has no love for knights. I was squire to Sir Jesmond Chevenix over at Greater Derring. He had two sons and a nephew, so there were always plenty of us racketing about the place.”
“You mentioned Derring before, I think in connection to your younger brother attending a religious seminary there?”
“That was Upper Derring, but they are less than an hour or so’s ride from each other.”
“And close to your home?”
“Yes. Lynwode is just outside Little Derring. My father’s place is over at Derring Lacey. They are all within easy distance of each other.” His mouth twisted. “Vastly cozy.”
Otho cleared his throat. “Should we not get back on the road,” he rumbled. “This isn’t the time for confidences. We need to put as much distance as we can between ourselves and that accursed inn.”
Armand felt a twinge of annoyance at the interruption, but in fact the surly fellow spoke no more than the truth. He stood and held his hand out to Una, who took it, and he pulled her to her feet.
“Has that dog—” Otho started, then bit off what he had been about to say.
Armand nearly laughed. “Relieved himself?” he suggested. “And yes, he has. I saw him piss up that tree you’re leaning against,” he answered straight-faced.
Otho loosed an oath, whipping around to gaze at the trunk with disgust.
“He’s jesting, Otho,” Una assured him. “Abelard would not stray so far from me. Indeed, he piddled on this very log. I think ’twas where Armand was sat.” Armand chuckled at this, leading her over to her horse, where she set about arranging her mantle in a sling for the little dog. This time it was he that helped her up into her saddle.
They carried on their way late into the afternoon when Armand let his horse drop back to draw level with Otho. “What do you say to riding through the night?” he asked quietly. “If we rode through, we could reach Little Derring before noon tomorrow.”
Otho glanced back at Una and the pack animals. “If we take adequate breaks, I think it could be done,” he replied.
Armand dropped back further to pull abreast with Una. “If we ride through the night, we could reach home by noon tomorrow,” he said. “I’m aware that probably doesn’t sound very appealing, but it might be for the best, all things considered.”
“I quite agree,” Una answered with a bright smile. “You must not think I am fatigued, for I have done such things before.”
He paused at that. Of course, she had. “We’ll press on then,” he answered, and she nodded.
It was a hard slog. Even Armand found his eyelids drooping and he could hear Otho’s smothered yawns behind him. It was as well that he was familiar with the way or they might well have stumbled or taken a wrong turn in the dark.
They stopped at intervals, giving water to the horses, and finishing off Una’s bread and cheese. The little dog gobbled down the last of the pork. They met no one after night had fallen, and though Otho scanned behind them frequently in case of pursuers, there were none to be seen.
By the time dawn broke, they were a weary bunch indeed, though the rising sun cheered their party greatly. Armand turned in his saddle. “We’ve made good progress and covered more ground than I thought we would. It should only be a couple of hours till we reach Lynwode.”
Una looked relieved, “Oh, that’s wonderful news,” she responded with a tired smile.
“Should we stop again?” he asked, giving her a shrewd look.
“Let’s keep going,” Otho growled. “She needs sleep, not to sit on the grass.” Armand kept his gaze trained on Una.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “I just want to reach home.” She flushed slightly after saying the word “home” and Armand started to get an inkling of how much the idea meant to her. He spurred on his horse and they carried on apace.
It felt an age later as they rode through the small village of Little Derring. People were just starting to go about their day and the procession of horses incurred considerable excitement. Folk stopped what they were about and stared. Small boys ran alongside them with round eyes. Armand dug in his purse for any small coins he could find and flipped them in the air to accompanying whoops of delight as they were caught by eager hands.
“Where be you headed for, sir?” shouted the boldest of the bunch.
“Lynwode,” he called back. “Let it be