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‘That looks very satisfactory, thank you.’ He could have shown them into a prison cell for all Isobel cared, or noticed. The man bowed himself out and Dorothy threw herself dramatically in front of the door, her back pressed to the panels.
‘He’ll not get in here, the vile seducer!’
‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, Dorothy, Mr Harker is no such thing, although what he is doing here I have no idea.’ A rap on the door made Dorothy jump. She emitted a small scream and flung it open to reveal a startled maid with a jug. ‘Your hot water, ma’am.’
‘Thank you.’ Isobel waited until the girl had gone before she turned back to Dorothy. ‘There is no need for alarm. Please be less melodramatic! There is absolutely no call for all this shrieking—oh!’ She pressed her hand to her thudding heart as the door swung open on the knock and Giles stepped into the room.
‘Lady Isobel. Will you join me for supper?’
‘Certainly not. I have no intention of dining with a man in an inn, and most definitely not with you.’ She looked at him with painful intensity. The scars were paler and thinner now. His expression was politely neutral, but his eyes were wary. As well they might be, she thought as she strove to settle her breathing.
‘The middle of the Season seems an unusual time to be taking a long coach journey, Lady Isobel,’ Giles observed. ‘Your admirers will be missing you.’
She did not attempt to cover her snort of derision. ‘I hardly think so. A friend needs me for a few days, then I will be returning.’
‘A friend in Oxford?’ He leant a shoulder against the door frame and frowned at her.
‘No. If that was the case I would hardly be staying in an inn.’
‘Where my lady is going is none of your business,’ Dorothy interjected. ‘Shall I go and get a couple of pot boys and have him thrown out, ma’am?’
‘I do not think that is necessary, thank you, Dorothy.’ Isobel doubted two lads would be capable of ejecting Giles in any case. She knew he was strong and fit, but now he looked leaner—and tougher with those scars and his dark brows drawn together into a frown. ‘Mr Harker will be leaving immediately, I am certain.’
‘If I might have a word with you first—alone.’ He straightened up and held the door open for Dorothy.
Isobel opened her mouth to protest, then thought better of it. If five minutes of painful intimacy meant she discovered what he was about, then it would be worth it. ‘Dorothy, go downstairs, please. No,’ she said as the maid began to launch into a protest. ‘Either you go or Mr Harker and I will have to. I wish to speak to him confidentially.’
‘But, my lady—’
Giles bundled the maid out of the room, closed the door and locked it before she could get another word out.
‘It is a strange thing if a lady may not visit a friend without being waylaid and interrogated,’ Isobel snapped.
‘Yes. I wonder that you stand for it,’ he said musingly, his eyes focused on her face. ‘I would have expected a cool good evening on seeing me and then for you to refuse to receive me. It is very shocking for us to be alone like this.’
‘I am well aware of that, Mr Harker! I want to know why you are here.’
‘In Oxford? Why should I not be?’
‘In Oxford, in this inn, at this time? I was foolish enough to fall in love with you, Giles Harker. Even more foolish to trust you. This is too much of a coincidence for my liking.’
‘That trust certainly appears to have vanished. Isobel, you know full well you could trust me to take only what was offered to me.’
‘I am not talking about—’ She could feel herself growing pink, whether from anger, embarrassment or sheer anxiety she could not tell.
‘Sex?’
‘Yes, sex.’ She was blushing, she knew it, and it was more from desire and anger at herself than embarrassment. ‘I am talking about the way you abandoned me, washed your hands of me the moment my parents appeared.’
His eyebrows rose. ‘You wanted me to treat you as a friend in front of your parents? You wanted to risk your reputation by acknowledging a liaison with me?’
‘No, I did not want that and you know it! But there was no word of affection or regret, no acknowledgement that I was distressed or of what we had shared. You had your amusement—and yes, I am aware of your self-control, I thank you—and then, when it all became difficult, you shrug me and my feelings aside.’
Giles pushed away from the door, all pretence of casualness gone. ‘Isobel, I only did what was practical. It would not have helped to have drawn out our parting, merely added to your unhappiness.’
‘Practical? Giles, there was nothing practical about my feelings for you.’
‘Was? Past tense?’ He came so close that the hem of her skirts brushed his boots, but she would not retreat. ‘I thought that when you loved, you would love for ever.’
