Etain's Perspective
When I was a little girl I liked to think that Mother had had a grand love affair, that ended in some romantic tragedy. Maybe he had to marry another to satisfy his family�s demands, maybe he marched off to war and died a hero. maybe he was killed in a duel, fighting for mother�s honour. How I sighed over the possibilities, hoping that he was still alive and that, somehow, when I was grown, I could contrive a joyous reunion.
As I grew older I discarded that idea. Mother never spoke of any lost love, never sighed wistfully over what had been or might have been. When we went to Tir I never saw her image in her lover�s arms. I started to wonder if there were some secret shame. I even suspected Uncle Julian ! For despite his reputation he was always kind to us, and I could see he had a soft spot where Mother as concerned.
Finally I decided that it was not that either. It seemed to me more likely that Mother had wanted a child and a man was only a means to an end. In my younger days I would have been shocked, but now I think that it is not so bad. My mother wanted me, and not my father - how much worse it would have been had it been the other way around ! I have only to look to Martin to see what could have been. Even now he cannot see what his father has become, how much better he is than the man he was. I must be gentle with him and hope that one day they can truly be reconciled.