It was less than reassuring. “Can I do anything to help?” I asked. It felt uncomfortable to be idle while he was so busy. Now he had a small pan on the fire and was heating water. Becan was asleep in my arms, snug in his double shawl.

“This is the bit I can do,” Cathal said. “You look after him; that’s the bit I can’t do. Got any food?”

“Some bread. It’s in my bag.” Another convulsive shiver ran through me. I held the baby close against my chest. Even with the fire, I was chill to the bone.

“Here.”

Before I could protest, Cathal had unclasped his cloak and dropped it around my shoulders, over my own cloak. Instantly I was warm. The feeling was blissful. “But what about you?” I protested.

“Unlike you, I do some preparation before I set off on these expeditions. I have a blanket in my pack. Clodagh, what in the name of the gods were you doing, coming out here on your own?” He’d found the bread and was crumbling some of it into his pot of water.

“Why would I tell you?”

He sat back on his heels, dark eyes regarding me warily. “Why wouldn’t you?” he asked.

“Because of what just happened. The attack on Glencarnagh. The fact that you described it to me almost exactly, days beforehand. How could you know about it unless—”

“Wait a moment.” He held up a hand, arresting the flow of words. “Glencarnagh?”

I could have sworn he was genuinely confused. “My father’s holding in the southwest; the place you spoke of when you were trying to tell me Deirdre and Illann might turn against him. It was attacked and burned. Most of the guards were killed. Once I heard about it I . . . I had to tell him, Cathal. It matched so exactly, the description of the house, the way they did it, everything.”

“I see,” he said after a moment. “When did this attack happen?”

“The night before last. Johnny met a survivor on the track and brought him home. I was there. I had no choice but to tell them what you’d said. Johnny sent Aidan out to bring you back.”

Cathal turned his attention to his pot, stirring its contents with a stick. I was sure he did not want me to see what was in his eyes. “I feared as much,” he said. “So they all believe me guilty. Even Johnny.”

“You didn’t exactly help by disappearing when you did. And I don’t see how you could know so much about the attack before it happened unless you . . .”

“Unless what?” His tone was bitter. “Unless I plotted with your father’s enemies to make the raid easier in some way? What possible cause would I have to do so, Clodagh? Why would I sacrifice my place with Johnny?”