Raven snarled and sat on the sofa beside Lacie.
Lacie grinned. “I think you have your answer.”
“Dorrie says I’m going to marry him.”
After those words, you could hear a pin drop.
Alma, the family’s lock-picking expert, asked, “Marry? As in St. Louis Cathedral, before a priest, marry?”
Raven replied by taking a large swallow.
“Oh my word!” Beth responded, looking shocked. “Raven?”
“Not happy. Someone write that down so there will be an official record of my response.”
Lacie chuckled. “Have to admit, he’s not badon the eyes, but the stick up his arse will make for an awkward wedding night.”
“Add that to the official response, too.”
Giggles followed.
Raven placed her glass on the table beside her and dropped her head into her hands. “He’s judgmental, smug, and on such a high horse it’s a wonder he can see us humble folks down here on the ground.” She added, “And after my debacle with Tobias, I’m not in the market for a husband of any kind, not even a pretend one.”
“Not all men are bastards like Tobias, Raven,” Alma pointed out.
“I know, but he was more than enough of one to make me want to swear off men for the rest of my life. I ended up in the penitentiary, for heaven’s sake. Moreau women are queens of the game; we’re not supposed to be left with egg on our faces.”
“You need to stop being so hard on yourself,” Beth said kindly. “Sometimes when we believe we’re in love, our good sense goes on holiday.”
“And mine went all the way to the moon. I’m never giving my heart to another man. Ever.”
“Then marrying Steele should be right up your alley,” Lacie said. “Your heart won’t be involved.”
“But who wants to be tied to a man you don’t care about?” Raven asked her.
“There is that.”
Alma said, “Maybe you will end up falling in love with him.”
“Bite your tongue.”
Beth said, “Either way, I want a front row seat because this sounds like it’s going to be fun. Dorrie’s always right.”
“This time, she’s going to be wrong.”
“I want a good seat, too,” Lacie said, and then asked, “I wonder if Dorrie’s seen someone for me. Lord knows it would be nice to settle down and enjoy the love of a good man.”
“You can have Steele.”
As if cued, he and her male cousins entered from the verandah, and all conversation stopped.
Emile said, “Awfully quiet in here.”
“We weren’t talking about you, if that’s your concern.” Her eyes locked with Steele’s, and rather than turning away like a shy virgin, she met his gaze straight on.
“Can we have dinner together this evening? Just the two of us?” he requested quietly as if they were alone. She was thrown not only by the way the intimate-sounding tone resonated through her, but also by the realization that the request left her no room to deny him lest she come off as the petulant child she’d compared herself to earlier. She was trapped, and everyone in the room knew it.
Hazel’s entrance interrupted their silent battle. “Lacie, here’s your duplicate of the portrait.”