Page 27 of The Consolation Prize

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 along with an untouched wheel of cheese.

“There you are!” he breathed a sigh of relief. “We came out of the passage to find you missing!”

“Hardly that, Otho. I merely did not wish to remain in that room with a pile of corpses. Can you blame me?”

He murmured at that and turned to survey the room with a disgusted expression. “This room isn’t much better,” he pointed out.

“Well, true,” Una agreed. “Now I have packed us some victuals, I will come and wait for you in the dining chamber. Have you gathered the spoils now?”

“Nay, for there is a good deal of it,” he said shaking his head. “Your husband is still dragging out sacks even now.”

“That much?” said Una a good deal startled.

“The villains must have benefitted from the previous good name of the place,” he said. “Here, let me carry that.” Una passed over the bag of food and led the way through into the next room.

“You did not bring down your brandywine,” Otho remarked. “Shall I fetch it for you?”

“No, brother, for it makes my head swim. A few sips sufficed.”

Otho looked troubled. “You should not call me that, you know. I am aware I slipped first, but that was in the heat of the moment. Now I am to be your attendant, you must not address me as such.”

“Otho—”

“If you hold any regard for me, you will respect my wishes, Lady Una,” he said with emphasis.

She sighed. “You were the only one of my siblings I held any affection for. It seems very hard that I am now expected to deny the bond.”

He looked shocked. “What of Forwin?” he spluttered, mentioning their older brother.

“I heartily detested Forwin. He was a vile bully, the most like our father out of all of us.”