Page 24 of May Queen: May Day

As soon asthey rode back in through the castle gates, Flora saw two of her uncle’s guards with a wagon. Barrels and wooden boxes filled with items covered the back. Flora’s old handmaid stood next to them in the courtyard.

“Albreda!” Flora stopped her horse and quickly dismounted before Ricard could even help her. Happy to see a familiar face, she lifted her skirts and ran to the old woman, throwing her arms around her. “Albreda, I am so happy my uncle has sent you.”

“Lady Flora, you act as if I’m your only friend,” chuckled the old woman, returning her hug.

“You are,” Flora told her, then looked back over her shoulder to see Ricard approaching.

“What’s this?” Ricard flipped up the canvas to look at the goods beneath it.

“Baron Oswald Braxton has sent us with the dowry, my lord,” explained one of the guards.

“We’ve brought Lady Flora’s handmaid as well,” said the second guard.

“Fine, fine.” Ricard inspected the dowry. “Spices, silks, and even weapons,” he said, shuffling through the things. “Good. I hope there is money in here as well. However, I don’t see any.”

“I’m sure my uncle sent coins.” Flora walked over and opened a small trunk, surprised to see jewelry, but she didn’t find coins anywhere. “This must be a misunderstanding. Mayhap something fell off the wagon on the journey.”

“Nay, nothing fell off,” one of the guards assured them. “I tied down this canvas myself securely.”

“There is part of the dowry missing,” Ricard informed them as his brothers and the patrol rode in the gates.

“Brother! What’s all this?” Lang dismounted, and he and Dayton hurried over, followed by Ricard’s squire.

“Looks like a dowry, if I ever saw one.” Dayton pulled a plug out of a barrel and wine gushed out. He leaned over the cart with an open mouth, gulping it down.

“Let me try that. I’m parched,” said Lang. But just as he got closer, Ricard pushed him away and corked up the barrel. “Wait, I didn’t get any,” complained Lang.

“Guards, you’ll take this dowry right back where it came from,” Ricard instructed. “This was not what I agreed upon with the baron. He is not holding up his end of the deal.”

“Nay, don’t do that,” cried Flora, reaching out and cradling a bolt of cloth in her arms. She longed for new clothes, as well as some of her things that were left back at the castle. “You can’t send Albreda away. She is old and has journeyed far to get here.”

“Please, my lord,” said Albreda, putting her arm around Flora’s shoulders. “Flora is like a daughter to me. I was handmaid to her mother as well.”

“You knew Flora’s mother?” asked Ricard, sounding interested.

“They were good friends,” Flora broke in. “I lost my mother recently, Lord Ricard. Please, don’t make me lose Albreda, too.”

He studied her for a moment and then sighed. “All right, she stays,” said Ricard.

“I think you should keep the dowry,” suggested Dayton.

“Me, too,” added Lang. “After all, there are a lot of things we could use in this wagon.”

“We?” Ricard looked at his brother and raised a brow. “I said the dowry goes back until the baron delivers what was promised.”

“He won’t like that,” Flora warned him, trying to get him to change his mind. “My uncle won’t think kindly of you or anyone else who rudely returns a gift.”

“Your uncle, if I must remind you, is the one who already broke our original deal.” Ricard didn’t sound happy.

“It was for a good reason,” Flora reminded him.

“Keep the things,” Dayton urged his brother, picking up one of the swords and testing its weight.

“I agree,” said Lang, resting his arm on the barrel of wine.

Ricard looked at his brothers and then Flora and finally nodded. “All right, I’ll keep it. However, the dowry will be locked away and untouched until I can send a missive to the baron to see what happened to the rest of our agreement.” He stepped forward and slapped Lang’s hand as his brother reached for the cork on the barrel.

“Nash, take these things to my solar and lock them away in the wardrobe, anon,” he commanded his squire.