However logical her thoughts might be, they left her cold and unhappy. Compared to the warmth Keir McQuade kindled inside her, it was a bleak night that promised to become frigid.
“Put it down.”
Edmund’s voice startled her. Helena turned from where she sat in front of a mirror, preparing for the day ahead. The young maid backed up until her shoulders were flat against the wall. The older maid placed a wooden trencher on the side table. It was covered with a cloth.
Edmund looked at the younger girl. “Begone.”
She dropped him a clumsy curtsy and fled.
“You will not be going to court today.”
Dread gripped her with icy fingers. She recognized the tone of Edmund’s voice. Her brother was feeling cruel.
“The king ordered me to.”
Edmund snickered at her. “The king isn’t ruled by the whims of women, not even a royal one. The queen is meant to be bred. Since her belly is full, the king will have little interest in her.”
“I didn’t tell you the queen was with child….” Her words trailed off, horror clogging her throat. Edmund glared at her.
“No you didn’t, dear Sister. But rest assured that you are not my only means of gathering information.” His lips thinned. “However, since you have proven your unwillingness to perform as you are directed, I have no further need of you. Nor do I intend to allow you any freedom to further disgrace me.”
“You dishonored yourself.” Perhaps it was unwise to voice her thoughts, but they refused to remain inside her.
“Honor is for girls and soldiers serving in the infantry. It is a pretty tale that keeps them doing what they’re told even when the ground is soaked with blood.”
Helena stared at her brother. “I do not even know who you are.”
His eyebrows rose. “How very interesting, Helena. I feel the same way about you. Are our parents really so soft with age that they allowed you to remain a whimsical child?”
Her temper rose. “They taught me not to lie, Edmund. That is not soft. It is in the Scriptures.”
He scoffed at her. “No one at court is honest. Do you think that Scot is anything but another man looking to further his interests? Don’t be such a fool.” Her brother raked her with a chilling stare. “His interest in you is pathetically transparent. He wants to fuck you.”
“Edmund!”
His words were so blunt. Never had she heard that word spoken.
“Stop it, Helena. I saw you blushing and simpering at him. Where do you think all that leads?” Her brother leaned toward her. “It concludes with your thighs wrapped around his hips.”
“You needn’t be so coarse.”
“And you shouldn’t be such a lackwit. Your virginity is valuable. That blue blood filling your veins is the item to be bargained. Knyvett is among the oldest names in England. I have no intention of allowing you to squander it on some Scot because you haven’t the intelligence to see beyond your lust.”
He shut the door abruptly. There was the scrape of metal and the grind of the chain. Helena flew across the cramped space, only to hear a key turning. The sound was so cold she felt sure it pierced her heart.
“Edmund?”
All she heard was her brother’s amusement drifting through the door. The sound began fading and she heard his footfalls becoming fainter and fainter. Pushing on the door, all she heard was the sound of the chain rattling. Hurrying to the window she opened a shutter and peered down. A groom stood with her brother’s horse. He inclined his head and her brother came into view. Edmund never looked up. He mounted his horse and took the reins from the groom. With a kick of his heels, his horse joined the busy flow of traffic on the street. With the sun rising, wagons and pushcarts were beginning to make their way along the road.
She was locked in.
Helena sat back on the bed, trying to decide what she thought of it. Fear crept around her composure. There was no way to ignore the icy dread filling her.
Her father was ill. She had shied away from dwelling upon it, thinking instead of what possibilities court might present her with, but the truth was as hard as the chain on her door.
Edmund was not delusional. He ran the family now. The only task left unfinished was the passing of the signet ring that her father still wore. She was truly at his mercy and her brother knew it. His ambition would see no boundaries set by