She’d been about to take another sip of her tea, but at that, she looked up to stare at him. ‘You don’t mean he would try to...force me! Or harm me, for refusing him!’
‘No, no, probably not that. He would be more likely to start some malicious gossip in an attempt to blacken your name. So if you do refuse him, you might wish to be on your best behaviour.’ He winked at her. ‘No trysts at secluded inns in small market towns.’
She laughed. ‘I will keep that in mind, Mr Hadley.’
‘Very well. Now, much as I hate to bring this tryst at a very public place in the huge metropolis to an end, I fear I am due at a meeting in half an hour. Can I escort you home first?’
‘No, I have some errands to complete.’ Even more reluctant than he to have their time together come to an end, she added on impulse, ‘Father is hosting a dinner tomorrow night for some friends, not a policy meeting, but a wide-ranging discussion of political ideas. The guests will be quite varied in background and opinion. Would you like to attend?’
‘Are you sure your father would want me?’
‘Papa enjoys a free exchange of opinions. I know he would be interested in hearing more of yours. And let me assure you in advance, your half-brother will not be invited.’
‘Will you be acting as hostess?’
‘For the dinner. I shall probably leave the gentlemen to their discussions afterward.’
‘Then I should be delighted...’ He paused, frowning. ‘I should be delighted, but I was not exaggerating George’s malevolence. I didn’t note anyone tailing us to Gunter’s, so he may not discover that you accompanied me here, but my presence at your father’s dinner will surely excite enough comment to reach his ears. Probably, the knowledge will merely increase his enmity towards me, which is a matter of no import—the fact that I breathe daily increases his enmity. He might, however, seek you out for an explanation. I would not have you harassed.’
His concern that she not be drawn into a squabble between brothers dissipated the last of the caution generated by Aunt Lilly’s warning. ‘I refuse to allow your half-brother to dictate whom I may or may not invite to my home. If he tries to take me to task for it, I assure you, I am quite capable of putting him in his place.’
‘That I would like to see!’ Hadley declared, then paused, still looking troubled. ‘You are sure? The last thing I want is to introduce any unpleasantness into your life.’ His frown dissipating, he gave her an intimate smile, his voice lowering to a seductive murmur. ‘I would rather introduce you to pleasure.’
She looked up at him, her gaze caught and held by the power of his. Feeling a little breathless, she had to force herself to look away.
That comment made his amorous intent plain enough, she thought, thrown back into uncertainty by the realisation. She could put any potential affair to a stop right now...if she wanted. But did she want to?
Just because she was certain he would be amenable to dalliance, didn’t mean she had to make a decision about it right now. Besides, there could be pleasure in less: conversing, flirting—even a simple kiss.
‘My father and I would be honoured if you would come to dinner tomorrow night,’ she found herself replying.
His smile broadened and his eyes lit, as if she’d just given him a treasured gift. ‘Then I will certainly be there.’
‘Until tomorrow night,’ she said, a little giddy. What was she getting herself into?
He escorted her out and summoned a hackney. ‘You are sure you’ll be all right? You don’t even have a maid or a footman to carry parcels.’
‘I never bring my maid if I’m visiting Parliament—she’d be bored to death, poor thing, and it would unnecessarily delay her work. Since I’m ordering supplies for dinner, they will be delivered later anyway, so no need of a footman to carry parcels.’
‘What, no gowns or slippers or feminine fripperies?’
She laughed. ‘At the risk of having you find me totally unwomanly, I confess I don’t spend much time on gowns and slippers and fripperies.’
‘I could never find you anything but delightful.’
At that, she looked back up at him, into eyes that once again seemed to see deep within her. Enchanted, mesmerised, she didn’t want to look away. Every nerve quivering with awareness, had they not been standing on a public street, she might have gone into Hadley’s arms.
A pedlar with his handcart pushed past them, breaking the spell, and Maggie stepped away. ‘You’d better summon a hackney yourself, else you’ll be late to your meeting.’
‘Thank you again for accompanying me for tea.’
‘And to you, for tea...and your warning.’
He turned as if to go, then paused, looking back at her over his shoulder. ‘Do you really think I could beguile you?’
‘All too easily,’ she answered, before realising it would have been more prudent to turn that question aside.
He reached over to take her hand. Little eddies of delight swirled through her as he raised it and brushed his mouth against the thin kidskin sheathing her fingers. ‘Then I’m very encouraged. Send me the invitation. I’ll definitely come...exchange views with your father.’
With a bow, he handed her up into the carriage, waved his cane in farewell, and walked away.
Hand tingling, even more enchanted than she’d been after their interlude in Chellingham, Maggie watched him until the departing carriage set off, robbing her of the sight.
That evening, Maggie waited up for her father, who had attended a dinner with some of his political cronies at Brooks’s. Although she was certain the marquess would not object to including Giles Hadley in their gathering—the purpose of the entertainment being, as she’d told that gentleman, to explore a wide range of ideas—she also knew he would be surprised by her invitation, and curious.
Best to meet that curiosity head-on. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure she could do a very good job of explaining it to her father when she didn’t fully understand it herself. She just knew she wanted to see more of Giles Hadley, and since he didn’t attend society functions and was unlikely to turn up at Tory gatherings, luring him to her father’s home was probably the only way she was going to manage it.
She really didn’t want to tell her father that.
But since the invitation had been tendered, the gentleman had accepted, and she had no intention of revoking it—the need to see him again being greater than her reluctance to discuss the reasons for it with her sire—she’d have to tell Papa—something.
She was dozing over her book in the library when at last she heard her father’s distinctive step in the hallway.
‘Papa, could I have a word with you?’ she called out as he passed the library door.
At
