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have?’ asked Cian quietly.
    Murchad smiled thinly. ‘We are not a warship, Brother Cian. Our defence will lie in our seamanship and the luck of the de—’ He suddenly recalled that he was addressing a group of religieux. ‘And the protection of the hand of God.’
    ‘What if luck and seamanship are not enough?’ queried Brother Tola. ‘Are your crew armed and ready to fight in our defence?’
    Cian’s features broke into a scornful expression.
    ‘What, Brother Tola? Are you asking others to die in your defence while you stand quietly by?’ It was clear that Cian had no time for his fellow religieux.

    ‘And are you suggesting that I take up the sword instead of the cross?’ Brother Tola leant forward, turning red around his neck.
    ‘Why not?’ replied Cian calmly. Fidelma had heard that cold sneering tone before and she shivered slightly. ‘Peter did in the Garden of Gethsemane.’
    ‘I am a religieux, not a warrior,’ protested Brother Tola.
    ‘Then perhaps you should be content to be defended by the crucifix,’ taunted Cian. ‘You should not demand that warriors defend you.’
    Murchad glanced at Fidelma and she detected a smile of amusement on his features. Then the captain was holding up his hands like a priest bestowing a blessing on the company.
    ‘My friends,’ Murchad said pacifyingly. ‘There is no need for discord among you. I have no wish to alarm you, but it is my duty to set out the possibilities so that none of you is surprised by any eventuality. If we are so unlucky as to encounter sea raiders, perhaps you will pray so that a power greater than the sword may aid us. After all, that is what you teach, is it not? These raiders tend to keep close to the main ports along the coasts. Our course should take us well away from such dangerous areas …’
    ‘Except?’ It was Cian who prompted Murchad.
    ‘We will put ashore at an island called Ushant, which lies off the west coast of the land that used to be called Armorica – that which is now known as “Little Britain”. It is in those waters that raiders could lie in wait. They could also be found in the approaches to the coast of Iberia. Those might well be the areas where we stand in danger of attack. But I doubt it. The odds make it very unlikely.’
    ‘Have you ever been attacked by pirates, Murchad?’ asked Fidelma quietly, for the captain seemed so sure of himself.
    He nodded solemnly.
    ‘Twice,’ he affirmed. ‘Twice in all the years that I have sailed these waters.’
    ‘Yet you seem to have survived,’ she pointed out for the benefit of her new companions.
    ‘Indeed.’ Murchad shot her a look of gratitude for emphasising the point. ‘Two encounters in all the voyages that I have made, and that number is not an inconsiderable one, will show you that such encounters are possible but not probable. We are more likely to encounter storms than pirates. But, if we do have such an encounter, it is my duty as captain to warn you that you must stay clear of my men and allow them to do their work so that we may be able to escape.’
    ‘Perhaps you will tell us what happened during the two times you were attacked?’ Brother Tola scowled at Cian while he addressed the
captain. ‘It could not have been so bad, otherwise, as the Sister,’ he inclined his head towards Fidelma, ‘points out, you would not be here now.’
    Murchad chuckled appreciatively.
    ‘Well, once I outsailed the raider.’
    ‘And the second time?’ prompted Sister Crella nervously.
    The corners of the captain’s mouth turned down in a humorous grimace. ‘He caught me.’
    There was a bemused silence before Murchad, realising that his passengers did not share his humour, decided to explain.
    ‘Finding an empty ship, without goods and without passengers, for I was on a journey from one port to another to pick up my cargo, the pirate decided to allow me to continue on my way. It was not worth his time to destroy my ship when I might pick up a rich cargo