Chapter 85

　　I was beginning to make progress on the hoard, I decided, as I washed my hands for lunch. It was still almost overwhelming in size, but there was a definite impression on the side where I had been working. Aurien had prepared a stew for the midday meal, using some of the meat left from the sheep carcass that hung from the cave ceiling.

　　“You cook well,” I told him. “How is it that you have learned?”

　　“Not everyone has a castle full of servants to tend our every whim, princess,” he replied with dry amusement. “For most, if you wish to eat, you must learn to hunt, to grow, and to prepare the food yourself.”

　　“Princesses are taught to be wives,” I was not embarrassed by my lack of education. I had to fight for every piece I had obtained, against objections. “Most are not even taught to read. Even were we to inherit, our husbands would expect to rule, and so they do not bother teaching us anything of importance. Embroidery, music, courtly manners…”