I told him the story, how Flidais had confided in me, how it had all made sense once she had explained that Oran was two men in one, the courteous, poetic nobleman by day and the crude, selfish abuser by night. How Flidais, whom we had believed to be some kind of imposter, was in fact a victim. How she had asked for my help, but was not prepared to help herself. ‘Don’t you see,’ I said at the end, ‘it’s the same mission as Mathuin, in a way, bringing to justice the men who do this, making their crimes public. I can’t do that here because it’s not what Flidais wants, she needs the marriage for her family, but I can do it in Laois, I should never have given up on it –’

‘You’re forgetting,’ Grim said. ‘But for Conmael you’d be dead.’

‘I can’t stay in Winterfalls, Grim. Not now I know the truth. I can’t stay while that man is ruler there and everyone believes him to be such a model of virtue. The very sight of him would sicken me. And I can’t help Flidais with what she really wants, which is to bear him a son and heir.’

Grim was staring at me as if I’d gone stark raving mad.

‘What?’ I growled.

‘She told you that load of rubbish and you believed it? What about the way the prince stood up for Emer? The way he spoke at the council, telling folk not to judge Ness? What about the story he told us? How can all that be lies? His folk worship the ground he walks on. Folk who’ve been in that household since he was a little lad.’

‘All men are liars. He’s a particularly good one. Now I’d best be getting on.’

‘Lady.’

The name stopped me short. I waited, not saying a thing.

‘Don’t want to speak out of turn. Don’t want to upset you. Hard to say this.’

‘Spit it out, Grim.’

‘What Mathuin did to you, to your family, that’s made you deep-down angry. Doesn’t matter where you go, what you do, there’s red rage burning inside you. It won’t die down until Mathuin pays for his sins. Only thing is, it can get in the way of seeing clear. It can make you deaf to the truth.’

‘Bollocks! What would you know?’ But even as I snapped at him, the white-hot certainty in my heart, the passion that had seen me turn my back on Winterfalls forever, began to feel the cool touch of doubt. Men might be liars. But Grim would never lie to me.

‘What if Prince Oran’s told the truth,’ he said, ‘and Lady Flidais has spun you a story?’