Chalice of Blood by Peter Tremayne Page A

of study and apprenticeship, as in all arts and crafts,’ pointed out Glassán in an almost defensive manner. ‘There is a lot of responsibility in superintending the construction of these buildings, and one has to be a master in many different things, stonemasonry, carpentry …’ He suddenly shot a condescending look at his quiet companion. ‘Thankfully, Saor here takes many onerous tasks from my shoulders. He is my chief assistant.’
    ‘But if you are building in stone, surely you need stonemasons rather than carpenters,’ queried Gormán.
    Saor’s chin came up defensively and he spoke for the first time. ‘Even with stone work, wooden frames must be made and carpentry must be employed,’ he announced with a tone of annoyance.
    ‘Of course.’ Glassán smiled, regaining the conversation. It was clear that he was enthusiastic about his craft and not loath to expand on the problems and skill that faced him and the rest of his team of workmen. As master builder, Glassán was provided with accommodation in the guesthouse, while his assistant and his workmen lived outside the abbey, along the river bank, in a collection of huts they had erected for the purpose. For the rest of the meal he continued to talk of the problems of replacing some of the wooden structures of the abbey with buildings of stone. He had a habit of talking in a low droning tone, almost without stopping, so that there was little dialogue.
    Gormán’s expression quickly took on a slightly glazed look, as if he had shut off his mind from Glassán’s interminable details and technical explanations. Throughout, the thin-faced Saor, sat in almost moody silence, apart from one or two muttered comments. At the end of the meal, Fidelma and Eadulf rose hurriedly, thankful to be able to escape.

    Outside her chamber, in the tech-oíged , or guesthouse, Fidelma turned apologetically to Eadulf.
    ‘I did not mean to embarrass you earlier about our accommodation, ’ she said softly. ‘But there are many things we must discuss in case we fall back into old habits which are no good for either of us.’
    ‘I understand,’ Eadulf agreed. ‘I realise that it is your brother who is trying to mend fences; it was not your doing to bring me back to Cashel.’
    ‘It is not that I regret his interference, Eadulf,’ Fidelma said quickly. ‘I welcome it as a means whereby we might try to rebuild our relationship on a better footing. I am firm in my resolve to pursue the course I have set myself. I would be a hypocrite to do otherwise. How that will square with whatever else must be taken into consideration … well, we must talk more clearly when there are no other problems to distract our thoughts.’
    ‘Agreed,’ Eadulf replied with a smile. ‘Let us give our minds completely to the current problem.’
    She answered his smile. Then said, ‘Gormán made a good point this evening.’
    ‘You mean his ability to switch off his mind while our builder friend was chattering on,’ Eadulf observed wryly. ‘I swear the man did not even pause to eat his food, yet his plate was clean at the end of the meal. How did he talk and eat at the same time?’
    ‘That is not what I meant.’ She laughed. ‘I meant the point he made about the abbey being rich to embark on all this new building work.’
    ‘That observation was made before. Many communities are building and expanding. Why not Lios Mór?’
    ‘As you know, Lios Mór was only established a little over
thirty years ago, Eadulf. It was levelled and fenced in with the members of the community building it with their own hands. They sought no help from outside. The material was the timber from the surrounding woods. The community have barely had time to establish themselves, let alone start to rebuild from stone.’
    ‘I have seen many communities in the Five Kingdoms putting up buildings of stone,’ Eadulf pointed out.
    ‘Usually in the west where stone is more easily accessible than wood,’ replied Fidelma.