Kushiel's Justice - Jacqueline Carey [163]
"Does the shrine displease you, Daughter of the Grove?" I asked politely.
"Me?" Her black eyes gleamed. "No.”
I paused. "The Old Ones?”
The ollamh shrugged. "Give the dead their due.”
So Clunderry prepared to honor the dead and receive the Cruarch. Drustan's visit was an honor, but it would strain our hospitality. Together, Dorelei and I consulted with the steward and fretted over our stores. I think mayhap the Lady Breidaia took pity on us and had a word with the steward Murghan, for after days of being polite and deferential, he advised us outright to cull the herd and slaughter several of the older cattle in preparation.
"What about the pigs?" I asked.
"Oh, no!" Murghan looked shocked. "That's not done until after the Feast of the Dead.”
I smacked my brow. "Right. Cattle it is.”
Between one thing and another, we managed to get everything in readiness for the Cruarch's arrival. Urist's men doubled up in the garrison and slept two to a pallet, grumbling and complaining.
Urist took a sanguine view. "At least I can pull my lads off the northern border for the feast. No chance Leodan will try to surprise us with the Cruarch in residence.”
"Would he profane the holiday thusly?" I asked.
"No." Urist bared his teeth in a fierce smile. "But he might try it the day after when everyone's sated and careless. I would.”
Drustan arrived on a cold, blustery day with an escort of fifty men. Clunderry was crammed full to overflowing, but no one seemed to mind. The Cruarch had brought half a dozen casks of uisghe with him as a gift. Two were breached the first night; one in the garrison to be shared among the men, and one in the great hall to be shared by the household.
It felt strange to entertain the Cruarch in my own home and preside over such a large gathering. But in truth, the first night went relatively smoothly. Drustan was a gracious guest, at home and at ease among family. And although Dorelei and Breidaia were disappointed, I was glad to note that Talorcan hadn't accompanied him. Drustan had bidden him to host the Feast of the Dead at Bryn Gorrydum, reckoning it was good practice.
"Besides," he said to me after the plates had been cleared that evening, "the celebration grows a bit wild. Folk lose the sense of it there in the city. I prefer to honor the dead in the old way, amid the standing stones and the oak grove. You've seen to it that the paths are clear?”
"Oh, yes," I said. "Firdha made sure of it.”
"Good." Drustan nodded. "You've done a good job here, Imriel. Better than I would have reckoned.”
"I'm trying, my lord," I said.
"I've noted." He eyed me. "So what was it you wished to discuss?”
I told him, quietly, why I thought it would be wise to postpone Alais' and Talorcan's wedding for at least a year. Drustan listened to me, watching Alais as he did. She was entertaining several of the minor lordlings who had ridden with him, sparing Dorelei some of the burden of serving as hostess to the merry mob. She managed it with a maturity and aplomb that she'd never evinced in Terre d'Ange. I daresay Sidonie would have been proud of her sister.
My Alais was growing up.
"You've a point," Drustan said when I finished. "I'd as soon see the matter settled and done, but…" He shook his head. "Mayhap we acted in haste the first time." His voice dropped. "I never reckoned the Maghuin Dhonn would do such a thing.”
"Nor I," I murmured. "I didn't know it could be done.”
"I've word from Sister Nehailah," Drustan said unexpectedly. "She's heard from her mentor.”
"So soon?" I asked in surprise. "How?”
He grinned. "I was curious myself, so I badgered the secret from her. It seems some of the temples use doves to carry messages over great distances. She's promised to teach me more.”
I thought about all the doves roosting in the cypress trees outside Naamah's Temple and smiled. "Clever. Did her teacher have any counsel?”
"Of a sort, yes." Drustan's face grew sober. " 'Tis his opinion that since the talisman that binds you was wrought of Alban clay and soil, 'tis only on