A Brother's Price

commander, love, not a private.”
    He kissed her fingers. “I’ll try.”
     
    Barnes knocked on the door an hour later. He looked out the spy hole, saw her and the guards that bracketed his door, and undid the lock.
    “I just finished,” he told Barnes while they stood in the doorway. “I think it would be nice to go with the yellow silk, like in the guest room. It’s very cheerful. That wallpaper wouldn’t stand up to children well, though, so I was wondering, could we put in wainscoting?”
    Barnes looked puzzled a moment, then nodded. “Ah, refurbishing the suite. Yes, wainscot is certainly doable.”
    “The drapes could be the yellow silk, but the divans and carpets should be something darker, so they don’t show dirt. I was thinking green.”
    “I could have samples sent up for you to choose from.”
    Jerin winced. He was hoping to avoid anything that resembled his time with the tailor, looking at dozens of fabrics that all seemed fine to him, and needing to chose one. “If I must.”
    “I will try to make it as painless as possible,” Barnes assured him.
    “Let me get the list.” He left her at the door to fetch his list. Their conversation had already covered most of the main points. “The piano needs work. I—I would like to learn how to play it.”
    “You don’t play?” Barnes seemed surprised, then looked as if she regretted letting it show.
    “We didn’t own a piano,” Jerin told her quietly.
    “I see. Arrangements can be made, with the Highnesses’ permission.” Barnes slipped an envelope out of her coat’s breast pocket. “A letter came for you from your sisters.”
    Jerin took the letter quickly. “Thank you, Barnes. That will be all.” He ducked back into his quarters, blushing hotly. He had written his sisters shortly after the true depth of Keifer’s betrayal came to light, but before Ren’s announcement of being disease free. Initially he meant it to be a short, politely worded warning that he might be returned to them. His anger and fears, however, had spilled out onto the paper, all the sordid details. It ended with “ Damn Keifer, damn him, damn him ,” which, he later realized, might seem deranged. When he gave the letter to Ren to post, even its haphazardly folded, ink-splattered appearance seemed slightly maniacal.
    The letter back from his sisters looked so sane and unremarkable compared with what he had mailed out. Its looks, he discovered, were purposely deceiving.
    Burn this , it started,
     
    once you have read it. You and your wives are in grave danger. We researched the Porters when they offered for you, and came across a piece of information that did not make sense until your letter. Eldest Porter and Kij were born to a husband who died a month after the wedding. The rest of the family was fathered by the Tibler husband. Tiblers apparently have a genetic quirk of eleven toes. According to their birth certificates, half the Porter daughters born to the Tibler line have this quirk. The Porter mothers and, of course, Kij do not. Kij’s daughter, however, has eleven toes. She could only be fathered by a Tibler. The second husband died two years prior to the birth of Kij’s daughter. Kij must have been Keifer’s blonde lover. If the princesses are digging for new information, pushing to find this lover, then the Porters must act. Tell this information to your wives in private. Warn them to be careful. The Porters have proved to be extremely dangerous, and they are being backed into a corner. Do not underestimate them! Do not let the Porters know that you have this information until they can be safely taken into custody! Do not trust the palace guard or even the Barneses with this information; anyone can be bribed. We are coming as quickly as possible. If you need anything before we reach you, remember your aunts are as close as Annaboro. BURN THIS LETTER! Eldest.
     
    He stood, shocked still, his eyes dragged back to the line “Kij must have been Keifer’s lover.” Vividly in his imagination, he saw them in the royal wedding bed, twin blond heads bent close together, Kij’s arms and legs clinging to her brother’s humping body, Keifer’s incestuous seed spilling into his sister’s womb.
    Cullen had told Jerin about Kij’s daughter, supposedly a product of a grief-triggered visit to a crib. Did Kij’s sisters know the truth? Had Keifer slept with his other sisters too, with only Kij becoming pregnant? As a younger sister, Kij could have