Sisters Three (Completed)

14. Brenna (1/2)

Brenna toppled an entire shelf of books over, relishing the sound of the wood splintering against the floor and the books ripping as they skittered every which way. She kicked the settee and tossed the little glass clock from the mantelpiece and watched it shatter against the wall. She picked up one of the wood carvings from the end table and hurled it into the fire. Her breath came fast as she tore the pages out of books and screamed the whole time.

What a pompous, old, horrible, disgusting man! He dared to call her nothing? He dared to forbid her from doing anything? She imagined it was his face when she ripped down the one painting in the room and put her foot through it.

The indignity of the situation burned, but what brought the screams to her throat and the heat to her face was the fact that she simply could do nothing about it. The truth was that she was a no one, and that Afton's father was a very important someone. If he said she had no chance with his son, then she had no chance. The dreams of a crown and a country melted like the veneer on the wood carving as it burned in the fireplace.

She was in the process of hurling an emptied book at the wall when the door opened and Robbin stepped in. He barely had time to jump out of the way of the projectile and Brenna couldn't find it in herself to even care that he'd caught her like this. She merely scowled and huffed, daring him to make a comment about her mussed hair and sweaty face.

Robbin closed the door behind him and walked to the settee, putting it between him and her. She pivoted on her heel to keep an eye on him.

"My father just spent the last five minutes ranting about how you brought my brother in here to seduce him."

Brenna laughed bitterly. "How flattering," she spit out.

"Were you really after the crown, or were you merely... attracted to him for other reasons."

"Oh, leave me alone," she said, spinning away from him and picking up the remaining wood figure in one hand. It was a fox to match the hound she'd already burned. She tested the heft of it.

"I want to know," he said, stepping out from behind the settee.

She looked at him over her shoulder with the keen eye of someone ready to do a little target practice. He didn't even flinch, however. His eyes stared at her so unswervingly that she faltered. A small blossom of shame finally worked its way up through her anger, and she realized that it had looked scandalous to be crawling over Afton in an empty room. But she wouldn't let Robbin Glenfarrow see her discomfort. So she stuck her nose up and whipped her hair over her shoulder.

"If you must know, I thought perhaps Afton might be looking for a wife," she said. "An unmarried heir is normally on the lookout for a mate, since his own heirs will soon be in demand."

Robbin nodded, more to himself than to her. He took two strides and was right next to her. She hadn't realized how much taller he was than his brother. Her head just came to his shoulders. A strength rolled off of him that made her nervous to be so close.

Robbin looked down at her, his hand resting on the pommel of his ceremonial sword. "If you were after the throne, than you weren't quite as pitiful as I'd first thought."

"Shove off!" Brenna snapped, pushing him roughly against the chest. He didn't budge an inch. She grunted in frustration and stomped to the settee to sit down with a thump. She crossed her arms and glared at him.

"What I mean to say is that my father is a fool," Robbin said, turning until he was square with her.

Brenna's mouth hung open in surprise. She certainly had not been expecting that to come out of the elder Glenfarrow's mouth.

"He thinks your family is useless, but he forgets that your great uncle once ruled this land. You have noble blood in your veins. And beyond even that, the monarchy was dissolved peacefully in Ittal. That means that the barons and lords did not have to take sides or chose who to support when the end came. They merely quietly turned over their titles and went on with their lives. No dead, no feelings hurt. All their loyalties are intact."

Brenna pretended as if she didn't give a jot what he was talking about. She picked at a loose thread on the cushion and kept sighing. "Thank you for the history lesson about my own uncle's country, but I doubt a deposed king's great niece is enough of the sacred blood for your father to think of me in a better light." She splayed her hand on her leg and inspected each nail.