Heir to Sevenwaters Read Free Page A

keep, at the foot of a sloping sward with the forest to either side. If they’d only just arrived, they should surely have been unpacking gear and settling in.
    “Cathal wanted to walk by the water,” Aidan said. “You’re still looking upset, Clodagh. I assure you, Johnny speaks nothing but good of you and your sisters, and we’re fully conversant with the rules of Lord Sean’s household. I apologize on Cathal’s behalf for his ill-considered words. It’s all sound and no substance with him.”
    “Such a comment seems somehow inappropriate from a bard,” Cathal said, gazing out across the lake as if he were not even marginally interested in the conversation.
    Last spring and summer Aidan had once or twice been persuaded by his fellow warriors to play the harp for us after supper. He was a talented musician, which had struck me as surprising. Johnny’s men were fighters by profession. The essence of a bard’s art was creation, a warrior’s destruction. It seemed to me that doing both might leave a man’s mind full of conflicting questions.
    “I hope you’ll play for us again while you’re here,” I said.
    Aidan smiled, revealing the dimple at the corner of his mouth. “Only if you play too,” he said, brown eyes dancing.
    “I might,” I said, thinking of all the reasons why I had so looked forward to his return and deciding that his presence at Sevenwaters would, on balance, outweigh that of the obnoxious Cathal. “My sister’s betrothed, Illann, has arranged for musicians to come from his own household for the celebrations. But I imagine you’re here for a while; there should be plenty of opportunity.”
    “If you look at Aidan like that, he’ll certainly perform for you,” Cathal said. “He’s all too ready to woo likely women with a well-crafted love song or two. Just don’t take him seriously, that’s my advice.”
    “In the unlikely event that I think your advice may be useful, I’ll ask you for it,” I said in what I hoped was a quelling tone. “And you can keep your personal remarks about my sisters to yourself. If I hear such comments from you again I’ll . . .”
    “You’ll what?” His brows arched. “Tell your father? Slap me on the cheek? Run off and cry?”
    “Stop it, Cathal!” Aidan looked mortified. “He doesn’t mean a word of it, Clodagh. Now, may we escort you back to the house?”
    “In a moment,” I said, then turned back toward Cathal. “I’ll ask Johnny to send you away immediately,” I told him, though I knew I could not actually expect my cousin to accommodate such a request. There were always strategic reasons for the deployment of his men. That applied even if they were accompanying him to a family wedding. “I know what high standards he sets for his personal retainers. It’s not just skill in weapons or tracking or observation. It’s the way you live your whole life. If you’re as rude as this to everyone, I can’t imagine why he’s kept you. You must have some quality that’s completely invisible to an outsider such as myself.”
    I expected a barbed retort, but Cathal simply shrugged. As we walked back to the keep and Aidan engaged me in a conversation about music, his friend fell into a deep silence.
     
    Deirdre was in the chamber the two of us had shared since we were little girls. Although our house was a keep, its interior was comfortably fitted out, with many private rooms. Sibeal and Eilis shared the bedchamber next door. After tomorrow I’d have this one all to myself.
    My twin was sitting on her bed, her head in her hands, crying. She’d been absolutely right about her hair. She and I had inherited our mother’s flaming curls, which could be striking if tended with care, but had a tendency to go wild at the least provocation. I could see that the chamomile had not been a good idea.
    Deirdre sobbed out something about Illann thinking she was ugly and deciding he didn’t want to marry her after all, which I took to be her worst