The Council of the Cursed sf-19 Page 6

  Fidelma glanced across to Abbot Ségdae who had remained silent during this time.

  ‘And this is what you also wish?’ she asked him.

  Abbot Ségdae bowed his head in agreement.

  ‘It is the only just way that I can think of in order to end the dissension which has held up the council during this last week. I think that your brother, the King, would support me in this for, as you know, the matter has repercussions between his kingdom and that of the north.’

  Eadulf did not look happy.

  ‘There are many uncertainties in this matter,’ he pointed out.

  ‘Which are?’ demanded Bishop Leodegar.

  ‘Firstly, this matter is over a week old. Doubtless, Abbot Dabhóc has been buried…?’

  ‘Of course, as is custom,’ replied the bishop.

  ‘So we are unable to see for ourselves what the wound was, how it could have been delivered, how the body lay on the floor and so on.’

  Bishop Leodegar looked surprised. ‘Why is that necessary?’

  ‘Perhaps not necessary but helpful,’ interposed Fidelma. ‘What we are hearing is that, when everything is pared away and we get down to the basic facts, you have two men, bitter enemies to one another, and we must judge which one of them is telling the truth.’

  ‘Or which one is telling the lies,’ added Eadulf.

  Bishop Leodegar sat back, eyes narrowed. ‘Are you saying that this is impossible to judge?’

  ‘Impossibilium nulla obligatio est,’ Fidelma replied philosophically. ‘If I thought it impossible I would not even be discussing it. We are merely pointing out the difficulties.’

  ‘So you will undertake it?’ pressed Bishop Leodegar.

  ‘We will do so,’ she replied after a slight pause.

  The man seemed to relax in relief. ‘Then it is agreed?’

  ‘Do we have freedom to question all those whom we deem it necessary to question?’ asked Fidelma. ‘Do I have that authority from you?’

  The bishop looked puzzled. ‘But you only need to question Ordgar and Cadfan.’

  Fidelma shook her head. ‘You sound as though you have prejudged matters, Bishop Leodegar. We will not prejudge-not even when it appears a simple choice between one or another. If you want us to proceed then it will be under the conditions that I stipulate or not at all.’

  A slight look of annoyance crossed the bishop’s face.

  Abbot Ségdae cleared his throat noisily.

  ‘We realise that you do things differently here, Bishop Leodegar,’ he said hastily. ‘However, in our lands we have a legal system which allows our advocates certain freedoms when they investigate.’

  Bishop Leodegar regarded him thoughtfully for a few moments.

  ‘I have already said that I am prepared to waive the Rule of this abbey to allow Fidelma access to where no women are allowed.’

  ‘And I have agreed to be circumspect,’ replied Fidelma firmly, ‘but it is the authority to investigate as I would do in my own country under my own law system that I need. I know no other way of undertaking this task.’

  ‘I have heard of your laws and methods from travelling religious from your lands,’ the bishop said after some thought. Then, as if making up his mind, he squared his shoulders and said, ‘Very well. I see no reason to restrain you in this matter. I give you those freedoms.’

  ‘And to Brother Eadulf,’ added Fidelma brightly. ‘Remember, Eadulf is a gerefa of his own people, a magistrate of the Saxon laws.’

  ‘That I understand, which is why I said that Eadulf will be seen as unbiased in the matter of Bishop Ordgar. These facts should be made known to the community because it will enforce the authority of your findings. I give you full and free permission to question whom you wish on this matter. I will announce this at evening prayers. I only ask that your resolution be quick so that the delegates may be satisfied. Clotaire, who is our King, will be arriving here soon to give this council his royal approval. It would benefit all of us if the matter were resolved by the time of his arrival.’

  ‘There are no guarantees in life, save only one-that we are all going to die at some time,’ responded Fidelma. ‘We will do our best to solve this matter, but we cannot guarantee a resolution by a certain time. Is it agreed?’

  Bishop Leodegar raised his hands as if the matter were now beyond him.

  ‘Very well,’ Fidelma rejoined. ‘Let us begin with a few questions to you.’

  The bishop looked at her in surprise. ‘Questions to me?’

  ‘Of course,’ went on Fidelma, unperturbed at his astonishment. The Frankish bishop was obviously not used to being questioned. ‘Who was it who discovered the body and the state of affairs that existed in Bishop Ordgar’s chamber?’

  ‘It was Brother Sigeric,’ volunteered the steward Brother Chilperic, who had sat in silence until that moment.

  ‘Ah, Brother Sigeric. And who is he?’

  ‘One of the scribes.’

  ‘We shall need to speak with him, of course. Is he available?’

  Brother Chilperic nodded briefly.

  ‘Excellent. What was the name of the physician who examined the body-and was it the same person who checked the wound of Abbot Cadfan and also examined Bishop Ordgar?’

  ‘Brother Gebicca is the physician,’ replied Brother Chilperic.

  ‘And now,’ Fidelma turned back to Bishop Leodegar, ‘tell us about your role in this matter?’

  ‘My role?’ Bishop Leodegar was puzzled.

  ‘Perhaps I have chosen the wrong word. I am told that Abbot Ségdae was awoken by a request to attend in Ordgar’s chamber. When he arrived, he found that you were already there. How did that come to be?’

  ‘Brother Sigeric roused me first,’ explained the bishop. ‘He told me there had been an accident and I was to come immediately.’

  ‘In what circumstances did this Brother Sigeric rouse you?’

  ‘It would be best to tell the story as fully as you can,’ intervened Eadulf. ‘Presumably, you were asleep in your quarters?’

  ‘I had meant to retire after the midnight prayers,’ Bishop Leodegar began. ‘That is my custom. I was particularly tired that night as I had dined with a local nobleman who was visiting the abbey and he had been much the worse for our local wine. However, just as I was retiring, Bishop Ordgar came to my chambers. He wished to complain further about Abbot Cadfan. He was with me some time before I could get rid of him. He was very angry about the behaviour of the Briton that evening. I told him that this was a council in which all representatives must be treated with latitude. After he left me, I fell asleep until I became aware of Brother Sigeric shaking me. It was not then dawn. However, it was that point of darkness just before dawn when you can hear the birds stirring and crying to one another as they sense the approach of light.’

  He paused and Eadulf prompted: ‘Go on.’

  ‘It is as I said. Brother Sigeric urged me to put on my robe and come to Bishop Ordgar’s chamber. He said there had been a bad accident.’

  ‘Did he describe what sort of accident or how he had discovered it?’

  ‘Not at that time, but later he said…’

  Fidelma raised a hand. ‘We will speak to Brother Sigeric himself on that matter. Let us concentrate on what you did at the time.’

  Bishop Leodegar hesitated a moment and then continued, ‘I followed him as he asked me to. Brother Sigeric was in an agitated state and so I did not pursue him with questions at that time. I entered Ordgar’s chamber…’

  ‘Was there a light it in?’ Fidelma asked quickly.

  Bishop Leodegar nodded. ‘A candle was burning.’

  ‘So you could see the interior quite plainly?’

  ‘I could see that there appeared to be two bodies there and that Bishop Ordgar was slumped on his bed, groaning.’

  ‘Did he say anything as you entered?

  ‘He seemed to be in pain, and mumbling. He was clearly not himself.’

  ‘And you saw the body?’

  ‘I
immediately noticed Abbot Cadfan who lay stretched on the floor beside the bed. There was light enough to see blood on the back of his skull.’

  ‘You could see blood by the candlelight?’ queried Eadulf.

  Brother Leodegar frowned. ‘Yes…’ He realised what Eadulf was asking. ‘Well, I could see some dark, sticky stuff-and, of course, it turned out to be blood.’

  Eadulf smiled in approval. ‘Was he conscious?’

  ‘No, and he did not revive until he was carried back to his own chamber.’ He paused, then realising that more was expected of him, went on, ‘I was about to bend down to him when I saw the body of Abbot Dabhóc. I called to Brother Sigeric to rouse my steward. I also told Sigeric to fetch our physician, Brother Gebicca. I went to Bishop Ordgar to see if I could administer to him, but it was as if he was intoxicated. He was mumbling nonsensical things.’

  ‘Did he smell of wine or beer?’ asked Fidelma.

  ‘There was an aura of stale wine about him,’ admitted the bishop.

  ‘And then?’

  ‘Then Brother Gebicca arrived and soon after, Brother Chilperic. When Gebicca pronounced that Abbot Dabhóc was dead, that a blow from behind had crushed his skull, I knew that I should advise Abbot Ségdae, as the senior cleric from your land. I sent Brother Sigeric to rouse him.’

  ‘And all the time Cadfan lay unconscious while Ordgar was in a state of intoxication?’ put in Fidelma.

  ‘We did not neglect Cadfan,’ he replied. ‘Brother Gebicca examined him and it was decided to take him back to his chamber where it took a day or so for him to recover fully. We also removed Ordgar to a nearby chamber. When I finally questioned Ordgar, he said he had taken wine as was his custom before retiring and knew no more until he awoke sick and dizzy. He was aware of the people in his chamber but could not say what was happening until he recovered. He thought, at first, that he had been made ill by bad wine-but when I told him what had occurred in his chamber, he believed that Cadfan had tried to poison him.’

  ‘So, according to Ordgar, why had Dabhóc been killed by Cadfan?’ asked Eadulf.

  ‘Ordgar claimed that Dabhóc must have interrupted Cadfan’s attempt to kill him and paid with his life.’

  ‘And Cadfan’s wound? How did he explain that?’

  ‘Ordgar believed it was either administered by Dabhóc before Cadfan killed him or even by Cadfan himself.’

  ‘A self-inflicted wound that rendered Cadfan unconscious for a day?’ Eadulf looked cynical. ‘That is hardly a self-administered blow, and if inflicted by another person, would not have allowed the killing of that person before unconsciousness.’

  Fidelma shot him a look of disapproval for being so open with his thoughts.

  ‘We may pursue such matters when we question Ordgar and Cadfan,’ she said. ‘I presume that you also questioned Cadfan? What was his version of this story?’

  ‘He told me that someone had slipped a note under his door, knocked and run off before he could open it. The note told him to go to Ordgar’s chamber at once as there was some urgency. He came to the chamber, found the door ajar, knocked and a voice bade him enter. He recalled nothing except a sharp pain on the back of the head until he recovered consciousness a day or so later.’

  For a while Fidelma said nothing, sitting head slightly forward with her eyes focused on the middle distance.

  ‘A strange tale indeed,’ she said at last. ‘Abbot Ségdae has informed us that Ordgar and Cadfan are confined to their chambers until the matter of the responsibility is resolved.’

  ‘That is true.’

  ‘And presumably both are outraged by their confinement?’

  ‘As you can imagine,’ conceded Bishop Leodegar. ‘But what other course of action can I take?’

  ‘And how is this suspicion and confinement received by the delegates to this council?’ asked Eadulf. ‘You have spoken of the tensions. Is anyone taking sides?’

  Bishop Leodegar gave a bark of cynical laughter.

  ‘They would not be human if they did not. The Saxons and some of our Franks support Ordgar. The Britons, Gauls and Armoricans denounce Ordgar and demand the release of Cadfan. Those clerics from Hibernia call down a plague on both houses and demand reparation for the death of the representative of the bishop of Ard Macha. So what am I to do?’

  Fidelma stood up abruptly, so abruptly that she caused some surprise. She glanced though the tall windows at the darkening day.

  ‘You are following the right path,’ she declared. ‘You may announce what we are doing at evening prayers. Tomorrow morning we will start in earnest upon this quest and begin by speaking with Brother Sigeric. I presume the chamber where it happened is now empty?’

  Bishop Leodegar nodded. ‘As I said, we removed Ordgar to a more secure room.’

  ‘Then we will visit the original chamber after we have seen Brother Sigeric.’

  ‘I will ensure that all is ready for you.’ Bishop Leodegar became more assertive. ‘I only hope that you are both as clever at solving conundrums as Abbot Ségdae has assured me that you are.’

  ‘That will be for you to judge, Leodegar of Autun,’ Fidelma replied quietly. ‘Eadulf and I can only do what is in our power to do, and trust the riddle is one that can be solved.’

  Chapter Four

  Fidelma and Eadulf were awakened just before dawn by the sound of singing. Eadulf lay for a while trying to adjust to the unfamiliar music. It was Fidelma who recognised it.

  ‘It must be the matutinae laude-the gathering for morning praise. I have heard that in Rome. It seems some of these abbeys sing Psalms to greet the dawn.’

  Eadulf groaned. ‘I hope we are not expected to adopt these ways while we are staying here. I am often told that I am tone deaf.’

  ‘You will recall that our arrival, after so long a journey, has excused us from attending this morning’s prayers,’ Fidelma replied cheerfully. ‘Nonetheless, it is dawn and perhaps we should wash and be ready for the day.’

  It was wise advice, for no sooner had they finished than Brother Chilperic knocked at their door carrying a tray of fruit, bread and cheese with which to break their fast. He seemed to read the question in Fidelma’s eyes as he set the tray on the small table.

  ‘The bishop thought it might save some embarrassment on this first day to allow you to break your fast here in the hospitia. Abbot Ségdae will speak with you about meals in the refectory. You will appreciate that our refectory is not used to the presence of women.’

  ‘You do not have to explain,’ Eadulf said, helping himself to a piece of fruit. ‘But I wonder who would be embarrassed if Fidelma walked in?’ he added mischievously as he bit into the fruit with relish. His eyes widened appreciatively as he munched on the juicy pulpy mass. ‘I have not tasted the like of this for a while. What is it?’

  ‘Malum Persica, Brother Eadulf,’ replied Brother Chilperic. Then he added: ‘The bishop thought I could wait and, after you have breakfasted, conduct you to the chamber where the killing took place.’

  ‘We are ready to commence the day’s task once we have done so,’ Fidelma replied, as she took a similar piece of fruit to that which Eadulf was enjoying. ‘What was it that you called this-a Persian apple?’ she asked, as she tasted it gingerly.

  ‘Yes, that is correct,’ confirmed the steward.

  ‘It is very soft and sweet. Do you buy them from Persian merchants?’

  Brother Chilperic shook his head. ‘Some centuries ago, when the Romans conquered this land, they brought with them seeds of this fruit and planted them. The abbey gardens grow a fine crop. Thank you, but I have eaten,’ he added when Eadulf pushed the bowl of fruit in his direction.

  ‘Well,’ Eadulf smiled as he finished and wiped his mouth, ‘the earth did not tremble last night when Bishop Leodegar announced that a woman would be stalking the corridor and halls of this abbey?’

  Brother Chilperic was uncertain how to take his humour.

  ‘The Rule of the bishop has only been in force a year,’ he explained.
‘We were not always segregated from women but, like many another religious community, this was a mixed house. Many here still have wives and even children in the adjoining Domus Femini-wives we had to put from us if we wished to continue as religious here.’

  Fidelma raised an eyebrow. ‘Put from you?’ she queried.

  ‘Declare before God and the bishop that we no longer recognised our marriage vows because God had the greater calling on us,’ confirmed Brother Chilperic.

  ‘And what would have happened had you not done so?’

  ‘We would have had to leave and seek another place. But many communities in Burgundia…in Austrasia and Neustria are rejecting mixed houses, so where could we go? This is our land.’

  ‘Would going further west have been so bad?’

  Brother Chilperic seemed suddenly gloomy. ‘Many of us, men and women, are of this city. This is where we have been born, brought up and belong. Many of us in this community, that is. We are the sons and daughters of former brothers and sisters of the community. There is no option but to obey this order.’

  Fidelma was shocked. ‘No option? How is that?’

  ‘Bishops are all-powerful. Many are temporal princes, not just men of God. They have to be obeyed.’

  ‘Bishops such as Leodegar?’

  Brother Chilperic seemed reluctant to admit it.

  ‘Has this been reported to Rome?’ asked Eadulf, aghast.

  ‘I fear that Rome would care little about it. Rome now sees itself as a temporal power set up to govern not just the morality of the princes of the former empire but to demand tribute from them. That is why Rome does not like the western churches. The constant arguments between your own churches and Rome have gone on for some time now.’

  Fidelma regarded him with interest. ‘And did you put your own wife away from you?’ she asked unexpectedly, using his phraseology.

  The young man flushed. ‘I…I have no wife,’ he muttered. He rose. ‘Perhaps it is time to start the examination?’

  Eadulf glanced at Fidelma with an expression that indicated he felt it best to avoid further conversation in that area.