Murderous Suitor | Rebekah Mikaelson

Chapter Seven

 Lucrezia felt as if she were going mad.

 For the past month, she had been forced to watch Rebekah fall for all of Vittorio's charms, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She thought Rebekah would grow disenchanted with him after hearing about his marriage plans, but apparently not. In fact, she seemed even more attached to the duke than she had already been.

 Lucrezia didn't understand it. What was it about her brother that caused a woman to fall so recklessly? What had he said to Rebekah that convinced her that he would be entirely hers? It couldn't be true. Lucrezia knew her brother would never marry Rebekah Mikaelson, whether anyone else would believe it or not. She wished she could prove it Rebekah somehow, but how could she? What could she do to prove her point?

 While Rebekah seemed entirely enchanted by Vittorio, none of her brothers were. Kol, Elijah and Klaus all seemed to dislike the duke, and they try to hide it, either.

 There was a morning where Lucrezia sat in the dining hall with the Mikaelson brothers. She and Kol were seated on one side of the table while Elijah and Klaus were on the other. They were waiting for Vittorio and Rebekah before beginning breakfast, but no one had seen either of them.

 "I am truly sorry we have been waiting so long," Lucrezia said. "Please, begin breakfast. It is not fair you should have to wait for my brother for the morning meal."

 "And our sister," Kol chimed in. "Really, where had she gotten herself?"

 "Oh, we all know where she is, brother," said Klaus. "We simply don't discuss it."

 "Discuss what, if I many ask?" Lucrezia asked, looking at them.

 "Madam, it would seem our sister has gotten herself wrapped up in a romance with your brother the duke," Klaus said. "We are not sorry she is happy-or at least she seems to be-but we are very concerned for her."

 She nodded. "I understand. Before you arrived, His Grace had already begun making plans to enter a second marriage."

 "We are aware of that," said Elijah. "He still is. A few days ago, he said to me that he plans to marry a girl from a family of wealth and influence. He made no mention of our sister."

 "I am afraid this does not surprise me," Lucrezia said. "My brother has a very low opinion of women, and I am sure he believes he can marry another woman while manipulating your sister."

 "We fear he's already doing it," Klaus said. "If he is marrying another woman, it means he sees our sister as nothing more than a common whore. That truly angers us. We hope Rebekah will see what he is doing and end what she has with him. We have tried to tell her, but she does not seem to believe us. We worry, truly we do."

 "I understand. I wish I could help, but my brother would never listen to anything I say."

 "But would Rebekah listen?" Kol asked. "Perhaps a talk between two women would do it. You are the duke's brother, so she may believe it if you tell her the man you know him as."

 "I could try speaking with her. It may not work, but I could try."

 Elijah gave her a warm smile. "Thank you, for agreeing to help. We hope that our sister will the mistake she is making. If not, we may have to leave sooner than we thought we would be leaving."

 Lucrezia returned his smile. "Well, we could not have that, could we? I am also concerned about your sister, and I hope that anything I say to her may help you in changing her mind about my brother."

 "You, madam," Kol said, "Are excellent." He took her hand and kissed it. "You will surely make a fine mistress of your own household one day. Now, let's move on to other subjects, shall we? Let us worry about brothers and sisters after we have broken our fast."

 Lucrezia looked around at the three brothers as they began to eat. Oh, why couldn't she have had brothers like these men? Brothers who have loved and protected her as these ones did for Rebekah. Why her own fate, and not one like that?