‘Then what?’ Radoald demanded. ‘What had you to do with it?’
‘Because of me, Brother Ruadán’s death had to be brought forward. He had to be killed before he could talk to me. He was smothered to prevent that. It was then I made my first mistake. Instead of keeping my own counsel, I thought I could trust the scriptor Brother Eolann because he was from my own kingdom and spoke my language. A silly, arrogant mistake. I mentioned to him that Brother Ruadán had spoken of coins. Brother Eolann was a clever person, and being part of this plot, he sought to distract me by preparing a false trail, providing me with false clues about the Aurum Tolosa — the gold of Servillius Caepio. He persuaded his fellow conspirators that he could keep me busy running after shadows until I eventually decided to leave. Maybe I do him an injustice. Perhaps he did it to prevent his partners from killing me also.’
‘But you did not leave,’ pointed out Radoald.
‘Worse. Still in my arrogance, I asked Brother Eolann to be my translator when I went to see Hawisa, the mother of Wamba. Brother Eolann was put in a difficult position. But the person controlling him suggested to Brother Eolann a cunning ruse. He told him to go with me and translate what Hawisa had to say in such a way that it increased my suspicions about Wulfoald and the abbot.’
‘But he knew he would eventually be found out, giving this false information,’ put in Aistulf.
‘Maybe he thought that the conspiracy would be over by the time it came out. Or maybe he was told to get rid of me on the mountain. On reflection, I suspect he might have attempted to kill me by leading me to a dangerous place where I could have fallen to my death. However, he did nothave the heart to let this happen and saved me from falling. Perhaps Brother Eolann was not so evil, after all.’
‘But he had the heart to kill the small boy, Wamba, and old Brother Ruadán,’ objected Wulfoald.
‘I do not believe that was Brother Eolann. I think it was those with whom he was in the plot — his fellow conspirators. But he was possessed of a devious mind. Not killing me brought about another idea in his head: he knew we were going to spend the night in the sanctuary on Mount Pénas. I was surprised when Brother Eolann built a large fire. He made an excuse that it would be cold. It was not. But the fire attracted, as he had hoped, the warriors of the Lord of Vars. The next morning we were captured.
‘His plan was to leave me as a prisoner of Grasulf. However, Brother Eolann was unable to see Grasulf until he arrived back from a boar hunt the following morning. He doubtless told Grasulf what was going on. As prisoners, I noticed a slight change in his attitude. He had already lost interest in books through which he was trying to mislead me. I found a copy of the same book that he claimed pages had been cut from. At Vars the page was intact. I pointed this out but he was not particularly interested. That made me suspicious. What Brother Eolann had not counted on was that we would be rescued by Suidur.’
‘You say that Brother Eolann was just one of the conspirators — but why?’ Aistulf asked. ‘He was a stranger, an Hibernian like yourself.’
Fidelma suppressed a sigh. ‘That is why I had no suspicion. He told me he had come from my country to the Abbey of Gall and then from there he had spent two years or so in Mailand. It did not register with me that it was in that city that Perctarit ruled. When Perctarit was forced to flee, BrotherEolann came to Bobium with two other conspirators, determined to prepare the way for Perctarit’s return to his kingdom.’
‘But Brother Eolann’s motive?’
‘The same one you ascribed wrongly to Magister Ado. Eolann was a staunch defender of the Nicene Creed. So was Perctarit — and perhaps that was reason enough to cause Brother Eolann to support Perctarit against the Arian, Grimoald.’
‘So why was Brother Eolann killed, if he was one of these plotters?’ asked Suidur.
‘Because, having confronted Wulfoald, who I wrongly thought had been lying to me, I asked Brother Eolann to come and bear witness when I went with Wulfoald to see Hawisa. Brother Eolann told the other conspirators. He was advised to stage a fall so that he could not accompany us and be found to be a liar. At the same time, to ensure the truth did not come out, one of them went by night to Hawisa’s cabin. He killed the old woman, and set fire to the cabin.’
‘The rider on the pale horse?’ queried Wulfoald.
‘Indeed. A pale horse just like your horse. When Brother Eolann learned this, it was his turn to make a mistake. He was responsible for condemning Abbot Servillius.’
‘How?’ demanded Wulfoald. ‘True, the abbot was at Hawisa’s cabin that day to offer some compensation for the coin Wamba brought to the abbey, but the abbot would not know any more about the conspiracy when confronted by Brother Eolann’s mistranslation.’
‘When we were looking for Brother Eolann, Venerable Ionas said, “I have not seen him since he said he was going to the abbot to make confession”. Venerable Ionas, not knowing the circumstances, thought he meant the usual confession which is part of the custom here. But Brother Eolann’s confessionwas of the part he had played in this conspiracy, because that voice of conscience was hard to stifle in him even for his belief. Whether he told his fellow plotter or whether that person overheard the confession, both men were condemned to die.’
‘So Abbot Servillius and Brother Eolann were killed by the same person?’
‘That is my assessment,’ confirmed Fidelma. ‘Wulfoald has just informed us that there is now movement. I believe that the agents of Perctarit are about to hand over the gold to Grasulf and that he will soon make a descent on this valley with his men.’
‘My sentinels have already reported that Grasulf’s men have been arming and moving along the Staffel River,’ Wulfoald confirmed.
‘It means that Perctarit’s army is ready to move from Mailand to meet Grimoald.’ Aistulf’s expression was grim.
‘Importantly for us, it means Grasulf is heading into this valley,’ Wulfoald responded.
‘That is true.’ Fidelma gave a weary nod. ‘The gold is at the abbey where the agent of Perctarit hid it. Venerable Ionas and I saw it in its hiding place.’
‘In the abbey? Are you sure?’ Aistulf demanded.
‘It was hidden in the necropolis — in the new tomb being built for the Abbot Bobolen.’
Sister Gisa’s face had suddenly paled. She was staring at Fidelma with wide, bright eyes.
‘Poor Brother Ruadán tried to tell me where he had found the gold,’ went on Fidelma. ‘He mentioned about evil being disguised in a mausoleum. I thought he meant something about corpses. He meant that it was where he had found gold coins. Maybe they had been dropped outside when the wagon was being put into the tomb. Something made him checkinside. The wagon had obviously been brought there during the building of the sepulchre, disguised as one of the wagons filled with marble.’
‘Did no one notice it being placed there?’ demanded Radoald. ‘What of the workmen?’
‘They were undoubtedly Perctarit’s men,’ Fidelma pointed out.
‘But a member of the abbey was in charge,’ Wulfoald observed quietly. ‘And it was not Brother Eolann.’