“You didn’t!” Nicole breathed.
Regina pulled her hands away and glanced at Nicole. Her cousin’s countenance was aghast. Regina nodded desolately. “Yes. I did. I wish I could take it back, but I…cannot. Oh, Nicole. What am I to do?” She searched Nicole’s features for the wisdom and comfort she’d been looking for.
Nicole patted Regina’s shoulder. Then she took a deep breath, stood, and paced toward the fireplace. She clasped her arms behind her back, much like her husband did when deep in thought. “I assume you asked him to bed you because of the Dryden debacle.” Nicole had begun referring to Regina’s impending engagement as “the Dryden debacle.” They’d had this talk a half-dozen times since Regina had arrived in London. Nicole knew Regina was doing her best to resign herself to her future marriage, but Nicole, who’d married for love, still thought it was hideously unfair.
Regina nodded.
“I’m so sorry, dear. I really am.”
Regina glanced away, fighting the tears that threatened to gather in her eyes. There was no use talking about it again.
Nicole nodded and changed the tone of her voice to one of calm authority, like a general calling orders on a battlefield. “Very well. Right, then. We must look at this logically, like an investigation. Begin by telling me precisely what Daffin’s reaction was.”
Regina searched her memory. Nicole’s stoicism and logic made her feel better already. Perhaps together they might find a way to make her mistake with Daffin less awful… if they studied it.
She took a deep breath. “He told me no and stated quite clearly he is not a prostitute.”
Nicole paused in her pacing and winced. “Oh, dear.”
Regina pressed a sweaty palm to her aching forehead. “Yes, exactly. It was awful. I’ll never be able to look at him again.”
“Did you apologize?” Nicole resumed her pacing.
“Yes. But he still refused. He also said out of respect for you and Mark, he would never mention it.”
Nicole nodded. “That’s honorable of him.”
“I know, which made me feel worse,” Regina groaned. “In the midst of my horrible insult, he was nothing but decent. I didn’t mean to offer him money, only I got tongue-tied. The man carries handcuffs and a truncheon, for heaven’s sake. I couldn’t help it. The words leaped out of my mouth. He made me anxious for some reason.”
“It’s because you fancy him,” Nicole said, a sly smile creeping to her face.
“We are not schoolgirls,” Regina replied, her nose in the air. Then she allowed a coy smile to tug at the side of her lips. “But yes, I fancy himdesperately.Oh, why does being in his presence make me so inarticulate?”
“You didn’t seem to have a problem speaking to him in Surrey. I daresay the proposal you were offering him is what caused you to become tongue-tied.”
Regina pressed a hand to her throat. “You’re right. I was nothing but a mess of nerves.”
“It’s an unfortunate turn of events, and I can certainly understand why Daffin would be offended, but surely you can make it right somehow.”
Regina crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. “How?”
“Perhaps you can… start over?” Nicole waved a hand in the air.
Regina pulled a silken lavender pillow onto her lap and hugged it. “Start over? How is that possible? I’m quite certain I’d prefer to die before I ever see him again.”
Nicole snorted. “If Mark and I could overcome what wesaid to each other ten years ago and fall in love again, you can find a way to start over with Daffin.”
Regina cringed. “But I’m not certain I want to start over with Daffin. At the moment, I think perhaps it’s best if I never speak to or see him again. That sounds like a solid plan to me. The entire idea to lose my virginity before my wedding was ill-begotten to begin with.”
“First of all, I’m not entirely settled on the notion of the Dryden debacle. I want you to have the opportunity for a love match. That’s why we need to remain in London as long as possible and not allow Mark to send us off to the countryside over a couple of silly carriage incidents.” Nicole nodded resolutely. “Second, hiding from Daffin is unlike a Colchester. You must be brave if you’re to get what you want. Believe me, it’s a lesson I’ve learned well in the past year. My life would be completely different if I hadn’t been brave last summer, when Mark arrived on my doorstep in France and asked me to come home with him topretendto be his loving wife.”
“And I’m ever so pleased it worked out for the two of you, because I adore having both of you in my life. However, at the moment, I would like to die of embarrassment,” Regina said with a nod. “I believe that makes my case different from yours.”
Nicole hurried over to sit next to her again. She wrapped her arm around Regina’s shoulders and squeezed. “You don’t want to die of embarrassment. You want to have a nice affair with Daffin, preferably involving those handcuffs you admire so greatly, and I don’t blame you.” She winked at Regina.
Regina blushed. It was true. She’d been intrigued by the man’s handcuffs since Surrey and Nicole knew it.
“I admit you’ll have some groveling to do,” Nicole continued. “Groveling and apologizing, but he cannot hold it against you forever. Besides, there might be a part of him that is flattered. After he has time to think about it, I mean.”
