‘Hope the treasure wasn’t a woman,’ I said. ‘The fellow would be a bit stinky after all that time. She might thank him for his patience but say no, thanks.’

‘She might enjoy giving him the long-postponed bath.’

‘If you could smell Bardán, you wouldn’t say that.’ I think about the wild man in his rickety hut, with the rain pouring down and the wind blowing fit to lift the roof off. ‘Don’t understand why they hate him so much. I know he walked off and left the heartwood house half-built. But that might not have been his fault. Sounds like he fell into that other place, the fey place, by accident. And he came back, didn’t he? Came back to finish the job. Which they want him to do. So why treat him like he’s dirt?’ I remember something. ‘Forgot to tell you. Lady Flidais asked if you can keep a special eye on the girl while she’s away. Donagan said.’

‘Cara? She’s here most days anyway. I don’t know how I can keep more of an eye on her than I’m doing already.’

‘Lady Flidais said you could go over there and stay for a bit, if you wanted. Easier to watch over the girl. And . . .’

‘And what? You know how much I’d hate that.’

‘Be safer. With this trouble in the south. Plenty of guards, even with the prince taking a big escort.’

‘With what’s happened at Cloud Hill, I’d have thought it was an appropriate time for Master Tóla to fetch his daughter back home,’ Blackthorn says. ‘But he won’t know about Oran and Flidais going away. Not unless someone’s ridden up there today with the news, and that seems unlikely in this rain. Besides, you would have met them on your way down.’

‘I can tell him what’s happened when I do go back. Won’t be tomorrow. My guess is it’ll stay wet a few days. About the girl. Want me to make myself scarce if she comes over here? Could be hard not to let slip I’ve been working for her father.’

‘If she comes, and if she asks, just tell her the truth. I take it Tóla has no idea you live with the local wise woman. And since he hasn’t visited his daughter since she first came to Winterfalls, he won’t know that Cara’s decided she’d rather spend her time with Emer and me than with Flidais and her ladies.’

‘Only thing is, if I tell her about the heartwood house and Tóla finds out, I could lose the job. And then there’d be nobody to watch over Bardán.’