He sighed in exasperation. “This is absurd, Regina. You had no call to fly off the handle, and certainly no call to boot Selena out. I told her so.”
“You didn’t!”
“If you will just consider how ridiculously you are behaving—”
The fire glittering in her eyes gave him pause. “Am I? Yes, I suppose I am. I’m a fool, too, and the stupidest ninny. But you, sir, are a bastard, through and through. You can’t bear for your lady friend to leave? Then by all means let her stay. Let her move in for good, in fact, for I won’t be here to see it. And if you try to stop me from leaving, I will—shoot you!”
His face darkened to a furious expression, but she was so caught up in releasing the months of fury that she didn’t know how dangerously angry he was. When he turned around without making a single reply, she ran in front of him and blocked his exit. “Don’t you dare walk out when I’m still fighting with you!”
“What more is there to say, madame?” he said bitterly. “You have finally brought it out in the open. I have no defense, you see.”
It bowled her over. No lies, and no excuses.
“You…admit you still want her?”
“Want who?” he growled. “I speak of my bastardy, of course. I tried to spare you, if you will recall. I did my best to prevent your marrying a bastard.”
“You could have changed,” she retorted hotly.
“How do you change the circumstances of your birth?”
“Birth?” She frowned. “What is the matter with you, Nicholas? I’m talking about your behavior. You are a bastard.”
There was a charged pause, and then he asked, “Miriam never told you? She never revealed my black secret?”
“Whatareyou talking about?” Reggie asked him. “Yes, Miriam told me about your birth. She delighted in telling me. What does that have to do with anything? If you ask me, you should be glad she’s not your mother.”
It hit him like a thunderbolt. “You mean—you don’t care?”
“Care? Don’t be absurd,” she said. “I have two cousins who are bastards. Does that mean I love them any less? Of course it doesn’t. Your birth was no fault of yours.” She took a breath, then sailed on. “You, sir, have a mountain of faults without adding that one. I am through being only half a wife. I meant what I said. I will not stay here and watch you renew old alliances. If I see you with that woman once more, I swear I will put to good use the lessons Connie taught me and carve the two of you to pieces!”
He wouldn’t—or couldn’t—stop laughing. It was enough to make Reggie scream. At that moment, Eleanor entered.
“Is there a war going on in here, my dears, or is this just a family squabble?”
“Family?” Reggie cried. “He doesn’t know he’s part of a family. He would prefer to be a bachelor. He thinks heisa bachelor.”
Nicholas sobered. “That’s not true.”
“You explain it to him, Ellie,” Reggie said. “Tell him it’s one way or another. He’s either a husband or he isn’t.”
Reggie flounced out of the room, slamming the door behind her. She’d gotten no more than halfway up the stairs when his words came back to her, and she nearly stumbled.I did my best to prevent your marrying a bastard.
She stood stock-still, staring into space. Could that be the reason for his horrible behavior? Why hadn’t she thought of that when Miriam oh-so-casually dropped the information? Did Nicholas believe she couldn’t bear being married to a bastard?
Oh, that fool, that idiot! Reggie sat down on the stairs and her own laughter began spilling out.
Chapter 40
THAT evening a cold dinner was served on the back terrace in order to accommodate the croquet matches going on. Reggie brought Thomas down to enjoy the late afternoon sun. With a large blanket spread under him, he delighted in bobbing his head toward sounds that caught his interest. Every guest came by to meet the new Montieth heir.
Only a few of Miriam’s guests would be spending another night at Silverley. Most had left that afternoon, including Selena Eddington. Whether Nicholas had spoken to her again or she had thought it prudent to leave, Reggie didn’t know.
Pamela Ritchie came over to look at Thomas. An unhappy woman, that. If she weren’t careful, those lines of dissatisfaction would become permanent.
Reggie hadn’t felt at all distressed when Nicholas and Anne Henslowe played in a croquet match together. They stood side by side waiting their turn and laughing together, but Reggie didn’t mind. Her attitude must, she felt, have something to do with all those grins and winks Nicholas had been giving her all afternoon. It was as if they shared a private joke, but they hadn’t said a word since coming face to face over lunch. Even so, he had only to look at her to begin chuckling.
He was a happy man. Reggie thought she knew why, and her suspicions made her just as happy as he was.
