The Consolation Prize (Brides of Karadok #3) - Alice Coldbreath Page 0,41

first time in my life, I am speaking what is in my heart,” she said simply. “I bore no love for the Northern King. Every day I spent in his household was one of misery for me. It seems,” she continued sadly, “that you do not really care for me as your sister, Otho. Like all those other poor fools who followed his banner, you just see me as a figurehead for our father’s cause.”

He staggered to his feet. “That is not true,” he said, passing a hand over his brow.

“If that is so, then you will not keep trying to divert me from my current course. I am a married woman now. My name is Una de Bussell. If you can’t accept these facts, then I must ask you to part company from us on the morrow,” she said gravely.

He swallowed and opened his mouth, but quick footsteps approaching made him close it with a snap and he reached for his sword.

“Hold!” Una said sternly. “It is my husband who approaches.”

He lowered his hand with some reluctance and Armand appeared, climbing out of the paneling. “Our fortunes are made,” he grinned, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. “It’s a labyrinth back there, but there’s plenty of gold!”

Otho grunted. “Ill-gotten gains,” he grumbled. “Anyone who touches it will be stained with the blood of their victims!”

“I’m not fussy,” Armand answered, rubbing his hands together. “Better we benefit from it, than they.” He nodded at the corpses littering the floor. “What I suggest is this. We split it three ways, cart the loot out and load our horses with it and clear out before first light. With a bit of luck, there will be a couple of nags in the stables we can use as pack horses.”

“So now we steal their horses too?” Otho said sourly. “What about giving the bodies a proper burial and alerting the authorities?”

Armand shrugged. “Why cause ourselves a lot of unnecessary bother? I don’t mean to be insensitive, but this is a rural area and sure to have a lot of prejudice.”

“You mean the word of two Northerners would not stand for much?” Una interjected, and Armand pulled a face.

“Exactly. We could be stuck here for days protesting our innocence.”

Otho nodded, his expression grim. “There is something in what you say,” he admitted grudgingly.

“There! I knew you would see sense!” Armand replied, his eyes gleaming.

“I’ll help you load up the horses, but I want no part of the treasure,” Otho said staunchly. “I ask only that you take me into your service so that I may serve my prin—” He broke off his words awkwardly. “So that I may serve the Lady Una.”

Armand’s eyebrows rose. “Una?” he asked, turning to her. “What say you to this handsome offer?”

Una hesitated, but after all it was the first time her brother had addressed her as “Lady Una.” “If Otho wants to journey with us until he is satisfied that I am comfortably situated, then I am agreeable.”

“Well, there you are then.” He turned to Otho. “Follow me. We’ll start hauling it out. Una, you get dressed now, there’s a good girl.”

She nodded, though she could see Otho was rattled by Armand’s informal address. She watched them both disappear into the wall as she stepped over the dead maid to retrieve her clothes. She dressed in a hurry, pinned her hair up and added her veil, and then started packing her things up. Then she set Armand’s tunic on the chair and packed his things, which admittedly, were not much. Then, not feeling she could stand another minute in the same room with the bodies, she carried her own things out and down the stairs.

Setting her pack down on a long table in the dining chamber, she wandered through to the kitchen in search of some food to take with them on their journey. The room was filthy, and she wrinkled her nose as she stepped across the dirty floor to reach the pantry. Inside she found two loaves of bread and the remains of the roast pork from the night before. Extracting these, she took them over to the table and then went back to find the butter.

By the time Otho came hurriedly into the room, she had washed the table down with water and soap leaves she had found, sliced the pork and picked out the choicest cuts. She had then added the meat with the loaves and the butter into a clean sack she had found