I didn’t dare argue, given her longevity in the mortal world. “What about the captain? Have you sought a warrant for his arrest?”
Amusement softened her face. “After delivering us to Wexford yesterday morning, Lynch was struck with an overwhelming desire to sell his cargo in Dublin and divide the proceeds amongst several parish orphanages. ‘Charity never faileth,’” she said, quoting the well-known snippet from the New Testament. “Though in the captain’s case I believe it will lead to legal action from his investors.” Her eyes widened with mock concern. “He may even lose his ship, once the claims have all been settled against him.”
I snorted a laugh. “That should just about cover the cost of his betrayal.”
“I’m pleased you agree.” The warmth dimmed in Justine’s face as she glanced across the room to where the three men sat at the table. “It nearly wasn’t the case. Lord Stroud...he was...” Her voice trailed to silence.
Struck by the change of tone, I followed her gaze to Julian. He sat in profile to us, his dark head bent over the pewter tankard. Feeling the weight of our combined stares, he turned toward us, a brow hooked in question. I forced a smile, having no better response to being caught so blatantly staring. He returned the smile, a simple gesture that had nothing simple about it.
Justine moved her attention in the opposite direction to stare into the hearth. A log shifted, sending up a shower of sparks that died at Sean’s feet. “Don’t get me wrong, Selah, we were all distressed when we discovered you were gone from the Sea Witch. But Lord Stroud...he became quite altered.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, though I suspected her answer from my own experience with the man.
“I’m not sure exactly, except that at the time he seemed ready to kill everyone on board regardless of their part in your disappearance.” Her mouth tensed around the thought. “Volatile is the only way I can think to describe him.”
Volatile and violent. “Similar to when you found me tied to the tree?”
She looked at me and nodded. “Just like that, as though he had become another person altogether. Calhoun guarded his final destination from the captain, I assume to avoid any double-dealing, so all Lynch could tell us was the approximate location where the lifeboat had been dropped into the sea. We didn’t even know if he had rowed north or south, and once we arrived on shore, Lord Stroud turned frantic and insisted we split up to cover more ground in our search for you. Since then, we’ve barely stopped other than to sleep a few hours at a farmer’s cottage. We had just returned tonight with plans to move farther inland on the morrow when word came through a shepherd boy that you had arrived in town.” She paused to reach for the teacup on the side table.
“And in all your searching, you didn’t come across a dolmen in the southern woods?” I loathed to admit that Deidre could have been mistaken. Or worse yet, had lied to me.
“So far as I know. Lord Stroud covered the area to the south.” Taking a sip of the steamy liquid, she lowered the cup and nestled it in her palms. “You best watch yourself around him for my instincts tell me he hasn’t abandoned his pursuit of you.”
I cast another look at Julian. He spoke to Tom in a low voice, and the color appeared heightened beneath his olive skin. Tom grinned good-naturedly into his ale, and Julian curled his fingers around his own tankard. Without lifting it, he tilted his head ever so slightly in my direction, as though mindful he was being watched. This visceral awareness unsettled me, coming from a man who thrived on cunning and stealth, in addition to the continued delusion that we had been made for each other.
He raised the tankard to drink, and I caught a side glimpse of his smirk.
What are you planning, Lord Stroud?
“Did one of Cailleach’s hounds really come inside the inn, with so many of Brigid’s descendants about?”
I dragged my gaze back to Justine. “Bold as brass, right through the front door while we were at supper.”
She tutted her disapproval. “Too bad the girl decided to leave with him after everything you two have been through. Death’s voice could have been useful with what we have planned tonight.”
“She didn’t have a choice.”
Justine gave me an odd look. “How can you be so sure?”
It was a fair question, and one I’d asked several times since Ailish had left. Each time, the same answer waited.
“Because we’re friends.” And after what we’d been through, I refused to believe she would just leave of her own accord without saying goodbye.
Justine sipped her tea, her expression expectant over the rim of the cup. Having nothing more to offer, I turned my attention to smoothing a snagged thread on my skirts.
“I hope you’re right,” she said after a moment. “And that Cailleach hasn’t set the girl against you. It’s no secret the goddess wants you dead.”