The Sin Eater(15)

‘You know I no longer have the right to that title,’ said Sheehan, politely.

‘They stripped it from you,’ said Colm.

‘No. I stripped it from myself.’

‘You lost your belief?’ said Declan, curious despite himself.

‘I lost some beliefs. But you didn’t come here to discuss beliefs.’

‘We came to . . . to bring you to account over what you did to my cousin Romilly.’ Declan saw Colm’s eyes flicker as he said this and knew Colm must have heard how brash the words and the tone sounded compared to Sheehan’s soft courtesies.

‘I did nothing to your cousin Romilly. And if I weren’t such a gentleman,’ said Nick Sheehan, thoughtfully, ‘I’d tell you that she went away very disappointed indeed.’

‘You’re saying she seduced you?’ demanded Declan.

‘I’m saying she tried. But I’m a little too old to be lured by sly innocents.’

‘You’re a black-hearted liar,’ said Colm angrily.

‘I promise you I am not. Your waif-like Romilly made it perfectly clear what she wanted. I made it clear I wasn’t interested. I wasn’t especially flattered by the approach,’ said Sheehan and paused to drink more wine. ‘Her real motive was money, of course.’

‘You can’t know what her motives were,’ said Colm.

‘Women usually do want money. Or are you both still too young to know that?’

‘Did you give her any money?’

‘I gave her objects of value that could be turned into money. She forced my hand,’ said Sheehan. ‘She threatened to tell people I had raped her, and I wasn’t prepared to risk that. My solitude – my life here – is important to me. So I gave her more or less what she wanted.’


Anger had spiked into both boys’ minds at the mocking implication that they were too young, but hard on its heels came the memory of Romilly saying, ‘Nicholas Sheehan gave me presents. He said I could sell them.’ Alongside that was the image of her expression and how she had looked at them through her tears as if to assess how they were receiving her story.

Declan said, ‘Did you tell her she was a good and pretty girl?’

‘Is that what she said? No. I told her she was a sly little liar, and she would one day get her just deserts.’

‘I don’t believe you,’ said Colm, but there was a note of doubt in his voice. ‘I think you seduced her and there needs to be a reckoning between us.’

‘What kind of reckoning do you propose?’

‘That you leave Kilglenn for good.’

‘Aren’t you the most dramatic young man ever, Colm Rourke?’ said Sheehan. ‘I’m not leaving this place.’ Something flickered behind his eyes that neither of the boys could identify. He said, ‘And you’ve only Romilly’s word against mine for what happened.’

Colm leaned forward. ‘The legend says you’re a gambling man,’ he said. ‘If that’s right, I see how we can resolve this with honour on both sides.’

‘What had you in mind?’

‘A game of chance. The winner to set the forfeit.’

Sheehan studied him. Then he said, ‘Was it perhaps a game of chess you had in mind?’

With the words something seemed to shiver in the quiet room with its muted light, but Colm said firmly, ‘Yes. Yes, it was.’

‘You know the legend of the chess set?’

‘I know one of them. And I’ll play you for it,’ said Colm. ‘If I win, we’ll agree that you dishonoured my cousin. You’ll leave here for good. And I take the chess set.’

‘And if I win?’

‘I’ll apologize and ensure my cousin doesn’t repeat her story. The chessmen will stay with you.’

‘The chessmen,’ said Sheehan, ‘will go where they choose. You and I won’t have any say in it.’ He frowned, and Declan, eyeing him, thought Sheehan would never agree.

Then Sheehan stood up. ‘Come with me,’ he said.

In the stone entrance hall was a carved screen, which Sheehan moved aside to reveal a small door. There was a flight of stone steps immediately inside, very worn at the centre and leading into pitch darkness.

‘I’ll have to go ahead of you,’ said Sheehan. ‘The room is deep into the ground, and the steps are uneven. There’s hardly any natural light, so I’ll light lamps and you follow me.’

As they stood together at the head of the steps, waiting for the flare of light from below, Declan said in a furious whisper, ‘Colm, you can’t do this.’

‘I can. Didn’t we always vow we’d come up here one day and challenge Sheehan to a chess game and win the devil’s powers off him?’

‘We were children, for pity’s sake. Can you even play chess?’

‘I can,’ said Colm, his jaw set stubbornly.

‘But he’ll trick you.’

‘He will not. He’s all show. No substance.’

‘Yes, but this is the chess set that—’

‘That’s just an old legend and Sheehan probably spread it around to make himself more interesting. So will you shut up?’

‘But—’

‘He’s got the lamps lit,’ said Colm as light flared below them, and he began to descend the steps. After a moment Declan followed.