“Take my advice, have nothing more to do with those two renegades!” I shouted at Athelstan, whose stupidity, in my opinion, had slumped to a new low. I turned to stomp out of the hall when he seized my arm to force me to stand square to him and thrust his face into mine.
“What has Edward ever done for us? Except to betray your sister, my mother, and break her heart? Oh, I almost forgot,” he hissed close to my ear, “he’s thwarted my ambitions at every turn, going against my grandfather’s will.”
I pushed him away before his anger sprayed me with his spittle.
“How many times do I have to tell you to be patient, Nephew? Open rebellion will bring all your hopes crashing down like an undermined wall. Who are these ‘important ealdorman’ who have wormed into your mind?”
‘important ealdorman’“T
