‘Thanks, no. Bit worried about Blackthorn.’ Mathuin. Who else? His land’s right next to Cloud Hill. She’d have heard the news when she dropped Cara at the prince’s, wouldn’t she? What would she do? I try to think the way Blackthorn would think, never easy. First choice: go home, lock the door, make up the fire and start working on something tricky, a potion of some sort. Try to keep her mind off Mathuin with hard work. I know she didn’t do that. Second choice: something foolish. Let those thoughts turn her a bit crazy, the way they’ve done before. Grab a cloak and head off in the rain, south toward Laois, knowing she’ll never be able to get on with her life until that man’s been punished. She might have done that a year ago. More or less did do it. But now? Only if this has scared her half out of her wits. Third choice: go and talk to the prince and Lady Flidais, find out more about what’s going on. Maybe tell them the truth about us and Mathuin, in case it could be helpful. Only she wouldn’t do that without talking to me first. Would she?

‘She might be still at the prince’s house,’ I say.

‘Why don’t you come in and dry off,’ says Fraoch, ‘and I’ll walk over there and ask? It won’t take long.’ Looking at me as if he thinks I might drop in a heap any moment.

‘No, I’ll go,’ I say. ‘But thanks.’

I get to Prince Oran’s house. Rain still bucketing down. Guards are trying to keep dry and watch out for trouble at the same time. I get a stroke of luck – one of the guards is Eoin, the other one’s Garalt, and I know both of them well. Which means I don’t need to waste time explaining myself, except to ask if Blackthorn’s here. Garalt opens the gate and calls another guard. That man heads off to find out for me.

‘Heard there was an attack,’ I say, thinking I may as well find out more if I can. ‘In the south. You heading off with the prince in the morning?’ I remember that Eoin came from Cloud Hill with Lady Flidais, when she came north to marry the prince. Garalt’s a Winterfalls man.

‘The fellows who are going are packing up right now,’ Garalt says. ‘Lochlan and a team of others; I’m head guard while Lochlan’s gone. Prince Oran wants enough of us here to defend the place if we have to. Can’t see that happening; we’ve had peace for so long. And this conflict’s a long way to the south.’