Beyond the door of the council chamber, all was silent. As the swan tapestry stirred in the draft, I thought of Deirdre. Would Father ask me to contact her? Would he want me to ask probing questions that might lead to a revelation that Illann was indeed involved in this? If he did, I would feel just as Aidan must be feeling right now. It didn’t bear thinking of. Someone must hate us powerfully. These terrible tricks were destroying our family from the inside out.

Somehow the rest of the day passed. I went back upstairs and when Becan awoke I fed him again. Now that his requirements were being met he made less noise, seeming content to snuggle into his makeshift bed between meals and drowse as a healthy baby should. I studied his grotesque little face, whose component pieces of bark, wood, moss and stone were held together in a manner that defied all logic. I touched his twiggy hand and felt the sharp fingers clutch onto one of mine, as if even in this deep sleep he sensed how very close he was to the peril of being left all alone. I thought of the Wolf-child story, and of Cathal’s wretched face as he’d listened to it. There had been obvious lessons in each of the tales. Truth will out. Be understanding of difference. Hold onto what matters to you. But maybe there was more than that. The clurichaun and the green thread; the three different endings for Wolf-child. Maybe, if I considered the tales more deeply, they would provide answers to the problem that faced me. For here in my arms was the changeling I had told Father was a mere figment of my imagination. Here, wrapped in a soft blanket, was the pile of debris I had agreed was inanimate, a mere manikin. And before me were many tomorrows to be faced, and a secret that could not be contained within this chamber, nor indeed within the stone walls of this keep. My heart quailed at the enormity of what I had done and what I must do.

With so many demands—the mission to the northern chieftains, the search for Finbar, the hunt for Cathal—most of our menfolk were away from home. The need for men-at-arms to accompany Johnny to Glencarnagh and for others to ride out with Aidan’s party meant grooms and serving people had set their duties aside to join those looking for the baby, and at suppertime the hall was almost empty. We ate in silence. Muirrin did not come down. Eithne took a tray upstairs; she looked as if she hadn’t slept for days.

Eilis and Coll did not appear for supper, and nor did Sibeal. I sat there in silence, unable to eat more than a mouthful or two. I felt like a stranger in my own home, and an unwelcome one at that.