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

at last. “Newgate? For piracy? But...how? Why? There must be some mistake, Lucien. You know Tristan would never—”
    She could see by the pained expression he wore that there was more to be revealed of the situation than he had yet mentioned. “Tony was there, Phoebe. He has confirmed that Tristan was indeed the man in charge of the Valkyrie when emissaries from His Majesty's Royal Navy boarded her.”
    “But—” Frowning, she lowered her gaze, trying futilely to make sense of the information her brother had given, but there was none to be made. The Royal Navy had charged her brother with piracy, yet there was no doubt in her mind he was innocent. So why was he not at home? Tony had been there, after all. Lucien said he had confirmed Tristan's identity. He would surely have spoken on their brother's behalf and….
    Her head snapped up in sudden realization and she could almost feel the color draining from her face. “Lucien, they mean to hang him!”
    The sudden image of Tristan dangling from a rope at Tyburn, twisting in the air as his lungs fought for breath, forced a scream into her throat—one she dared not give voice lest every guest and member of the household come running. Instead, she sprang to her feet and began to pace the breadth of her brother's study, her fingers working feverishly at the material of her skirts while at every turn, she paused to utter, “We have to do something, Lucien. There must be something we can do . You must do something! ”
    The panic in her head made its way to her tongue, causing her voice to rise to a frantic pitch while Lucien merely continued to sit calmly behind his desk, a look which lay somewhere between dismissal and determination wavering on his face. Appalled by his apparent lack of concern, Phoebe spun away and hurried across the room to tug urgently at the bell pull. When, seconds later, the butler pulled open the door, she struggled to make sense of the words sputtering from her mouth. “Severn, we've had the most dreadful news. You must send a footman 'round with a note to Nicholas and Sebastian and...and Adrien. Tell them t-to join us at the house.”
    “Within the hour,” she commanded when he merely glanced over her shoulder to her brother, but it was Lucien to whom the stalwart man deferred. The slow shake of her brother's head in negation of her command sent him backing out the door once more, an apology for the interruption tumbling from his lips, and her jaw dropped in utter disbelief.
    She turned on Lucien, demanding, “Why did you send him away? Tristan is alive ! Don't you understand? He is alive and safe for the moment but if you sit here and do nothing as you have until now—”
    Lucien's jaw firmed into a tight and all to familiar unrelenting line and frustration filled her. Tristan was going to die if he did not go to him— now . How could she make him see time was of the essence? Dropping to her knees on the floor beside his chair, she held tight to her brother's arm. Staring into his eyes, her gaze implored.
    “Lucien, please! ” she pleaded almost frantically. “I—I have no one else. Father is gone and Mother with him and I—I am so alone...”
    Her voice stuttered to a halt though her mind continued to spin in fear that she was about to lose the only bit of sanity left to her in this world. Tristan could not die . He just couldn't! “I beg you, Lucien, please do not let them do this!”
    “Phoebe, you are not thinking clearly,” Lucien finally said. A tic twitched in her brother's jaw, but he continued to stare at her with those unrevealing eyes of his, and Phoebe felt the world around her slowly begin to crumble and fall.
    He would do nothing, she thought. Again .
    He glowered up at her. “Calm down and we— ”
    Nay, she thought. He would go on pretending there was naught to be done and her beloved Tristan would go to his grave because of it, she corrected in frantic desperation, ignoring Lucien's command that she calm herself.