The Consolation Prize (Brides of Karadok #3) - Alice Coldbreath Page 0,24

which sure enough seemed to be a procession of inns, starting out as large and sprawling and getting humbler and less grand the further along you walked.

“Did they tell you at The Stone Crow where you could find your man?” she asked, hoping she was not overstepping the mark.

He nodded. “Though he is very much his own man, as he will be sure to tell you, if you give him half the chance,” he said dryly. “Fulcher usually has a bolthole or two he can retreat to. Apparently, his cousin has recently taken rooms in the next street, above a cordwainer’s.”

They walked about halfway down the cobbled lane before Armand pointed upward at the sign of an improbably colored hog’s head. They crossed the road and made for its door. The Blue Boar seemed a clean and pleasant establishment. Armand had no sooner inquired, then the landlady assured them a room was at their disposal. He set a handful of coins down and asked for supper to be sent up to their room that evening and then followed the servant up the stairs.

Dumping their bags in the corner of a well-appointed room, he drew Una to one side. “If you will make yourself comfortable now, I will see to my pressing business and be back as soon as I am able.” Una nodded and he gave her a searching look.

“Very well,” she said, seeing he seemed to expect a vocal response from her.

“Wait!” he called after the retreating servant. He tossed a coin. “Fetch a goblet of wine.” He turned back to Una. “Did you want a bath or—”

“No, for I had one this morning,” she assured him. “Please don’t trouble yourself on my account, I will be quite content to await you here.” She gave him a smile, which she hoped was convincing, and watched him disappear out of the door with a sinking heart. Try as she might, she could not rid herself of the fear, however irrational, that it was the last she would see of him.

Of course, she was being ridiculous, she told herself firmly. He was known to the King, and skipping out on his obligation would be no easy thing for him to do. Besides, she had no reason to doubt him, other than his obvious reluctance to take her to wife. Since she had told him about the treasure, he had fallen in with her plans more or less. But oh, how she wished she had not been forced to fall back on the promise of those most ill-gotten gains. She felt a twinge of unease and did her best to dismiss it. But what if others had talked, and the treasure had long since been dug up and carried away?

She had no choice, she reminded herself as she accepted the cup of wine from the returning servant. She had needed to bring something to the table in order to strike their bargain. Her poor self was scant enticement these days. If not, she would scarcely have been offered as a consolation prize. She took a sip of the wine and washed her hands and face, unpinned her braids, and removed her overdress to lie on the bed in her gold-colored kirtle.

She hoped she might take a nap, but alas, sleep did not come. Instead she piled up the cushions behind her back and slowly sipped her wine as she tried not to worry overmuch about what was to become of her. If she could have kept busy, then she could have kept such worries at bay, she thought, but she could not get her sewing out now, not when everything was packed away so neatly and she did not know at what time Sir Armand would return.

It wasn’t like she dabbled with a bit of elegant stitchwork like some ladies. Una did not do fancy needlework. Plain sewing was all her nurse had taught her, and she had made her own undergarments and nightgowns for years now, though it might not be considered proper employment for her station. While under house arrest with Lord Mycoft, his housekeeper had taught her how to expand her repertoire, to include outer gowns and tunics. Indeed, sewing for her eventual freedom and walking every inch of the grounds of Mycroft Hall had been what got her through those three long years of house arrest.

Her sole pleasure and occupation at court over the past eighteen months, apart from attending the many tedious court events, had been planning

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