He shrugged. "She was always nice to me, so long as I didn't try to take up too much of her time with me sister. I guess we know why, huh?"

Marcello snorted. "So you know about that, do you?" he asked. "Elaine?"

He nodded. "Don't worry, it hasn't gone any farther down than me. My sister is so weird."

Marcello smiled. "She's not weird. She was just in love. I think she still is," he answered. And then he shrugged. "Anyway, then I feel better telling you the rest of this, which is that that's what Duncan is planning to blackmail her over. And Niabheara hasn't told Dierdre, or won't tell Dierdre, because Duncan demanded that she not. Frankly, I'm with you. I think the ass deserves what's coming to him. But we need to give it to him in a way that doesn't dump a barrel of Oisins down our back."

Starling frowned. "So he's blackmailing my sister but he's not trying to blackmail the other half of the party he's blackmailing her for. So-o-o . . . do we know yet if Dierdre's in on this? No," he said, "because he wouldn't care if she knew. Do we know he's not blackmailing them both?"

Marcello raised an eyebrow. "No," Marcello replied. "We don't. And that hadn't occurred to me. I want Niabheara to talk to Dierdre about it, but...she still hasn't. I suspect, though...Dierdre wouldn't take blackmailing as well as your sister. She wouldn't have gotten so angry at Duncan being put in a prison cell."

"So then he wants Lady Dierdre to play along. It doesn't matter why. Although having a baby in the works might be a big deal." He shrugged. "I think it would be far too complicated if Lady Dierdre was in on it but was trying to pretend she wasn't. Plus I don't think Lady Dierdre would go that route anyway. There's nothing she could want that Nialla wouldn't just give to her, and if they were pissed at each other, Lady Dierdre would just say so. I mean, she already stabbed the King to death; I don't think there's anything my sister could do that would make her sit around and concoct some long dramatic plan for revenge. So. She doesn't know, and he doesn't want her to know."

Marcello nodded. "Right. Because he knows what Dierdre will think of him blackmailing her best friend. And certainly what she'll think of him kidnapping your sister." He sighed. "I personally think telling Dierdre would be the easiest solution. She could theoretically use the babies against him, if she doesn't just outright stab him. And everyone already thinks she's crazy, and she's pregnant, so she could probably get away with a lot more than anyone else."

"That would just piss the Oisins off," he pointed out. "Plus you'd be fighting that war anyway if they went after Lady Dierdre because Niabheara would step in to protect her. Brideslea is one of the Niall warholds but I think they deal with, like, tanning hides or something. They haven't any soldiers."

"All right," Marcello replied, nodding. "You're probably right. So what do you think might work?"