‘I believe all those present in the council will discuss the matter and reach a conclusion by consensus. That will include determination of the penalty if the accused man is found guilty.’

We waited, and waited some more. Tight-strung though I was, I could feel myself dropping off to sleep. If we had not travelled Conmael’s way, this would have been the middle of the night. Without thinking about it too hard, I leaned my head on Grim’s shoulder and closed my eyes.

A knock at the door. I started, sitting upright. I might have been asleep for a moment or an hour. ‘Sorry,’ I murmured vaguely as the door opened to admit a number of men. Donagan, Prince Oran and the two lawmen, Cionnaola, followed by . . . Now I was wide awake. Followed by Conmael. Cúan shut the door behind them. I rose to my feet. Beside me, Grim did the same. He was stifling a yawn. Perhaps we had both been asleep.

‘Be seated, please,’ said the prince. ‘There’s a matter I wish to discuss with you, Mistress Blackthorn, and with Grim, since you are both injured parties in this case. The hearing is concluded but for delivery of the determination and the penalty. Because of the need to keep the conduct of this secret, I asked those present to give me their decisions and their reasoning in private, one at a time. We are unanimous in finding Lord Mathuin guilty on all charges. As for the penalty, that has caused us some difficulty. We have the means to make him disappear. Permanently.’ He glanced at Cionnaola. ‘But that could give rise to awkward questions. The man has family, lands, influence. Besides, it might not serve justice well. It might, in effect, be too easy an ending for him, and too difficult for those of us left behind. Exile would seem more appropriate.’

‘He would come back,’ I said in a croaking whisper, then cleared my throat and tried again. ‘Anger would bring him back from the end of the world. We would never be free of him.’

‘Man’s got a couple of grown-up sons,’ said Grim. ‘Way I see it, they’ll step in and be just like him. Same thing all over again.’

‘Lord Mathuin will forfeit his entire holding,’ said Master Saran. ‘It will be passed into the stewardship of the High King for disposition elsewhere. The land is lost to Mathuin’s heirs. If we could banish his sons along with him, be sure we would do so. But that lies beyond even the widest interpretation of the law.’

‘Lord Cadhan’s holding at Cloud Hill will be restored to him,’ Oran said. ‘Sadly, there can be no restoring the lives lost in that raid.’

I was trying not to look at Conmael, who stood quietly beside Cionnaola. What in the name of the gods was he doing in here?