‘Unused to mingling with folk. Unable to pretend. A little too honest for certain company. No more than that.’ What had got him so wound up all of a sudden? ‘Those things are part of your daughter’s charm, Master Tóla. She is still very young. If you were to ask my advice, I would say, don’t push her too hard. Don’t test her beyond what she is ready for.’

‘That is none of your concern.’

‘Then I will say no more on the matter. Was there something you needed to ask me? Some reason you knocked on my door, beyond wanting to blame me for your daughter running away?’

We stared at each other for a little. His lips were held tight over what were most likely angry words. I wished I was better at thinking before I spoke.

‘I shouldn’t –’

‘Believe me –’

We spoke together, fell silent together. Then Tóla said, ‘Believe me, I act with only one thing in mind: Cara’s welfare. My daughter is very dear to me, Mistress Blackthorn. Dearer than anything in the world. Her mother was devoted to her. When my wife was on her deathbed, I promised her I would keep Cara safe. I will hold to that promise all my life, and if my actions offend some, so be it.’

When he spoke like that, from the heart, it became possible to feel a small amount of sympathy for the man. His love for Cara sounded deep and sincere. It didn’t make him any less of an arrogant bully. ‘Your wife died when Cara was a baby, didn’t she?’

‘Cara was just under a year old when I lost Suanach, yes. My daughter does not remember her mother at all. But that loss has left its mark on her. Her wildness of character, her . . . her oddities of speech and behaviour must be largely down to growing up without her mother to guide and shape her development.’

It was not for me to point out that the aunt, who had been there since early days according to Grim’s account, should have been entirely capable of taking the role of mother, especially if the child had been too small at the time of that loss to remember her real mother for long. In a well-to-do household like Tóla’s there would have been any number of maidservants willing to help with a baby girl.

Something was nagging at my mind, something that did not quite fit. Something about babies, children, folk helping . . .

‘I’ve explained to Cara, this time, why I need her to stay away from home,’ Tóla said. ‘There is no need to keep that from her when you see her. I am happy for her to visit you here. Or, if you have the opportunity, for you to visit her at Prince Oran’s stronghold. I had thought to consult you in your capacity as a . . .’ He hesitated.

‘Healer?’