An Unexpected Passion by Leighann Dobbs

Author:Leighann Dobbs
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2016-08-13T18:30:00+00:00

12

F or the remainder of the night, Phoebe found herself unable to sleep. Hour after hour, she restlessly paced the shadowed confines of her bedchamber, alternately fuming over her brother's accusatory analysis of her choices and fighting against nauseous waves of anxiety as the day for Tristan's hearing approached. She felt consumed, both by fear of the possible outcome of Tristan's trial and a new uncertainty in regard to her agreement to marry Edward.

Tristan was right. Saving him had been her only thought these past months and his annoying insistence that she hadn't considered Edward at all was true. The only consideration she had given the matter of their betrothal was that Edward would certainly benefit from the arrangement in some way. She wasn't entirely sure how, but she trusted both Edward's grandfather and Lucien would have ensured the deal was equitable and as fair as possible for both sides.

Now, she was nursing new and equally painful emotional bruises—injuries brought on by fear her brother inspired that by agreeing to marry Edward she was ruining his chances for finding future happiness. He did deserve to find love in his own way, but she had never really thought he might be better off finding it somewhere else or with someone other than her. Was there another he had cared about before his grandfather stepped in? Had he been in love?

The thought did not sit well with her and she was helpless to change anything at this late date. The Earl of Vykhurst had upheld his end of the bargain. She must now keep to hers. Tristan was home with them even now because of it and there was nothing she would do to jeopardize these precious moments with him—moments which might well be his last. Her utter terror at the thought of her brother's possible death sentence was no longer a thing meekly hidden beneath the gentle facade of a carefully cultivated and staunchly held polite demeanor. It seemed her entire being had been engulfed by an overwhelmingly futile sense of desperation and dread.

For her part, she needed her brother alive and she would have said or done whatever was necessary to make sure he did not die—unlike Tristan himself. He had changed. He had become a fortress of stubborn silence which only added to her frustration over the fact that he still refused to discuss the details of Lady Chelsea's death with her. Why could he not simply give her the details of his extended absence and leave her to find the answers—the truth—on her own? How dare he assume his private recall of the moments would be enough? He was of the opinion there was naught more to be said, but Phoebe could not stifle her soul-deep belief that he was wrong. Perhaps there were details missing, important bits and pieces of happenstance from the shooting incident that he had neglected to remember due to his own horror over believing he had murdered an innocent woman?

Not that either of their opinions would matter to the magistrate.

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