“Octavian!” She sank onto the bed and sat beside his prone form. “That is very unkind of you to say.”
“But it is true, Syd. Do not bother to deny it.”
“Is this what you think of me?”
Blast, now she looked ready to cry. But he wanted honesty between them, even if the truth was painful. “You also have many fine qualities, but cooperation is not one of them.”
She pursed her lips, for she could not deny this was true. “Is it so terrible that I do what I think is right? My motives are always honorable.”
“Honorable? Or hotheaded?” He grunted in exasperation. “And yes, it is terrible because you are not always right. You are sometimes so bent on doing whatever you want to do that you fail to consider the consequences to others or fully consider the consequences to yourself.”
“Are you referring to those louts who accosted me and Gory in that tavern near the Royal Society when were trying to help Adela solve the theft of that priceless book from the Huntsford Academy library? The tavern was a respectable place frequented by scholars, and–”
“And you got yourself and Gory hurt because it was not quite as respectable as you believed. You were asking dangerous questions. Did you not consider that the thief would have friends? Because of you, I was left nursing a black eye for a week.”
“Which only happened because you interfered.”
“Interfered?” He wanted to throttle her for that stupid remark. Instead, he scooted over a little to give her more space to sit beside him on the bed. “Isavedyou. Which is something I had to do because you disobeyed my instructions and went to the tavern instead of going home as you were supposed to do. Syd,you could have been badly hurt had I not followed you there and got the two of you out in time. My black eye was nothing, for it quickly healed. But what bothered me most was that I could not trust you.”
“It isn’t the same,” she insisted. “Yes, I defied you, but I never made you any promises. In fact, Gory and I were adamant about remaining involved in the investigation. You were the one issuing edicts I had no intention of following. But it all worked out in the end, so why are we quarreling about it now?”
“We are not quarreling. We are discussing that old situation as it relates to our current situation. If I tell you that you must do something, it is not because I wish to be an ogre. It is because I know what will happen if you defy me. Syd, at the heart of the matter is that we need to trust each other. I need you to promise that you will not run away from me.”
“I won’t run away from you. If I decide to leave, then I will tell you. I promise. But you must then allow me to leave if this is what I wish to do. Respect goes both ways.”
He rubbed a hand along his jaw and groaned. “We are going to talk in circles. You still intend to do whatever you want to do. It does not give me any confidence. Just because you are going to tell me before you go off on your own doesn’t make it right. It leaves me worried that you are going to run into trouble and will not listen to me, no matter how worried I am about you or how dangerous I know the situation to be.”
“My valiant protector,” she whispered, leaning forward to kiss him primly on the cheek.
Her bosom pressed lightly against his chest, the accidental gesture setting him instantly on fire because this is what Syd seemed able to do to him with her slightest touch.
Gad, why her?
Why could he not have these feelings for some biddable mouse of a girl?
“Give me time, Octavian,” she said, her voice shaking with genuine feeling. “If you were raised with a loveable fool of a father and a mother who would rather suffer in silence than ever take a stand or make a decision of her own, you would understand me better.”
“Ah, Syd. I do understand you. In fact, sometimes it is scary how well I seem to know your mind.”
“You do have an impressive ability to thwart me at every turn,” she acknowledged.
“I do not thwart you nearly as often as I wish. In fact, you outwit me constantly. Trying to stay a step ahead of you is usually a losing battle and exhausts me. But we would be quite something if we worked together instead of at cross purposes.”
“Where would the fun be in that?” she said playfully, and then drew away when she heard a light knock at their door. “Oh, that will be our refreshments.”
She rose and was about to hurry toward the door when he grabbed her gently by the wrist and whispered, “Syd, stop.”
She turned to him in confusion. “Why?”
“Exercise a little caution. We don’t know who is behind that door.”
She frowned lightly and pursed her lips. “Octavian, you are being ridiculous. Who do you think is behind the door?”
CHAPTER 4
SYD WATCHED ASthe knob began to turn on its own.
She fell back a step to stand by Octavian’s side and quietly berated herself for not thinking about who might be standing on the other side of the door. What if Sir Henry had caught up to them already? Not that she believed it was possible, but Octavian had accused her of being rash and he was right. She had not even considered the danger or expressed any caution before intending to let in whoever stood there.
