The Consolation Prize (Brides of Karadok #3) - Alice Coldbreath Page 0,18

strings, hurrying over to clasp his hand.

“Please, Sir Armand,” she said pleadingly. “I promise you I will not hinder you in any way, but I beg you will not leave me here without you.” She squeezed his hand between her own and he found himself speechless for a moment. “If you will only indulge me in this one thing, I promise you I will make you the most amenable wife in the world. I will never go against you, never question your right to hold sway.” She gazed at him beseechingly.

What did that mean? He stared at her a moment, trying to unpick her words. Suddenly, it struck him he was being handed the terms for an ideal marriage on a platter. “Let me get this straight,” he said. “You are offering to make me a biddable wife and lead me to untold riches and wealth, in exchange for my taking you from the palace with me this day.”

She gulped and nodded. “If you could only bring yourself to stand firm in our removal from Caer-Lyoness, I swear I will be profoundly grateful to you, till the end of my days, no matter what happens hereafter.”

“You anticipate then,” he said, seeing the flaw in her bargaining at once, “that there will be some resistance to our leaving?”

Una bit her lip. “I fear so,” she admitted. “It seems too good to be true that they will simply let me go.” She hung her head, and he remembered she had been under house arrest before Wymer had taken her into his court. Maybe even here, she had felt little more than a prisoner.

“I cannot drag you around the city, princess,” he started reasonably, but she shook her head at this.

“No, not princess,” she insisted. “I am simply Lady Una de Bussell now, and yes, you can drag me anywhere, even to hell and back and I will not complain, so long as you take me with you.”

Again, he found himself quite bereft of words. “My associate will not be in a respectable part of town—,” he started valiantly.

“I do not care.”

“Your attendants will surely—”

“I have none,” she said swiftly. “Unless you mean to provide me with any.”

“None?” he repeated dumbly. That did not seem right. Whenever he saw the King or Queen, they were flanked with attendants on all sides.

“Our marriage means I no longer qualify as royalty,” she explained, still clasping his hand. “So, you see, you need not worry about such distinctions.”

She was stood before him now with a look of painful inquiry on her face. Could he really say no, and just leave her here to await him in a fever of anxiety, after she had taken such solicitous care of him the previous night? After he had very likely deflowered her with a complete want of consideration. He sighed and shut his eyes for an instant. “Oh, very well,” he breathed on an exhale.

Her head snapped up. “Very well?” she echoed.

He nodded, “I’ll take you with me.”

She seemed to struggle with words for a moment, before swallowing and raising his hand to her lips. To his consternation, she pressed his fingers to her lips as fervently as though he were a holy relic. “Thank you,” she managed to choke at last, and to his alarm, he saw her eyes were swimming with tears. Suddenly she released her hold on his hand and turned away, swiping her eyes with her hand. “I will be the easiest traveling companion, I assure you,” she said, with a brave attempt at a smile.

He stared after her a moment as she darted around the room, picking up a comb and a box of hairpins and snatched up a head veil. He watched, as with minimal fuss, she draped the cloth over her braided head and then pinned it in place. “We’ll need to transfer the contents of your trunk into saddlebags,” he pointed out grudgingly. “Do you have such a thing?”

She turned to look over her shoulder, but before she could open her mouth, a knock on the door interrupted them. “Come in,” she called out.

The door opened and a troop of servants entered bearing food for their midday meal, which Armand was surprised to find he welcomed, and wine, which he did not. A small table was covered with a damask tablecloth and a variety of dishes, as Una drew one of the servants to one side for a hurried conversation. Armand was just seating himself when he noticed one of the