‘If that were true,’ Blackthorn said, and the gentle tone of her voice scared Cara, ‘the story about Suanach going away to give birth, I mean, you would have been a tiny babe in arms when you came home. And you might indeed have needed a wet-nurse. But I’ve heard, from someone who was present at the time, that on the day you arrived home you were starting to walk. That suggests to me a child getting on for a year old.’

‘No.’ What was Mistress Blackthorn saying, that Cara was not her parents’ daughter at all? That she had been switched with the builder’s daughter? ‘You mean that wild man? You’re saying he is my father? That can’t be true!’ She grasped at a possible lifeline. ‘Anyway, didn’t that baby die?’

‘That’s how the story goes, yes. They say he took her from the house and went out into the forest and abandoned her. But the only people who ever saw her body were your father and Gormán. I’m sorry, Cara. This is a lot for you to take in.’

Ah. It was all right after all. ‘Gormán wouldn’t tell a lie,’ Cara said. ‘If he said that baby died it must be true. And my father wouldn’t lie.’ Your whole life is a lie. ‘Why would he?’

‘Only he could tell you that. I could put forward a theory, but it’s best if I don’t. In a matter as sensitive as this we need to stick to facts. Cara, experience has taught me that people do strange things for love, and these are two men who love you dearly. Both your father and Gormán want the best for you. They want to keep you safe, and perhaps shielding you from this story is part of that. You are Master Tóla’s only child and heir to a considerable holding. You have wealth, security, a good future ahead. You have people who care about you. Many folk would say it was foolish to risk that.’

Cara felt sick. She couldn’t take it all in. This had to be wrong. She knew she was her father’s daughter, she just knew it. You’re a pretender, pretender, pretender. ‘If this was right, I wouldn’t – the forest, the trees – I couldn’t –’

Blackthorn came over to sit beside her. She put her arm around Cara’s shoulders. ‘You need time to think about all this,’ she said. ‘It’s for you to choose what to do about it after that. You may decide to ignore the whole thing. You may discount it as wild speculation. I’m sure that’s what your father would want. He would be angry if he knew I had discovered this, and even more furious if he knew I had passed it on to you.’