Free My Lady Judge by Cora Harrison Page A

seat beside him.
    ‘That was good of you to give Roderic a position in court. You will like him. He’s a very nice fellow.’
    I wonder, would there be any chance of arranging a marriage between Emer and Roderic now, she thought. Perhaps I could get Turlough to talk to Daniel. After all, Colman is under twenty-one; he should not, perhaps, have entered into this contract without his parents’ permission – though, of course, he does have his independence from them and they will always do, and say, as he wants. Her mind trawled through the steps that she could take to annul the marriage contract until it was interrupted by a series of excited barks.
    ‘Look, Murrough has got some of his dogs with him. Murrough,’ she called as the small round man struggled over the edge of the first terrace. He had three enormous wolfhounds with him, the leather leashes gathered loosely into one hand. ‘Murrough, I was just saying a minute ago that I wished I had brought Bran; he would have enjoyed it, poor fellow.’
    ‘I’m coming up here again on Saturday,’ said Murrough, pausing and panting slightly. ‘There have been a few wolves sighted on the north side of the mountain. My neighbour Fiachra lost a few sheep so we will have to clear the mountain of wolves. I wouldn’t want to let dogs loose today with all the people around.’

    ‘No, indeed,’ said Mara, glancing up and down the mountain. A herd of black and white goats, accompanied by their kids, were thundering down, leaping from rock to rock, and there were shrieks of terror from many of the girls.
    ‘Tonight and tomorrow the wolves will be very wary after the bonfire,’ continued Murrough. ‘You’ll find that they’ll stay off the mountain tomorrow and go down some cave or other. Wolves are funny creatures. They are very nervous, very wary. That’s how they survive, I suppose. Saturday will be just right; it’ll give them another day to settle down again and to come back up. Will you come, and bring Bran? We’ll just go as far as the first terrace and then release the dogs.’
    ‘I’d love to do that,’ said Mara with pleasure, fondling the narrow hairy head of the nearest dog. Saturday was a holiday at the law school and she would enjoy a day’s hunting. ‘The lads might like to come as well, will that be all right?’
    ‘The more the merrier,’ said Murrough. ‘I’ve got plenty of dogs. They can have one each. Young lads like that, they can have a bit of a competition to see whose dog gets a wolf.’ He turned towards the king. ‘It’s a pity you won’t still be here, my lord.’
    Turlough Donn sighed. ‘Do you know, I would really enjoy that. A day’s hunting on the mountain, it’s a long time since I’ve had a good day out like that.’
    Mara hesitated. The note of appeal was unmistakable. She would enjoy his company; she always did. However, she was very busy; she could not neglect her scholars and Turlough would be a demanding guest.
    Turlough sighed again and then patted one of the dogs. Mara looked at him and then melted. He was lonely; she knew that. His wife, Ragnailt MacNamara, had died a few years ago and his four sons and one daughter were all married with their own families.
    ‘Why don’t you stay until Sunday morning?’ she asked. ‘The guest house at the law school is always kept ready. There’s plenty
of room for your two bodyguards, as well. Brigid will be delighted. She will think it much more worthwhile to cook for you than just for me.’
    The king’s face brightened. ‘I’ll do that with the greatest of pleasure,’ he said. ‘That would be a wonderful break for me.’
    ‘I’ll have my best dog for you, my lord,’ said Murrough. ‘And now I’d better be getting on; these dogs will pull my arm from its socket if I don’t get moving.’
    ‘God bless you, Murrough, and have a good evening,’ called out the king as Murrough was towed up the next slope by the three muscular giant dogs.
    ‘You don’t feel like