The Last Quarrel (The Complete Edition) (20 page)

“I’ve told you before. If you want another woman then you just have to walk out that door and find one. Or go and beg the Prince for the chance to serve him. I’m sure he’d throw a woman in as part of the deal. Maybe a different one each night.”

Her vision was misting over with tears but she could see him stand up and walk to her.

“How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t want anyone but you. I just want us to have a happier life, one we imagined for ourselves all those years ago.”

That was the end of it. She couldn’t think or say any more, just let the tears consume her as he enfolded her in his arms. The storm of tears passed and throughout she retained enough control to keep the noise down, so as not to wake Kerrin.

“I am sorry,” she said finally.

“As am I.”

She wiped her eyes and grabbed the front of his tunic. “Come upstairs with me. Now,” she said.

“Are you sure …?”

For answer she kissed him and heard him groan deep in his chest. “Let’s go,” she said, taking his hand and hurrying him towards the stairs.

Fallon was woken by a tongue sticking in his ear.

He turned over with a smile, only to see Caley right in front of his face. He sat up quickly and wiped the dog spit away as the pup thumped her tail on the floor.

“You’re up early, Dad,” Kerrin said. “Are you going to help me train Caley?”

Fallon glanced over to where Bridgit was still sleeping, and shrugged. “Why not?” he yawned, then groaned as the bruises from the fight with Eamon struck him, before following Kerrin outside.

Whether it was the magic Padraig had used on her, or simply the dog’s innate cleverness, she proved swift and eager to train. Fallon stopped yawning and started laughing as they taught her a variety of tricks. She never seemed to tire.

“Is she the smartest dog in Gaelland, Dad?” Kerrin asked.

“She just may be,” Fallon said. “Now, if we can just get her to talk and tell us what she’s seen, then she would be perfect.”

“She saw who took the family then?” Kerrin asked.

“Aye, son. She got away but she knows who did it.”

“So what should we do if she starts barking like she did the other day?”

Fallon smiled at the serious expression on Kerrin’s face. “They won’t attack a village as big as Baltimore. There is no way they could capture everyone here. Not without me and the other men fighting them off. By the time they sailed into the harbor we’d have the women and children in the woods and the rest of us ready to send them packing. I promise you they won’t come here.”

He looked at the worried expression on Kerrin’s face and knew it was something his son would not let go. There would be nightmares unless he did something. “Follow me,” he said.

They went around to the rough crate at the back of the house, beside the sword posts, where he kept an old sword, his wood axe, shovel and other tools. He had Kerrin help him drag the box away and then dug a small pit where it had stood.

“It has to be big enough for Caley as well!” Kerrin said.

Fallon leaned on the shovel and was about to point out the foolishness of that suggestion, then smiled instead. The whole idea was foolish. But he might as well see it through.

“Of course,” he said, and widened and deepened the hole a little more, before dragging the crate, which had no base, back over the top, and scattering the dirt around the sword posts.

“How does it work?” Kerrin asked excitedly.

Fallon split apart an old sack and hooked the edges of it onto nails he tapped into the bottom of the crate walls, to form a sling for his sword and other tools. “You and Caley get in there, then pull the sack across and it will look like the base of the chest, especially at night.”

The lad had to try it, of course, although Caley was less than enthusiastic.

“It’s great!” Kerrin said excitedly. “I can hide from Mam in there!”

“Now that’s one thing you should never do,” Fallon said immediately, picturing Bridgit getting increasingly desperate as she searched. “I hope you never have to use it.”

Kerrin nodded, his face gloomy, so Fallon smiled at him. “Come on, let’s go and find something to eat.”

Bridgit was sweeping the floor or, rather, sweeping up Kerrin’s toy soldiers before she could sweep the floor. She had taken refuge in simple household tasks, trying to keep busy so she did not have to think about how grateful she was they would stay here, or how guilty she was that Fallon could not go to Lunster or Berry.

She thought he must surely be happier after the previous night but he had still seemed angry when he left to look over the Duke’s ship and supervise the squad of guards from Lunster who had arrived that morning.

She hoped he would be happier when he returned. She wondered when that would be, so walked out the door and looked down to the bay where the Duke’s ship sat, boats swarming around it as men, weapons and food and drink were loaded. That ship had been nothing but trouble since it arrived: watching it sent a shiver up her spine, a shiver which strengthened into a sudden premonition. It was the strongest such feeling in many years. When she had been young, Padraig had tried to see if she had inherited any of his power. But although she tried to dream of dragons almost every night, and hoped and imagined that a flower had bloomed because she wanted it to, nothing really happened.

But sometimes she did have strange feelings about people and things. She had not wanted to go to Berry and had told her parents so – only for them to laugh off her fears. Then, when she met Fallon, she’d had a quiet certainty that they would marry. In the past few years, those premonitions had been swamped by fears, both real and imagined. She had begun to lose faith in herself. But this one was too strong to ignore. Fallon should not go out that night. She saw the men heading home to farewell their families and she shivered again, and wondered how to tell Fallon that he must not go out without seeming as though she had completely lost her mind.

He looked grim as he walked up to the house, although his face cracked into a smile for Kerrin and Caley as they met him and escorted him back.

“Well, we’re all ready. Aroaril willing, we’ll be back in time for breakfast,” he said with a smile, giving her a hug, which she had difficulty in returning.

“And who will watch the village while you are gone?” she asked, trying to find some reason to get him to stay.

His face darkened a little at that. “Sean and Seamus. They would get too sick on board a ship, so I told the lazy bastards to stay by the harbor. If they’re asleep when we get in, they’ll pay the price, I promise you. They know it, so I reckon they’ll be wide awake the whole time.”

“But what if you find these raiders?”

He patted the sword by his side. “Between Gannon’s men and the fyrd, there’s more than a hundred men on that ship. Anything that pulls alongside is going to get a nasty shock.”

“And if you catch some? What then? You said yourself that the King and Archbishop are using this as an excuse to increase our taxes. They don’t want the attacks to stop until we’ve handed over every last copper piece in Lunster. They’re not going to be best pleased when you show everyone they’re wrong.”

“Well, I won’t be turning up in King Aidan’s court with a bunch of men in chains, making demands of the crown. No, I’ll turn them over to Duchess Dina. After all, they were the ones who stole her husband. She wants him back, so she can take it from there.”

“So you think you have it all worked out,” she said, unable to stop the accusation in her voice. “She’ll get her husband back and stop these taxes and then call on you to lead her guards with Hagen.”

“That is one thing that could happen,” he said.

“So you’re doing this not to stop the attacks but to prove how good you are.”

“Is that what you think of me? That all I care about is myself?” he asked, and she heard the bitterness in his voice.

She knew she was running out of time, and chances. Nothing for it but to say it straight. “I have a very bad feeling about this. You remember – I used to know things, didn’t I? I was right many times, Fallon. There may be no selkies but there is a terrible evil at the heart of it all. It makes me sick just to think about it. Don’t go out tonight. Stay and protect the village.”

“This is the best way to protect us. The attacks will go on and on unless we stop them,” he argued.

“Then at least stay home with us tonight. That sergeant the Duchess sent down here can do it.”

Fallon shook his head. “I can’t send the men out there without me. They have to be safe; I’m the one who has to bring them back.”

“You are not the only one who can do that. And I really think you should stay with us tonight. We can go upstairs after Kerrin is asleep –” She let her voice trail off suggestively, using the last weapon she had.

She saw his shock, but then he shook his head. “I can’t let my friends down,” he said.

“But the feeling is a strong one,” she insisted, her voice still low, reaching out a hand to touch his chest. “I believe I am right, Fallon. I am deathly afraid.”

For a moment she saw his indecision and thought she had him. But then his face hardened and she remembered, too late, how many times she had used those words on him. She was like the shepherd boy who had cried wolf too many times.

Instead he stepped in and held her close. “It will be fine. You will see. I will be back for breakfast.” He went to kiss her on the mouth but she twisted her face to the side so it landed on her cheek.

“We’ll talk when I get back,” he insisted, then waved at Kerrin and Caley. “See you all for breakfast!”

She hesitated, then grabbed his arm. “Get yourself back safely. I don’t care about the others but promise me you will do whatever it takes to get back,” she said softly but fiercely.

Fallon hugged her again. “I swear that I will move mountains and swim seas to get back to you,” he whispered in her ear.

“You know I love you?”

“Of course. And I love you too. But I have to go,” he said, gently stepping away. He did not turn back, although she watched him all the way down to the ship.

“Is this them?” Cavan asked.

Eamon nodded proudly, walking beside Cavan as he inspected his new guards.

All stood to attention, wearing his father’s surcoat but with Cavan’s personal crest hastily sewn onto the shoulder. It was a proud sight and he made sure he was introduced to each one, although he swiftly forgot their names and each one passed in a blur. They were all tall men, each one less than twenty summers and lean and well muscled from the hard training. Gaelland may not have fought anyone in centuries and the King’s Guards not been needed since the famous battle of Caragh Lake but Aidan still insisted they work hard every day. Woes betide the man who let himself get soft. If he were lucky, he would be instantly dismissed. Only the best of them made sergeant, let alone was promoted to officer.

“And did you choose them, or my father?”

“Well, your father sent over a score and I picked the best ten of them,” Eamon said.

“Only ten? What if I need more?” Cavan asked, wondering how many men his brother could call his own.

“Highness, it is better to start small. Having too many would only bring attention to us. Besides, if I train them, they will each be the equal of two or three of your brother’s men,” Eamon promised.

“Start work right away. I have to go and tell my father about our ridiculous mission to Lunster and see if he can be persuaded to see some sense. How soon can they be ready?”

“Ready for what, highness?” Eamon asked cautiously.

“I want to use them to set up a trap for these child snatchers.”

“Highness, we still don’t know who or what they are. All we know is that they had strange powers.”

Cavan smiled. “Remember how they hauled up that poor lad with some snare? We just need to try something similar. They obviously like to use the rooftops – we shall set traps up across a whole series of streets so they can’t escape.”

Eamon’s face showed his doubt but he nodded anyway. “As you wish, highness. Although a mere squad of men may not be enough for that task.”

“As you said: they will be once you have finished with them. I am sure of it,” Cavan said encouragingly.

Eamon was saved from replying by Niall rushing up to them.

“Highness, I have the men you requested,” he reported breathlessly.

Eamon cleared his throat. “Highness, you don’t mean to say that Niall has also recruited a squad of guards for you? Surely you can’t think that –”

He trailed off as he saw a handful of servants hurry up and form a line opposite his guards. Cavan smiled at the expression on Eamon’s face. Unlike the soldiers, who were all impressive-looking, these servants were a mixed bag. By turns short, fat, skinny, lumpen and ugly, they were the last group anyone would expect to be the guardians of a prince.

Cavan was not looking at their faces, however.

“They know what they have to do?” he asked Niall.

“Absolutely. I sorted through them carefully. All have family members who are sick or elderly, all live in the poorest quarter and they are all eager to help,” Niall said.

“Highness, what is the meaning of this?” Eamon asked softly.

“It’s nothing you need to worry about,” Cavan said airily.

“Highness, your safety is not just my main concern but my life is forfeit if yours is lost. I need to know everything you are doing,” Eamon said forcefully.

Cavan sighed. “Listen and you will find out,” he said, then turned to the five servants.

“I assume you all know my brother, and his reputation as a master,” Cavan said, seeing their acknowledgment by the way their faces darkened in anger or paled in fear at whatever story they had heard.

“What you have heard is true. He dismisses servants like others throw away chicken bones after a meal. He orders servants whipped and worse if they displease him somehow. And once you are working for him, I cannot protect you. Invoking my name will only see you punished more. So you have to understand what I am asking. If you are worried, or afraid, then walk away. I am asking only for willing volunteers.”

Although none of them looked happy, they did not move either.

Cavan smiled warmly at them. “You are all brave men and you are doing not just the Crown but your country a huge service by agreeing to help me. My man Niall has arranged for you to all start working for my brother from today. You will clean his rooms, prepare his food and serve his guests. In all these things you must work as hard as you can. But you must also remember who his guests are. All of them. And you must tell me what revels he gets up to each night. Any information is valuable. At the end of each quarter-moon you work for him, I will give you two moons’ worth of money. And if you can answer my questions, I’ll give you ten years’ pay in gold. Should you be dismissed from service, I shall find you new jobs with a Guild. Should you be whipped, I will give you a gold piece for each lash. Understand?”

The doubtful and fearful looks on their faces had been swiftly replaced by broad smiles as he offered them handfuls of gold.

“Once you have information, send word to my man Niall. Don’t come near me, for my brother will suspect you then. Now go – and Aroaril go with you.”

He watched Niall take them away and smiled to himself.

“Highness, is this wise?” Eamon asked quietly.

“It is perfect,” Cavan said. “My brother despises all those beneath him. He thinks of servants as he does the furniture – no, less. Furniture has value. We tried force to get into my brother’s secrets and that went nowhere. This way, we will have eyes inside his household and I will be able to find out what Swane gets up to each night and who his mysterious guests are. And all it will cost me is gold.”

“And if one of them is secretly working for Swane? What happens then?” Eamon asked.

Cavan laughed. “You worry too much, my friend! Swane would never stoop to talking to servants. The biggest danger is one of them being caught. But even that is slim. If he thinks they are being too nosy or prying, he will simply dismiss them. If he catches one looking where he shouldn’t he might flog them but he can’t suspect all of them. That’s why we sent in five. One or two might not have the wits to last in his household but the rest will return with what I need.”

“But will your father take the word of a servant over his own son?” Eamon pointed out.

“Well, when I know where to look, I can use my new guards to go and get the proof I need,” Cavan said happily.

“But your father –”

Cavan felt a sudden ripple of terror run down his neck and slide deep into his stomach. “My father is expecting me! I have to go! Eamon, start training those guards; I’ll be back as soon as I can!”

The throne room was half-empty but every man there was important. Nobles, high-ranking Guildsmen and guards officers waited nervously as King Aidan sat on his throne, his jaw clenched tight and fingers tapping on the side of the throne. Those were classic warning signs and the entire room was quiet, the silence stretched tight like a skin over a drum, everyone terrified of attracting the King’s attention.

“My apologies for my tardiness, my lords and your majesty.” Cavan bowed low and strode up to the head of the room, past frightened nobles who would not meet his eyes. The only other one who looked at him was his brother Swane, eyes glittering with malice. Cavan smiled at his brother, imagining the stories he was going to get from the five servants he had placed into Swane’s rooms. That would wipe the smirk off his brother’s face.

“Now my son has decided to grace himself with his presence, we are finally ready to begin,” Aidan boomed. “I have heard the reports of both Archbishop Kynan and the King’s Wizard Finbar and it is clear to me that we face a serious threat to not just Lunster but the whole of Gaelland. We must act swiftly and decisively.”

Instantly the room erupted as each man tried to show he was the King’s most enthusiastic supporter. The hubbub died instantly when Aidan raised his hand irritably. “The rumors you have all heard are true. Archbishop Kynan and the Wizard Finbar discovered a plague of selkies has been unleashed on Lunster.”

Again the room erupted, covering Cavan’s angry denials in a wave of sound that again dropped to nothing when Aidan raised a hand. Silent, that is, except for Cavan.

“Father, this is a mistake. It is not selkies but men –”

“Silence!” Aidan roared and Cavan shut his mouth. “I am the King and I am always right!”

Cavan bowed his head, cursing both himself and his father.

King Aidan glared around the room, daring someone else to speak up, but nobody was foolish enough to even meet his eye.

“As I was saying, the troubles in Lunster are clearly a judgment on the weak and inefficient rule of Duke Kinnard of Lunster. The fact he has disappeared, a victim of these attacks, is proof of this. He let his people get away with cheating him on tax and they even began to think they were equal to him. That is foolish in the extreme, is it not, Archbishop?”

All eyes swiveled to Kynan, who stepped forwards and bowed. “You are right as always, your majesty,” he agreed. “Aroaril did not create us all equal. Each man must know his place in life and not seek to rise above it. What is happening in Lunster is a direct consequence of allowing the natural order to get out of balance. Nobles are born to rule the people and are blessed by Aroaril. The King, of course, is doubly blessed and given divine guidance to lead us all. The people must pay for the honor of serving their King.”

“Excellent.” Aidan nodded approval then glared around the throne room until the nobles rumbled their agreement.

“Lunster has been ordered to pay back what its peasants stole, so we can appease the selkies and stop the attacks. You will all need to pay more to appease the selkies in your regions, or the selkies will be unleashed there too. That fate awaits anyone else who makes the same mistakes.” He paused and looked around the room once more. Cavan did not watch his father, but the reaction of the nobles. All looked horrified but bowed their heads in acknowledgement.

“But we shall not leave Lunster to suffer needlessly. Obviously there is no hope for the people who have been taken down to suffer and die at the hands of the selkies. But we cannot leave farms and fishing boats to rot. We shall clear out the overcrowded parts of Berry and send them down to Lunster, to ensure Duchess Dina has enough folk to make her county profitable again. And they will arrive knowing they must work hard or suffer the same fate as the others.”

“Long live the King!” Swane shouted into the silence, surprising everyone there; it was certainly the first time Cavan could remember his brother speaking at such a gathering.

The surprise only lasted a few heartbeats, however, before everyone realised they needed to add their voices to the cheer – and quickly.

Cavan opened his mouth wordlessly, knowing he would be seen to be hailing his father. But his mind was racing. Was this just his father seizing the opportunity to put his foot firmly on the throat of the people and make more money for the crown in the process … or something worse? Did his father know what was really going on or, worse, was he a part of it? Cavan looked across at his smiling brother and glared at him. It was the sort of evil plan that Swane would dream up in his filthy little mind. And his father would see it as the perfect opportunity to solve two problems in one swoop. The overcrowded Berry would be cleared out and the ungrateful counties brought to heel. The misery and fear it was inflicting on the people of Lunster would worry him not for one moment. No wonder he was doting on Swane.
And is Swane’s reward the chance to take children from the streets? But Father hates Zorva worship!
Cavan could not make sense of it and hoped he was wrong.

“Return to your counties and spread the word of what has happened in Lunster and what your peasants must do to prevent it happening to them,” his father announced. “You are dismissed.”

As always when the King released the nobles, they rushed for the doors, just in case he found another reason to be angry with them.

Cavan turned to go with them, only to be called back. “Cavan! Join me,” his father called and Cavan turned instantly, albeit reluctantly.

King Aidan left his throne and led Cavan, Swane and his guard captain Kelty over to a side table, where a map of Berry was held down with a pair of chunky bronze goblets.

“We shall begin clearing out the poor quarter first. Those without jobs or unable to pay the Crown at least three silver pieces will be taken down to the docks and loaded onto ships for Lunster, where Duchess Dina will allocate them to vacant farms and villages. And they will be told of what awaits them. If they fail to deliver half of everything to the crown then they can expect the selkies to return,” he said, finger thumping down on to the tight lines showing the cramped streets in Berry’s east. “That area is a hotbed of crime and disease and we shall let it fester no longer.”

Cavan cleared his throat. He knew he should just nod and agree but could not hold his tongue. “But what if these people do not have the skills to be farmers or fishermen? The seas around Lunster can be treacherous and caring for animals and crops is not easy,” he said.

“They will learn fast then. And if they drown or starve to death we shall replace them with others. There are many more people in Berry than the city can support,” Swane said brutally.

Cavan looked at his brother, fighting to keep the hatred off his face. Swane looked different again. His face had changed again: his weak chin was now stronger, his ears flatter against his skull. He was still not handsome but he was getting there.

“You shall go and speak to the people, Cavan, tell them of my decision. Make it sound as though we are sending them to a fat land full of food and riches. Tell them that we have to send them there to protect them from the witches still hunting children through our streets if you want. I don’t care. But get them on those ships by the next full moon. Kelty can give you a few extra squads of men as well, to kick out any who try to stay back.”

“I’m to empty the whole poor quarter?” Cavan gasped.