‘So, will you speak to her? If there’s something wrong, your expert eye may be able to discover what it is.’

‘I’ll try, of course. But if she doesn’t talk to you, she’s unlikely to unburden herself to me. I’m hardly known for my warmth and tact.’

‘Ah,’ said Flidais. ‘But in this instance, your somewhat blunt approach may be just what is needed. You might surprise her into speaking up.’

‘Is there anything at all that she likes doing? Is she ever happy?’

Flidais gave a wry smile. ‘She’s calmer out of doors. When we can’t find her, the garden is the first place we go searching. Or somewhere out on the farm.’

‘Doing what?’

‘Walking. Riding. Climbing trees. Always on her own.’

‘Perhaps that’s what she’s used to at home.’ Although Cara’s father did not sound the type to let his daughter run free.

‘Wolf Glen is quite a prosperous holding. They run sheep and cattle, and Tóla sells timber for building. Since Cara is the only child, I suppose it may all be her responsibility one day. He may be after a wealthy husband for her. Someone who can keep it all going when he’s no longer there. I can’t see Cara as a landholder in her own right. She seems quite unworldly-wise, even for a fifteen-year-old.’

‘Either way, if Deirdre is not back soon I’ll have to talk to the girl another time. I said I’d go over to Silverlake today to check on a very sick old woman; sick enough that I don’t want to leave it until tomorrow.’

Flidais was all apologies. ‘Of course you must go, Blackthorn. Cara can wait.’

‘She could ride over to Dreamer’s Wood to visit us,’ I suggested, picking up my healer’s bag. ‘Emer is there most mornings. Cara might find it easier to talk to someone closer to her own age.’ I had promised to teach my young assistant a certain difficult decoction on her next visit. If Grim did not have work that took him elsewhere, I would also fit in a writing lesson for the two of them. That could wait until Cara was gone. Emer might be able to concentrate with an audience, but I was sure the presence of a stranger, even if she was a fifteen-year-old girl, would drive everything he had learned right out of Grim’s head. And I wanted him to succeed. I wanted it even more than he did.