I should have taxed him with it. I should have challenged him. Even, perhaps, played him at his own game, assuming my most princely manner and ordering him to return to the old arrangement, so we could resume our late-night talks over a jug of mead. But I could not. Perhaps he was right. Perhaps, once a prince married, it was inappropriate for his body servant to sleep next door. And though Flidais and I were not yet wed, we had most certainly anticipated the event.

The arrival of Aunt Sochla had meant Flidais was no longer coming to my chamber at night. I lay awake nonetheless, wondering if she might take it into her head to pay me another secret visit, right under the nose of her chaperone. If she did, I would have to say no this time; I would have to bundle her physically back through the connecting door, awkward though that would be. What had occurred could not be allowed to occur again. And yet my treacherous body wanted it; even now, the memory of those two nights was stirring me to readiness. I despised my weakness.

What if my father should die soon? I would become king of Dalriada. How fit was a man to rule a kingdom if he could not even rule himself?

I had not imagined, back in the time of the letters, that I would be sorry to see my mother leave Winterfalls. But I watched her ride away with deep regret, knowing in my heart that I owed her the truth. The next time I saw my parents would be at Cahercorcan for the hand-fasting.

The royal party left behind Aunt Sochla and a contingent of the Cahercorcan serving folk. My mother believed Winterfalls required additional retainers now that Flidais was in residence. I left the domestic arrangements to Aedan and Fíona, and since Flidais was now the lady of the house, I asked them to report direct to her. I was aware of a certain unrest in the household, unsurprising at a time of such change, but I trusted my steward to deal with it.

Flidais’s headaches were still troubling her, and she took to spending most of the day in the women’s quarters. I wondered if she was avoiding me. I tried to think what I had done wrong, what I might have said to offend her. I suggested, once again, that we summon Mistress Blackthorn to the house, and Flidais answered as before. It was nothing. I was not to worry. She would be better soon.