Page 64 of Lord of the Hollow Court
With a flash of a smile, Braam lifted his shoulders and shrugged.
“I tire of this,” Fenna said. “Somebody hit him.”
Aside from a brief spasm in the eye of one, the courtiers did not so much as twitch as the nearest guard pulled back his mailed fist, aiming a punch at Braam’s stomach.
Braam was not there to receive it.
Fenna de Groot sat forward on her throne so abruptly it rippled her champagne skirts. Her sharp eyes searched for him, darting between where he was and where he now stood, firmly in red carpet territory. He tapped his cane into the plush nap. Itwasa mind game. The carpet was so soft, no dried blood could ever have crusted it.
“What?” Braam asked innocently. “Did you expect me to take that?”
At the exact moment that a hateful sneer began to distort Fenna’s well-painted face, a door opened. Madeleif had finally chosen to enter.
“The Lady of Lindendam,” Fenna nearly growled. “How kind of you to join us.”
Madeleif inclined her head, looking disinterested as she settled into one of the lower thrones. At least Esmee wasn’t here—that was one thing that eased Braam’s racing heart.
One less de Groot to fool.
“Tell me,” Fenna snapped at Madeleif, “do you know what tricks he plays?”
“Watch your tone,” Madeleif said, sounding a touch bored as she examined her sharp nails. “Lord Braam is not much for tricks. He’s a hair too honest, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t.” Fenna returned her attention to Braam, who was again flanked by two silent guards.
This time, instead of announcing her order, Fenna simply winked—a stomach-churning act if ever there was one. It was the least un-wink-like wink Braam had ever witnessed, and he was close enough to get a rather good look. The guard who’d been beside him raised his mailed fist once again, swiping through the air as he attempted to backhand Braam in the face.
Braam coughed beside Fenna, letting the glamour dissolve.
“You vile, human-loving fool!” Fenna spat, standing and reaching for him herself. Braam took a few steps back before spinning a new glamour. Fenna’s mate—who was looking more and more like a better fed version of the captain of the guard—jumped to his feet.
So did Madeleif.
“What did you say?” she demanded, her usually seductive voice uncharacteristically high. “Fenna! What did you just call him?”
Fenna’s eyes slid toward the lower throne. The captain of the guard halted.
“He’s a human-lover,” Fenna said at length, showing her ivory teeth.
Madeleif let out a fierce, guttural cry. “How dare you insult your sovereign so? Youknowhe is my lover, and yet you suggest he abandoned me for ahuman?”
“Didn’t he?” Fenna asked coolly. “I could’ve sworn.”
“Only to spiteyou.He does notloveher. Tell her, Braam—tell her it is a marriage of convenience and you don’t love that human bitch!”
As Braam backed away from Fenna and her mate with the aid of his firmly rooted glamour, he transmitted a frantic look to his doppelgänger’s face. One he almost felt. How long had Madeleif been like this? The graceful Lady of Lindendam he’d known didn’t care about any of this, about any boundaries or conventions. What had happened to make Madeleif so petty, so—
She’s jealous,Braam thought, stunned.Jealous of Katty and me.
For the briefest moment, Braam thought,And well should she be.He was struck by how easily his pet names for Katty had come to him.My bride,he’d called her.
Lie down and I’ll teach you, little fox.
“Tell them, Braam,” Madeleif urged. “Tell them no one forsakes the Lady of Lindendam. I was the one who rejectedhim.”
“Only after I chose to leave you and returned to my party,” Braam said, bending his voice through the glamour. Madeleif’s eyes widened.
Braam glanced at the door through which she’d entered. It was still so far from him, and he was on the wrong side of the room. As badly as he needed a diversion, he did not wish to humiliate Madeleif. How could he, after all she had meant to him for so long? How could anyone with half a heart?
