Kushiel's Justice - Jacqueline Carey [109]
Beneath the table, Dorelei's hand groped for mine, finding it and clutching hard. I squeezed back, stealing a glance at her lowered profile.
"You are content, then?" Phèdre asked softly. "To let matters stand?”
"I am, for the most part." I took a deep breath. "The ollamh said Alba owed me a chance to prove I was a good man. I mean to take it." I turned to Grainne. "My lady, Aodhan also said that the Old Ones love a bargain. How might such a thing be accomplished?”
"Chance and luck, usually," the Lady of the Dalriada said wryly. "Encounters with the Old Ones are subject to their whims. Still, Morwen has insulted my hospitality, and I am nothing loath to bargain on such a basis.”
"How do we reach them?" I asked. "I don't suppose they've fixed lodgings.”
She looked at Conor and didn't answer.
Conor looked at the table. "He taught me a song to summon him if I had need," he whispered. "The harpist.”
"What harpist?" Mairead asked.
His skinny throat worked. "A…a man I met. One of them.”
"One of the Old Ones!" His sister punched his shoulder. "Why didn't you tell us?”
Brennan gave his mother an odd look. "I remember a harpist.”
"So do I." Eamonn frowned. "At least, I think I do.”
"Should I summon him?" Conor asked the Lady, lifting his head.
"The choice is yours," Grainne said gently.
He sat for a time without moving, then rose from the dinner table and fetched his harp. Without a word, Conor unbarred the door to the hall and walked out into the soft blue twilight. A moment later, we heard the first notes arising; a wild, mischievous flurry that softened into a plaintive, teasing air. The Lady's other children stared at one another, openmouthed.
"His father was one of them?" Eamonn asked, dumbstruck.
"Ah, well." Grainne smiled. "And who are you to stare, my wandering son, with your Skaldic bride? He's like to keep the old ways, even as you bring the new. 'Tis a fine balance.”
"Eamonn." Brigitta laid a hand on his arm, a look of profound bewilderment on her face. "Will you explain all of this to me later? Slowly? In Caerdicci?”
"I'll try," he said, sounding none too sure.
Outside the hall, the music continued. I got up from the table and stood outside the door to listen. One by one, the others followed. We all stood together, watching and listening.
Conor was a solitary figure, vague in the dim light. He looked small and lonely, head bowed over the harp he held. But his fingers danced on the strings, and the notes rang out, clear and carrying, over the distant green hills. The last note fell with a sustained, dying echo. When he turned around and walked back to us, his dark eyes were shining.
"How did you know?" he asked his mother.
"Oh, he tried to teach me, too." She smiled again. "Only I never learned to play the harp. We'll see what happens, shall we?”
After that, it seemed there was little to say; or mayhap what there was to say was too big for words. We made for a quiet and thoughtful lot. As the evening wore on, it became apparent that Conor's father was not going to manifest immediately. Joscelin excused himself early, and Phèdre went with him.
I knew he was unhappy with what had transpired, and I didn't blame him. I was none too pleased with it myself. Still, I thought I'd done the best I could, under the circumstances. Morwen was right, Blessed Elua had no place here; not yet, anyway. But mayhap if I could come to love Alba, that would change.
In bed that night, Dorelei examined the charms of protection the ollamh had placed on me; the red yarn, the croonie-stone.
"My D'Angeline prince," she murmured. "Who would have thought?”
"You've been quiet through all this," I observed.
She toyed with the croonie-stone. "It scares me.”
"What part of it?" I asked gently.
"All of it." Dorelei raised her eyes to mine. "Tell me, was she beautiful?”
"Morwen?" I shook my head. "No.”
"And yet she bound you so easily." She wound a lock of my hair around her fingers. "They are dangerous, you know. The Maghuin Dhonn. They're wild and unpredictable, and one can never be sure what they want. It's funny."