Guilty Series Read Online Free PDF Page B

many years, but after my mother’s death, my father was never able to settle in one place for very long.”
    â€œBut what of society and company?”
    â€œI have not had much of that. An occasional dinner with friends of Papa’s in Rome, but that is all.”
    â€œNo parties? No balls?”
    â€œI’m afraid not.” Daphne shook her head, smiling. “I do not even know how to dance. There is not much demand for balls in the midst of the desert. I am more accustomed to the company of donkeys, camels, Arabs, and stuffy old antiquarians.”
    â€œYour life has been a fascinating one, Daphne, but there are so many pleasures you have missed.”
    â€œPerhaps, but I have loved every moment of my life. I do miss my father, but I think he would have liked it that I came to England after he died. He wanted me to see it. That is why he finally agreed to the duke’s offer to come here.”
    â€œHave you seen London?”
    â€œNo. I traveled by spice caravan from Marrakesh to Tangier, then a ship to Portsmouth, and straight on to Tremore Hall from there.”
    â€œA spice caravan!” Viola burst out laughing.
    Daphne looked at her in puzzlement. “Did I say something amusing?”
    Still laughing, the other woman shook her head. “Amusing? Oh, Daphne! You say the most extraordinary things in the most matter-of-fact way, as if traveling by caravans is quite commonplace.”
    â€œWell, it is commonplace,” Daphne said, laughing with her. “Although perhaps not here in Hampshire.”
    The other woman’s amusement faded away and she looked at Daphne thoughtfully. “Morocco,Palestine, Crete. I cannot help but think you find Tremore Hall quite dull in comparison?”
    â€œOh, no! To me, living here is luxury beyond belief. I must confess that I find sleeping on a feather mattress far better than a canvas cot in a stone hut or desert tent.”
    â€œHeavens, I imagine any woman would! You like it here, then?”
    â€œI do. When I reached England, I had the odd feeling I had come home, though I had never been here before. Everything in England is so fresh and green, so beautiful after all the arid deserts in which I have lived. It was all my mother said it was. I do not ever want to leave.”
    â€œAnd what do you think of the estate?”
    â€œI have not seen much of it, I’m afraid. I have been so busy with the excavation work, I have not had a chance to explore, although I have walked through the gardens on occasion. It is a splendid property, but a bit intimidating when you first arrive.”
    â€œYes,” Viola agreed. “I know what you mean. When I was a girl, I had been at boarding school in France for several years, and when I came home, I was struck by just how intimidating it was. I had forgotten. Anthony will not let me change a thing, though. Family history and all that.”
    â€œI can see his point.”
    â€œYou would, Daphne, for you also see the point of clay pots. If it were your home, you would be like Anthony, no doubt, and refuse to redecorate a thing.”
    Daphne caught her breath at the sudden wave oflonging that swept through her at the other woman’s offhand comment, but she shoved that feeling aside at once. This was not her home. She did not have a home. “I would change one thing,” she replied, forcing lightness into her voice. “I would remove those hideous gargoyle finials from the main staircase and consign them to a dustbin.”
    â€œThey are awful. When I was a little girl, they gave me nightmares. Perhaps when Anthony marries, his duchess will have them tossed into a dustbin so their children are not frightened.”
    An image of Anthony and his duchess with their children came into Daphne’s mind, and she banished it at once, tucking her chin to hide her expression.
    â€œI am sure you wish to marry, Daphne,” Viola said, breaking into her