Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier Read Free Book Online

say that.
    His grip slackened marginally. I made to pull away and he tightened it again. He’d chosen his spot well—the corner of the stable was between us and the riotous company. I couldn’t see any of them, and nobody in the courtyard would be able to see us.
    “What in the name of the gods is this?” I hissed. “How dare you manhandle me?” As soon as he let me go I’d bolt back inside and tell Johnny just what kind of mistake he’d made in hiring this uncouth bully.
    “Planning to rush in and tell on me?” Cathal murmured. “You won’t do that. You wouldn’t want to spoil your sister’s wedding party, would you? Now listen. A good girl like you doesn’t dance all night with the same man unless there’s some kind of promise between them. I don’t believe there’s any such undertaking between you and Aidan. Take my advice. Leave my friend alone. Appearances can be deceptive, Clodagh. He’s not for you.”
    This was the reason he had seen fit to assault me in public? It defied belief. “Finished?” I asked, squashing the urge to ask him what he meant or to make the obvious retort that it was none of his business whom I danced with.
    “Clodagh!” Aidan’s voice came from not far away, its tone concerned. “Clodagh, where are you?”
    “He’s smitten,” Cathal said, removing his hands abruptly from my arms. At that moment something stirred behind him, a shadow, a figure perhaps twenty paces away, hardly more than a slight disturbance in the many shades of gray between here and the gates. I blinked and it was gone. “Make sure you’re not,” Cathal went on. “There’s nothing but harm in it. Now you’d best go before my friend gets entirely the wrong idea. Ah, Aidan, there you are. We thought we saw something, a little stray dog maybe, but it’s gone.”
    “A dog.” Aidan’s tone conveyed complete disbelief. His sunny smile had vanished. His eyes judged first Cathal, then me.
    “Excuse me,” I said, and passed between them with my chin up and my heart thumping. I headed straight for the house, collecting Eilis on the way. I did not report to Johnny or to my father. Cathal was right: I would not spoil Deirdre’s party by making accusations against one of my cousin’s trusted warriors. I would simply stay out of both men’s way. Cathal was devious. Everything about him set me on edge. I had liked Aidan when he came to Sevenwaters last spring, and I liked him even more now. But I had not liked that look of jealousy and doubt in his eyes. Let the two of them sort this out between them, whatever it was. For now, I had had quite enough of men.

CHAPTER 2

    O n the day of Deirdre’s wedding, the household at Sevenwaters also observed Meán Earraigh, the ritual for spring’s balance point. Ciarán had taken no part in the previous evening’s festivities, but he emerged to help Conor conduct the rite. This druid uncle of my father’s was tall and pale, with hair of a deep fiery red and intense mulberry-colored eyes. Ciarán was a man who seemed solitary even when in company. Although he was Conor’s half-brother, he was much younger, of an age with my father.
    Meán Earraigh was one of my favorite feasts. Down on the grass by the lake shore we marked out a circle with leaves and flower petals. There the ritual was celebrated, with family and guests joining the chanting and the sharing of mead and herbs. We bade farewell to winter and greeted the new season’s warmth and promise. Sibeal played the part of the maiden, wearing a circlet of blossom as she danced in the circle. She was exactly the right age this season, just barely come to her monthly bleeding. She danced without awareness of self, her dark hair rippling down her back, her eyes distant, her features gravely composed. For as long as her part in the ritual lasted she was not a reserved girl of twelve, but the embodiment of the goddess in her youthful, budding form.
    Alongside my sister danced the young son of one of Father’s