Impossible!
“I think we’re finally ready,” Phoebe laughed as they entered the room.
Drew smiled and joined Julia, but Reginald couldnae move. He shook his head, trying to clear the faulty vision from his head. Hehadto be mistaken.
“What is it?” Lauren hurried to him. “Reggie? Aren’t you feeling well?”
Feeling well? He couldnae feel anything but the hollowness in his chest and the staggering shock of seeing his grandsire’s ring on Drew’s hand.
“Reginald.” Phoebe rushed over and took his arm. “Sit down, for heaven’s sake, until you can tell us what’s wrong.”
By now both Drew and Julia had also rushed to his aid. Everyone surrounded him, when what he needed most, was air!
With a trembling hand, Reginald reached for Drew’s right hand, brought it close, and turned it so he could see the ring, clearly.
Let me be mistaken. Please, God, let me be mistaken!
But he wasnae.
Chapter Twenty
Bold as the headache stabbing his temples, Reginald saw the familiar, hand-carvedMon the flat, gold base.
“Wh…where did ye get that ring?!” Reginald demanded.
“Reggie!” Lauren cautioned, sending Drew an apologetic look. “What’s this all about?”
“The ring!” Reginald clutched Drew’s hand like a lifeline. “Where did it come from?”
Drew, as shocked as the rest of them, glanced at the ring as if he’d just remembered he had it on. “It’s a family heirloom, given to me on my twenty-first birthday. It belonged to an ancestor. A grandfather, on my father’s side.”
“Nae!” Reginald growled. “It belonged tomygrandsire.”
“Reggie,” Lauren tried to reason. “You’re obviously mistaken. If it’s been in Drew’s family for generations, it couldn’t have belonged to your grandfather.”
Julia sent Lauren a nervous glance, moved closer to Drew and tucked her hand beneath his elbow.
“I dinnae say it hadnae been in Drew’s family all that time. Just that it belonged to my grandsire. And it wasnae given taethem. ’Twould had to have come to them, a different way.”
“Reggie,” Lauren’s voice was laced with frustration. “You’re not making any sense.”
“Are you accusing me of something?” Drew asked, incredulously.
“Nae ye, Drew. But…I ken I am accusing someone, somewhere, in yer family line.”
“Reginald!” Phoebe scolded. “I’ve known Drew’s family for years. They’re above reproach. As is their entire family line. They’ve lived in this area for centuries. You’re simply mistaken. That’s all there is, to it. I think you should take a few moments and get hold of yourself.”
The room was silent. Reginald had never heard Phoebe use that tone, and he kenned, neither had the others.
Despite his haze of shock and incredulity, Reginald recognized he’d pushed his credibility past the limit. The ultimate truth of what he’d just discovered, still had him reeling. ’Twas difficult to think beyond it.
But ’twas clear he’d either have to drop his accusation, apologize, and pretend he hadnae seen the damming evidence on Drew’s hand, or reveal everything.
His entire history.
Already, Lauren’s face showed hints of alarm and disbelief. Everything he’d feared since she’d tumbled into his life could become reality, right here, tonight. Unless he lied, he’d lose her and everyone else he’d come to care about.
The family he thought ne’er to have, again.
