Read Online Verdict of the Court by Cora Harrison - Free Book Online

murder might be quite difficult to solve. There had been twenty people in the room where the crime was committed, probably nineteen witnesses – and some seven of them were sharp-eyed and sharp-eared children. However, the light was very dim – half of the candles had expired and had not been re-lit, many of the guests had been drinking heavily, the continuous music had meant that dancing broke out from time to time. It was a pity that the hatch to the buttery and to the kitchen had been closed; otherwise Rosta or one of his assistants might have noticed something of importance.
    Shona had even less to say than her father. She had been listening to the pipes, had danced a little, drank a little wine, kept an eye on the twins, who were flying up and down the hall …
    ‘And did you dance with someone?’ interrupted Mara. The tunes that the pipes had played were suitable for solitary dancing as well as couples but she was surprised when Shona said, very firmly, ‘By myself.’
    ‘And did you talk to Enda?’ queried Mara. Directness would work better with this girl, she thought.
    Shona thought about that for a moment and seemed about to deny it, then saw Mara’s expression and turned a shake of the head into a slight nod.
    ‘For a while,’ she said.
    For a long time, thought Mara. She had noticed them again and again, sitting side by side on the window seat at the top of the room, well away from the laden table and quite as private, if they kept their voices down, as though they were in a room of their own.
    ‘And what did you talk about?’ asked Mara.
    ‘That is private,’ said Shona with dignity.
    ‘Nothing is private when it’s a murder investigation,’ said Mara firmly. ‘However, whatever you tell me now will remain private unless it has anything to do with the crime that has been committed.’
    Shona hesitated and then after a minute’s thought, she gave an artificial smile. ‘It was nothing, really. I’m just so sick of the twins listening to everything that I say that I went to a place where they couldn’t stand behind me or creep up on me without my noticing. I really can’t remember what we were talking about. I think it might have been about King Turlough and what a wonderful King he is,’ she said sweetly.
    The bit about the twins is probably true, thought Mara, but she doubted whether either of the young people had wasted their time talking about Turlough when they had the far more interesting subject of themselves to discuss. Still while they were in that position they could not have murdered Brehon MacClancy. But how long had they sat there for – and could one of them moved while the other pretended to talk to someone half-hidden by the half-closed window shutter?
    ‘And did you notice anyone approach Brehon MacClancy?’ asked Mara.
    Shona was on her feet almost before she shook her head, ‘No, Brehon,’ she said firmly.
    ‘Sit down again,’ said Mara. She waited until the girl reluctantly lowered herself onto the stool again before saying, ‘So you were fostered by Brehon MacClancy, is that right? How did you get on with him?’
    ‘Very well,’ said Shona and then rather spoiled the decisiveness of her answer by saying, ‘I didn’t see too much of him, to be honest. His sister looked after us.’
    ‘And the legal business? Who looked after the affairs of Urlan Castle and the lands around when Brehon MacClancy was at Bunratty?’ queried Mara.
    A smile softened Shona’s beautifully cut lips, but she compressed them instantly. ‘His assistant was usually there to deal with anything that came up.’
    ‘I see,’ said Mara. So the ageing Brehon, perhaps jealous of his position, of his relationship with the King, got Enda out of the way on the pretext that he could look after anyone in the Urlan area, about eight miles away from Bunratty. A beautifully wooded area, Mara remembered and guessed that the pair might have had some idyllic times together before Shona’s fosterage