Read Online Chain of Evidence by Cora Harrison - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Cora Harrison
Ads: Link
leg so that they go a certain distance but can’t stray and cause trouble. What do you think, Brehon?’
‘It’s in our laws,’ explained Fiona to Stephen. ‘We feel that the care of a mad person devolves onto the kin group. They must take it in turn to care for him, or her. They are then responsible for the lunatic’s actions and must tie them up if they can’t supervise them for a short period of time. A person may be excused for being late to a court hearing if he has to delay in order to tie up a lunatic. Let me explain to you the law about lunatics—’
‘I believe,’ said Stephen, clasping his head with mock horror, ‘that I will leave you now.’ He got to his feet after wiping his pen clean and replacing it, his ink horn and his notebook into his satchel. ‘I think that I will ride up to Carron and see what’s going on. I feel that I am suffering from an overload of information about Brehon law and its complexities. My studies of the law at Cambridge never seemed to offer so many difficulties.’
‘That’s a compliment, coming from a race that called Brehon law a set of rules for savages,’ said Mara with a smile and she escorted him to the gate of the enclosure and saw him leave – with a sigh of relief. She would prefer him not to be here when Turlough came back. Turlough was very indiscreet and Mara did not want the remarks that her husband would undoubtedly make about this cattle raid to be carried back to O’Donnell’s ears and to King Henry in England. The English, Mara thought, needed to be dealt with warily, treated with courtesy but kept at arm’s length.
‘What about this death, Brehon? Are we going to discuss this?’ Aidan, despite the fact that he would face his final examinations in June, was eager for a change from routine.
‘Only when we know more,’ said Mara firmly. If it truly were the body of Garrett, she thought as she allocated tasks to her scholars, then why did not Slaney send a message to her – or had she already returned to Galway, perhaps she had planned a flight before her shame of being set aside by her husband could be made public in the Burren.
‘I don’t think that either Maol MacNamara, the steward, or Brennan MacNamara, the cowman, were at the Bealtaine Festival yesterday evening,’ said Aidan addressing his words to the air and then burying his nose in
Audacht Morainn,
a seventh-century text on kingship. ‘I just thought that you might like to know that, Brehon,’ he added hastily.
‘I think that we will have half an hour of silent study,’ said Mara turning the slimmest of the three sand glasses on its head. She had trained herself not to speculate until facts were before her and she would be doing her scholars an injustice if she encouraged them to conjecture before more was known. She took from the locked wooden press an enormous leather-bound book which contained notes on cases heard on judgement day. This book had been started over fifty years ago by her father who was then Brehon of the Burren and Mara, in her turn, faithfully recorded all her decisions. Now, with a faint sigh, she settled down to write up yesterday’s cases. If it were true that the dead body was that of the chieftain of the MacNamara clan, then the most interesting case, that of Garrett’s recognition of Peadar, his declaration that Rhona was to be his wife of second degree and his possible demand for a divorce from Slaney, would now never be heard.
Rhona, she thought and got to her feet. ‘Fachtnan, I will be back in five minutes,’ she said as she went through the door. How could she have forgotten about her other two guests? Had they heard the news? she wondered, as she hurried across the courtyard to the guesthouse.
Before she reached it Rhona with Peadar behind her came out through the door. One glance at the woman’s face told Mara that the news had reached her.
‘I wonder would you be kind enough to lend me a couple of ponies, Brehon,’ she began as soon
‘It’s in our laws,’ explained Fiona to Stephen. ‘We feel that the care of a mad person devolves onto the kin group. They must take it in turn to care for him, or her. They are then responsible for the lunatic’s actions and must tie them up if they can’t supervise them for a short period of time. A person may be excused for being late to a court hearing if he has to delay in order to tie up a lunatic. Let me explain to you the law about lunatics—’
‘I believe,’ said Stephen, clasping his head with mock horror, ‘that I will leave you now.’ He got to his feet after wiping his pen clean and replacing it, his ink horn and his notebook into his satchel. ‘I think that I will ride up to Carron and see what’s going on. I feel that I am suffering from an overload of information about Brehon law and its complexities. My studies of the law at Cambridge never seemed to offer so many difficulties.’
‘That’s a compliment, coming from a race that called Brehon law a set of rules for savages,’ said Mara with a smile and she escorted him to the gate of the enclosure and saw him leave – with a sigh of relief. She would prefer him not to be here when Turlough came back. Turlough was very indiscreet and Mara did not want the remarks that her husband would undoubtedly make about this cattle raid to be carried back to O’Donnell’s ears and to King Henry in England. The English, Mara thought, needed to be dealt with warily, treated with courtesy but kept at arm’s length.
‘What about this death, Brehon? Are we going to discuss this?’ Aidan, despite the fact that he would face his final examinations in June, was eager for a change from routine.
‘Only when we know more,’ said Mara firmly. If it truly were the body of Garrett, she thought as she allocated tasks to her scholars, then why did not Slaney send a message to her – or had she already returned to Galway, perhaps she had planned a flight before her shame of being set aside by her husband could be made public in the Burren.
‘I don’t think that either Maol MacNamara, the steward, or Brennan MacNamara, the cowman, were at the Bealtaine Festival yesterday evening,’ said Aidan addressing his words to the air and then burying his nose in
Audacht Morainn,
a seventh-century text on kingship. ‘I just thought that you might like to know that, Brehon,’ he added hastily.
‘I think that we will have half an hour of silent study,’ said Mara turning the slimmest of the three sand glasses on its head. She had trained herself not to speculate until facts were before her and she would be doing her scholars an injustice if she encouraged them to conjecture before more was known. She took from the locked wooden press an enormous leather-bound book which contained notes on cases heard on judgement day. This book had been started over fifty years ago by her father who was then Brehon of the Burren and Mara, in her turn, faithfully recorded all her decisions. Now, with a faint sigh, she settled down to write up yesterday’s cases. If it were true that the dead body was that of the chieftain of the MacNamara clan, then the most interesting case, that of Garrett’s recognition of Peadar, his declaration that Rhona was to be his wife of second degree and his possible demand for a divorce from Slaney, would now never be heard.
Rhona, she thought and got to her feet. ‘Fachtnan, I will be back in five minutes,’ she said as she went through the door. How could she have forgotten about her other two guests? Had they heard the news? she wondered, as she hurried across the courtyard to the guesthouse.
Before she reached it Rhona with Peadar behind her came out through the door. One glance at the woman’s face told Mara that the news had reached her.
‘I wonder would you be kind enough to lend me a couple of ponies, Brehon,’ she began as soon
Similar Books
