He took one step closer and stopped. “I’m glad you came.”
She shrugged. “I had no other choice. Either I come and get some answers or remain at home feeling as though I’m insane.”
“Indeed. This whole incident has been very confusing for both of us.”
He was too close. Putting space between them was what she needed right now. She stepped to the hearth and stopped near her cloak. “I hope you can provide me an explanation of last night.”
Wayne leaned back against the jewelry counter, crossing one ankle over the other. He held on to the ledge of the counter,drumming his fingers on the wooden frame. “I’ll do my best to answer your questions.”
“This afternoon, you made it sound as though you didn’t remember much.”
His wide shoulders drooped as he released a sigh. “That is correct. I only recall moments from when we were in the coach. I don’t even recall leaving the tavern where the earl had taken us.”
Regina frowned. “Jane’s father took you to a low-down tavern? That’s odd.” She shook her head, knowing that didn’t have anything to do with the matter at hand. “However, earlier today, you mentioned that it wastoo coincidental. What did you mean?”
Wayne shifted, crossing his arms over his wide chest. “When I asked you about getting intoxicated, you said you hadn’t. The truth is, I didn’t either, especially so badly that I don’t recall what happened the night before. I had only one drink at the tavern before my thoughts became foggy.”
She shook her head, remembering how she had felt dizziness entering her head, too. “I wish more things made sense. I, too, couldn’t think straight, and I had only one glass of wine. How can one get intoxicated on only one drink?”
“I don’t believe we were drunk. I think we were poisoned, but not enough to kill us.”
She kept silent as she allowed his comment to process in her head.Poisoned?Impossible, since they were both in different places and yet suffered the same effects. Perhaps he was foxed now, because his answer was ridiculous, and she couldn’t stop the laugh that sprang from her throat.
He scowled. “I don’t see the humor in this, Regina.”
“Forgive me,” she said, trying to keep a straight face. “However, your theory doesn’t make sense. How could we have been poisoned? And why? You were with the earl, and Harold is a very influential lord. Not only that, but you will soon be hisson-in-law. Harold is a man who protects his family. He would have made certain that nobody caused harm to come to his family and friends.”
Wayne straightened. “Then can you tell me why I woke up this morning with a scattered memory? I felt fine when I arrived at the tavern with Lord Penrose, and not long afterward, I apparently walked out of the establishment and came home. Then I somehow ended up at the Montagues’ ball, but I don’t recall doing that, either.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.” Immediately, she recalled something he had said, and all humor left her. “Wayne? Do you honestly believe I was poisoned, too? Is that why you said this situation was too coincidental?”
“That is what I believe, but why would somebody want to harm you like that?” He paused briefly. “Was someone doing it for revenge? Or perhaps you have a suitor who wanted to get you in a compromising situation.”
“I don’t have a suitor, and I’m certain most gentlemen wouldn’t even think of doing that.” She sighed heavily and walked to one of the pictures on the wall, pretending to study it. Her mind fought to make sense of the confusion filling her head, growing cloudier by the minute. She gingerly ran her finger across the bottom of the picture frame. “Wayne? Suppose we were indeed poisoned. Are you certain it wouldn’t kill us?”
“If we were given enough to bring death, someone would be digging our graves by now.”
That made her feel slightly more relieved. “How long would the concoction stay in our bodies?”
Through the glass on the frame, she saw him move away from the counter and stop behind her. “Why do you ask?”
She hesitated in facing him because he was so close, but she couldn’t very well talk to him this way. She turned and leanedback against the wall. “Because, if by chance we were poisoned and it is still in our bodies, would we be able to feel it?”
His expression relaxed when a grin touched his tempting mouth. “You know, Reggie, I have the same thoughts. It was around this time last evening when I started feeling off.”
“And how do you feel now?” she asked.
“My head isn’t foggy, and my memory of what is happening now is very clear. Yet…” He shrugged. “I do believe part of the poison is still inside me.”
“Why?” she asked, feeling intoxicated by his nearness.
“Because I experience this vulnerability when I’m around you, which is something I haven’t experienced before.”
She inhaled sharply as her heart raced. This was exactly how she felt right now, too. Did she dare mention it to him? After all, she didn’t want to give him the wrong impression. She also didn’t want to do something this evening that she would regret, and talking about her feelings might push her in the wrong direction.
His gaze moved slowly over her face, hair, then down the front of her dress. The heated look of desire in his expression ignited burning deep inside her soul, making her legs weak. Once again, she cursed her body for responding to him this way.
He took a lock of her hair in his fingers, and her body shivered. She should push him away and tell him to stay at least six feet from her. Yet she couldn’t deny the warmth filling her whenever he was so near.
