My Lady Judge (21 page)
There was a long silence. Mara felt bewildered, though relieved. Whatever prank Enda, Moylan and Aidan were involved in she would not have expected it to include Roderic, who was a sensible, balanced young man – far too old to have anything to do with these silly adolescents. At least they were safely back from Corcomroe; the king had seen them over there in the morning.
‘What was the message?’ she asked.
Shane hesitated. The corners of his mouth were twitching. He looked at Hugh for help.
‘They wanted us to give a message to Roderic and to pretend that Emer sent it,’ said Hugh.
‘Really, how silly! And what was the message?’ asked Mara.
‘We were to tell him that Emer wanted to meet him down in Poll an Cheoil,’ said Shane.
‘Poll an Cheoil!’ exclaimed Mara. Poll an Cheoil, hole of the
music, was the entrance to a cave that ran underground quite near to the law school.
music, was the entrance to a cave that ran underground quite near to the law school.
‘You see,’ said Hugh earnestly, ‘Enda thinks that either Oscar O’Connor or else Roderic did the murder; he wants to find the truth before the end of the day. That’s what he said. He wants to be the one who will solve this murder investigation.’
‘So he had this plan,’ said Shane. ‘He left a note for Oscar telling him to come to the cave and he put on it:
We know the truth of what happened on the mountain
.
Come to Poll an Cheoil Cave in Ballyconnor North
.’ He stopped and said rather uncertainly, ‘Well, I think that was what it said.’
We know the truth of what happened on the mountain
.
Come to Poll an Cheoil Cave in Ballyconnor North
.’ He stopped and said rather uncertainly, ‘Well, I think that was what it said.’
‘You know the place, down in the cave, the place called the Cauldron? Well, they were going to use that for an interrogation chamber,’ said Hugh.
I told them all never to go down there, thought Mara. She knew exactly where they meant. It was a small, round space only accessible by a sheer drop of about ten feet. She had been down it many times when she was a girl, although her father had forbidden it. She and Dualta used to go there.
‘They were going to entice him down – tell him to go first, and then pull up the ladder and interrogate him and not let him out until he confessed.’
Mara sighed. ‘Were Roderic and Oscar supposed to come at the same time?’ she asked mildly.
‘No,’ said Shane. ‘They were going to do Oscar first. They waited for ages, but Oscar didn’t turn up so they came out and sent us with the message for Roderic.’
‘Aidan was practising Emer’s voice – you know the way that he can get his voice all squeaky sometimes – he was going to lure Roderic down.’
‘And then Aidan was going to escape by moving a stone away from a hole on the other end, and then he was going to tip the
stone back to block it and keep Roderic imprisoned while Enda interrogated him.’
stone back to block it and keep Roderic imprisoned while Enda interrogated him.’
‘And did Roderic go?’
‘Yes, he did,’ said Hugh, giggling openly now. ‘He went red in the face and said nothing, but we hid behind a rock and we saw him go out a few minutes later. He waited until Father Conglach passed by and then he went down the road.’
‘And then we heard the bell for vespers so we raced back,’ finished Shane.
But that was four hours ago, thought Mara. Roderic would have soon realized that it was a boys’ prank and would have gone home once he had been sure that Emer was not there. She thought it unlikely that he would have been deceived, no matter how much Aidan tried to make his rapidly breaking voice sound like Emer’s dulcet tones. So what had kept the boys? Could Oscar have come later on, after all? There had been a terrible note of desperation in that young man’s voice. Could he allow his temper to take over? And could there possibly be some connection between Oscar O’Connor and the O’Kellys? The O’Kellys had caused trouble in Galway; Mara knew that.
The two young boys were staring at her, made uneasy by her long silence, and she tried to make her voice sound reassuring. ‘I’ll just go and fetch them back,’ she said. ‘You stay here. You can have a game of chess or do some study and make sure that you go to bed when Brigid tells you.’
She quickly left the room and crossed over to the kitchen house. ‘Brigid,’ she said. ‘Hugh and Shane told me that Enda, Moylan and Aidan have gone down the cave at the back over there, at Ballyconnor North. They were planning some joke on Roderic to entice him down the Cauldron. I’m just going to fetch them back.’
Brigid made an exasperated sound with her tongue. ‘Those
three are more trouble than a houseful of small children,’ she said. ‘And Cumhal has gone up the mountain to help Eoin MacNamara fetch down some cattle. Do you want to wait until he comes home and he’ll go for them? Or do you want me to go, Brehon? Or we can send one of the men from the farm.’
three are more trouble than a houseful of small children,’ she said. ‘And Cumhal has gone up the mountain to help Eoin MacNamara fetch down some cattle. Do you want to wait until he comes home and he’ll go for them? Or do you want me to go, Brehon? Or we can send one of the men from the farm.’
‘No, no, I’ll go,’ said Mara. ‘A walk will do me good; I’ve been straining my eyes over old documents. I’ll just change my shoes and then I’ll be off. Don’t worry about supper for Enda, Moylan and Aidan; they don’t deserve it. I’ll take the covered lantern in case I need to go down, but they are probably larking around near the entrance. I’ll probably just need to call them.’
There were plenty of footmarks on the damp clay when she arrived. Certainly more than three sets, she thought. Several hobnailed boots, such as the boys wore, but also a smooth leather print. She went down the short, steeply sloping passageway; it was an easy cave to enter, though dangerous further down. All these caves under the Burren were dangerous, her father used to say. It had been a long time since she had gone down there and somehow the small steep-sided hole seemed further from the entrance than she remembered. She stopped for a moment. Everything was very quiet; she had expected to hear boyish shouts and horseplay but perhaps the strange booming noise in the distance masked all other sounds. Funny, she thought, I don’t remember hearing that booming sound before. It’s almost as if this cave leads to the sea. It couldn’t, though. She had lived all of her life within a quarter of a mile of Poll an Cheoil and had never heard that there was a way through it to the sea. On the other hand, its name, hole of the music, probably meant that sounds did come from it from time to time.
Then she stumbled across something on the ground. She raised her lantern, opening one of the small horn windows in order to see better. It was a
sugán
ladder made from rough slats of wood and twisted rope. She recognized it. Moylan and Aidan had made
it last summer. But what was it doing lying on the floor? Surely this was the place where the hole had led down into the Cauldron? She swung the lantern around but the hole did not seem to be there. She was just about to move on when she noticed a long scrape on the wet clay of the passage. Something had been dragged along there, and she could now see what it was. There was a heavy flagstone lying there at the side of the passage. She pushed it with her foot and it moved. She bent down and heaved it aside. A rush of air came up to her. She lifted her lantern and shone it down. Yes, this was the Cauldron. She looked down, but there was no trace of the boys.
sugán
ladder made from rough slats of wood and twisted rope. She recognized it. Moylan and Aidan had made
it last summer. But what was it doing lying on the floor? Surely this was the place where the hole had led down into the Cauldron? She swung the lantern around but the hole did not seem to be there. She was just about to move on when she noticed a long scrape on the wet clay of the passage. Something had been dragged along there, and she could now see what it was. There was a heavy flagstone lying there at the side of the passage. She pushed it with her foot and it moved. She bent down and heaved it aside. A rush of air came up to her. She lifted her lantern and shone it down. Yes, this was the Cauldron. She looked down, but there was no trace of the boys.
Once again, though, there were patterns of footmarks, hobnailed-boot footprints, all over the wet, yellow mud on the floor. She stared at them for a moment. She couldn’t decide whether any men’s footmarks were there. Probably Enda, at least, had feet the size of a man’s. He was a tall boy and Aidan was shooting up fast. There seemed to be no sign of the smooth-soled boot print here. She held up her lantern and shone it down the rest of the passageway, but there were no footmarks further on. The boys had come as far as here, had used the ladder to go down; the damp, smooth mud told that story, but what had happened next?
‘Enda,’ she shouted, and listened to her own voice returning to her, cutting through the continuous booming in the distance.
‘Enda,’ she called again, and then, with increasing desperation: ‘Moylan, Aidan.’ There was no answer. Where could they be? Perhaps they had already left the cave, she thought hopefully, but the memory of that rope ladder lying on the floor and the heavy flagstone sealing the opening chilled her. If they had climbed out surely they would have gone back to the law school, and surely they would have taken the rope ladder with them?
Then Hugh’s words came back to her memory: once Roderic was enticed into the Cauldron, he had said, then Aidan was going
to escape out the other end, block the hole, and join the others on top. There must be another exit. Someone had trapped the boys, whether by malice or for a joke, and her three young scholars were now somewhere deep in the confusing labyrinth of passages that honeycombed these caves. She had no memory of another exit, but it was over twenty years since she had been down here and this soft limestone of the Burren was always decaying and crumbling.
to escape out the other end, block the hole, and join the others on top. There must be another exit. Someone had trapped the boys, whether by malice or for a joke, and her three young scholars were now somewhere deep in the confusing labyrinth of passages that honeycombed these caves. She had no memory of another exit, but it was over twenty years since she had been down here and this soft limestone of the Burren was always decaying and crumbling.
Mara hesitated for a moment; perhaps she should go back and wait for Cumhal. He and some of the other men from the farm could go down with torches and ropes and search for the boys. On the other hand, Cumhal might not come for a while and who knows, the boys could have got tired of the cave and gone elsewhere, planning to retrieve their ladder on the way back. Time meant little to boys of that age; she had learned that through experience.
I’ll just go down and have a look to see if there is another exit first, she thought. If there isn’t, then they must be elsewhere. If there is an exit then I’ll go back and send some men down.
The iron spar that Dualta had driven into the stone of the passageway twenty-four years ago was still there. They had used a rope, not a ladder, she remembered. She remembered also how he had filled the chamber with great armfuls of ferns so that no mud showed on their clothes when they went back to the law school and, despite her worries about Enda, Moylan and Aidan, a grin touched her lips. She hooked the ladder over the iron spar and scrambled down.
The chamber was about the size of a small room and perfectly round in shape as if it had been hollowed out by some giant hand. The roof, thirty feet above her head, was hung with spear-like stalks of petrified limestone. Except for one change, everything
was as she had remembered it; the walls had been smooth and unbroken twenty years ago, but since then there had been a rockfall, and behind a pile of broken stone was a small passageway.
was as she had remembered it; the walls had been smooth and unbroken twenty years ago, but since then there had been a rockfall, and behind a pile of broken stone was a small passageway.
CÁIN ÍARRAITH (THE LAW OF CHILDREN)
The relationship between a
felmacc,
pupil
,
and his master is similar to that of a foster
-
father
, dátan,
and his
dalta,
foster
-
son
. The felmacc
must be taught board games
,
such as
fidchell,
chess
,
and must be instructed in all aspects of the profession of his master
.
The master is responsible for the safety of the
felmacc.
felmacc,
pupil
,
and his master is similar to that of a foster
-
father
, dátan,
and his
dalta,
foster
-
son
. The felmacc
must be taught board games
,
such as
fidchell,
chess
,
and must be instructed in all aspects of the profession of his master
.
The master is responsible for the safety of the
felmacc.
E
NDA,’ CALLED MARA. THERE was no doubt in her mind that the boys had come through this exit from the Cauldron. Smears of wet clay were here and there, and more footmarks from hobnailed boots. The roaring sound was even louder now and her anxiety sharpened. What could it be? Though there were very few rivers on the Burren, there were several in Corcomroe and in Thomond and this sound was the sound of a river in full flood. Perhaps the caves were flooded further down. The caves at Kilcorney flooded on a regular basis after heavy rain.
NDA,’ CALLED MARA. THERE was no doubt in her mind that the boys had come through this exit from the Cauldron. Smears of wet clay were here and there, and more footmarks from hobnailed boots. The roaring sound was even louder now and her anxiety sharpened. What could it be? Though there were very few rivers on the Burren, there were several in Corcomroe and in Thomond and this sound was the sound of a river in full flood. Perhaps the caves were flooded further down. The caves at Kilcorney flooded on a regular basis after heavy rain.
Mara knew that it would be sensible to go back, but her anxiety for the boys made her press onwards. Just a little further,
she told herself, shutting her mind to the realization that she was being impetuous and unwise.
she told herself, shutting her mind to the realization that she was being impetuous and unwise.
Further along, the passageway was more difficult. The rocks on either side were water-worn, their straight sides scalloped into gentle curves, but the stream that had carved its way through them thousands of years ago had been feeble and intermittent, leaving a narrow and twisted channel. She reached the end of it and came to a more open space. This passage forked and her common sense told her that she should go no further without help.
‘Enda!’ she called again, using all the power of her well-trained voice. She did not expect an answer and had turned to go back when suddenly she realized that there had been another sound deep within the booming noise that had been her constant companion. Could it have been a voice?
‘Moylan!’ she screamed. Her father had often told her that the letters ‘m’, ‘p’ and ‘b’ come out with the most force. She should have remembered this and shouted ‘Moylan’ before. It was a far better name to yell than ‘Enda’.
‘Help!’ The word was faint, but it was unmistakable. It came from the left and Mara hesitated no longer. She could not turn back now or wait for Cumhal. The boys might be in danger. However, she could mark her way back. She had enough experience of these caves to know how passageways twisted and turned, and how easy it was to get lost. Like all lawyers, in her pouch she always kept a spool of pink linen tape and a small lump of sealing wax. There was not too much of the tape left; she had given some to Nuala to tie up her woodbine plant and she had used a lot the week before when she had visited Ardal O’Lochlainn and had helped him to sort a chest full of old leases. The documents had all been in an untidy jumble and she had gone through them methodically, rolling, labelling and tying them into neat bundles. However, there was enough tape left for her purpose.
With steady hands she opened the horn window of the
covered lantern, took the sealing wax from her pouch and held it carefully to the flame of the candle. Once it was soft, she squashed it against the rough edge of a protruding rock and dug the edge of the tape into the soft wax with a fingernail. The tape only stretched a couple of feet down the passageway but it would be enough to show her the correct way back. Brigid would instantly despatch Cumhal to Poll an Cheoil Cave as soon as he returned and this tape would show him the way that she had gone.
covered lantern, took the sealing wax from her pouch and held it carefully to the flame of the candle. Once it was soft, she squashed it against the rough edge of a protruding rock and dug the edge of the tape into the soft wax with a fingernail. The tape only stretched a couple of feet down the passageway but it would be enough to show her the correct way back. Brigid would instantly despatch Cumhal to Poll an Cheoil Cave as soon as he returned and this tape would show him the way that she had gone.
‘Moylan,’ she shouted again as she went rapidly down the passageway and this time she distinctly heard the word ‘Help’.
There was no doubt in her mind now that the caves had flooded. The roaring, thundering sound was getting louder every second. It seemed to be coming from beneath her now, although this passageway was extremely wet and small pieces of glistening grass clung to its rough sides. The river from Slieve Elva must have swept along here recently, she thought, with an apprehensive glance over her shoulder. She held her lantern high and then stopped abruptly.
Just a little further from where she was standing, the wall on the right-hand side of the passageway had suddenly disappeared and jagged, broken lumps of rock showed how the river had burst its way through the decayed stone and found another level forty feet lower down. She moved a few feet further on. It was like standing on the side of a mountain and looking down a precipice to the roaring torrent below. For a moment she felt almost dizzy and the noise was so great that it took her another moment to realize that the word ‘Here!’ was coming to her ears.
Mara lifted her lantern and shone it on the craggy wall of the opposite side of the precipice. The three of them were there, only about the width of a room away from her. She could see them quite clearly by the light of her little lantern. They were huddled together on a small ledge and all three were soaking wet, but they
were there and they were alive and there was no possibility that the river could reach them as long as they did not try any heroics.
were there and they were alive and there was no possibility that the river could reach them as long as they did not try any heroics.
There was no possibility of calling any instruction; the noise was far too great, so she just held up her left hand, palm facing them in the way that she trained dogs to stay. She hesitated to leave the boys, but she could not be sure when Cumhal would return. Getting animals down from the mountainside to their summer grazing land in the valleys was always a tricky task; it might take an hour, but it could take three. Once she got back to Cahermacnaghten, she could summon help. All the people of the Burren would turn out to rescue the boys; she knew that she only had to ask. She looked across at them to make sure that they were looking at her, pointed her finger back along the passageway to tell them that she was going back for help and once again held up her hand. Three heads nodded and she felt a little comforted as she turned, going as quickly as she could, back towards the Cauldron.
Then Mara heard a bark. It seemed at first as if it was one of the sounds of the fast-flowing water below, but then it came again; she knew what it was and a rush of gratitude towards Cumhal warmed her. She should have done that. How intelligent of him. He had taken Bran, and Bran would scent his mistress. She need not have bothered with the pink linen tape. Mara moved quickly up the passage. She rounded the corner and then stopped and waited, a smile broadening on her face.
Yes, it was Bran, but it wasn’t Cumhal. Bran was being held by Turlough Donn, King of Thomond, Corcomroe and Burren, and descendant of Brian Boru. And behind him were the two bodyguards, and then Fachtnan, Roderic, and then the company of ten
gallóglaich
, some holding lanterns and some, coils of rope.
gallóglaich
, some holding lanterns and some, coils of rope.
‘My lord,’ said Mara demurely as she patted the ecstatic Bran. ‘This is no place for you.’
‘I can’t allow you out of my sight for a minute,’ grumbled the king. His arms went around her tightly and from over his shoulder Mara could see the
gallóglaich
glance at one another and then look away. There were a few wide grins, but she didn’t care. Suddenly she felt her legs tremble and she had never been so glad to see anyone.
gallóglaich
glance at one another and then look away. There were a few wide grins, but she didn’t care. Suddenly she felt her legs tremble and she had never been so glad to see anyone.
‘Three of my boys are down here,’ she said in his ear. ‘They’re on a ledge above the river.’
He nodded. ‘These lads will get them out; give them something to do. They’re getting bored; there’s not a sight or a sound of an O’Kelly anywhere. I suspect you killed them all off up there on Clerics’ Pass and you’re not telling me. Someone will find the bodies one day and then we’ll have to have a big investigation. Now, let’s see where those boys of yours are. Here’ – he handed her the leash – ‘you’d better take Bran. He has nearly pulled my arm out of its socket. I thought you said he was well trained.’
Mara grinned. They were back to their old good-natured, teasing relationship. For a moment, there in his arms, she had sensed that she wanted something different, but her legs had steadied and she felt in control once more.
‘We’d better talk here as it’s far too noisy to hear anything back there,’ she said, moving away from him and addressing the
gallóglaich
. They straightened up at her cool tone of command and looked at her with immense solemnity. She kept her eyes averted from Turlough, knowing that he would be grinning.
gallóglaich
. They straightened up at her cool tone of command and looked at her with immense solemnity. She kept her eyes averted from Turlough, knowing that he would be grinning.
‘The heavy rain during the past few nights has caused the caves to become flooded,’ she continued. ‘I think the river came down here, probably when the three boys were in this passageway, then burst through some thin rock further on and fell to a level of about forty feet below here. I think that it probably swept the three boys along with it and, by the grace of God, they managed to scramble up on to a ledge. If some of you hold the ropes and a couple of volunteers would drop down into the river you could
probably reach them. There’ll be a flagon of mead to be shared when we are all safely back at Cahermacnaghten.’ She started to lead the way back.
probably reach them. There’ll be a flagon of mead to be shared when we are all safely back at Cahermacnaghten.’ She started to lead the way back.
‘Can the boys swim, Brehon?’ asked one of the
gallóglaich
.
gallóglaich
.
She turned back and nodded. ‘Yes, they are all good swimmers,’ she said. That was something that she always insisted of her scholars, that they all learn to swim, to ride and to climb rocks in safety. Cumhal taught each of them and let her know when they were safe to be allowed out on their own. She was realistic enough to know that young boys would always be adventurous and would always get into various dangerous situations but, rather than lock them up, she gave them the skills to extricate themselves.
There was a buzz of enthusiastic comments and suggestions from the
gallóglaich
, but she pressed on rapidly down the passageway. She would not be easy until she saw that the boys were safe.
gallóglaich
, but she pressed on rapidly down the passageway. She would not be easy until she saw that the boys were safe.
They were still there, however, and now she could see them more clearly by the light of the many lanterns, each of them larger than her own. She drew in a breath of relief. None of the three appeared to have been injured. They would only be wet and very cold.
All the time that the
gallóglaich
were tying the ropes, swimming across the river, clambering on each other’s backs, lowering Enda, Moylan and Aidan down, Mara’s mind was busy. She looked speculatively at Roderic. He didn’t seem as shocked and worried as did Fachtnan, but he looked concerned – normal, she thought. She would have to speak to him and she would do so tonight, but she thought it was fairly unlikely that his were the hands that pulled up the rope from the Cauldron and placed the heavy flagstone over the entrance to the hole. He was a well-balanced, good-natured young man; she had known him since he was two years old. If he had taken the rope away to give them a fright, he would have been back fairly soon to release them.
gallóglaich
were tying the ropes, swimming across the river, clambering on each other’s backs, lowering Enda, Moylan and Aidan down, Mara’s mind was busy. She looked speculatively at Roderic. He didn’t seem as shocked and worried as did Fachtnan, but he looked concerned – normal, she thought. She would have to speak to him and she would do so tonight, but she thought it was fairly unlikely that his were the hands that pulled up the rope from the Cauldron and placed the heavy flagstone over the entrance to the hole. He was a well-balanced, good-natured young man; she had known him since he was two years old. If he had taken the rope away to give them a fright, he would have been back fairly soon to release them.
Once the boys had all been safely hoisted up she resisted an
impulse to hug them all, though Bran made up for it, wagging his tail and licking bare, wet legs. She turned and led the way back down the passageway. No one spoke, even when they had reached a spot where the river’s thunder was muted. The whole procession followed her in respectful silence.
impulse to hug them all, though Bran made up for it, wagging his tail and licking bare, wet legs. She turned and led the way back down the passageway. No one spoke, even when they had reached a spot where the river’s thunder was muted. The whole procession followed her in respectful silence.
When they came to the Cauldron, she stood back.
‘Go straight to school,’ she said severely to the wet trio. ‘Boil yourself some water, have a hot wash and go straight to bed. I will see you in the morning. Fachtnan, will you go with them and make sure they do this? Oh, and Fachtnan, ask Brigid to prepare some hot water and some dry
léinte
so that these men can change. Ask her to get out the flagon of mead, also. Roderic,’ she turned to the young horn player, ‘could you wait for me at Cahermacnaghten? I would like to have a word with you.’ Roderic looked a little bewildered at that, she thought, regarding him keenly. He certainly did not look like a man with a guilty secret.
léinte
so that these men can change. Ask her to get out the flagon of mead, also. Roderic,’ she turned to the young horn player, ‘could you wait for me at Cahermacnaghten? I would like to have a word with you.’ Roderic looked a little bewildered at that, she thought, regarding him keenly. He certainly did not look like a man with a guilty secret.
The boys and the
gallóglaich,
one of them carrying Bran across his shoulders, filed up the ladder in silence, and she waited until they were all gone before turning to find Turlough with an amused smile on his face.
gallóglaich,
one of them carrying Bran across his shoulders, filed up the ladder in silence, and she waited until they were all gone before turning to find Turlough with an amused smile on his face.
‘What will you do to them tomorrow?’ he asked. ‘Hang, draw and quarter them?’
‘No,’ she said lightly. ‘Brehon law does not exact punishment, just confession, repentance and compensation. They will confess; I’m sure that they have already repented; and the only ones hurt by this escapade were themselves. It was just a prank that went wrong.’ Then she told him all about Enda’s idea of extracting a confession.
‘You’re too soft with them,’ said Turlough. ‘They should be at my old school at Emly Abbey. The monks would have flayed them.’
‘Well, the church has never really accepted Brehon laws,’ said
Mara tolerantly. ‘St Patrick did his best to change them to his own liking and Rome has been trying to impose her own laws ever since, especially the laws about “an eye for an eye”, “a death for a death”.’
Mara tolerantly. ‘St Patrick did his best to change them to his own liking and Rome has been trying to impose her own laws ever since, especially the laws about “an eye for an eye”, “a death for a death”.’
Turlough laughed. ‘I suppose Enda and his friends were pretty enterprising to try to solve the murder on their own. So which of them did they hope to get to confess, the horn player or the stone-cutter? ’
Mara shrugged. ‘Knowing Enda, possibly both,’ she said. ‘He is a boy of great ambition and belief in himself.’
‘And why are you going to cross-question young Roderic, then?’
‘Just to see what happened,’ said Mara, seizing the ropes with both hands and climbing swiftly up the ladder. For the moment, she would keep to herself the mystery about the missing ladder and the flagstone, she decided.
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