“I have.” Francis looked straight ahead, raising his goblet to his mouth. “D'ye remember, Devin?”
“I do, Father.”
Darragh leaned forward to take in the strikingly ominous expressions of the Meachair, all three of them.
“A long time back now.” Devin continued. “After Liam had nearly had his head split open with a rock.”
Tisa gasped. “How terrible.”
Francis turned toward the other end of the table, and though Darragh couldn’t see his expression, the tightness of his body reminded him of an arrow about to be let lose.
“D’ye remember the time, Seigine? Ye were fostering with me.”
The man’s face was suffused with anger. “Are ye still claiming I’m the one who tried to hurt yer lad? Ye couldn’t prove it then and ye cannot prove it now.”
Liam sat on the far side of Seigine. “But I remembered, despite yer claim of innocence. ’Twas ye who hefted the boulder over me, barely missing my skull.”
Shaking his head, Seigine tried to make light of it. “We were children. I had no reason to want to cause ye harm.”
Francis continued with the same hard tone. “And at the time, we’d several animals that had been savaged and left for dead.”
“A hard winter, too, and with the extra mouths to feed…” Devin’s voice dropped off.
“A decision was made to quit the fostering and ye were returned to yer clan.” Francis faced front again, his lips flat against his teeth.
The people seated in front of them continued their conversations, eating and drinking, oblivious to the sudden tension at the head table.
Brighit swallowed loudly beside Darragh and he clasped her hand that rested on her lap. He offered her a smile of encouragement and removed his hand before giving her a gentle nod. She stood beside him, a tight smile on her face.
“If ye’ll excuse me, I need to check on my father’s arrival. I expect him anytime.”
“Of course, dear.” Tisa said. “Ye may check with the guards at the gate. Word may have come after we sat down to dinner.”
“Would the guard not have brought us the information?” Tadhg asked.
Darragh tensed as did Brighit. If she wasn’t able to leave the hall, there would be no opportunity for Seigine to speak to her. Their plan would be stalled.
Tisa shrugged. “He does not always deem it necessary.”
Tadhg’s expression of surprise was followed by a loudly exhaled breath, and Darragh felt certain he was about to defend his men.
“Father, allow my wife to see to whatever she needs to.” He widened his eyes, hoping to instill the slightest question in his father’s mind about her reasons for needing to leave.
Tadhg merely nodded, no doubt catching his meaning. “Certainly.”
Devin stood on cue as soon as Brighit disappeared into the entry hall. “Calum.”
A man turned toward him with a look of surprise before glancing around to be sure he was the Calum who’d been named.
“Calum.” Devin laughed and stepped away from the table, clasping the man’s arm in a tight grip. “Do not tell me ye do not remember me.”
The man smiled and nodded and those at the head table quickly lost interest.
“Did ye enjoy yer duck, Darragh?” Tisa asked, dabbing at her lips with a cloth.
“Certainly. My favorite.”
Tadhg turned his back to the others at the table. “And when ye return, we always eat well.”
