He began tapping on one side of the lock near where the arm went into the block. It seemed to take forever, but suddenly there was a snapping sound, and the arm came loose and pivoted out. With a cry of elation, Perry pulled the lock off the hasp, and flipped open the lid. They all bent over the box, candles held close.

It was full of small leather bags.

For a long time, no one moved. Then Perry waved everyone back. “This is yours, Sussena,” he said, picking one of the bags up by the thongs. He spread the apron over her lap to protect her from the heat, then dropped the bag in her lap. “Yours is the right to find out what’s in these.”

With trembling hands, Sussena worked the top of the bag open, the leather cracking more than a little, until finally she could pour the hot contents onto the apron, where ten round, flat objects gleamed in the candlelight.

Gold.

•   •   •

The first strongbox held bags of ten gold pieces each, the second bags of ten silver each, and the third and heaviest, bags of fifty copper each. Sussena held the contents of that first bag in her lap, half laughing, half crying, while Tobin sent his boy over for Wrenmarsh, who was the nearest neighbor with a horse and spare sons. Wrenmarsh himself arrived with Rafi and a crossbow. Larral stationed himself at the kitchen door, while Rafi stood guard at the front door.

“You’ll be makin’ a account with Goldsmith’s Guild,” Wrenmarsh said, sensibly, which was just as well, since all of them, including Abi, were just sitting there like a lot of dunces, wanting to play with the still warm coins. “Termorrer, you an’ me, m’lady, an’ Abi an’ Perry an’ two on my biggest boys are takin’ this t’Haven and settin’ up account wi’ Goldsmith’s Guild.”

“Phaugh!” Tobin objected. “Wut’s use-a them, I ast ye? We got perfec’ly good place for ’un!” He waved at the open hiding place.

“Shet yer face, old fool,” said Hansa. “See where trustin’ t’ hidey holes got m’lady an all ’er kin? And it ain’t no hidey hole no more, now that eight of us know ’un! Two c’n keep a sekrit, iffen one’s daid. Goldsmith’s Guild! Nothin’ could be safer!”

And so that was what they did. Wrenmarsh went home, leaving Rafi to help guard the hoard all night, and in the morning he returned with two huge young men and a small wagon, just big enough to carry all the people and Abi and Perry’s packs. One of the young men lifted Sussena up onto the board beside Wrenmarsh, lifted her chair into the back of the wagon with the packs, and off they all went.