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themselves.
    “True, but most do it with more enthusiasm than grace,” Aidan said wryly, descending to my level and offering his free hand to help me down the steps. “If you’re willing, I’ll give it my best try.”
    Back in the hall the juggler still held the younger ones spell-bound, but the music had begun again and folk were already dancing. Deirdre had her head high and her hand in Illann’s as they stepped forward and back, circled and passed under the joined hands of other couples. Aidan set his harp in an alcove and we attached ourselves to the end of the line. I caught Deirdre’s eye. She, at least, had not missed the fact that I had come back into the hall from a secluded area in company with a young man. Well, let her think what she wanted. As Aidan offered a rueful apology for stepping on my toes, I let my troubles go and was happy.
    I stayed with Aidan for a second dance. We didn’t talk much—he needed to think about the steps. The third was a jig, requiring such concentration that we didn’t exchange a word. The hall was getting noisy. A long chain of folk was forming around the perimeter of the dancing area and spilling out into the courtyard where a bonfire had been lit at a safe distance from the house. We were wary of fire at Sevenwaters, for it was only four years since the hideous accident that had scarred Maeve for life. But we had learned to deal with this, since fire formed an essential part of major celebrations such as weddings and seasonal rituals.
    The chain of dancers snaked past us. Coll and Eilis were in it.
    “Clodagh!” my youngest sister shouted. “Come on!”
    Then Aidan and I were in it too, whether we liked it or not. With one hand in my sister’s and the other in Aidan’s, I found myself dancing out the door into the courtyard, where wild shadows were thrown high on the walls by the changeable light from the great fire. Our forms were transmuted into immense prancing deer and owls and hares, or mysterious creatures that were half human, half something quite other. Aidan was laughing. His hand in mine was warm and strong. My heart beat faster. The drummer from Illann’s band came out after us to stand by the main steps, picking up the pace as we moved away from the house. The line went right around the fire now, down as far as the stables and back again, and people were starting to sing.
    “All right?” I saw rather than heard Aidan ask me. I nodded, answering his smile with one of my own. Proper conversation was impossible. The singing was robust, the dancing undisciplined. The line lurched along and we had to grip hard to avoid being pulled right over. Eilis was laughing hysterically. I hoped she could not understand the words of the song, which were getting progressively bawdier with each verse. Perhaps it was time for me to take her indoors. But I was enjoying myself, and so was Aidan—he squeezed my hand, grinning madly. The drum hammered away. Now the whistle player had come out too, adding a high, true version of the melody to the erratic one the singers were bellowing.
    Down by the stables Eilis tripped, pulling me hard. I stumbled, letting go of her hand and Aidan’s. Before I could so much as blink, someone pulled me out of the line and into the darkness by the steps to the harness room. He had my arms in a powerful grip; he knew exactly how to hold a person so she couldn’t fight back.
    “Let me go!” I shouted. It was as ineffectual as my efforts to free myself. The singing drowned out everything. If someone wanted to abduct me, this was the perfect time.
    “Stop struggling, then.” An unmistakable voice spoke right in my ear; I could feel the warmth of his breath. Cathal. “Believe me, I have no desire at all to molest you. I just want to offer a friendly warning.”
    “Friendly! I’d hate to see how you treat your enemies. Let me go, Cathal! You’re hurting me.” And you’re frightening me. I would not give him the satisfaction of hearing me