Son of the Shadows (74 page)

There was a lengthy silence, and I began to regret my words. Perhaps I had been right before.

Perhaps it was too soon to tell him.

"Hugh of Harrowfield would trust me with this?" Bran asked softly.

I looked into his eyes. There was no mistaking the light newkindled there, a flame of hope and purpose.

"He would trust John's son," I said. "And so, in time, would the folk of Harrowfield, when you proved

yourself."

"You would do this? You would come with me, all the way to Britain? Live among foreigners, away from your family?"

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"I would not be away from my family, Bran. Wherever the three of us travel, that is home.

Besides, you forget. I am half Briton myself. Simon of Harrowfield is my uncle; these folk are both mine and yours."

He gave a little nod; his hand tightened on mine. "I can scarce believe this," he said. "And yet I do believe it. My mind already jumps to what can be done and how we will achieve it. I fear to return there; it is a place of darkness and terror. And yet I long to return and make things right again. I long to prove what seemed impossible: that I can be my father's son."

His words made me want to weep; I was still bone weary from the night before and from changes that came so fast I could scarce keep up with them.

"The men," Bran said suddenly. "What about the men? Where will they go? I cannot leave them alone, without a place and a purpose."

"Well, now," I said, "it may be these men are more resourceful than you think. Let's go up to the fire. Can you stand? Walk, with my help? Good. Use my shoulder for support. Go on, do it.

Nobody expects you to exhibit godlike strength, excepting maybe yourself. That head wound alone was enough to kill a man.

You've been starved for days, and you're all over bruises. I want to see you drinking some water and eating a little porridge. Your men have a proposition to put before you, one that will interest you and answer many of your concerns. They have kept watch for their chief most faithfully, Bran. You might perhaps manage a kind word or two. And I must bid my father farewell, for he is needed at home. Later, we will speak with him further of these things."

"I—" He stood swaying, chalk faced, like a ghost of himself.

"Come, dear heart. Lean on me and let us walk this path together."

They knew him very well. And so neither Gull nor Snake nor any of the others sprang up to offer support as we walked slowly and carefully toward the fire. Nobody made any fuss or any comment. But there was a place to sit for the two of us, and water to drink, as well as ale, and plain oaten porridge in earthenware bowls. My father was still there, but he was dressed for departure.

"You have something to tell me, I understand," Bran said, with a forbidding scowl on his face, once he was seated. Around us many men were gathered, all of them, I thought, except the few who kept obligatory watch on the perimeters of the camp. There was an air of deep expectancy about them, but this was soon shattered by the arrival of Rat, bearing my wailing son.

"You'd better go on without me," I said, taking the child into my arms and rising to my feet.

"This is men's business, I suppose."

"You belong here," Bran said quietly. "We will wait for you." He turned back to look at Gull, with his bandaged hands; at Snake, whose patterned features bore the pallor of more than one sleepless night; at

Otter and Spider, who had ridden out on a mission; at big, grim Wolf and at young Rat, guardian of what was smallest and most precious. "I've got a few things to say to you all," he began.

As I fed Johnny in the shelter, I watched these men, and I hoped they would not speak of Eamonn and of what he had done. It was clear my father had not yet learned the truth; and indeed, he must be kept in ignorance of it. The balance would indeed be delicate now between the partners of the alliance, and I

must lose no time in telling Bran what bargain I had struck with his enemy to secure his release.

Johnny was soon finished and wriggling on my lap, ready for more adventures. I set him on the ground, observing that his clothing had changed somewhat from the neat shirt and leggings in which he had traveled out from Sevenwaters. It seemed so long ago, it was as if the whole world had changed since that day. Someone had been busy with the needle, and now my son wore a small jacket of deerskin, and boots of the same soft hide, neatly sewn with narrow strips of
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leather. A kind of tunic went underneath the jacket, covering him down to the boot tops. Its fabric was woven in stripes, blue, brown, a deep red.

A fine cloth; someone had sacrificed a garment of his own for this small masterpiece to be created.

Johnny began to creep out of the shelter, and I plucked him up in my arms and ventured forth.

"I'll take him for a while," said my father as I came up. "You will not wish me to be present, I imagine, for your planning."

"You should stay, I think." As I spoke, I glanced questioningly at Bran. "For this plan, if it goes ahead, will involve my brother, and so yourself. You should know of it."

Bran's scowl deepened.

"She's right," Gull said. "Either this goes ahead with the help of Seven-waters, or things stay as they are.

There's no risk in telling him."

"I'm not liking the sound of this," said Bran. "Come on then, out with it." His tone was fierce; but when I

went to sit by him, and slipped my hand into his, I could feel his trembling and knew the control he must exert to appear as he did. His scowl gave a clear message. I am the Painted Man. Think me weak at your peril

.

So they told him. They laid it out before him, as my father sat on the ground with his grandson between his legs, playing a little game with twigs and leaves. One after another, they spoke. It had been well rehearsed. Gull outlined the bare bones of the plan. Snake elaborated a little.

There were no emotive arguments; no talk of women and settling down. Simply a neat structure of logic, of advantages to be gained and profits made, and of how certain problems might be overcome. Otter came next. He could have known of the plan only since his return last night, but he set out full details of how the venture would be paid for and how my brother might be involved, and of how gains could be shared among all after the costs of running the establishment were covered. Of how, in time, Sean's investment could be repaid, in silver or cattle or services.

Bran had not said a single word, and his expression gave nothing away. As for my father, it was as well he sat a little apart, watching Johnny, for I could see the shocked look on his face and how he struggled to remain quiet.

"There's a matter of accommodation." Now it was the turn of big Wolf, usually a man of very few words.

"I'm told there's a croft or two on this island, and some stone walls to keep the sheep from the cliffs.

We'll need more. Simple, low, built for wild weather. I've some skill in building. I could teach the rest of you. We'd set it up thus—" He squatted down and began to draw with a stick on the earth, and all watched him with deep concentration. "... thatch, well tied . . . practice yard . . ."

I was weary again, and I laid my head on Bran's shoulder, almost without thinking. His hand tightened on mine, and I caught my father's glance. Already it held the shadow of another farewell.

They finished. There was a silence in which nobody seemed to wish to speak first. It was Iubdan who broke it.

"You wish me to put this—proposition—to my son when I return to Sevenwaters? You are aware, I

suppose, that Sean has come to the leadership of his tuath but recently and bears a heavy load for one so young?"

Bran gave a nod. "Lord Liam was a strong leader, a man of balance. No doubt he'll be missed in
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these parts. But your son has the ability to do better, in time. He has vision. There's no need for you to speak to him of this. I must consider it first. If I decide to go ahead with it, I'll set up a meeting. I've information for Sean, information he sent me to gather."

"I could, I suppose, take it back for him," my father said. His tone was less than enthusiastic.

Bran frowned. "Such intelligence is best not shared, unless strictly necessary. The risk is minimized if one man tells it direct to the other. I'll meet with Sean when the time's right."

Someone whistled softly. And Gull said incredulously, "You're telling us the mission was a success after everything? That you got what he needed? That you kept it to yourself, even when—"

"No mission is too difficult for the Painted Man," I put in quickly. "I'm surprised you don't know that by now."

"Back to work now, the lot of you," said Snake, getting to his feet. "There's much to think about and to consider. The chief will give us his answer when he's ready. Go and prepare Iubdan's horse, and those of you who are escorting him, check your weapons and supplies. He needs to be away."

"Here," said Rat, crouching down by my father, and reaching out his hands to Johnny. "I'll take him now."

He picked up the child, and Johnny's small arms went trustingly around his neck.

My father got up. "Very well," he said, in a distant sort of tone, and he put out his big hand to touch his grandson's cheek, gently. Then Rat was off, jogging away to the main encampment with his small friend bouncing and squealing excitedly in his arms. The men dispersed, all but Gull, for when he made to follow them, Bran took him by the arm and said, "No. You stay."

So there we were, the four of us by the small fire, with so many words unspoken between us, it was hard to know where to begin. Eventually, Bran looked up at my father and spoke quietly.

"Liadan has told me of your proposition for Harrowfield. There is much that can be done there, I think.

Alliances rebuilt; borders secured; defenses strengthened."

"You may wish to take time to consider it," my father said cautiously. "Such a role is somewhat alien to you, I expect. But you are my kinsman, and Simon's; you have a valid claim to be involved with the estate, and an ability that seems beyond dispute."

"There is no need to consider," Bran said. "We accept the challenge. For the immediate future, I want

Liadan and my son safe away from these parts. We will ride north and may be gone for some time. My men must be settled and established in their new endeavor; that will not be a simple matter. Once that is done, we will go to Harrowfield: Liadan and I, and Johnny. I must speak plain to you. It is not for Lord

Hugh that I agree to this, but for my father and my mother and for the place that gave me birth.

I wish to lay some things to rest; thus can it be done and a new beginning made."

Father's blue eyes were cool. But the little inclination of his head was an acknowledgment of Bran's strength; I could tell he was both surprised and impressed.

II

"Good," he said. "I will ensure Simon is advised, discreetly, of what we intend. The news will hearten him. I am a little uneasy about the immediate future. I would ask you to undertake to keep my daughter safe, and my grandson. But such a question seems inappropriate here."

I felt Bran's hand tense in mine, heard his sharp, indrawn breath.

"It is quite appropriate, Father," I said. "As I have told you, these men are skilled in such things.

You trust my judgment, do you not?"

"Liadan's well protected with us," put in Gull, and he, too, was angry, "safer than ever she'd be in the houses of some you call friends."

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"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, Father. Gull simply refers to the ability of these men to pass unseen, to avoid detection, and to employ unusual methods of defense. You must not be concerned for me. I had never thought I would go far away from Sevenwaters, but this is the right choice, the only choice."

"You would take my daughter from me then," Iubdan said, watching Bran closely.

Bran looked back at him, his gray eyes steady and clear. "I take no more than is freely given," he said.

"You'd best be off," said Gull. "It's a fair ride. Our men will escort you as far as your borders."

"There's no need." Father's tone was cool. "I am not yet so advanced in years that I cannot defend myself or despatch an enemy."

"So we've heard," said Bran. "Nonetheless, there are dangers you may not know of. Who knows what traps may await a solitary traveler? My men will accompany you."

"I'd like a word with my daughter alone," said Iubdan, unsmiling, "if that's allowable."

Bran released my hand. "Liadan makes her own decisions," he said. "As my wife, she will continue to do so."

Gull's brows rose, but he said nothing.

I walked down to the water's edge with my father, watching as he picked up a smooth white stone and skipped it across the water, one, two, three.

"Will this work, do you think?" he asked. "A school for warriors? A home for the outlawed?"

"That's up to him. It will be modified, no doubt, amended and improved to suit his own ideas. It is a new path for him; he has many changes to come to terms with."

"He needs you. They need you. That much I comprehend. Your choice still shocks me. I think I made an error in watching you grow. You are so like your mother in every way that I did not expect surprises from you. I never really thought you would leave the forest. But then, I once made such a choice myself, against all the rules. And you are my daughter as well as hers. That you will in time return to my home, to

Harrowfield, fills me with pride and hope. I wish I could watch my brother's face when first he sees you.

But I cannot imagine Sevenwaters with both your mother and yourself gone. It will be as if the heart of the place is stilled."

"Conor, no doubt, would agree with you. But the heart of the forest beats very strong and very slow, Father. It would take far more than this loss to halt its rhythm."

"I have other concerns. There are secrets here that puzzle and disturb me, veiled references, a part of the tale that is untold."

"It must remain untold, Father. I, too, am bound by a promise."