He clasped his hands behind his back.
Ah, the infamous stance he takes after he decides he’s made a brilliant point in an argument and considers the discussion closed.She resented the fact that she was going to be forced to spend more than a minute in his presence. Brian reminded her of a squawking gosling running unrestrained. Amused by this illustration, she laughed out loud. He frowned disapprovingly and raised his hand to silence her.
“You’d sacrifice thirty of our men to these heathens?” Noelle asked.
“Before you so rudely interrupted our negotiations, I decided to reject that particular demand.”
“Oh.” She nodded approval. It troubled her to see her people forced to sit in the same room with these savages, witnessing these demoralizing proceedings. “Where is Ophelia?”
Brian coughed, then motioned her away.
“Did I ask something so personal you refuse to answer me in public?” She stared suspiciously.And to think he’s actually admired in the northlands by some men.
“This is a delicate matter.” He gripped her right arm and dragged her further away from earshot. The Norse seemed unconcerned, but still kept watch.
He stopped near an east-facing window. Distressed over what he might say, Noelle blocked him out of her mind for a moment and prepared for the worst. She stared into the darkness outside. Thinly threaded moonlight reflected off the water.
She faced him. “All I want to know is where Ophelia is. Whatever else you decide is your own business. Is she in her room or in the kitchen with the servants?”
Peace could never be achieved between them. No matter what he did or how he accomplished it, Brianalwayslooked out for himself first. Some men were honored in their lifetimes for observing laws of chivalry. Others were revered for displaying talent as diplomats or distinguishing themselves on the battlefield. In any of these ways, a man gains the respect of his peerage. Not Brian. He displayed no such talent, but his cunning was of an evil sort. Like the serpent’s in Eden.
His gaze traveled up her body and rested on her face. “Ophelia…” His body language suggested the worst. He didn’t need to finish his calculated lies, she shrieked.
She slammed her hands against her sides as long-suppressed emotions came rushing back. He had played her false from the moment she had arrived. Avoiding truth to keep her pacified.
“An accident,” he finished, disregarding her outburst. “She suffered injuries in the fight this morning.”
Empty words—not an ounce of compassion laced his voice. Under any other circumstances, she would have flung herself on the floor and wept. Instead, she felt numb all over. Noelle chewed on her bottom lip and imagined what it would feel like to beat him to a bloody pulp.
“Whomurderedher?”
He stared through her, oblivious to her presence.
Roiling emotions cramped inside her gut. “Whokilled Ophelia?” Noelle threaded her fingers through Brian’s in an effort to regain his attention.
He turned, fingered a strand of her hair, and sniffed it. “So pretty…” he mumbled.
“What happened?”
“I’ll tell you. We were attacked in the middle of the night and I was caught with my breeches down like a mindless boy. Half the guards were drunk, and the others barely put up a fight. So I accepted the terms these bloody bastards offered—a way out. Instead of dying, we were spared.” His poor excuses did nothing to aid his cause.
Although he hadn’t exactly answered her question, he seemed to be getting closer to a legitimate response. Perhaps if she manipulated him just enough, tweaked his delicate ego in just the right way, she might get the answer she needed.
“If father fails to acknowledge your success, tell him he’s a fool for overlooking everything you’ve done to preserve us.”
He shook his head. “I failed plain and simple, Noelle. Sometimes a man’s honor is stripped away forever if he exercises poor judgment in such matters.”
“Ophelia is dead.” This reality had hardly started to sink in as she feigned a smile. “The rest of us are alive because ofyou.”
“Ophelia?” His voice grew markedly agitated, most likely brought on by the mention of their sister’s name. “You’re so obsessed with one set of circumstances you fail to see the depth of our troubles. The dead are already dead, I can’t change that. As tragic as it is, father is only concerned about one of us.”
Bleeding a rock was easier than getting answers out of him.
“Hisonlyheir is alive and well,” she said matter-of-factly, biting back tears that pained her eyes.
He rewarded her last observation by gawking at her as if she were the village idiot. “You really are the most stupid girl.”He clutched her hand, applied pressure between the base of her thumb and ring finger until it hurt.
“You have no idea why our father is really in Ireland do you? Sweet, naïve, Noelle, always walks around with her head in the clouds. When is the last time you actually admired yourself in the looking glass? I’d wager a bit of gold and say never. Ophelia and Margaret are lovely, but you are the rare gem. A diamond in the rough as father likes to say. You’re in desperate need of a firm hand and a punishing ride in the sack to break your spirit, but a splendid girl by any man’s standards.”
