Page 10 of The Consolation Prize

His eyebrows rose at her speech. Though she was striving to make her voice calm and measured, the emotion underneath vibrated through her words. Peace and shelter? Not what he had been expecting to hear. For some reason, the words “tumbledown hut” also pricked some sense of family pride he had long thought was dead in his bosom.

“I’m a second son,” he answered cautiously. “But my family name is a venerable one. I do have some lands. There is a house my godfather left me.” He paused seeing the optimism that had flared in her eyes at his words. Clearly, it was more than she had dared hope for. He needed to extinguish that spark right now.

“Then—”

“Wait,” he said, raising a hand. “I am ill-prepared for this. I had not thought to take a wife, and the timing is not good for me to take a wife right now,” he started. Una’s face fell. “I have obligations and they don’t involve returning home right away—”

“But that’s absolutely not a problem,” Una assured him, an edge of desperation to her voice. “I am used to travel, indeed, I am used to uncomfortable quarters and being on the road.”

He halted at that, as the fact sunk in this was one obligation he was not going to be able to wriggle his way out of. It was all very well saying it was not convenient for him to take a wife, but the fact of the matter remained that he had taken one. And ultimately the King must not want her cluttering up his court, or he would not have married her off as a mere consolation prize.

“My home will take both time and money to get the place habitable. I cannot simply take you there and leave you to camp out in a …”

“But yes, yes, you can,” she urged. “I am not what you think me,” she said beseechingly. “I have camped in caves, amidst ruins, and yes, in abandoned, falling down shacks and outhouses. You forget, I lived a large part of my life being pursued by enemy forces—” She broke off, realizing he had probably once formed a part of the Southern army. “If your house is damp, beset by rats, or has no roof even, it will be nothing I have not encountered many times before.”

“With a wealth of servants and followers, no doubt,” he interrupted dryly. ”I keep none. The roof could well have fallen in, for all I know,” he warned, realizing his arguments did not hold the weight he had expected. “I am not on good terms with my family,” he added, starting to feel like he was swimming against the tide. “They are nearby but would not raise a finger to help you.”

“That does not daunt me,” she told him quickly. “Indeed, I would be more worried if your family were a doting one, for doubtless they would then resent the fact you were forced to wed me.”

Forced? He regarded her blankly a moment. Clearly the princess had no delusions about his willingness to take her to wife. He breathed in then out again slowly. It was no good pitying her. She was a burden he could ill carry. “It can’t be done, Una,” he said bluntly.

“Please listen.” She took a few shallow breaths. “There is treasure,” she began haltingly. “Blechmarsh riches I can lead you to. When our forces were taken or surrendered, it was buried at several locations across the border.” She wrung her hands, and for a moment he thought there would be tears. She took a gasping breath. “Karadok is one country again now and all can roam freely, so there would be nothing to stop us from retrieving it, is that not so?”

He stared at her, his attention fixed on her face. He did not think she was lying. “Treasure?” he said speculatively.

Una nodded. “Yes, gold and … and many jewels.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You would not lie to me about this?”

She shook her head. “No,” she said simply.

Treasure? Well, that did put a different complexion on things, he thought, leaning his head back against the wall. He was silent a moment. With wealth he could fix up Lynwode, the estate his godfather had left him, and bring it up to something like a gentleman’s residence. And wouldn’t his brother Henry just hate that? He dwelt a moment on the idea, with a certain grim satisfaction. Yes, that would certainly be one in the eye for old Henry.

Of course, it would mean having to return to Derring with all its painful associations. He winced. He had not returned since his mother’s death. The thought of seeing Anninghurst, the old family home, and his father was as unpalatable as always. Still, he thought, eyeing Una contemplatively. Who said getting married, or even settling back in the vicinity, meant he had to heal the breach with his family? Lynwode lay a good seven miles from Anninghurst. They were estranged, and as far as he was concerned, they could continue that way until Doomsday.

“Have you … er … much to take with you?” Gods, was he really contemplating this? The wheels turned slowly in his head. He could hardly go turning up at Tranton Vale with a procession of carts, loaded with her belongings. Tranton Vale was not far from where the border used to lie. They could head for the tournament and then simply take a detour.

“One trunk is all,” she told him promptly.

That gave him pause for thought. “One trunk?” he repeated blankly. She nodded. Oh. “Do you have a horse?” he asked, thinking practically.

Una shook her head. “The Queen permits me to use the mounts in her stable, but my own horse was confiscated when I was put under house arrest.”

“Right,” he said slowly. Curse his befuddled wits, for every thought took effort today. “I need to go and seek an acquaintance of mine in the city before I make plans. It shouldn’t take me long to run him to ground and then I can return for you—”

“No!” The cry had left her lips before he could finish speaking. She rose jerkily from her chair, almost like a puppet on strings, hurrying over to clasp his hand.

“Please, Sir Armand,” she said pleadingly. “I promise you I will not hinder you in any way, but I beg you will not leave me here without you.” She squeezed his hand between her own and he found himself speechless for a moment. “If you will only indulge me in this one thing, I promise you I will make you the most amenable wife in the world. I will never go against you, never question your right to hold sway.” She gazed at him beseechingly.

What did that mean? He stared at her a moment, trying to unpick her words. Suddenly, it struck him he was being handed the terms for an ideal marriage on a platter. “Let me get this straight,” he said. “You are offering to make me a biddable wife and lead me to untold riches and wealth, in exchange for my taking you from the palace with me this day.”

She gulped and nodded. “If you could only bring yourself to stand firm in our removal from Caer-Lyoness, I swear I will be profoundly grateful to you, till the end of my days, no matter what happens hereafter.”

“You anticipate then,” he said, seeing the flaw in her bargaining at once, “that there will be some resistance to our leaving?”

Una bit her lip. “I fear so,” she admitted. “It seems too good to be true that they will simply let me go.” She hung her head, and he remembered she had been under house arrest before Wymer had taken her into his court. Maybe even here, she had felt little more than a prisoner.

“I cannot drag you around the city, princess,” he started reasonably, but she shook her head at this.