David Gemmell – Rigante 3 – Ravenheart

‘No, I am Ramus.’

‘Course you are. Stupid of me. Don’t ever get old, Ramus.’ He looked around. ‘Why am I here? Don’t see none of my stuff. I wish the priest was here. Need to talk to him. Put things right. Because it wasn’t my fault, and I could do nothing. It was all over by the time I got there, you see. Bothersome, though.’

‘What is bothersome to you, my friend?’

‘Best not to say. Best not. How is the old pony?’

‘She is well. Rest a little. Gather your strength.’

‘There’s apples in the orchard. I’ll fill you a sack. They’ll only go bad otherwise.’

Ramus felt a weight of sorrow on his soul. He had heard only yesterday that Maldrak had been moved to Bramble Field. A young retainer had called at the apothecary’s to collect the balms needed by the Moidart. Ramus had asked about Maldrak. ‘He’s gone, sir. He’d started acting odd, you know. And he stank something terrible. Bramble Field is the best place for him. He’ll get food and medicine and stuff.’

There was no food here. This was a place for the discarded; somewhere to die out of sight and out of mind. It was rare for Ramus to feel anger, and even now it was tinged with sadness and disappointment. ‘Are you the priest?’ asked Maldrak. ‘I need a priest.’

‘Yes, I am the priest,’ said Ramus sadly.

‘I have sins, you know. I haven’t been a good man. But I want to see my wife again, you know. I don’t want the Gates shut on me.’

‘They won’t be shut,’ promised Ramus.

‘I couldn’t have done nothing. When he killed her I was downstairs. I wasn’t supposed to be, you see. He’d told us all to take the night off, and go into town. But I didn’t. It was raining and I had on my old boots, and they leaked. I came back to change them. That’s when I heard her scream.’

‘Who screamed?’

‘His wife, Rayena. Lovely girl. It was only a few days after the birth. She was still recovering. I thought she was just – you know -in pain. I was by the stairs and I saw him on the upper landing. He come out of the bedroom and there was blood on him. He didn’t see me. Then I saw he had something stuck into his belly, low down. He dragged it out and flung it away. It was a pair of scissors. She’d obviously stabbed him as he strangled her. I ducked down. Didn’t want him to see me. For years I’ve been wondering whether I could have saved her if I’d run upstairs when I first heard the scream. And then later I thought I should have gone to the captain and told him what I’d seen. But I didn’t. Is that a sin?’

‘Why did you not report the crime?’

‘I was frightened. Would you like something to drink, sir? A little wine, or something?’

‘No, I am fine. Who was the killer?’

‘The Moidart. Most of the servants knew Rayena had been seeing the highland boy, Lanovar Ring. The Moidart found out. Don’t know who told him. He hunted Lanovar down and killed him. Then he waited until his wife had the child, and he killed her too. When I got out of the house I just ran down to town. Didn’t care my feet were wet. I sat in the tavern and said nothing to nobody. He was bleeding bad when I left, so I thought he’d probably be dead when I got back. But he wasn’t. Then word went round that assassins had come and killed the wife and stabbed the lord. I didn’t say nothing then either. Then when little Gaise was a few weeks old and his eyes changed colour I thought the lord would kill him too.’

Ramus was puzzled. All babies were born with blue eyes, the natural colour appearing later. But why should Gaise Macon’s peculiar green and gold eyes have put him in danger? The portrait of the Moidart’s grandmother showed she had such eyes.

‘Did you know Lanovar Ring?’ he asked Maldrak.

‘Met him once or twice. Fine-looking man.’