“I know nothing of this,” Engus said. “We carried home only the broken remains of our own. We saw no such warrior in that place, dead or alive. I will make inquiries for you. Nobody would deny you the right to lay your friend to rest, no matter what he has done: no matter what he was.”

“Thank you. And now to business. I cannot stay long,” Somerled said, leaning back and folding his arms. “I’m hoping we can reach some sort of agreement today, so my visit won’t have been for nothing. We’re busy men.”

“Your words hearten me,” Engus said cautiously. “I, too, wish for a treaty, perhaps a renewal of that I struck with Lord Ulf. We might discuss initial terms here, and the details in private. I’m grateful for this opportunity. Indeed, I would have welcomed it earlier.”

“Really?” Somerled raised his brows again. Nessa watched him and felt the dream, dark as a shadow, lingering somewhere in her mind. He looked so affable, so confident, so relaxed. It was the look of a man who sees no possibility of failure.

“Most certainly,” Engus replied. “And we have a gift for you in token of our good will. There have been some difficulties between us since your brother died. We offer this small treasure as a gesture of amity, a symbol of our desire to begin afresh. These are old and quite rare, the only examples of their kind.” Engus gestured to one of his men, who brought out a box fashioned cunningly from carven whalebone, a fine piece that had lain long in the king’s storehouse awaiting such a moment. Any monarch worth his salt must keep ready a supply of goods suitable to please a dangerous neighbor, a visiting dignitary, a chieftain who might turn from loyal friend to bitter enemy on the merest whim. Such gifts are an essential part of diplomacy.

Engus lifted the hinged lid to display the gleaming set of silver spoons that lay within, gracefully curving implements each fashioned in the shape of a diving dolphin. It was a gift of considerable charm. The workmanship was without equal; Nessa had heard her uncle say so when he took them out of storage on the chance that this difficult chieftain might at last come to the bargaining table.