The Silver Stag of Bunratty by Eithne Massey Page A

sun still beamed through the window. She could not believe that her guardians were planning to kill Tuan. Even if it were true that the Mac Conmara clan had broken the truce, Tuan himself had done nothing. Nor had his parents, who had made the agreement with Sir Richard.
    She tried to think straight. Tuan had to get out of the castle tonight. But how this could be done was, thought Maude gloomily, a different matter altogether.
    But Lady Johanna and Sir Richard had not finished their conversation.
    ‘On another matter,’ said Sir Richard. ‘You know that De Burgh has a young nephew, the same age as Maude?’
    ‘I had heard so, but I have never met him; your alliance with De Burgh is so recent.’
    ‘So it is, and still fragile. I have thought of a way to make it stronger. As we have no daughter of our own, doyou think it might serve us well to marry Maude to him? She is young, but girls her age have been married before now, and she is of no use to you here in the castle.’
    For once, Lady Johanna sounded quite cheerful. ‘Faith, I would be glad to see the back of her. Especially after her latest romp. It is a pity the De Burghs are not here tonight for the dancing. What is the De Burgh boy like?’
    ‘Quite ugly and very stupid, as far as I can remember, but does that matter?’
    ‘Not at all,’ said Lady Johanna.
    They both laughed as they left the room.
    Maude sat biting her lip. So she was to be sold off to strengthen Sir Richard’s alliances. But more serious than that threat was the danger to Tuan. She had to warn him. She had to warn him even though her code of honour meant that her loyalty was to her lord, to Sir Richard, not to a boy she would once have described as an Irish savage. But the Irish savage was now her good friend. Perhaps the code of knighthood was not always right? Maude buried her face in Gile’s fur, thinking hard. Was that possible? Ever since she could remember, Maude had listened to her father talk about the code, how it made the Normans different from everyone else. Made them better. She had desperately wanted to be a knightherself. It had made her so angry that Matthieu was the one who was given training in the use of arms. One day he would be raised to the rank of Sir Matthieu and be allowed out into the world to make his fortune and have adventures. She would be stuck behind the walls of some castle, no doubt married to some awful husband. She would have to listen to everything he said and pretend to be interested. She would have to obey him, even if he was someone stupid and cruel. She would have nothing to do but look after the kitchen and have babies and sew and say her prayers. And it seemed that this fate awaited her very soon, in the form of De Burgh’s stupid and ugly nephew. The thought of it made her want to spit. No, that was not the life she wanted.
    But did she really want to be a knight either, now that she had seen the battle on the hillside? What she had seen there had made her wonder about how much chivalry or honour there really was in battle. Blood everywhere and men’s bodies broken so that they screamed out in agony? It had little grace about it.
    She shook her head to clear the thoughts away. She was wasting time. She was not someone who went through agonies about what to do before she acted. And although this trait often got her into trouble, in a crisis it was her strength. Think about what to do now , she told herself. Itwas simple, really: Tuan was her friend. She would have to get him out of the castle and away from Bunratty somehow, and as quickly as possible.
    She stood up as Matthieu came into the chamber. At first he did not notice that Maude had been crying. When he saw how upset she was, he went over to her and gave her a hug.
    ‘What is it?’ he asked. For once she did not shake him off, but hugged him back.
    ‘I overheard something,’ she whispered. ‘They’re planning to kill Tuan.’
    Matthieu’s mouth opened in shock. Tuan? Tuan, who was