My Lady Judge by Cora Harrison Page B

people of the kingdom, Brehon,’ said Daniel as he pushed his way through the crowd. Mara looked at him in puzzlement. It was no surprise that Emer was to be married. She was now sixteen and there was no shortage of suitors for her father to choose from. She was one of the prettiest girls that Mara had ever seen. Her hair had the glossy blue-black of a raven’s wing and her eyes were extraordinary – the dark blue of an ocean on a sunny day. What surprised Mara was that she had
not been asked to draw up the contract. And yet, there was a contract in Daniel’s hand. It was even tied with the pink linen ribbon that she always used for her documents.
    ‘Come forward, Emer,’ she said encouragingly and Emer came forward. Mara smiled at her, but there was no response from Emer. The girl’s face was white, the blue eyes were shadowed and she was clearly trembling. So, the bridegroom was not to be Roderic! Mara scanned the faces in the crowd and found the stocky figure and open, honest face of the young horn player. About ten minutes ago he had been smiling and joking with the young men around him and casting amorous glances in Emer’s direction. Now he looked bewildered and apprehensive. He had not known of this contract, obviously. With a stony face, Mara held out her hand for the scroll. There was little that she could do; the disposal of a daughter in marriage was an affair for the father. If Daniel had come to her in private she could have talked to him, perhaps persuaded him to put his daughter’s happiness into the scale, but now, if a contract had been drawn up and witnessed there would be no way out for Emer. Without a word, she took the contract and unrolled it. It was beautifully written in a flowing hand, the letters all exactly the same size, the lines evenly spaced and mathematically straight. Mara knew this hand; this was Colman’s writing. How dare he draw up a contract without a word to her! She felt her cheeks flush with anger, but she suppressed it. In a clear, cold voice she began reading:
    ‘A contract between Daniel O’Connor, ócaire, of Caheridoola, of the kingdom of Burren, in the first part and Colman Lynch, aigne, of Cahermacnaghten, also of the kingdom of Burren, in the second part.’
    Mara stopped reading and turned around. She gave Colman a long, cool stare. There was no legal reason why he should consult her about his marriage. He was nineteen, a qualified lawyer, independent of his parents and of her. There was no legal reason,
but every other reason. He must go, she thought grimly. I’m not having this behaviour, this lack of any common courtesy. She beckoned to him calmly and he came forward and stood beside Emer, his pale face looking as blank as it always did. Emer took three steps away from him, and away from her father, but that was all that she dared do.
    Mara scrutinized the contract carefully. One word out of place and she could declare it as null and void, but Colman had been too well taught, was too clever, she admitted to herself, to make any mistakes. The contract was as perfect as it could possibly be.
    Daniel had asked for a hefty coibche, or bride price, she noted with interest. Where had Colman managed to get the silver to pay that? She paid him very little. Presumably, he had been doing some legal work around the Burren, and perhaps outside the Burren. He had often asked for a few days’ leave of absence and she granted it each time without searching enquiries – it was often good to get rid of him for a day or two. He may have been doing some work in Galway or in Thomond. Even so, it was a lot for a newly qualified young man to have acquired. He would not have got it from his parents; he had told her once that, in fairness to the rest of his many brothers and sisters, he would get no more from them once they had finished paying his law school fees.
    Steadily and clearly she read the contract to the end. Daniel would provide some cows – not as many as he could have