“Very well, thank you. I believe my friend the general might be making some progress in the pursuit of your mother. I suggested he might actually muster the wherewithal to speak to her.”
Portia glanced back at the door and was surprised to see that her mother was walking out with General Montheath and seemed to be listening to what he was saying.
“I’m surprised,” Minnie admitted.
“He’s determined,” the colonel answered. He turned to Portia. “May I have a moment?”
Portia shook her head. “I’m so sorry. We are leaving.”
She would have walked off but Minnie stopped her. “Oliver is not here yet and he is the one who drove us. Don’t be in such a rush, Portia. You can talk to the colonel while I go see what is keeping Mr. Tolliver.” She didn’t wait for Portia’s protest but hurried off.
Nor did Colonel Chattan wait to tell her what he wanted. “I need to see you.”
“I don’t believe that is a good idea,” Portia whispered furiously. “Not after last night.”
“Are you all right?” He sounded anxious as if he truly cared.
Portia didn’t know how to respond, so she didn’t say anything, choosing instead to study a point beyond him.
He made an impatient sound. “We can’t pretend nothing happened between us. We should discuss it.”
No, Portia definitely didn’t want to discuss it with him. She was also not comfortable talking to him in such a public place. Lady Emma came into her line of vision. The girl’s jealous eyes narrowed as she saw the two of them together, and Portia knew she was assuming the worst.
In this case, she’d be right.
Portia could feel him frown at her continued silence. “There is nothing to discuss,” she answered, and would have walked off but he stepped in her path.
“I want that book,” he said.
The book again.
“You can’t have it,” she said, annoyed and not quite understanding why. Apparently, concern for her wasn’t his primary purpose in speaking to her.
“Name your price.”
Her price?
“What price can you place on what it has already cost me?” she answered.
His expression changed. The determination in the set of his jaw softened, and in his eyes was the bleakness of regret.
And Portia wished she’d never spoken. It pricked her pride that he was sorry, because, actually, she wasn’t. She hadn’t realized that until this moment.
She began backing away, afraid of what she might reveal if she stayed there any longer. She was afraid he’d offer excuses. She didn’t know what she wanted but it wasn’t apologies.
And so she said the one thing she knew would make him leave her alone. “You can have the book.”
Colonel Chattan gave a start as if he hadn’t expected her to make the offer. “I’ll come to your house—”
“No.” She couldn’t afford to let Lady Emma confirm her suspicions. She glanced over to where the duke’s daughter stood with several of her friends. They had their heads together, and Portia knew that didn’t bode well for her.
She also couldn’t let herself fall apart and imagine things that were not true. Colonel Chattan was reputed to have made love to almost every woman who had crossed his path. To him, she was no different from the others, and she mustn’t let herself think otherwise.
Without facing the colonel, Portia said, “There is a shepherd’s bothy not far from the Great Oak. I’ll meet you there in two hours.” She walked off without waiting for his answer.
Harry watched Portia march away, her back poker straight, and didn’t know what to think. She’d dismissed him. No woman had ever dismissed him before.
They had made love last night with a passion he’d never known, and she had barely looked him in the eyes today. He’d known governesses who were more yielding than she was.
