Question is, should Blackthorn mention the heartwood house? To Cara, I mean. The girl’s been coming over to see her every few days. Doesn’t talk much. When she does, it’s all how unhappy she is and how she wants to go home. I asked Gormán about the girl, why she was at Winterfalls, and he wasn’t pleased. Said it was none of my business, and not to speak of her to Tóla or anyone else. But he did have an answer. The master wants her out of the way until the building work’s finished. Makes some sense. Girl’s got no mother, only that aunt I’ve seen around the place a couple of times. Tóla doesn’t want his daughter there while he’s got a couple of rough-looking fellows like Bardán and me working for him. Wants to keep his only child safe, which I understand. Might be a bit that way myself if I had a daughter. But I wouldn’t want my daughter unhappy. I wouldn’t want her not understanding why. Blackthorn says Cara doesn’t know that and it’s upsetting her.

Maybe Tóla wants the heartwood house to be a surprise. Pretty big surprise, that’d be. Seems a bit mad. But aren’t I planning the same sort of surprise for Blackthorn? Tóla’s bags of silver are going to pay for another room in the cottage, somewhere she can spread out all her work things and not be cramped up with our stores and pots and pans and so on. I’m not telling her about that, not yet anyway, so maybe it’s fair enough that Tóla’s not telling his daughter about the heartwood house. Mind you, I plan to tell Blackthorn before I start building, not after I finish. Make sure she’s all right with it. And I’m not sending her away.

Cara’s using my wood carving tools. Gormán’s been teaching her since she was a little thing. That’s what she said. No reason why a girl shouldn’t be handy with these things. She’s making a little bird. I left her a nice piece of pine, easy to work with. Knows what she’s doing, I can see that. Strong hands, fine touch. Blackthorn says it keeps the girl happy. Nothing like hard work for driving away the shadows.