An Unexpected Proposal (St Daine Family 1) by Leighann Dobbs

like this one, Luce! Just look at her, all stiff and prickly, with the light of battle in her eyes!” He held up his hands and wiggled his fingers as if to point out the 'stiff-and-prickly' bits. “This one is nothing like Bethany, m'boy. Nothing at all!”
    Lucien, on the other hand, was not amused. He felt as if she had struck him.
    Far more affected by what amounted to an uninformed comment from a passing stranger he had barely met than he should have been, Lucien drew himself up and, after rudely elbowing his friend out of the way, grabbed Claire by the arm to tow her through the gallery toward the opposite wing until he was sure they were out of Tony's range of hearing. Then, scowling down at her, he bit out, “Are you going to accuse me of doing nothing to save my brother, as well?”
    Shaking her head, Claire said, “No. I have no reason to accuse you, Your Grace. It is just that your sister is so very upset and you two were behaving as if you held little concern for a matter which obviously means a lot to her. I thought...”
    “You thought our bit of forced gaiety in the midst of a bad situation must mean we care nothing for what happens to my brother, yes? Well, like Phoebe, you are wrong. Tony and I are doing everything we can to get Tristan out of shackles and safely home, back into the bosom of his loving family—where he belongs!” He looked away, unwilling to let her see how much Phoebe's disbelief in his abilities as both her brother and the duke of Rothwyn affected him. Nor did he care to see a reflection of Phoebe's doubtful accusations in the depths of Claire's beautiful eyes. “This does not concern you, Claire. It is enough for you to know that Phoebe will never listen long enough for me to explain...”
    He stopped, suddenly realizing he was actually trying to convince her to believe better of him than his own sister did. The touch of her hand, warm and delicate upon his wrist, brought his gaze back to hers and he thought he might happily drown in the misty pools of her eyes at that moment.
    There was no accusation in her gaze, as he had feared, but there was a warm concern shining in the depths of her lovely eyes.
    “I believe you,” she said after a long moment, her words quietly spoken but sincere, and it was as if something inside him sprang open, freeing his soul from the dark turmoil of the past several years of his life, at last.
    He wanted to hold her, to draw her into his embrace and simply share the relief her words had brought him. He breathed her name on a whisper, but before he could reach out his hands to her, before he could draw her close and lower his head, to press his lips to hers in a kiss of gratitude as he meant to do, she stepped away.
    “I believe I hear the first strains of a waltz lilting out from the ballroom, Your Grace. If you will excuse me, I must find my partner lest he give up on me and seek a dance from another. If you join us, perhaps you could ask Melisande? I am sure she would enjoy it.”
    Lucien watched her walk away, strangely disappointed for want of the embrace they had not shared. When she stopped at the entrance to the ballroom, he thought for an instant that she meant to return, but she merely spake over her shoulder to him. “Do what you can to save your brother, Your Grace, but in the meantime, perhaps you could look in on your sister?”
    She met his gaze, the look in her eyes both imploring and filled with compassion and whispered, “She needs you.”

8
    N ear the door , Melisande watched as Claire slipped quietly into the ballroom. After a brief pause during which she seemed to be gathering herself together, Claire hurried to her mother's side where a tall, lovely, blond-haired gentleman was waiting to whisk her away in a waltz.
    Less than a minute passed before the duke also wandered into the ballroom.
    Melisande followed him with her gaze as he made his way to a corner where his grandmother sat with several other elder ladies of the ton,