The Duke's Deception Read Free Page A

"Shall we, Miss Royer?"
    Garnett thankfully let him go without another word. Larkin took Alice's arm and led her away from the party into the gardens. Alice was quiet as they walked, waiting until they reached the roses, which were a good distance away from the party and the stragglers who had moved away from it in search of their own bit of privacy.
    "Is he going to cause any problems?" Alice asked, tilting her head up to meet Larkin's eyes. "I wouldn't want Lady Belrose to miss out on her delivery. She was so looking forward to getting those books from you."
    "No problems," Larkin said, letting go of Alice's arm. She was one of Lady Belrose's group. They pooled together to purchase from him. "He ran into me the other night and had the misfortune to see me when I was relatively certain the flu was about to kill me. Apparently he thought it was."
    Alice snorted, a distinctly unladylike sound. Larkin politely ignored it, watching as she turned her focus onto the roses in front of them. "Did you know Lord Paquet imported the blue roses? I forget from where, but he was very proud of them."
    "They are beautiful," Larkin said, barely glancing at the roses. His mind was already spinning, trying to come up with something he could tell Garnett that would satisfy him without ruining Larkin in the process. Somehow he doubted Garnett—straight-laced and proper—would approve of what Larkin was in the middle of.
    The afternoon passed quickly; the party broke up mid-afternoon, and Larkin spent the rest of his day visiting his various customers. He had the start of a good order list by the time night fell but was still no closer to figuring out what to tell Garnett.
    Walking down the hallway towards his rooms, Larkin considered his options for the hundredth time. He'd probably have to play some of his cards as he didn't think Garnett would let him get away with anything less than that. Taking the last corner, Larkin stopped, startled to find Garnett loitering outside his rooms.
    Recovering himself quickly, Larkin closed the remaining distance, already reaching for his wards. "You're early, your highness."
    "It's evening," Garnett said. He didn't step away as Larkin approached the door, putting them close enough that Larkin could smell his cologne again. Opening the door, Larkin stepped inside, holding the door open for Garnett. He let the wards slide back into place once he'd shut the door.
    "Technically, though, no one I know would consider this an appropriate time for a late night assignation," Larkin said, amused when Garnett glowered at the implication he was visiting Larkin for something so inappropriate. "Have a seat. Would you like a drink?"
    "Sure," Garnett said. He studied the sofa for a moment before taking a seat at the far end. Larkin had a smart comment on his lips about nothing staining it before he remembered—fuzzily—that Garnett had seen him bleeding on the sofa only a few days previously.
    Garnett liked expensive scotch. Ruben had complained of the difficulty of finding Garnett's preferred brand a few times in Larkin's hearing. He had scotch, though it likely wasn't up to Garnett's usual standards. Nothing in Larkin's limited bar would be, however, so he poured the scotch. Bringing the tumblers over to the sofa, Larkin passed one to Garnett and then claimed the seat adjacent to the sofa.
    "Thank you," Garnett said, taking a sip of the scotch. He made a pleased little noise, a smile softening his face briefly. He settled back in his seat, staring expectantly at Larkin.
    "I don't know what you think I can tell you, your highness," Larkin said. He swirled the scotch in his glass, focusing on that instead of Garnett. He didn't want to lie to Garnett, but he couldn't tell him the truth, either.
    "You could start with why you didn't want to go to the healers the other night," Garnett said, his voice deceptively casual. "Or why you had a healing potion when those are far and above your means."
    Larkin laughed, pleased to