The Leper's Bell by Peter Tremayne Read Free Book Online Page B

and returning him to our care.’
    The king inclined his head in silence for a moment.
    ‘Go then you must,’ he sighed. He glanced quickly at Fidelma. ‘You do not look well.’
    The beginning of an angry frown crossed her face and then she carefully controlled her expression.
    ‘There is nothing wrong that some sleep or simple relaxation will not cure. Have no concern for me, brother. I have vented my emotion and am now in control, and will remain in control until I have come to a resolution of this matter.’ She looked quickly at Eadulf, almost in reproof, before turning back to her brother. ‘Whatever you have heard, I am capable of investigating this matter. My mind is now clear and ordered. My feelings are restrained until such time as I can indulge them.’
    Colgú hesitated and then shrugged.
    ‘Very well. But there are many aspects of this matter that give me concern and you need a clear mind to consider them.’
    Fidelma examined her brother with a frown.
    ‘Then there is something worrying you? I do not simply mean your immediate concern for Alchú. Something else worries you.’
    ‘I think Brehon Dathal can be a fool at times,’ Colgú said unexpectedly.
    Fidelma could not repress a quick grimace. ‘Have you only just reached such a conclusion?’
    Colgú almost smiled. ‘I begin to think he is growing more eccentric as he ages. However, in truth, sister, I fear that this is some extraordinaryplot either against you personally or against our house in general. Why, or who is behind it, I cannot guess at the moment. I think that you both share my feeling - this is neither an infant being randomly snatched by someone wanting a child, as Dathal fondly believes, nor, apparently, a means to some financial recompense.’
    Fidelma looked thoughtfully at her brother. ‘I thought that I was alone in that view.’
    Eadulf compressed his lips in annoyance at being excluded. ‘You will remember that I pointed this out when Brehon Dathal was—’
    ‘The point is,’ cut in Colgú, ‘that you have both made enemies, both within and without this kingdom. There are many who might like to seek revenge on you.’
    ‘I think we are well aware of it,’ Eadulf said softly. ‘I would say that anyone engaged in the enforcement of law is open to those who nurse grudges. You cannot gain the reputation that Fidelma has without creating enemies - and often in high places.’
    ‘This is true,’ agreed the king. ‘But there are other areas from which danger might come, and not just from enemies that you have made in your pursuit of the law. Enemies with a personal grudge. You should consider these as well.’
    Fidelma’s eyes narrowed dangerously. ‘I presume that you mean danger from those who object to my liaison with a foreigner?’ she demanded.
    Colgú shot an apologetic look at Eadulf and shrugged.
    ‘Do not take this the wrong way, Eadulf, but we must examine all possibilities. Fidelma is of the royal house of the Eóghanacht, a daughter of a king and a sister of a king. Do you know what this means to us, Eadulf? Not just to our family, but to those of our culture?’
    Eadulf’s jaw rose a little. He spoke coldly.
    ‘In my own land, Colgú, the lineage of our Saxon kings is held sacred. Each king of the Angles and the Saxons traces his descent from one or other of the seven sons of Woden. Many Angles and Saxons still believe in the divinity of Woden, chief of the raven clan, the All-Father of our people. My people have worshipped Woden from time immemorial, whereas the New Faith has only been accepted among us for a generation or so, far less in many places.’
    Colgú smiled at the soft tone of belligerent pride in Eadulf’s voice.
    ‘Then you will appreciate it when I tell you that the Eóghanacht trace their lineage back to the beginning of time. Our bards, the Keepers ofthe Word, hail me as the ninety-sixth direct generation from the loins of Adam, the eightieth generation from Gaedheal Glas, son of