Behold a Pale Horse

Magister Ado quickly explained and the young lord looked troubled.

‘It is rare that bandits haunt this valley,’ he replied thoughtfully. ‘They usually lie in wait for rich merchants on the old Salt Road and do not enter the Valley of the Trebbia, for such merchants as they seek are few here and they would have to contend with my warriors.’

Brother Faro assured him that he suffered no more than a flesh wound and that he would soon be well. Fidelma wondered whether Magister Ado would make any further explanation or mention the attack in Genua but he seemed content to let the matter rest. ‘It was lucky that Wulfoald and his men arrived at the moment the bandits attacked us,’ he said. ‘He gave us these two warriors to escort us to your fortress, my lord, where we would beg hospitality for tonight.’

‘Hospitality? Of course.’ The blue eyes alighted on Fidelma. ‘And do we have a newcomer to our valley?’ he asked.

‘This is Sister Fidelma of Hibernia.’ Magister Ado performed the introduction. ‘Fidelma, this is Radoald, Lord of Trebbia.’

‘Fidelma of Hibernia?’ The young lord gave her a close scrutiny. ‘Indeed, you have the same fiery red hair, fair skin and strange green eyes that I have seen on some of those I have known from Hibernia. Many from your land have come to join the community of the abbey here. Do you mean to stay with us in our little valley?’

‘I have come only to visit,’ replied Fidelma.

‘Fidelma is a princess from Hibernia,’ Sister Gisa pressed eagerly. ‘Not only that, but she is famous.’

The young lord turned to Sister Gisa with a smile.

‘A princess, and famous, indeed? In what manner famous?’

‘Sister Gisa exaggerates,’ Fidelma said hurriedly.

‘No, I do not. Sister Fidelma is a lawyer in her own land and was recently praised by the Holy Father and his nomenclator. She solved the mystery of the murder of some foreign archbishop which happened in the Lateran Palace.’

Radoald’s eyes widened and then he turned back to Fidelma.

‘Is this so? Did you accomplish this?’

Fidelma shrugged, feeling embarrassed by the praise ofthe young girl. ‘I will not deny that I was able to help in that matter.’

‘Well, well.’ The young man exchanged a glance with Sister Gisa, who seemed so keen on ensuring that the Lord of Trebbia knew who she was. Fidelma had a feeling that some intimacy passed between them. Then she wondered whether she was being too sensitive. She did not like speaking of her rank or, indeed, her past success as a dálaigh, an advocate of the courts of her own land in which she held the degree of anruth, the second highest degree that the colleges could bestow. The young lord was laughing with good humour. ‘Well, indeed, we have no mysterious deaths here that I could ask your assistance with, lady. But allow me to welcome a Hibernian princess into my poor valley.’

‘I am pleased to be here,’ Fidelma replied as diplomacy dictated.

Radoald swung round to extend his smile of welcome to all of them.

‘My roof is your roof for this night, my friends.’ He spread a hand to encircle his hunting party. His companions had already dismounted and were leading their mounts to the edge of the river to slake their thirst. ‘We were hunting for some meat for this evening’s feasting and, having just brought down a red deer, we came here to the riverside so that we might refresh ourselves before returning home. So now you may join us, and my fortress is yours for this night.’

CHAPTER THREE

‘Well, Magister Ado, you must tell us something of your journey to Tolosa,’ Radoald invited after he had finished quenching his thirst from a goatskin water bag that one of his warriors had filled from the river.

Fidelma had been standing by him and noticed an oddly suspicious look come into the elderly scholar’s eyes.

‘How did you know I had been to Tolosa?’ His voice was unnaturally sharp.

Radoald did not appear to notice his tone. ‘You should know that we are a small community in the valley. News travels quickly.’

Magister Ado was frowning. ‘Then you will know that I went to the Abbey of the Blessed Martyr Saturnin to view a manuscript. It was a boring journey but, Deo gratias, it was a short one.’

‘Ah, I wondered at its shortness. It was surely a long way to go, just to return immediately. You could have barely been there for more than a few days.’

‘You are well informed, Lord Radoald.’

‘I try to be, my friend, especially in these days. However, did you see anything untoward on your travels?’

Fidelma listened to the exchange with interest, although she tried to keep her features expressionless.

‘Untoward?’

‘There are constant rumours that the Franks are plotting against us. Even more rumours of their army crossing into our lands in support of Perctarit.’

‘I saw nothing.’

‘Yet I hear that Tolosa is now a city bathed in darkness, stricken by plague, the flight of its population, and even the great basilica fallen into decay.’

‘That is not so, for I stayed several days there and was able to secure the very book I went there to see, the Life of the Blessed Martyr Saturnin, and thus was able to bring it back with me for our great library at Bobium.’

‘Well, then, that is good news.’ Radoald glanced round to check that his men had finished watering their horses, as if his questions had been no more than a passing interest. But Fidelma thought that something lay behind his queries.

‘Who is Perctarit?’ she decided to inquire.

Radoald turned to answer her. ‘He used to be King of the Longobards, a cruel and despotic man who was eventually overthrown and fled for protection to the land of the Franks.’ His tone was serious and he seemed to be fighting some angry emotion. Then he relaxed again and said, ‘We shall not delay here any longer.’

‘Is your fortress far?’ she asked.

‘We will reach it well before sundown.’

‘And is Bobium nearby?’

‘Less than half a day’s ride further on, not much more. Bobium is a beacon of the true faith in these mountains. I am sure you will have many questions to ask about this land, Fidelma of Hibernia, but let us move on to where we canenjoy the fruits of our hunt, sample our local wine and talk of these matters. And, of course, the sooner we are there, the sooner my physician can attend to Brother Faro, although I think little Gisa’s attentions have been enough.’

She followed his nod to where Sister Gisa was sitting next to Brother Faro deep in conversation. From the intimacy of his reference, Fidelma had gathered the impression that Radoald knew Gisa well. How? She supposed that it was a small valley community. Perhaps in that lay the answer.

The young Lord of Trebbia clapped his hands and called for everyone to mount, and it was not long before the party set off. Radoald invited Fidelma to ride alongside him. She soon realised that it was an excuse for him to interrogate her without anyone overhearing.

‘Have you known Magister Ado for long?’ was his opening question.

‘For a few days on this journey, if that is knowing anyone,’ she replied. ‘We met in Genua.’

She felt rather than saw the young lord glance at her before he said: ‘But you knew of him before?’

‘I am a stranger here,’ she said evenly. ‘As Sister Gisa said, I was returning from Rome to my own land when my ship was wrecked. I was some days in Genua looking for a vessel when I met Magister Ado.’ Something made her decide not to offer any details of the meeting. ‘He told me of the Abbey of Bobium and mentioned that Brother