Free Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier

can't happen. Why don't you ask him if he'll take Liadan instead? It's the best offer she's likely to get. And now, if you'll excuse me—" She blundered to the door, and I could see the tears starting to flow as she stumbled out and away along the hall, leaving the family in stunned silence.
    She wouldn't talk to me. She wouldn't talk to Mother. She wouldn't even talk to Iubdan, who was the best listener you could hope for. Liam she avoided altogether. Things began to get quite strained as the days passed and Fionn's letter remained unanswered. There was no sign of a compromise, and my uncle became edgy. Everyone recognized that Niamh's reaction went beyond what might be expected (which was shocked but flattered surprise, followed by a show of maidenly reluctance, and eventually blushing acceptance). What they could not understand was why. My sister was, as Liam had pointed out, quite old to be still unwed, and her such a beauty. Why hadn't she jumped at such an offer? The Ui Neill! And a future chief tain at that! The gossip was, it was Eamonn she really wanted, and she was holding out until he came back. I Page 27

    could have told them differently, but I held my tongue. I had an idea what was hi her head. I had a suspicion about where she went those days she made herself vanish from sunrise to dusk.
    But my sister's thoughts were impenetrable; I could only guess at the truth, and I hoped fervently that my misgivings were unfounded.
    I tried to talk to her, but got nowhere. At first I was kind and tactful, for she cried a lot, lying on her bed
    staring up at the ceiling or standing by the window with her tear-stained face bathed in moonlight, looking out over the forest. When kindness had no effect, I became more direct.
    "I don't think you would make a very good druid, Niamh," I told her one night as we sat alone in our room, a small candle burning on the chest between our narrow beds.
    "
    What?xl had certainly got her attention with that. "
    What did you say
    ?"
    "You heard me. There are no warm blankets, no accommodating servants, no silken gowns in the nemetons. There is a lifetime of discipline and learning and self-deprivation. It is a life of the spirit, not the flesh."
    "Hold your tongue!" Her furious response told me I had come close to the truth. "What would you know? What would you know about anything? My plain little sister, wrapped up in her herbs and potions and her cozy, domestic round! What man's likely to want you, save a farmer with big hands and mud on his boots?" She flung herself down on the bed, her face in her hands, and I suspected she was crying.
    I took a deep breath and let it carefully out again. "Mother chose a farmer with big hands and mud on his boots," I said quietly. "There were more than a few women at Sevenwaters who thought him quite a catch when he was a young man. So they say."
    She did not move, did not make a sound. I sensed the deep misery that had given rise to her cruel words.
    "You can talk to me, Niamh," I said. "I'll do my best to understand. You know it can't go on like this.
    Everyone's upset. I've never seen the household so divided. Why don't you tell me? See if I can help?"
    She lifted her head to look at me. I was shocked at her pallor and the deep shadows under her eyes.
    "Oh, it's all my fault now," she said, in a strangled voice. "Upset everyone, have I? Who was it decided to marry me off so they could win some stupid battle? That wasn't my idea, I can tell you!"
    "Sometimes you can't have what you want," I said levelly. "You might just have to accept that, hard as it might seem right now. This Fionn might not be so bad. You could at least meet the man."
    "That's good, coming from you! You wouldn't know a real man if you saw one. Didn't you suggest
    Eamonn as a likely choice for me?
    Eamonn
    ?"
    "It did seem—possible."
    There was a long silence. I kept still, seated cross-legged on my bed in my unadorned linen nightrobe. I
    supposed what she had said about me was