The Consolation Prize (Brides of Karadok #3) - Alice Coldbreath Page 0,64

as he poured her a cup of the weak ale.

“The girl who wants to be maidservant should be arriving here shortly,” he said awkwardly. “We will see her together, shall we? How would that be?” Una nodded and sipped her ale as she calmed down. “Should we move into the great hall?” he asked. “It’s hardly fitting for you to receive her here in the kitchen—,” he started, but Una shook her head, bringing her palm down on the table sharply.

“In here will be just fine, Otho.” It trembled on the tip of her tongue to point out once again, she was no longer royalty, but she had probably subjected him to enough reproaches for one day. Instead she concentrated on getting her breathing back to normal and letting the flush retreat from her overheated face.

She had no sooner drained her cup, than a loud knock was heard on the door. Otho opened it to greet a buxom young woman who sailed in, looking to the left and right of her with great interest.

She was dressed very plainly in a sage-green wool gown with her dark hair scraped back and braided closely to her head, but the few tendrils escaping at her neck and temples were very curly. She was a plain girl of stocky build, but her eyes were lively and bright and when they alighted on Una, they gleamed with satisfaction.

“Milady,” she curtsied briefly.

“I’m very pleased to meet you,” Una replied truthfully. “Your name is Janet?”

“That’s right, milady. Janet Frampton. My father runs the mill just outside the village.”

“Does he really?” Una gestured for Janet to take a seat at the kitchen table and she happily complied as Otho hurried over to join them.

“Yes, milady. For twenty years now. He runs it with my three brothers. Our mother died ten years ago, so I’ve picked up all her duties about the place.”

“I see,” Una replied. “How do you think he will manage without you at the mill, Janet? Did you tell him you were coming along today?”

Janet snorted. “Not likely!

Otho coughed, “How old are you, Janet?” he interrupted loudly.

“Twenty,” she answered promptly. “And not the smallest push has my father made to find me a husband!” she added, a light kindling in her eye. “An unpaid drudge, that’s what I am,” she said darkly. “Taken for granted and expected to pick up after those three oafs who call themselves my brothers!”

“I expect it’s far too convenient for your father to keep you at home,” Una commented sympathetically.

“That’s what I says! And what does my Aunt Matthews say, but that I must be patient and do my duty by my family,” she pressed her lips together. “And I says, what have I been doing this past twenty years, that’s what I should like to know! If I don’t look sharp, I shall be in the same place in another twenty years and end up an old maid!”

“A young woman does need to plan for her future,” Una agreed, as Otho looked increasingly annoyed that the formal interview he had planned, was turning into an exchange of female confidences.

“Now, what I wants to know is this,” said Janet, leaning forward in her seat. “Is bed and board included, as there’s sure to be a ruckus when Pa finds I’m jumping ship.”

Otho opened his mouth, a disagreeable expression on his face.

“Certainly, there is,” Una responded, forestalling her brother smoothly. “Though there is the likelihood you may need to share a bedchamber with another maid.”

“Lord, I won’t fret about that,” Janet said, settling back in her seat, looking vastly contented.

“How soon can you join us here at Lynwode?” Una asked.

“Lord bless you, milady, I only needs to throw a few things in a sack, and I can be with you this very evening!”

Otho collapsed back in his seat, looking defeated.

*

She did not see Armand until before supper, when they met in their bedchamber. Una, who had just changed her dress, looked back over her shoulder to see him looking dusty and cobweb strewn, and guessed he had only just emerged from the attics. “There’s clean water on the side,” she told him, and he headed for it immediately to wash. “It must be dirty in those attics.”

He grunted in agreement. “Extremely.”

“Shall I lay out a clean suit of clothes for you?” she asked, turning to look at him critically.

He looked down at himself in surprise. “I’ll just dust myself off,” he said, then looked at her with dawning suspicion. “Are we expecting