‘And which way did the attackers go?’
Coric pointed north but slightly to the east of the direction from which they had come.
‘Once more, I assure you that this is no deed of Brilhag,’ cried Bleidbara. ‘I am going in pursuit of these raiders and will prove to you and your people that I am right.’
Coric and his fellows said nothing. Neither did they drop their weapons nor did they raise them. They stood unsmiling as Bleidbara turned his horse and signalled to his men to follow. As they rode quickly back across the hill in the direction Coric had indicated, Bleidbara quickly recounted the conversation to Eadulf.
‘Then these must be the same men who attacked Riwanon,’ Eadulf said unnecessarily. ‘Where would they be heading to in this direction?’
‘This way is the oratory.’
‘Could they have landed from this ship you call
‘That is exactly what I fear,’ agreed Bleidbara. ‘They have such a head start on us that they may vanish out onto the waters of Morbihan again.’
‘But they are on horseback,’ objected Eadulf.
‘Ah,’ Bleidbara smiled brightly, ‘that is true. I was almost forgetting. They must keep their horses somewhere if they are conducting raids like this.’
It seemed little time passed before they came within sight of the small stone oratory.
Immediately Bleidbara halted the band and, without any words being exchanged, Boric slid from his horse and moved quickly forward. It was obvious to Eadulf that these men had worked together before and did not have to waste time exchanging orders.
The first task was to ensure that no one was in hiding in or around the oratory, and when all was clear, Boric bent to the ground checking the area around the grey stone building. Then he moved towards the nearby shoreline and down to the embankment. While Eadulf was impatient, Bleidbara sat leaning forward, resting on the pommel of his saddle. It was almost as if he was nodding in a doze but the half-shut eyes were still bright, watchful and wary of their surroundings.
Boric reappeared and waved them forward.
As they dismounted, he spoke rapidly to Bleidbara.
‘Several horses and riders have been here. It’s difficult to tell how many. The most recent group halted and some men dismounted. Four riders took the riderless horses and moved on northwards.’
‘How can you possibly know that?’ wondered Eadulf.
Boric smiled patiently, then enlightened him. ‘The earth always tells the story. Some horses came here; the depth of their imprint measures their weight. When they left, in that direction,’ he pointed, ‘only four of the horses impressed the ground with the same weight. The others were light. Then we found marks of boots, heavy shod of the type warriors wear. The wearers of these went down to the embankment and seem to have boarded a boat drawn up on the shore.’
‘Probably they went to join their friends on the ship,’ Bleidbara explained grimly.
Eadulf had to admit that the tracker knew his business well.
‘And those that continued on?’ he asked. ‘Where would they go to?’
Boric shrugged. ‘The only way to know that would be to follow them.’
Bleidbara was now all in favour of pushing on. He pointed out that Fidelma had wanted the attackers followed to their lair.
‘What is the point of coming this far, only to turn back?’ he pressed.
‘But the sea raider, this
‘It might be that in following those that continued on land, we will find out where their secret harbour is,’ Bleidbara said.
‘How so?’
‘Why wouldn’t they all try to escape to the sea, if escaping they were? I think they also have a camp on land and that is where they stable their horses for these attacks. In that place, we may also find the harbour that shelters their ship.’
Eadulf thought carefully. ‘There is something in that logic,’ he agreed.
‘You sound doubtful?’
‘It’s just that I am wondering why we have not found the bodies of the slain bodyguards of Riwanon and her maidservant Ceingar?’
‘Perhaps we missed them,’ Bleidbara replied.
‘Or they could have been made prisoners,’ suggested Boric.
‘The answer is to follow and find out for ourselves.’ Bleidbara’s tone was determined.
With a reluctant sigh, Eadulf conceded to the warrior. He still felt uneasy, however, and worse still, remained unsure what it was that Fidelma had expected him to see.
Chapter Sixteen
There was an air of nervous expectation in the fortress of Brilhag. A warrior had retrieved the carcass of Macliau’s little dog Albiorix from the pigpen at Barbatil’s farmstead. Macliau, clearly stricken with a grief that Fidelma found surprising, had insisted on personally digging a little grave in the gardens of the fortress, observed only by Trifina and Fidelma. He had said nothing to them or they to him. After Macliau had interred his dog, he had retired to his chamber with a flagon of wine, moody and uncommunicative.
‘Does Iuna know Budic?’ Fidelma asked, as Trifina accompanied her slowly back to the great hall.
The other woman glanced at her in surprise. ‘I don’t think so. What makes you ask?’
‘I just had a feeling,’ Fidelma replied. ‘Had Budic visited Brilhag before? I thought Riwanon said she had been to the Abbey of Gildas in the past. I thought they might have met then.’
Trifina shook her head. ‘That was a long time ago, before Riwanon married Alain. Budic has never been here. However…’
Fidelma raised an eyebrow. ‘However?’
‘Iuna has accompanied my father a few times to the court of Alain Hir in Brekilien.’
‘I thought Brekilien was a forest?’
‘So it is, but within it is the location of the royal court, near the Abbey Pempont, which King Judicael founded some years before his death. It is our great religious and royal centre.’
At this point, Trifina bade Fidelma farewell and retired to her own chamber. Fidelma herself went on to the great hall, but found only two occupants. At the far end of the hall, Riwanon and Budic were standing together before the fire locked in earnest conversation. What caused Fidelma to stop in surprise was the proximity of their bodies to one another; too close for the normal relationship between a Queen and the commander of her bodyguard. Budic was very close, staring down into the upturned face of Riwanon. Their voices were low and urgent.
Fidelma closed the door behind her, perhaps with a little more force than necessary, and the two sprang apart.
‘Fidelma.’ Riwanon forced a smile. ‘Any news?’
‘Bleidbara has not returned yet,’ Fidelma said, moving forward to the fire. Although it was summer, the great hall seemed cold. ‘And Macliau has just buried his dog.’
Budic sniffed disparagingly.
‘Do you still think him innocent?’ There was the familiar sneer in his voice.
‘It matters not what I think,’ replied Fidelma. ‘It is what the
‘It is no justice when one has to wait so long for it,’ replied Budic. ‘He should have been tried at once.’
‘I did not think it was your law to try someone without a qualified judge present? No one, surely, should be tried by an emotional mob.’
Budic was about to respond but then he merely shrugged and moved away to sink in a chair before the fire.
