Chapter Eleven #2
Regina held up the bottle. “To celebrate, of course.” She grinned excitedly.
“Yesterday, when I was with your father and Mr. Worthington, I was able to get to know your fiancé better. Please forgive me for doubting your judgment before, Jane. I now know what a wonderful man Mr. Worthington is and how much he loves you.”
She glanced briefly at Wayne. Confusion was written all over his face. Of course he would be confused, and she prayed he would stay that way until all of this was over.
“Oh, Reggie.” Jane shook her head and giggled. “You really shouldn’t have come so early just to bring a bottle of wine.”
“Indeed, I did.” Regina met Jane’s stare again.
“Because the rest of the day we will spend getting everything ready for your wedding. In fact, I couldn’t sleep last night just thinking about how I wanted to help you.
” She gave her “friend” a meaningful smile.
“After all, we are best friends, are we not? I am here for you.”
She pulled away from Jane and stepped to the liquor tray and the glasses.
She popped out the wine cork, hoping that the others couldn’t tell that the bottle had been previously opened.
She poured a drink for each person in the room, including herself.
Thankfully, Jane came to assist and handed out the glasses, even giving one to Wayne.
Regina took her glass and moved closer to Wayne, who still sat in the chair. “Mr. Worthington, are you ill? Why are you not standing?”
He smiled, even though she could see the pain behind it. Her heart wrenched. She would do anything to get him out of this mess.
“Forgive me, Miss Taylor. But indeed, I have become ill since arriving at the estate. In fact, Gilbert was just about to take me up to one of the rooms to lie down before you came.”
She nodded. “Then I shall forgive you for not standing, and I pray that you will feel better soon.”
He lifted his glass. “And I thank you for the wine.” He lowered the glass and sniffed. His eyes widened, and his gaze jumped back to her eyes. “Pray, how did you know this was my favorite?”
“I didn’t, but I’m very happy it is.” Regina looked at Jane. “You must remember that for after you two are married.”
“Indeed, I shall.” The tone of Jane’s voice was one of annoyance.
Regina lifted her glass. At first, nobody else followed her example, but when Wayne raised his, the others followed. “To the happy couple,” she began. “May your marriage be filled with love and laughter, and your lives be cleansed from all the toxins in the world.”
Wayne’s lips lifted as if he were trying not to laugh. “Hear, hear.”
The others chimed hear, hear before lifting their glasses to their lips and drinking. Although Regina placed the glass on her lips, she wasn’t about to drink. Instead, she kept an eye on the others, especially Jane and Harold, to make sure they drank every last drop.
Wayne quickly lowered his drink and tossed it in the hearth. Regina was grateful nobody saw him and that the liquid hadn’t disturbed the fire.
“Regina,” Harold said loudly, “we all thank you for the wine, and although I would love for you to stay and visit, the boys and I have things to discuss.”
“Of course, Lord Penrose.” Regina clasped her hands together. How long would it be before the poison took effect?
“Jane, my dear,” Harold continued, “please go with Regina.”
“Yes, Father.” Jane hooked her arm with Regina’s, led the way out of the room, and closed the door.
Regina wished she could have looked back at Wayne once more, but she didn’t want to make anyone suspicious. It was horrid enough that her nerves would jump until everyone in the room and Jane fell prey to the poison’s drugging effect.
“What should we do first?” Regina asked. “I fear I have never been so excited about a wedding before. I don’t think I will know what to do.”
Jane patted her hand. “Reggie, as much as I would love nothing better than to make plans with you, I’m feeling exhausted right now. I shouldn’t have woken up so early this morning just to ride.” She smiled, but there was no light in her eyes.
Regina pulled her into the music room. “Before you return to your bedchambers, I hope you don’t mind if I talk with you first. This cannot wait, I assure you.”
Jane rolled her eyes. “Fine. What is it you wish to say?”
Regina made certain the door was closed to anyone who might wander by the music room. She didn’t want anyone to stop her from what was about to happen.
Jane walked to the loveseat and sat. She drummed her fingers on the armrest.
“I want to know why you think so little of me.” Regina’s throat tightened, and she cleared it. This was not the time to show the other woman how emotional this moment was.
Jane arched an eyebrow. “Whatever are you talking about? You are my best friend, Reggie.”
“Actually, I’m not.” Regina kept her shoulders straight.
“Because if I were your best friend, you would have stopped calling me Reggie when you knew I didn’t like that name.
If you recall, when we were in our tenth year, I told you that I didn’t like it.
After that, you called me that name more and more. ”
Snorting a laugh, Jane flipped her hand in the air. “Calling you that was a form of endearment, which was why I continued.”
“In other words”—Regina stepped closer—“you don’t care about my feelings, only about yourself. Correct?”
Jane glared. “Reggie, I don’t know where this conversation is heading, and I’m too tired to figure it out.”
“Then just sit there and listen, if you can manage that much devotion to your so-called best friend.” Regina took a deep breath.
“For several years, you have been careless with your life, and I thought that, being your friend, it was my duty to watch after you. However, I learned last night—and especially this morning—that you have not thought of me in such high regard at all. Perhaps when we were children, but certainly not the past few years.”
Inhaling slowly, she fought away the tears threatening to stop her from getting her thoughts out.
“Reggie, I don’t know why—”
Regina quickly held up a hand. “Please, allow me to finish.”
She cleared her throat again, wondering exactly how long it would take before the poison worked. She hoped she had put enough in the wine to make a difference. But what if she hadn’t? Wayne would be the one who suffered.
“Jane, I have always thought of you as my dearest friend, and I’m sorry that I haven’t given you enough reason to show me the same courtesy. However, please allow me to make one thing straight. I did not become your friend because your father was an earl, and I was the poor daughter of a baron.”
Jane’s gaze narrowed. Regina wondered if the woman recognized the words from this morning at the warehouse.
“Let me also point out that you, Jane, were the reason I fell in love with Wayne.”
Gasping loudly, Jane jumped to her feet. For a moment, she swayed but then blinked and focused back on Regina. Regina’s hopes lifted slightly. Was the poison working?
“You love him?” Jane’s voice lifted in anger. “When did you decide that?”
“Well, thanks to your poisoning me with the concoction that your father made, I ended up with Wayne that evening. Since he was poisoned too, neither of us truly remember everything that happened. We decided to meet a few times and talk about it. That was when I realized what a wonderful man he is and that I was falling in love with my friend’s fiancé. ”
“How dare you!” Jane’s face turned red, and she fisted her hands. “Going behind my back and meeting secretly with the man I’m engaged to only proves how disloyal you are to me. If you truly loved me—”
“Stop right there, Jane.” Regina wanted to slap her selfish friend but refrained.
“You keep forgetting who is at fault here. If you had not poured the poison in my drink and my parents’ drinks, none of this would have happened.
I would have stayed at the ball and tried to convince my friend she was making the biggest mistake of her life. ”
“Augh!” Jane stamped her foot. “That was the only reason I put that in your drink. I was tired of you telling me what I should do. I have grown weary of your constant controlling attitude, and I could not take it any longer.”
Folding her arms, Regina nodded. “And that is why I am ending our friendship right now. I will not assist you with the wedding. Not only will you and your father be going to jail very soon, but Wayne does not love you.”
“And you believe he loves you?”
Regina nodded. “I’m certain he does, even though he has not proclaimed it yet. However, before I learned he was a Bow Street Runner, he was willing to break off the engagement to you for us to be together in public.”
Jane blinked several times and swayed again. This time, she sat back on the loveseat. “I fear,” she said in a slight slur, “that I have become ill over this most upsetting conversation.”
“The reason you are ill, Lady Jane, is because I gave you the same poison in your drink that you had given me.” Regina paused and grinned. “How does it feel to be betrayed by a friend?”
As Regina watched Jane become more tired by the minute, she breathed a heavy sigh. She was happy she could tell Jane her thoughts.
However, she and Wayne were not out of danger yet. She glanced at the door. Hopefully, the men in the other room were acting mindless as well.