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

They would put a rope around Tristan's neck, and…
    No! No, she would not allow it.
    She would save him herself if she must, but first...
    “I will not calm down!” she raged, her eyes wide and burning with the sting of unshed tears.
    Her body filled with anger born of fear, she sprang to her feet, drew back her right hand and swung. Her palm connected solidly against Lucien's cheek, leaving it stinging with the heat and force of her tumultuous emotions. “How can you be so...so cold ? You've just learned our brother is about to die , and you sit there as calm and collected as if someone had announced nothing more important than the turn of the weather! Well, I will not do it! I—”
    Failing, in her moment of absolute panic, to note the way his mouth had drawn tight or the subtle lines of tension in his frame, she was not expecting to feel his fingers close around her arm in a steely grip. Nor had she anticipated that he would sweep her off her feet and then march her to the settee, where he deposited her rather hastily before demanding, “ Sit , damn it!”
    The swiftly barked command in Lucien's voice halted her tirade, but only long enough for him to say, “Bloody females! Your histrionics accomplish nothing, Phoebe, just as you are so fond of accusing me of doing where your bleeding beloved Tristan is concerned. Therefore, if you wish to save him so badly, I suggest you either sit down and calm yourself so that we may discuss this rationally, like adults, or you are hereby dismissed, precisely in the way a child would be since childish is the only possible term for your current behavior, and you may retire to your room. The last thing I need at the moment is yet another possible scandal brought on by your continued thoughtlessness and lack of propriety!”
    Drawing up as if she had been struck, Phoebe stared at her brother, all the fear and confusion and pain in her soul temporarily stunned into submission by the harsh accusation in his tone. Without a word, she got to her feet and turned on her heel, striding for the door.
    “I think I hate you for this,” she ground out quietly in a mindless fit of pique before she opened the door and quit the room—only to encounter a small, jovial group of ladies, each dressed in the latest finery, sharing a moment of laughter that ended with happy smiles all around. Across the hall, the musicians her grandmother had hired for the week had just stricken the first notes of a minuet, which led Phoebe to surmise distractedly that the ladies were most likely en route to the ballroom.
    Suddenly and inexplicably infuriated by the evidence of their seeming happiness in the face of her own personal tragedy, frightened beyond explanation by thoughts of Tristan hanging lifelessly from the gallows with a rope around his neck, utterly dumbfounded by Lucien's unfair and hurtful accusations, and completely unprepared to deal with even one single thing more, Phoebe threw up her hands and screamed at the lot of them. “Get out! Get out, all of you!”
    Several pairs of eyes swung 'round to stare at her in stunned surprise. In the ballroom, the music stopped immediately and more than a few people spilled into the gallery to see what great calamity had befallen Lady Phoebe St. Daine.
    Dazed by the depths of her pain and fear, it took several moments for Phoebe to realize the spectacle at which everyone stared was her. Once she did comprehend, her face drained of color. Dear Lord, what have I done?
    The thought had barely entered her mind before several others, each adding to the weight of sudden guilt on her shoulders, clamored for recognition among the whirling chaos in her head. Not only had she committed the unthinkable by allowing her fear and feelings of helplessness to cause an unconscionable loss of control in the midst of a house party meant to positively introduce her into society on a more personal level, she had shamed her family with her appalling public display—shamed them and