An Unexpected Proposal (St Daine Family 1) Read Free

continued to enjoy a life of leisure and ease that most certainly did not include escorting his younger sister to a ball.
    Perhaps he would have been at White's this evening and Tristan, ever the faithful protector, would have been the one made to wait in this hellish heat to present Phoebe to the eligible males of the Season in his and their father's stead? Tristan would have loved the entire moment, basking in the attention, but Lucien quite detested every moment—mostly because the responsibility of seeing to not only his sister's well-being but her honor as well had never been his to bear. He was completely in the fog as to what was expected of him in this area.
    Drawn out of his thoughts and back to the moment at hand, his gaze quickly scanned the crowd before returning to his grandmother, Lady Amelia. He meant to deliver Phoebe into her care straightaway the moment the introductions were done, but ….
    His eyes were drawn toward a gleam of bright copper curls lying resplendently upon a field of even brighter yellow. At first, he thought the combination garish, but upon closer inspection of both the colors and the young woman who sported them, he found them to be well matched after all. Turning to Phoebe, whom he now realized had been watching him the entire time, he murmured a comment about the girl, though strictly for the sake of conversation. She was already uncomfortable with having him at her side. Should he grouse through the entire evening without a single word spoken between them, well, it would only make matters worse.
    He leaned down and turned to his right a bit to ensure that only she could hear him, which probably was the real reason he managed to notice her .
    Having drawn Phoebe's attention with his comment, his sister watched him with her brow quirked just so while he now stared—quite unapologetic and despite the fact he had warned her no less than three times in the carriage that she was never to be caught doing so—at the lady who’d been introduced to them only moments before as she disappeared into the crowded ballroom.
    What was her name? Lucien tried, but he could not recall. Still, he continued to watch her—even when she halted momentarily to boldly inspect him from heel to head.
    Staring was rude, he reminded himself, and St. Daine's were never rude. But he continued to watch the lady until she walked away to move about the edges of the room, completely disregarding his sister's derisive snort at his appalling demonstration of correct behavior.
    The woman was quite beautiful with her inky black hair made up in tight ringlet curls, piled atop her head in a fashionable coif that left her delicate neck exposed. Add to that the gentle slope of her shoulders, just visible thanks to the cut of her bodice, and the reason for his blatant rudeness should be quite clear, if it hadn’t been before. She carried herself well, too, he noted, continuing his observation as she made her way, one step behind the red-haired woman in the yellow gown, through the crush. She stopped, apparently having arrived at her intended destination, and he felt a rather teasing smirk settle upon his lips, thinking the evening had definitely become more interesting.
    Phoebe rapped him across the arm with her fan.
    The glowering look he directed at her in response would have made a lesser person cower and look away, but not so, Phoebe.
    “Behave,” she hissed between clenched teeth. Snapping open her fan, she wielded it delicately while giving him her best haughty look. “You passed staring quite some time ago, brother, and Heaven help us, you were practically salivating , Lucien.”
    He arched his brow, giving her his best deadpan stare. “I beg your pardon?”
    Phoebe grinned and leaned close as though she were about to impart a secret. “Oh, I wouldn’t do that , brother. I do so love it when people grovel, but you don’t strike me as the type.”
    Lucien clamped his jaw shut and pinned her with a dark glare,