The Secret of the Seven Crosses
Chapter One
‘It was my grandfather who told me about the treasure of Kilfenora,’ said
Rory, lowering his voice so much that Malachy and Mary had to lean forward to
hear what he was saying. ‘He told me that the monks of Kilfenora Abbey had a
huge store of treasure which they hid, long ago, to keep it safe from raiders,
but that the secret of where it’s hidden has been lost for centuries. It was a
wonderful treasure, he said; it was full of gold coins and jewels and silver and
gold cups, and it was brought here from east in great jars, taller than a man.
The only thing anyone knew about the hiding place, his grandfather told him, was
that the secret was written down in one of the books of Kilfenora abbey.’
Malachy tossed another log on the fire and then looked up, his eyes shining.
‘I might be able to find it,’ he said proudly. ‘I can read. I can read all
the books in the abbey’s Scriptorium. Perhaps I’ll be able to discover the
secret.’
Both Mary and Rory looked at him with astonishment and respect. In
thirteenth-century Ireland, very few people could read.
‘You must be very clever,’ said Mary admiringly.
Malachy smiled at her. He had been a pupil at the abbey since he was five
years old, and during those seven years he had seen hardly any girls - and
certainly not one as pretty as Mary, with her black curls and gentian-blue eyes.
‘It’s easy,’ he said modestly. ‘Now, I could never be a stone-carver
like Rory. I don’t think I’d have the strength.’
Rory and Mary don’t look like brother and sister, Malachy thought. Rory,
though only two years older than Malachy, was almost a foot taller, with broad
shoulders and fair hair and a freckled face, while Mary was tiny and
dark-haired.
Malachy had only met Rory for the first time that day, but it had been an
important day for both of them. Malachy was twelve now, and he had learnt all
that he needed to learn at the abbey school; tomorrow he was to start copying
the wonderful books in the Scriptorium. Rory had arrived to help his master with
the carving of seven stone crosses to be placed around the abbey. From the
moment they had met, the two boys had been friends; and the abbot had said that
they could share a little one-roomed thatched cottage with a central hearth and
a bed of straw on either side. To both of them it seemed a wonderful house; and
to Mary, used to the continual noise and bustle of a big farming family, the
cottage seemed like paradise this wet September afternoon. She was reluctant to
return home.
‘Tell us how you came to Kilfenora, Malachy,’ she said, trying to spin
out the time before she had to leave.
‘Well, my parents died when I was quite young,’ said Malachy. ‘Then,
when I was five years old, our farm at Drumshee was attacked by cattle raiders
and my two brothers were carried away.’
‘How did you escape?’ asked Rory.
‘I stayed hidden,’ said Malachy slowly.
‘That was clever of you, when you were so young,’ said Mary. ‘Where did
you hide?’
Malachy hesitated. This was something which he had kept a secret for the last
seven years. He had not even told Brother Declan, who had had been his friend
and teacher for all that time.
He looked at Mary’s blue eyes and at Rory’s honest face and knew that he
could trust them.
‘I discovered a secret hiding place at Drumshee,’ he said. ‘It was in
the middle of a field that we called the cathair, a place that was all
full of big stones. One day, when I was about four, I crawled underneath a
blackthorn bush and discovered a hole with a flight of stairs going down. At the
bottom of the steps was an underground room, with a passageway leading out into
another field, just beside our well, and our cattle drinking place. I used to
hide there from my brothers whenever they were in a temper with me, and I was
there on the day that the cattle raiders came. I saw everything that happened.’
‘What did you do?’ gasped Mary.
‘Well, I waited until they had long gone, and then I walked across to
Kylemore where my aunt lived. She brought me to Kilfenora and the Brothers kept
me and taught me to read and write, and when I’m fourteen I’ll become one of
them.’
There was a silence, and then Mary began to get to her feet.
‘I’d better be going,’ she said reluctantly. ‘Mother will be
wondering where I got to. I really only meant to walk across with Rory and then
go straight back.’
‘Wait a while,’ said Malachy eagerly. ‘Let’s go on talking about the
treasure. Do you know anything else about it, Rory? What sort of book was the
secret written in? It seems funny that the monks haven’t discovered it. They’re
always reading the books and making copies of them. I’m sure that haven’t
found the treasure because I know they’re quite poor. The abbot told me that
he wants to make the church bigger, but he hasn’t enough money.’
‘Well, I don’t know much about books,’ said Rory hesitantly. ‘The
only thing I do know about, really is carving stone crosses, and I know you can
put somewhere which will mean something else – like a fish means Jesus. Could
it be hidden in some way, like that? It could be a some sort of puzzle.’
‘It could be, perhaps,’ said Malachy slowly. He thought for a minute and
then looked up, his yes shining. ‘Let’s make a promise,’ he said eagerly.
‘We’ll all keep thinking about the treasure, and listening to any stories
about it and looking everywhere, and I’ll look in all the books that I can;
and we’ll discuss anything we find out. And if we do find treasure, we’ll
share it between the three of us. Do you promise?’
‘I promise,’ said Mary softly.
‘I promise to share the treasure of Kilfenora with my fiends Malachy and my
sister Mary,’ said Rory, his half-broken voice sounding deep and strong for
the first few words and then cracking to a squeak which made them all laugh.
‘It was probably because he was laughing so hard that Malachy heard
nothing, or perhaps Rory’s ears were sharper than his; but almost before he
had finished speaking, Rory was off his stool and over to the door. The bottom
half of the door was closed, but the top half had been left open to let in the
air and the light. Rory leaped out and looked down the village street; then,
with a sharp exclamation, he opened the bottom half of the door, darted out, and
was around the corner in a flash.
‘What is it?’ asked Mary
‘Someone must have been listening,’ said Malachy. ‘I hope they didn’t
hear anything.’
Malachy wondered briefly whether he should go and help Rory, but he decided
that there was no point Rory would be able to manage just as well on his own. So
he stayed at the doorway, peering down the wet street and listening for any
sounds.
‘Here comes Rory,’ said Mary after a few minutes. ‘At least he hasn’t
got into a fight,’
Rory was breathing hard. ‘I lost him,’ he said. ‘He ducked into a
house. It was a young fellow, about my age, with a sooty face and a leather
apron.’
‘That was Colm, the blacksmith’s son,’ said Malachy. ‘He’s always
hanging around listening outside doors. He’s quite stupid, really. He doesn’t
understand much.’
‘Do you think he heard?’ asked Mary nervously.
‘I think he probably heard, but it won’t mean much to him. In any case,
he can’t read, and Brother Declan would never let him near a book, so we don’t
need to worry.’
Mary stepped outside the door. ‘I’d better go now,’ she said. ‘Will
you come and see us next Sunday, Rory? Bring Malachy with you and Mother will
make you both a good meal. I’ll come again next week, and I’ll teach you
both how to cook. I’ll weave some cloth to make cushions for the stools, too,
and then you’ll be really comfortable.’
‘We’ll walk back with you,’ said Rory. ‘I want to show Malachy where
our farm is.’
Back to Drumshee Timeline Series booklist
Nuala
& her Secret Wolf (book 1)
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