“I don’t want my father’s legacy,” he said. “If I could wipe away the stain of him forever, I would do so. Besides, with each day that passed I was more certain that my presence at Sevenwaters was bringing down disaster on you and your family. I could not in all conscience remain there any longer.”

“By not speaking out about this,” I said, “you’ve played into these folk’s hands. You’ve done exactly what they wanted you to do. That’s if your theory is correct. One thing I don’t understand is how the attack on Glencarnagh fits into this. Cathal, when you saw that vision, what exactly was it that made you suspect Illann?”

“Before I saw the attack, I was shown glimpses of other things. You brushing your sister’s hair. Illann showing Deirdre a map. Illann addressing a group of men, some of whom I thought I saw later amongst those who attacked your father’s property. The pieces, put together in a certain way, at least suggested the possibility that Illann might be implicated. I thought it fair to warn you, since you were a potential source of information to your sister. It may bear no relation to this other matter.”

“If we’re being manipulated, you and me,” I said miserably, “I suppose these visions might contain whatever the Fair Folk choose to put in them. They might show us things just to stir up trouble. That old woman, Willow, said Mac Dara was mischievous, didn’t she?”

Memory stirred. Willow’s stories, which had seemed to upset Cathal so much: the clurichauns, Wolf-child . . . There had been something about Mac Dara, too, but when I tried to recall it, it slipped away.

Cathal bowed his head. “Aidan’s dead,” he said. “I can’t allow myself to hope that was a lie. I know in my bones that it’s true.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel worse.”

He said nothing.

“I didn’t tell you,” I said, “but just before you came up to see me, the day Finbar was taken, I contacted Deirdre to tell her about the birth. And . . . and she asked me some unexpected questions. They weren’t very specific, but they did concern Father’s dilemma with the northern chieftains, the sort of thing Deirdre has never been interested in before. So perhaps your vision was true; perhaps she and Illann were somehow involved. If the Fair Folk have a grand plan involving you, that attack really doesn’t seem to fit.”

“If it’s a worldly plot, Johnny and Lord Sean will sort it out between them. I hope I was wrong about your sister. That would be hard for you. Clodagh?”

“Mm?”