I leaned closer and whispered in her ear that he was currently not involved with anyone. “Are you, Miss Wheeler? Involved with anyone, that is?”
“That’s a complicated question, Professor.”
“It shouldn’t be.”
Oscar heard me that time. “Are you two talking about me?”
Miss Wheeler scoffed. “Not everything is about you, Mr. Barratt.”
“Sometimes it is.” He flashed her a grin. “And please call me Oscar.”
“No.”
“I think we’ve earned the right to call one another by our first names.”
“It’s not a privilege that can be earned, Mr. Barratt. It can be bestowed, but only when the time is right.”
His face fell and he sighed. “I’m afraid we don’t have time. Once this is over, you’ll go your way and we’ll go ours, never to meet again. Unless?—”
“No,” she said, most emphatically.
“You haven’t heard my proposal yet.”
“I don’t need to. I already know it’s not something that will interest me.”
“You can’t possibly know that without hearing it.”
She tapped a gloved finger to her lower lip in mock thought. “Let me see… Were you going to suggest I leave Mr. Defoe’s employ and come and work for your patrons, Lord and Lady Rycroft, and assist you and Professor Nash in stocking their library, even though the task can be accomplished without me?”
“I may have been,” Oscar mumbled.
“And were you going to make that suggestion because you believe I need rescuing from Mr. Defoe?”
“He’s a boorish, arrogant, power-hungry, selfish man.”
“You forgot to mention rich. He pays me very well. Tell me, Mr. Barratt, would your employers pay me enough to afford the fine clothes you see me wearing?”
Oscar’s gaze traveled the length of her. When it returned to her face, his eyes held a spark of desire. He’d liked what he’d seen. “I suppose you do have a rather impressive trunk.”
My face heated. “Oscar!”
He blinked innocently at me. “I was referring to the size of her luggage.”
I pushed my glasses up my nose. “Yes, of course, but it could be misconstrued.”
Miss Wheeler laughed lightly as she tightened her hold on my arm. “It’s all right, Professor. I’m used to poor attempts at flirtation from men like Mr. Barratt.”
Oscar laughed, not put off in the least. “I guarantee you haven’t met anyone like me before, Miss Wheeler. Please allow me to apologize for my comment about your trunk.” He placed a hand over his chest and bowed from the neck without breaking stride. “Although I am not sorry for attempting to flirt with you. We have limited time together, so I’m grasping every opportunity.”
Miss Wheeler lifted her chin. “Why? You hardly know me. I may not be worth the effort.”
“I know enough.”
Miss Wheeler swallowed heavily, her bold confidence suddenly vanishing. He’d disarmed her with nothing more than a few words and a velvet-soft voice.
“Consider my offer, Miss Wheeler,” Oscar went on.
“You haven’t made an offer, Mr. Barratt. Even if you could make one on behalf of Lord and Lady Rycroft, I won’t take it. I’m comfortable with my decision to remain with Mr. Defoe. The work is varied, he respects me, and he’s not as villainous as you think he is.”
