ‘In the royal house … yes.’

Fidelma noticed the hesitation and immediately asked: ‘You have thought of something?’

‘Nothing of consequence, but perhaps a matter of clarification. You may know that Sechnussach and Gormflaith had three daughters. The youngest are Mumain and Bé Bhail. They were with their mother at Cluain Ioraird that night. I think we overlooked the fact that Muirgel, the eldest daughter, was in Tara.’

‘If I am to conduct a proper investigation I must be in possession of all the facts,’ Fidelma said sharply. ‘You are now certain that Muirgel was in Tara that night?’

‘I believe so.’

‘You believe so?’ she repeated with emphasis.

‘Muirgel is a strong-willed young woman. She does not stay at the Tech Cormaic but I was told in the morning that one of the servants went to her house and she was there. Gormflaith and her daughters have a separate dwelling on the other side of the royal enclosure.’

Fidelma grimaced. ‘We shall talk to Muirgel later. But are you saying that Gormflaith and her daughters do not live in the royal residence? So their apartment would not be in use anyway.’

‘That is so.’

‘Apart from Brother Rogallach, can you name the attendants who were here?’

‘Certainly. There is the High King’s personal cook, Torpach. There is his assistant, Maoláin, and the handyman, Duirnin. Then there are three female servants, the senior being Brónach. You already have met Báine. The other servant girl is Cnucha, a general maid. When the High King had personal or special guests, they also served the guests’ hostel. Only the servants who were here at the time of the assassination have been retained, for usually there are many more attending all the royal enclosure. Chief Barrán decided to set them to work in the other residences. They were all roused by the noise of the discovery that night but saw nothing that would help you, of course.’

Fidelma noted the names carefully in her mind before asking: ‘And these servants have their chambers … where exactly?’

‘The senior members of the staff have chambers on this floor, along the corridor there. The others have chambers on the floor below.’