Page 25 of Degradation

Her brows lifted. “Two nights?”

He nodded. “Nine bowls of stew, please. With bread. And honey, if you have it.”

She scurried to gather the required bowls as Brandle led me to one of the public tables. Eadric, Darian, Daemon, and Liam carried our packs in.

“The stew smells delicious, Mistress,” Eadric said with a charming smile.

“Aren’t you sweet.” She slid the bowl with a larger portion in front of him.

I could feel Darian’s amusement.

The woman promised to have the rooms ready before we finished our stew and hurried up the stairs.

“Did she say how many rooms?” Andrew asked.

“No,” I said.

He grunted and started eating.

I didn’t think the number of rooms would matter. They wouldn’t let me sleep alone even if the inn had twelve rooms.

“The bedding is clean, and the rooms are being aired,” the woman said as she descended the stairs.

“How many rooms?” Andrew asked.

“Four.”

While Andrew settled the bill with the inn's mistress, I followed Garron and Darian to the rooms. Each barely had enough space for a bed and a washbasin. They put my bag in the one at the end of the hallway under the eaves.

“Girl!” Andrew called from below.

“Did he forget my name?” I whispered to Garron.

He shook his head. “It’s better not to use it.”

“Ah.”

I hurried down the stairs and looked at Andrew.

“I’m taking your cousins to the sheep market. Stay with your brothers.”

Since I wasn’t sure which of them was supposed to be my direct kin, I kept my gaze on Andrew as I nodded.

He motioned for Brandle, Daemon, Darian, and Liam to follow him and left me with Edmund, Eadric, and Garron.

“Mistress, do you have a deck of cards?” Eadric asked.

* * *

The others didn’t returnuntil well past midday.

“Good news,” Andrew said, walking in. “We found a ram.”

I looked through the open door and saw Brandle leading the animal to the stable. Questions churned in my mind. They hadn’t truly gone to the market for a ram, had they? I’d thought it’d been a ploy.

Garron nudged my leg under the table, and I returned my gaze to my cards.

“The seller mentioned a new breed I’m interested in. He sent his son home for it. It will take him a few days to reach their farm.”

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