Marcello gave her a confused look. "What on earth does Duncan have to do with your family finances?" he asked.

Her face went dark red with anger. "Marcello. If I tell you this, you cannot let on to anyone that you know. Neither Dierdre nor Duncan. And I . . . I don't know if I can actually afford to care if you're cross with me o'er this." She swallowed. "Duncan's cousins are going to make an attempt to take o'er Cabhon. They're going to move forward in the spring. We're supporting them."

Marcello frowned. "I...why would we do that?" he asked. "Not that there's any love lost with Cabhon, but...we just got over one war; we can't jump back into another."

"We're only supplying arms and men; we needn't be there ourselves." She unclenched her fists and stepped away, head bowed. "It's . . . it's possibly a really good idea. We'd be getting rid of the last order of the old Oisins, the Titania-supporters, and setting up our own presence on Tir-Nan-Og. They're also offering a share of the spoils, which sounds like a token offer, really, as I was under the impression that Cabhon had very little to give in that respect. The only trouble is, I don't particularly want to lend my banner to this."

"We're still sending men who've already been away from their families for months this year," Marcello pointed out. "And it seems...like an expense, when we need to be rebuilding the castle. Why are we doing it?"

"Because if I don't, Duncan is going to challenge my claim to Cnoch-na-Niall on the basis that I have been involved in unnatural relations with his wife," she said, in her bitterest Court voice.

Marcello went pale. "What?" he asked. "Niabheara, what's going on?"

"What's going on is that we're going through with this until I find a way of getting rid of him that will look as if I had nothing to do with it," she said tightly. "And I very nearly believe the Lady in Red was trying to do it for me."

Marcello sat on the bed, with his feet on the floor, tensing his jaw. "Why haven't you told Dierdre?" he asked. "She's your best friend; she married that man because you arranged it. She has a right to know what she's gotten herself into."

"He's made it a condition that she isn't to know. And I can't trust her enough to tell her on the sly and hope she keeps quiet. You know Dee's temper. She'd confront him, if she did not kill him." Niabheara twisted her hands together.