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his hands full these days.  He’s getting married next month.  Mary has finally accepted him now that he’s lord and master.”
    “My Mary?” Brendan cried out in outrage.
    Meg turned her back to Brendan as he got dressed, his hair still dripping bathwater onto his clean shirt.
    “She’s your Mary no longer.  Did you think she’d just wait patiently until you came back?  She’s had Jasper wrapped around her little finger since the day you left; knowing that he would inherit should anything happen to you.”  Meg sighed with frustration as she turned to face Brendan again.  Men were so incredibly naïve when it came to women.  They thought of women as commodities, ones that could be put by until they were in need of them.  Meg supposed some women were like that, but not Mary.  Mary was as clever and calculating as any man, her intellect conveniently disguised by a comely face and a fine figure.
    “Lucky Jasper.  I see things are going well for him at last,” Brendan quipped as he pulled on his breeches.  He still thought that Meg was being overly dramatic, but he would be sleeping fully dressed tonight, in case he needed to make a quick getaway. 
    “Good night, Meg,” Brendan said as he gave his sister a warm hug.  “I’ll leave at first light, and I promise I won’t do anything foolish, if only for your sake.  I wish I’d had time to see your boys.”
    Meg just nodded into his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him. 
    “God keep you, Brendan,” she mumbled, then turned on her heel and ran from the room.  Brendan made his way to his old room and stretched out on the bed.  He hadn’t slept in a real bed in longer than he could recall, but he couldn’t rest, his mind going over and over what Meg said. 
    Would Jasper really betray him that way?  He’d always been somewhat morally ambiguous, more concerned with what he could get away with rather than with what was right, but they were brothers, flesh and blood.  And could he have had anything to do with their father’s death?  Even thinking these thoughts seemed disloyal, but was it possible?  Jasper most certainly profited from his death, but would he actually stoop to murder?  Brendan shook his head, unable to accept that his little brother could have become so vicious, but Meg was the oldest and she’d known them since they were children.  If Meg believed that Jasper was capable of murder, he’d better take heed. 
    And Mary…  He could hardly blame Jasper for lusting after Mary.  She’d always been the loveliest girl in the village, but Mary had been promised to Brendan these past six years, a contract arranged by their fathers when Mary turned twelve.  The contract was still binding since Brendan was alive, but as far as Jasper and Mary were concerned, he might as well be dead since neither one of them saw fit to honor it.  What would Mary’s father have to say had he known of Brendan’s return?  Would he want his daughter to marry the penniless, disinherited son?  It hardly mattered now.  Brendan reached for his dagger and slid it beneath his pillow.  Welcome home , Brendan, he told himself before drifting off into an uneasy sleep.     

Chapter 6
     
    The day dawned clear and bright, the sky a brilliant blue after days of drizzle punctuated by severe downpours; fluffy clouds lazily drifted across the face of the sun and cast shadows onto the muddy yard.  The beauty of the September day was a stark contrast to Brendan’s mood as he packed a few belongings and chose a fresh horse from the stable.  Poor Iver wasn’t ready for another journey.  Brendan turned on his heel and walked back into the house, his mind made up.  Jasper had asked him to leave quietly, but he would see his mother and say goodbye.  Lord knew when he’d see her again, if ever, considering her ill health. 
    Nan Carr looked small and still in her bed, her skin ashen against the white linen of the embroidered pillowcase.  His