Free Guilty Series by Laura Lee Guhrke Page A

content herself with that. Perhaps she would write a letter or two along the way to move the pair in the right direction, but love, if it was destined between these two, would have to happen on its own. She knew the best thing she could do for now was get out of the way.
    In addition to helping Anthony find a loving wife, there was also the benefit of prevailing over Lady Sarah Monforth, one of the most worthless young women in England. The idea of that sweet triumph made Viola smile.
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    Daphne watched as a pair of workmen carried a large section of mosaic flooring through the doorway into the antika. She winced as the corner of it hit the door jamb, chipping off a tiny piece of the pavement. “Oh, please be careful.”
    â€œNever say please to the workmen,” a low voice murmured in her ear. “If you do, they will not respect you.”
    The sound of Anthony’s voice right behind heralmost made her jump, and Daphne turned around. “I appreciate the advice, your grace,” she said, “but since I have been around workmen all my life, I believe I can manage to get a pair of them to move a mosaic pavement without assistance.”
    She walked away, but she could still feel Anthony’s gaze on her back as she followed the men inside the antika. “Thank you,” she said as they laid the pavement on her largest worktable. “Now, I need—”
    â€œLeave us,” Anthony interrupted from behind her.
    The two men immediately moved to obey, ignoring Daphne’s sound of protest. She frowned at him as the workmen left the building. “I do not suppose it occurred to you to inquire if I had any further need of their help before you dismissed them?”
    â€œNo,” he answered with characteristic bluntness. “I wanted to speak with you in private, so I sent them away.”
    â€œDo you always get what you want?”
    Daphne watched his dark brows lift in surprise at her impertinence, and she could not suppress a hint of satisfaction. Being indifferent to him was so easy, now that she didn’t care for him any more.
    â€œUsually,” he answered. “Perhaps because I am arrogant, inconsiderate, and selfish. Or so I have been told.”
    Having her own words quoted back to her was a bit disconcerting, but if he expected an apology, he was mistaken.
    â€œAll dukes are like that,” he went on. “It is the way we are raised, you see. It comes from a lifetime of being surrounded by people who wait to gratifyevery whim and obey every order without question. Do not expect any duke to behave otherwise.”
    She bowed her head in deference to his superior knowledge of dukes. “With you as my example, your grace, I assure you I will not.”
    He made a choked sound that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, and Daphne’s sense of satisfaction evaporated. She had wanted her words to sting.
    â€œI see you have found your tongue at last, Miss Wade,” he commented, a wry note in his voice.
    â€œI was unaware I had lost it,” she answered at once. “To my knowledge, it has remained in my mouth for the whole of my life.”
    â€œA fact I am just now discovering,” he murmured, and took a step closer to her, but she refused to step back. She returned his study of her with a level, steady gaze of her own.
    â€œYour eyes are not blue,” he said, sounding as if he had just discovered something unexpected. “They are lavender.”
    Daphne’s heart slammed against her breastbone and all her newfound confidence deserted her. There was something in his eyes, something in his voice, that hurt, that made her remember the woman she had been yesterday, a woman blissfully unaware of how heartbreak felt.
    She drew a deep, steadying breath. That woman was gone, and the woman who had taken her place was not going to feel any pain because of him. Not ever again. “Surely your grace did not seek me out to comment on the color