“There’s no real evidence for any accusations against Cathal, and I don’t wish to hear them made without it.” Johnny had come back into the hall. His tone was level, but I heard in its iron strength the quality that made men worship him as a leader. “He is gone without explanation, that is true, but this is not the first time that has occurred. There’s always a good reason, some of them surprising, all of them providing a sound basis for independent action. If I see a need to discipline Cathal I will do so when he returns. It would be a mistake to leap to conclusions about this. I know the man. So does Aidan.”

“My son is missing,” said Father simply. “Cathal diverted Clodagh’s attention at the precise moment when someone snatched him. That, coupled with his abrupt departure without explanation, seems sufficient evidence for suspicion. You expect me to sit back if any path toward finding Finbar is unexplored?”

It was the closest I had ever seen the two of them to an argument, and it made me deeply uneasy. It seemed to me that Finbar’s abduction had sent a widening circle of wrongness through our whole household. What was this? Were the Fair Folk playing a particularly dark game with us, or had their plot somehow got mixed up with the plans of one of Father’s worldly enemies? I thought of Willow’s tales, and the way she’d looked at me when she told them, as if I should be able to get some particular wisdom from them. Were the tales and the changeling parts of the same mystery? Why couldn’t I make sense of this?

“I’m sorry, Sean,” Johnny said. “Of course I don’t, and I will help you all I can to find your son. But my men are my responsibility, and I don’t like to hear their integrity questioned without solid evidence. It’s very likely Cathal’s presence outside the nursery at that particular time was coincidental. Until I have good reason to doubt that, I will not hear him accused. Let him return and account for himself, and then we can judge his actions.”

We moved to sit at the table. While I crumbled my bread onto my platter, the men made plans for today’s search.

“I’ll lead the group that’s headed west on the Glencarnagh track,” Johnny said. “Aidan will stay with you. I’m happier if at least one of my men is here in such a time of uncertainty, though I recognize that you have good guards of your own. In fact, the Sevenwaters men have an advantage in such a search, since they know the forest so well. We covered a wide area yesterday, Sean. We must consider the possibility that whoever took Finbar has by now conveyed him beyond your borders.”

“Only if they rode all night,” Father said.