Do not whine, child. It does not become you.”
“I am not whining. I believe your grief has made you unreasonable. Even if Halley is alive, she’s passed all responsibilities of her duties to us. her sisters. Choosing a husband is just one more duty she’s neglecting. We • have not stopped the courts. We have not stopped the balls. We will not stop choosing a husband.”
“You will! I am still the Queen Mother Elder. You are my subject. I say you will not marry Jerin Whistler without your sister’s approval. Push me any further Ren, and I will refuse the marriage totally.”
Ren clenched her teeth together, balling her hands into fists, trying to keep her anger in. Her mother meant it. It had been years since she’d heard such a decree, since she had lost favorite toys and been barred from outings as a child with such rulings.
“I’m sorry you’ve set your heart on this boy,” her mother said in a softer tone. “But our line can ill afford discord between husband and wife again. Trini tried to block the marriage to Keifer, and no one listened.
This time, we will listen to everyone.”
Eldest Moorland cracked the door to Ren’s study and peered in. “Have you seen Cullen?”
Ren waved her in. “He’s usually either with Lylia or Jerin.”
Ren’s cousin sat, shaking her head and sighing. “The younger Whistlers are in the billiard room with Lylia and Odelia. Eldest Whistler is apparently trying to track me down, so I assume it’s safe to say that he’s not with her.”
An unmarried Eldest sister looking for the Eldest sister of a marriageable man-it wasn’t difficult to guess what Whistler wanted. “What are you going to say?”
Moorland sighed again. “Are you going to offer for Jerin? It makes a difference for us.”
In other words, would the Whistlers continue to be poor landed gentry or would they be sisters-in-law to the princesses? Commoners might sell their brothers to the highest monetary bidder, but noble brothers went to the most powerful political tie.
Ren sighed. She owed it to her cousin to be truthful on the matter. In sketchy details, she told Moorland where negotiations stood. “Not a word of this, though, should leave this room. I don’t want to raise Jerin’s hopes, only to disappoint him. If he has to marry someone else, I would rather he be ignorant that we love him.”
“So that’s the way the wind blows? Well, yes, let him start with his wives with a clean slate, so to speak.”
Ren flinched at the idea of another family being Jerin’s wives. A knock at the door saved her from having to reply. “Yes?”
Eldest Whistler opened the door and stood in the doorway. “Eldest Moorland, I would like to speak with you.”
Moorland made a gesture to indicate that now was as good a time as any. “It would spare me having to repeat it all to my cousin anyhow.”
“We wish to marry Cullen.”
There was a shout from behind the heavy drapes and Cullen tumbled out from his velvet hiding spot. He gave another whoop of delight and flung himself into Eldest Whistler’s arms. Whistler shook her head, smiling indulgently, and was soundly kissed. Ren had never thought of Cullen as a sexual creature-in that moment of frank passion, she realized he was as mature in that matter as Jerin. Her heart went out to Eldest Whistler and Cullen.
“Cullen!” Moorland growled. “We haven’t accepted. We haven’t even heard terms.”
“I want to marry them! Things will work out for Ren. I know they will. It’s not like any of those other fusspots would ever offer for me, anyhow. They want a biddable, beautiful man.”
“You are beautiful.” Whistler didn’t address biddable, but Ren had no doubt that Eldest Whistler could keep
Cullen in line. “But Moorland is right. We need to discuss terms. We’re not nobles with deep pockets.
We might not be able to afford your brother’s price.”
Cullen clung to Whistler, throwing his sister a tragic, pleading look. “I want to marry them. They would be good to me; I’ve seen them with Jerin. They have little brothers; I’d have other men around. They would teach me how to ri-” Cullen broke off at the word “ride” before it escaped completely, and changed it to “-write and read.”
“We can only afford two thousand crowns for the scamp,” Eldest Whistler said. “Payable on Jerin’s betrothal. We might be able to work up more, but we’ll have to take futures out on our little brothers. It would take time to raise more money.”
Moorland looked from Cullen to Eldest Whistler and then to Ren. The woman who loved her brother warred with the woman responsible for her family’s best interests. Ren could offer nothing, and waited, sure that Cullen would lose out.
Amazingly, though, Moorland said, “You won’t have to work up more. We’ll settle on the two thousand. It doesn’t pay to beggar your sisters-in-law.”
Whistler had been braced for a no and looked as stunned as Ren felt. Shouting, Cullen leaped to hug his sister, then mauled Ren in a hasty, exuberant hug, kissed Eldest Whistler again, and dragged her off in search of Lylia, Jerin, and the others to break the news.
The office seemed bare after they were gone, like someone had plucked the sun from the sky. leaving vast emptiness behind.
“Why did you say yes?” Ren asked Moorland. “You know it’s unlikely we’ll be able to marry Jerin.”
“Mother calls your father her sacrificial lamb sometimes. He bought us a lot of power, at the cost of being poisoned at the age of thirty-five. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with the same guilt my mother carries.”
Ren woke the next morning from another night of horrific dreams. The worst nightmare started in the garden, where she talked to Trini as her sister deadheaded the roses. Ren realized suddenly that the wilted flowers had Halley’s face, and the cut stems seeped blood. Ren pulled up the rosebushes to find Halley buried underneath, but then her mothers wouldn’t come to the garden to see the body. Every time she gripped their hands, they would slide away like a bar of wet soap. She woke in the dark, crying in frustration and fear. Other dreams plagued her after she went back to sleep, none as vivid, but all filled with pain and the sense of loss.
She was still in bed when Raven came in.
“I received this via regular post.” Raven held out a battered envelope.
Ren took it. It was addressed to “R. Tern” at Raven’s town house address; the captain had torn the canceled stamps in opening the envelope. Inside was a common sheet of foolscap, folded once. Ren pulled it free, and the word “Eldest” in Halley’s bold script made her catch her breath.
So you’ve lost your heart to the son of landed gentry? Well done. No need for a formal meeting for me. I approve your choice. Proceed with the wedding plans. I’ll be there. Now, call off the dogs!
Your little sister.
Ren turned the paper, knowing that there was no more, but feeling as if there should be. “Where is she?
How does she know about Jerin? Why hasn’t she put any names on this? Why address it to you?”
“She sent it to me so only you and I would see it, instead of the whole palace staff. By the amount of the postage, I’d say she’s close by, though.”
“And no names so if someone was to see it, they’d be none the wiser of who it was from and who it was for.”
“Aye,” Raven said.
Ren sighed, and then, as reality dawned on her. smiled. “She’s approved of Jerin! We can make an offer! She’s approved!”
Chapter 12
Jerin’s face was starting to hurt from smiling so much, but he couldn’t stop.
