The Heartwood Box: A Fairy Tale (47 page)

Damian permitted himself thirty seconds to indulge his envy
.
It was clear to him that Donal had become exceptionally close to Genevieve during their days together, and worse, that
his brother
understood aspects of her character better than Damian did
.
It wasn’t just the business with
the
pianoforte
.
The conversation yesterday had been full of lighthearted remarks about Roderick, cooking lessons, and Sally, which Damian couldn’t entirely follow
.
These were activities that she would pursue with Donal
,
not him
.

But Damian had learned some hard lessons over the past week, and he forced himself to master these ugly feelings
.
It helped when he made a discovery that surprised him: Donal was deeply in love with Genevieve
.

Just as with Derek, that realization reordered the world for
Damian
.
Donal was not the same man he’d been a week ago
.
There was a new intensity to him
.
For all his and Genevieve’s antics, Donal was deeply protective of her
,
only in a different way
.
Just that morning,
Donal
had
almost bit
ten
his
head off after Damian made a snide remark about Genevieve’s visit with Sally
.
The message could not be clearer: the friendship was important to Genevieve and Damian must support it
.

Damian found it was enough now to remind himself of the vow he’d made at Titania’s
Altar
to always make Genevieve’s happiness and well-being his priority
.
Which meant that he
must battle his anger at Derek
and solve this problem
.

It only took Damian another fifteen seconds to realize that he would have to make a very painful
sacrifice
.

He laughed ruefully that this was the price of leadership
.
The first rule of
a
successful command was to know what and when to delegate
.

His decision made, he joined the other two and did everything he could to lighten Genevieve’s mood
.
However, he took a moment when she’d gone to pick some of her beloved mint to say to Donal, “Find him, now
.
I’ll see both of you in the study in ten minutes.” 

Donal could follow orders when he had to and left immediately
.
Damian went to find Genevieve
.
“Darling, would it be
all right
if we all met in your sitting-room in, say, half an hour?”

“Of course,” she answered, clearly surprised that he would ask her
.

“It is your domain, darling,” he said simply
.
“I will not use it without your permission.”

His brothers were waiting in the study when he arrived, as
Damian
knew they would be
.
He got immediately to the point
.
“I have asked Genevieve to meet with us in her sitting room in twenty minutes so we can go over the rules of this household
.
However, I wished to speak with you first without her present
.
A few things have become clear over the past few days.” 

He explained his observations about her need for boundaries, asking Donal to add his thoughts
.

“I believe these boundaries may become more flexible as she grows more comfortable, but until she is less worried about showing
a
preference or injuring one of us, I expect them to be respected
.
E
specially the bath
,” h
e added with a wry smirk
.
“I
want to hear your opinions, but
I
will decide when and how they are pushed
.
I hope it goes without saying that she should not be feeling a moment’s anxiety about us
.
Even if she screams out someone else’s name during her climax, I expect you both to have her giggling over the mistake within half a minute
.
Do I need to say more?” 

“No,” Donal said, chuck
ling
.
Derek shook his head.

“Good
.
Derek, I have decided that you will be
in charge while I am absent.”

Since Derek was resolved to remain a pestilential blight on humanity, he showed n
o reaction whatsoever to this.

Damian was forced to forge ahead
.
“I have discussed what happened between you with Genevieve already
.
She was very open with me about the fact that she does not feel confident setting limits, so it falls to me.”  He then succinctly informed Derek of the limits he’d established
.
“Do you have any problem with that?”

“You set
the rules,” Derek said curtly.

In anyone else, that response would be sarcasm
.
He knew it wasn’t with Derek, but Damian still clenched his fists, forcing down his temper yet again
.

Ah the joys of command
.

“I have not spoken to Genevieve again about her leaving the house on her own
.
For now, you will both need to keep an eye on her.”

Both brothers spoke at once
.
“She promised not to leave,” Derek said harshly, while Donal said, “That won’t be necessary.”

“I explained the situation with the Reavers,” Donal added
.
“She understands the danger
.
I also gave her the key that opens the dining room door.”

“You did what?” Derek snapped
.
“You had no business…
.
” He cut himself off.

For once, Damian
completely agreed with
Derek about their youngest brother’s compulsive need to break every bloody rule ever set down by
g
od or man
.
But he was not willing to risk a replay of his quarrel with Genevieve to undo Donal’s
gross
o
verstepping of his authority.

He stif
led his anger and
said mildly,
“Well
then
,
I won’t worry about that
.
That’s all I have to say for now
.
Meet in the sitting room in five minutes.” 

Derek walke
d off without saying anything.

Donal touched his arm
.
“It will be okay
.
She can handle him.” 

Damian took a deep breath and decided to trust Donal
.
For as long as Damian could remember, one of the basic facts of his existence had been that Derek was impossible
—
why would he expect
this
to be easy?

When he arrived in the sitting room, he immediately noticed Genevieve’s disappointed expression and saw that Derek had chosen the fa
rthest possible spot from her.

He counted to twenty.

That done, he smiled warmly and said, “Thank you all for coming
.
I’ve called this meeting so that we can have everything clear between us
.
We have seen how destructive conflict can be, and the importance of avoiding it
.
I will be brief because in fact I have very few rules
.
I’ll say first that I have discussed all of them with Declan
.
I invite you in turn to discuss them with me if you have any problem, but unless I say otherwise, I expect them to be obeyed.”

He paused to allow all of them to nod agreement
.
Poor Genevieve looked like a frightened doe about to be run to ground by wolves
.
He prayed he’d made the right decision, but there was nothing he could do but continue
.

“Excellent,” he said brightly
.
“First rule: within this house, our relations are out in the open
.
No one will say or do anything that cannot be repeated to the others
.
We will not attempt to keep secrets from each other, nor will we expect others to refrain from telling us things to spare our feelings
.

“Second rule: if one of you is unhappy for any reason, I expect to be told immediately
.
If you find it difficult to speak to me, you will speak to Declan
.
Problems or resentments will not be allowed to fester
.
I remind my brothers that Genevieve will almost certainly be the one to suffer if they do
.
I hope that is all I need to say to ensure this rule is obeyed.”

“It is,” Donal said quietly
.
Derek nodded
.

“Good
.
Third rule: it should go without saying that Genevieve is not a bone to be fought over
.
I have decided that it will be easiest for her if she need cope with only one male’s attentions at a time
.
To that end, we will divide the week
.
I will take three nights, and my brothers will each take two, with the caveat that Genevieve is always free to say she wishes a night off, whether for her bleeding days
or any other reason
.
For the males especially, I expect everyone to be flexible
.
I will not tolerate quarrels or complaints about the scheduling
—
and I include myself in that.”

He paused for a moment and then continued
.
“Fourth rule
:
physical affection
.
If it is not your day or night, then you may demonstrate affection, but nothing beyond what you would show a bel
oved friend
.
I should be clear
that this rule applies to the males only
.
Declan was adamant that Genevieve must feel at liberty to show affection to any one of us
as she wishes
, without being made to feel she is showing an unfair preference
.
When she is spending time with one brother, no matter their activity,
it is for
her
to decide if she wishes to invite another of us to
join them
or not
; whatever her decision, she is
never
to be made to feel like she is injuring either party.”

His brothers both nodded
.

Turning to her, Damian said, “Genevieve, it is crucial that you speak up if you feel overwhelmed by our demands and set limits if need be
.
I will remind you that this room is your domain
.
If you wish for privacy, you need only shut the door, and none of us will bother you unless there is a compelling need.”

She laughed nervously and said, “
What
if I don’t wish for privacy?” 

Damian could feel her pain, but he managed to control his features and
answer
warmly, “
Y
ou need only speak
.
I promise you are in no danger of male neglect
—
quite the opposite
.
But just to be clear: it is for you to decide how you wish to spend your day and with whom, but unless you say otherwise, we will divide the days as we do the nights.” 

She gnawed her lip, which of course made him yearn to take her mou
th, but he stayed his course.

“When I am absent, Derek will be in charge, and I expect you and Donal to respect his authority
.
Genevieve, I have only two rules for you
.
First, I expect you always to be truthful with me, and second, I expect you to take care of yourself and act in a safe way
.
These rules are not subject to debate, and if they are violated you will present yourself to Derek in the study for punishment
.
Is that clear?”

Derek knew how to school his features when he wished, but Damian easily detected his surprise
.
For once Genevieve was more difficult to read
.
She was surprised and also aroused by the idea, but most of all he still saw uncertainty
.