A Brother's Price

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.
    I’m betrothed to Ren and Odelia and Lyüa.
    All was not perfect, of course.
    Princess Trini stayed on the edges of his awareness, watching him, wary like a horse broken with a heavy hand and now distrustful. Princess Halley remained a complete unknown; no one seemed willing even to talk about her. All he knew about her was that she, like all her sisters, was red-haired and strong-willed.
    Summer sulked because, with Jerin fetching the hoped-for four thousand crowns, the family would definitely split at Corelle. Cullen would be the older sisters’ husband. Eldest and Corelle had already fought often over using futures on Doric to purchase a husband for the middle sisters. Worst of all, once Jerin’s brother’s price was in their hands, his sisters needed to buy Cullen and leave immediately; they had tickets for passage upriver on a boat that left at noon.
    Still, he couldn’t stop smiling.
    It was decided to sign both contracts at the same time. Ren came in the morning, while he was still damp from his bath, for the prenuptial inspection. It was difficult to tell which of them was more embarrassed—Ren, he, or Eldest. Despite her blush. Ren’s eyes glowed with an excitement that sent his heart racing and other parts of his body reacting.
    “I’m satisfied.” With a grin, Ren picked up his dressing gown and helped him into it. “Everything seems to be in good working order.”
    “But you knew that,” Eldest said.
    “I would not be so cavalier,” Ren warned. “You have Cullen’s inspection yet, and you are more guilty of dalliance than I am.”
    Eldest faked innocence. “Oh, I was talking about the sperm test.”
    That only made Ren smile wider and Jerin blush more. Cullen’s report