18: Indecent proposal

"Hello, Mr. Leighton," Melrose's polite response, her gaze lingering at Raphael's face.

Sure, she had seen him several times in balls and soirees, so it was right that she was familiar with him. But it was the first time she had seen him up close and noticed his brown eyes. Those were different from most brown eyes she had seen. His was way brighter, and the outer lining of his pupil had a different color, like gold. And for some reason, she felt that she had seen it before.

Raphael smiled at her. She offered back a small smile, before tearing her gaze from him.

"I thought you ladies went for a walk, so I brought Raphael here to discuss our business," Benedict said.

"Actually, we are going to the town's library, so you can have our place and talk all you want," Arianne said with a little hint of sarcasm because it was obvious his brother wanted them to leave the front yard.

"If the ladies want to have tea a little longer, then we can just go inside, Benedict," Raphael proposed.

Though