Blood Of Gods (Book 3) (37 page)

By the time they reached the door to the solarium, Cleo and Romeo were bent over at the waist, panting and clutching their crimson frocks. Catherine hid a smirk and opened the door for them. They entered in a wobbling fashion. The sellswords Tod and Rumey went to enter as well, but Catherine stopped them.

“Please wait outside,” she told them. “I’ll handle things from here.”

The two men nodded and took their places on either side of the doorway. Bren was right to assign these two to her. They were indeed quiet and sinister, but more important, they didn’t question orders, which was exactly what Catherine needed at present.

She shut the door and turned around. The Brennan estate’s solarium was a huge room that spanned the full fifty-foot width and forty-foot length of the structure below. Its walls were lined with display cases and ornate stands holding some of the more exotic sea life Matthew’s father and grandfather had discovered on their early ventures out on the open ocean. The merchant’s desk—
my desk now
—stood to the right, fronted by a heavy round rug colored teal and yellow. The rug was a new edition, for the bloodstains left by Matthew’s executed whores wouldn’t come out of the old one. As for those who’d been tasked with scrubbing those stains, they were present now: her maids Ursula, Lori, and Penetta were in the room, tending to the brothers’ needs, while two other young women in simple, white household garb sat in the chairs in Matthew’s old lounge area, playing lutes. The soft tinkle of music filled the air.

The Conningtons stood in front of the two musicians, warming their hands at the fireplace that took up one-third of the solarium. Each held a cup of spiced brandy provided by Penetta. They whispered back and forth to one another, and Cleo in particular kept glancing up at the bare stretch of wall just above the hearth. They were clearly stalling. Catherine walked up to them and cleared her throat.

“Would you rather talk business or stare at a blank wall?”

“Oh, my sour and candid Catherine, we will talk trade soon enough,” said Cleo. “My brother and I were simply remembering the monstrosity that once hung there.”

“The sword Lancaster Brennan had forged as gift for Karak,” Catherine stated.

“Yes, that,” Romeo said. “So impressive, despite its
impracticality
.”

“The sword reached the giant,” Cleo said in his singsong way. “Our . . . associate . . . is right now following Gorgoros and his people as they march through the desert. The deed will be
done soo
n.”

They are uninformed. If what Ki-Nan wrote is true, the battle is already over, and he is with the giant heading north. You best stay safe, my love. You best return to me.

“That is good,” said Catherine. “Now, this business about the land up north—”

“Can wait,” Romeo said. “Right now, we are famished. The brandy is only sparking my appetite. Will you offer your guests some sustenance?”

“Of course,” Catherine said with a curtsey.

Her maids left the solarium, returning a few minutes later with plates of peppered goat, cornmeal biscuits, and bowls of venison and barley stew. The brothers sat down in front of the fireplace, throwing casual conversation Catherine’s way as they picked at their food. She watched them with interest, politely answering each of their meaningless questions. The conversation was benign, and Catherine was growing impatient. It was hard to keep her frustration in check.

Finally, after the brothers had scarfed down the pork pastries Penetta offered them, Catherine stood from her chair. “You came here for business. Now that you’ve eaten, are you ready to talk?”

“Yes, we’re ready,” said Romeo. Cleo sniggered.

They made their way to the other side of the room. Catherine circled around the desk and sat down while Lori and Ursula brought over two chairs for the brothers. The Conningtons sat down without giving thanks. Romeo acted as if her maids weren’t there, treating them much like he had his mother. Cleo leered at them, something in the sparkle behind his eyes making Catherine grip the edge of the desk tightly, feeling the handle of the dagger strapped beneath it.

“Now about the lands and the fjord,” she said. “Matthew’s father purchased both from your grandfather years ago. It has been in his family ever since. The trees are valuable, the river crossing and docks even more so. If you wish to take possession of them, the price will be steep.”

“Still so frank!” exclaimed Cleo. He then frowned playfully. “However, that bit of business can wait for later. We have much more important things to discuss.”

Catherine’s lips twisted into a grimace.

“Such as?”

Romeo smiled at her show of discomfort.

“Such as the state of your holdings here in Port Lancaster,” he said. “We have come to relinquish that burden from your
shoulders
.”

Catherine sat back in her chair and stared at the brothers, silent.

“We wish to help you, dear Catherine,” said Cleo. “We will take the reins of Matthew’s shipping empire and allow you to fulfill your womanly duties to your children. It must be difficult, worrying your pretty little head over all Matthew once controlled.”

“It can be,” she said, inwardly seething.

Romeo nodded. “We assumed so. We have an offer for you.
We will take control of House Brennan’s holdings. We will operate the shipping and go about building new ships to replace those that
have bee
n lost.”

“We would take a fee, of course, for doing this,” added Cleo, “but the majority of Matthew’s coin would remain yours to do with as you choose. We know how difficult it must be for a housewife to manage these . . . intricate details. You will be free to love and raise your children.”

Catherine frowned. “Which means you’ll be staying here
indefinitely
.”

“That is correct,” answered Romeo. “Until your son reaches age, and we relinquish control to him.”

“The perfect outcome for everyone!” Cleo sang.

Shaking her head, Catherine leveled her gaze at both of them.

“No.”

The brothers Connington gaped at her.

“Do you think me a fool? Do you think I was born yesterday? You’ve tried to ruin Matthew for years, and now you wish to help his widow? I think not. Ryan would never live to see his fifteenth birthday. Then, according to Neldar law, Matthew’s possessions will go to the first man to claim them. Which, since you’ll already have control, would be you.”

“How could you . . . ” Cleo said, eyes wide and disbelieving.

“You had your own daughter killed, Cleo. Why would my son be different? Arrogant fool. You think you can come into
my
city, without guards of your own, and wrest power from me?”

To that, Romeo slammed his meaty fist on the table. “You think you’re
not
a fool? You think you have the upper hand in this? Ha!” He glanced toward the window, and a wicked grin stretched across his face. “By now, our mother has offered your sellswords everything they could ever desire to turn on you. Without them to protect you, what do you have?” He laughed aloud. “You
will
accept our offer, Catherine, or else another member of your family will suffer a mysterious death such as Matthew did!”

“Is that so?” she asked.

“It is,” scowled Romeo.

“So be it.”

Catherine stood and gestured to her maids. Romeo glowered, then tipped forward, readying to lift his fat body off his chair. He never made it to a stand. A gasp left his mouth as his eyes flitted to the side, staring at Penetta as the young maid held the sharp edge of a knife against his throat. Blood dribbled down his neck and stained the front of his frock an even deeper crimson.

“Oh,” Cleo said weakly, and Catherine turned to see Lori behind him, the maid holding a knife to his throat similarly. The two young lute players appeared on either side, each leveling a small crossbow. The Conningtons’ eyes darted to and fro, taking in their plight. Romeo collapsed back into his chair.

Catherine’s smile widened, and she made a show of sitting back down in her seat, billowing her skirt in a playful manner, still careful to hide her pregnant bulge. “Such fools. You have no idea whom you’re dealing with.”

“Obviously not,” said Cleo, a hint of humor still in his voice.

Romeo grunted, blood trickling from his neck. “If you wish to kill us, just do it.”

“Unlike certain others,” she said, “I don’t wish to kill those who might be my greatest allies.” She jutted her chin at her maids, and they withdrew their knives, backing away toward the fireplace. Romeo and Cleo visibly exhaled, the former bringing his hand up to staunch the flow from the small cut on his throat.

“Who
are
you?” asked Cleo, the mirth finally leaving his voice, breathless shock taking its place.

“I am the simple wife of a merchant. One who always kept her eyes and ears open. I watched Matthew’s dealings. I studied his actions, both the good and bad. I stowed away half the gold he earned without his knowledge, hiding the sums in ledgers that the priests and tax collectors from Veldaren were too lazy to
scrutinize
. And when Matthew’s vices finally outweighed his uses, I killed him.”

At that, both the brothers’ jaws dropped open.

She leaned forward, propping her elbow on the desk. “You think yourselves scheming?” Venom leaked from her every word. “You think you have conspired? You’re nothing compared to me. I know
everything
that has gone on in this kingdom. I know of your plots against Matthew, as pathetic as they were. I know of your murders, of your love of torture. And I know of your moles in Karak’s Army. There is no move you’ve made that I’m not privy to.”

“But how?” asked Cleo.

“I’m no damsel waiting for my fat heroes to come save me,” she said. “I have spies of my own roaming the world, and given my status as a lowly woman, none think of me as a threat when I seek information. I played my part so well that even my own husband, the man who
shared my bed
, didn’t know my plans. How could you have any idea, you who live so many miles away? How could you know that the women of my city are now armed and skilled? The sellswords were not the ones who butchered Karak’s soldiers; it was the women who’ve toiled as I have, who’ve been subservient to the males of our species for nearly a hundred years. We are no weak settlement to be trampled by whichever man wishes to conquer it. These women will protect each other. They will protect
me
. With their lives, if need be.”

The right side of Cleo’s lip twitched while Romeo gripped the armrests of his chair so tightly his fingers turned white. Neither said a word, and she saw the lump in Romeo’s throat rise and fall with each gasp of air he took in. They were afraid. Of a
woman
.
Catherine
chuckled softly at the thought.

“Don’t look so pathetic,” she said, folding her arms. “Even though you wished to overthrow me, I bear you no ill will. I know who and what you are, and you needed to learn that I am just like you, if not your better.” She smiled. “If anything, you should be
thanking
me. All those plans you dreamed up will come to pass.”

“How so?” asked Cleo, sweat beading on his bald pate.

She smiled wide. “I’m a widow now, and I will soon remarry after the grieving period is done. When that time comes, I will marry Ki-Nan Renald, your own protégé, and take his name.”

Once more, both brothers gaped.

“We have been lovers for a long while now,” she said, answering the question before it could be asked.
They mustn’t learn about Ryan and the pregnancy,
she reminded herself before continuing. “All while Matthew toiled and stumbled, nearly losing all of the wealth his family had built over the last ninety-odd years.” She leaned back, regaining her womanly posture as she placed her clasped hands in her lap.

“And you will marry him?” asked Cleo.

“Yes,” she replied. Though Romeo was still scowling, she could see the hint of a smile play on Cleo’s face. That was good, even if maddening. She hated revealing so much to these men, but she had no choice. If she didn’t prove herself worthy of their respect, or even their fear, all her plotting would be for naught.

“The dark-skinned bastard,” muttered Romeo. “That’s what happens when you take a savage from Paradise and show him the world.”

“He simply learned well from us,” said Cleo. “
Too
well, perhaps.” He turned back to Catherine. “And what will happen if our dear Ki-Nan doesn’t return from the war?”

Though the question killed her on the inside, she couldn’t let it show. She shrugged and spoke the most painful lie of the many she’d told in her life. “Life will go on. Perhaps that would even be best. I will still be regent, and without a husband who holds loyalty to you.”

“Why, then?” asked Romeo, dumbfounded. “Why treat with us at all?”

“Because you’re the strongest merchant house,” she replied simply. “Your holdings are double mine, even considering how much Karak has stripped from you. I would be a fool to turn my back on that sort of power. Not if we are to endure the coming chaos.”

“And if Karak returns?” asked Cleo.

“Then we’re fucked, and all the plotting in the world won’t
matter
.”

At that, Cleo clapped, his jollity returning. “Such language! What do you propose we do, sweet Catherine, should Karak fail to return?”

She leaned her head against the back of her chair. “I see it thusly: When the god who created us disappears, this land will endure unrest never before seen. Every family, no matter how small, will seek to conquer another. But those who are ready—those who bond together in unity and mutual self-interest—those could reap wealth beyond imagining. Therefore we must decide who is trustworthy, who is worthwhile, and who is expendable. You know that
Trenton
Blackbard, the slimy bastard that he is, will move against us all if given the opportunity. Tod Garland is noble, but pious and beholden to Karak’s law. Tomas Mudraker is ambitious but a dullard. Peytr Gemcroft is wily and bold, but he is also unpredictable.”