Page 99 of House of Blood and Roses: Vol. 2

"Who is his heir?"

"Ellis Vermouten," Lord Fallmartin responds. "A cousin."

I nod, though the name means nothing to me, not having met them.

"I must stress that the reputation of our House is important, especially if the two of you wish to gain power. That includes Bastian's reputation."

"He seems to be doing a bad job of that considering I'm hearing about gambling debts unpaid." Perhaps I shouldn't be revealing my knowledge at this stage, but it seems as if Bastian's rashness is increasing. And if his reputation is one that reflects on us all, then it needs to be sorted.

Lord Fallmartin sighs. "I shall speak to him. He should know better."

I bite my tongue to stop myself from pointing out that it's hard for him to know how to behave at court when we had no idea that we were to attend until we were here.

"Do you think Bastian is a threat to us?" I can hardly believe I'm asking the question.

"I have no reason to suspect he would do anything to hurt you." It's a measured answer, and one that I need time to think about.

"And to you?"

"I will handle your brother," Lord Fallmartin says firmly.

"With all due respect, I've been handling Bastian for longer than you even knew we existed."

He raises an eyebrow. "Then you know that this must be managed carefully," he says. "But be assured that your brother won't threaten your lives or your marriage while I'm still breathing. I will make him understand the value of protecting House Rothorne if it takes his entire life."

An unbidden question springs to mind, one that I can't shake and don't want to dwell on further than I have to.

Who will protect us from Bastian's rashness if Lord Fallmartin were dead?

ELEVEN

The empty room is somewhat daunting, especially as I have no idea what to expect from Lady Wentworth's lessons. My knife is strapped to my waist, but it doesn't seem like much of a weapon now I'm going to be in a room with a trained assassin.

The door opens and I check to see who it is, half surprised to see Bella walk in, even though she said she was going to come with me today. I'm not entirely sure if she's more motivated by checking that I'm not going to get myself killed, or if she wants to be sure that she can defend herself should Bastian decide that she's an assassin.

Even the thought of that has me questioning why I consider that necessary. Somewhere along the line, I've lost trust in Bastian, and I have no idea what I can do to get it back. Or if there is anything.

I swallow hard and push it from my mind.

Bella looks around and raises an eyebrow. "Is this what Lady Wentworth requested as a space to practice in?"

I nod. "Apparently this is where Linc sometimes has lessons."

"In what?"

"Sparring of some kind," I respond. "It was where he recommended we did this."

"What did he say when you told him that you asked Lady Wentworth to teach you her ways?" she asks curiously.

"He thought it was a good idea. It's always better to be able to protect myself than not."

"Maybe it doesn't help," she mutters. "Thomas knew and it didn't make a difference."

"He also didn't expect to be attacked," I point out.

"That's my point, Beatrice. He didn't expect it. No one was under the impression that your brother was even tempered, but I don't think I thought he would stoop to this level."

"No one did," I murmur.