Page 52 of Legacy of Thorns
She merely looked confused, however.
“If I tell you I took it to protect my brother, does that help?” he asked Lorne.
Lorne’s face remained stern, but Finley caught a slight twitch of his lips. “Since I take it your intention was to use it on my goddaughter, I’m not sure it does.”
“I would never use it on her now,” Finley said quickly.
Lorne gave a small chuckle. “No, I suspect you wouldn’t. Nevertheless, I would like it back. It was a gift from a good friend.” He hesitated and glanced at Daphne. “But perhaps you can return it at a later date. I understand there is still some difficulty ahead.”
“I was planning to return it anyway.” Finley had decided on that as soon as he realized how much Lorne meant to Daphne.
Daphne stood as well. “Are you talking about your knife? Did you take that from Lorne’s study?”
Her eyes narrowed, and Finley held his breath. But she turned to Lorne.
“He really does return the things he takes. I’ve seen it more than once.”
“A most unusual thief,” Lorne said, and this time he was definitely smiling. But his expression quickly turned more serious. “But your report of this Lord Barlowe is most concerning.”
“Have you met him?” Daphne asked. “Do you know anything about him?”
“I met him for the first time in this house.” Lorne frowned. “But I must confess that I noticed nothing of interest about him.” He spread his arms. “He seemed a perfectly ordinary person—as much as any lord can be considered ordinary.”
“So you’ve been living here in the same manor with him for a few days?” Finley asked. “And you never noticed anything in all that time?”
Lorne shook his head. “I haven’t actually been staying in the house. As I mentioned to Daphne, I have some friends with me, and we’ve been staying together at the local inn.” He frowned. “I could ask them if they’ve heard anything of this Barlowe. They’re more widely traveled than even me.”
Finley glanced around the ballroom. “Are they here?”
Lorne shook his head. “They were invited but preferred a quiet night. I’m sure they’ll still be awake, though, so I could go immediately and ask them.”
“Would you?” Daphne seized his hand in both of hers. “Thank you so much!”
He patted her clasped hands. “Nothing but a trifle, my dear. I’ll return as soon as possible.”
He disentangled himself and hurried toward the ballroom door, moving in a sprightly way despite his bent figure. Finley and Daphne both watched him go.
“Should we wait for him to return before we approach Lord Barlowe?” Daphne turned to Finley with an expression of concern.
He smiled down at her. “First, we should finish what we started.”
He held out his hand, waiting patiently while she stared at it blankly. Then the music swelled, the current song nearing its end, and understanding lit her face. She swallowed, her hand rising slowly toward his. But before it made contact, she paused. Whatever she’d discussed with Lorne was making her more hesitant than she had been earlier in the evening.
And yet, Finley could have sworn some of the tension lurking beneath her surface had eased. But still she hesitated, seeming to tremble on the brink of something he didn’t understand.
With a soft sigh, she placed her fingers in his and looked up at him with the softest of smiles. “I would love to dance with you.”
Finley’s hand tightened convulsively around hers, his pulse taking off. But his feet didn’t move. Instead, he reluctantly pulled something from his pocket.
“If we’re rejoining the ball, you’d better put this back on.”
“That’s where it went,” Daphne cried, seeing her mask dangling from his fingers. “I lost track of it.”
She smiled up at him expectantly, and he placed it slowly on her face. Her fingers held it in place as he reached around her head to tie the two ribbons together. His face hovered beside hers, his arms stretched around her, and he didn’t dare breathe lest he shatter the moment.
It took all his self-control to pull back and offer her his hand again, some semblance of his usual smile on his face. But when she put her hand into his for a second time, he couldn’t resist pulling her close, cradling her in his arms as he swept them both onto the ballroom floor.
They had never danced together before, and yet they moved as one, their feet gliding smoothly and their focus locked on one another. A slight pink suffused Daphne’s cheeks, but she held his gaze confidently, her posture straight and open.
