‘I’d do what I thought I’d be doing until the guard kindly brought me the news that my execution was imminent. I’d stand up before the midsummer council. Explain what it was that got me locked up. Tell them what Mathuin does. Tell the story of the young woman who fell pregnant with his child when he took her by force, and how her husband abandoned her when he found out, and how she asked me to help her get rid of the child. How I spoke out publicly against Mathuin, and found that there were a dozen other women whom he’d treated in the same way. How he locked me up for smearing his name.’ Mathuin should be brought to account for his behaviour, most certainly. But it was not this wrong that burned in me, crying out for vengeance. It was a far older evil. I would not tell of that. When the chieftain of Laois had imprisoned me, he had not known who I was. I’d planned to tell him when I spoke out before the council. ‘I want that man exposed for what he truly is. I want him punished. Mathuin is not fit to be chieftain.’

‘And afterwards?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘After you expose the chieftain of Laois as an evil-doer and have him removed from his position of power, what then?’

‘Don’t mock me!’

‘Answer the question, please. Dawn is fast approaching.’

‘Then nothing. All that matters is . . .’

‘Vengeance?’ Conmael’s voice was very quiet. ‘This is not simply a case of standing up for those women, is it? It’s more, far more. It’s a burning need to right a personal wrong. An old wrong.’

I stared at him, and he gazed back, eyes blue as deep water, handsome features perfectly composed. ‘How can you know all this? Who are you?’

‘A friend. Someone who would rather not see you destroy yourself.’

‘Destroy myself? It’s Mathuin who’s doing the destroying.’

‘If you want me to help you, you must set your need for vengeance aside.’

‘Then the answer is no.’ If I could not make an end to Mathuin’s ill-doing, what point was there in anything?

Conmael was silent for a little. Then he said, ‘Life is a precious gift. It seems you set a low value on yours. Consider what you could do with this opportunity. You could help people. Free them from pain and suffering. You could heal your own wounds.’

‘I’m not after personal redemption. I want justice. I want that man to admit to his misdeeds. I want him to pay the price.’

‘Refuse my offer, and you’ll be the one paying the price.’

‘What do you want from me?’ My temper was hanging on a fast-fraying thread. ‘Get to the point!’

‘Ah, so you will hear my terms, then?’