A Brother's Price

do you remember how Keifer was with you and Lylia? He could barely be civil even with Eldest watching. I’ve seen Jerin with his youngest sisters while trying to cook for forty people. There’s no way he could have faked being so patient, gentle, and caring with them.”
    “I’ve seen Jerin with Zelie and the youngest,” Trini admitted. “He seemed very good with them, but it could have been an act. All of it could be an act.”
    “If you don’t trust him, at least trust me to know the difference between genuine goodness and fake. I’ve resisted a second marriage this long because Keifer hurt me too. Of all the men paraded before us, Jerin’s the only one I’ve trusted.”
    Trini stared out over the rosebushes for several minutes. “And if we don’t take Jerin, Kij gets him?”
    “Most likely.”
    “I wouldn’t give a dog to the Porters,” Trini growled.
    Was it too soon to ask for her support? Ren hesitated, afraid that Trini might construe the next question as her being bullied into a decision. But it made no sense to avoid the issue after pushing it to a head. “Can I tell Mother Elder that you support a marriage to Jerin?”
    Several minutes passed, and then, quietly, Trini murmured, “Yes.”
     
    Ren went to her Mother Elder. “The Porters have offered for Jerin. Let me make an offer too.”
    “Have you spoken with your sisters about this?” Mother Elder asked quietly.
    “Odelia and Lylia are eager for the marriage. Trini has agreed.”
    “And Halley?”
    Ren bit down on a bolt of anger. She mustn’t lose her temper. “There hasn’t been any word from Halley. Mother. I am beginning to doubt she is alive; I would have expected her to surface when the Herald reported the attack on Odelia. In that light, I do not think it’s reasonable to wait for her. We have a majority.”
    “With another man. a brother of a well-established noble house, I would agree with you. While Jerin is a charming man, there will be many objections to him fathering the next generation of rulers. We are the daughters of the Holy Mothers, unsullied by common blood for twenty generations.”
    “All the noble houses were commoners at one time, from the Keepers on down.”
    “With the exception of the Porters, the nobles have all taken royal princes as husbands.”
    “If the Porters were acceptable, why not the Whistlers? They at least married a royal prince. In fact, in many ways, they are more noble than all the noble houses, since their royal blood has been less diluted by successive generations.”
    “Truly, Ren, how can you compare the Porters, landowners for twenty generations, to thieves fathered out of cribs?”
    “Landowners? The Porters were not much more than river pirates cutting the throats of those who failed to pay for portage around the falls. They claimed to be neutral during the War of the False Eldest, but everyone knew they played both sides, and yet we married them. ”
    “This is not about the Porters; it’s about the Whistlers.”
    Ren realized that her mother was going to hold to her impossible demand. “If you hadn’t planned on giving your permission all along, why did you allow me to hope? You’ve made losing him all the more bitter now.”
    Her mother shook her head. “I told you that you shouldn’t engage your heart.”
    Ren stood, feeling hollow, betrayed.
    Her mother reached out and took her hand. “Ren, I was willing to allow the marriage if Halley agreed to it. In such an unequal marriage, you’re asking your sisters to take a huge risk, a risk a normal marriage wouldn’t entail. If you wished to marry the brother of a noble family, a majority would be enough. This isn’t the case. You must all be willing to take Jerin as husband.”
    “Halley is dead!” Ren snapped. “Dead! She went out and got herself quietly killed!”
    Her mother slapped her hard. “Shut your mouth! Until her body is buried in the family crypt, she is alive! The answer is no. You cannot marry without Halley’s agreement. That was the case from the very start. 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