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“Then just sit there and listen, if you can manage that much devotion to your so-calledbestfriend.” 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 to stop Jane. “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 didnotbecome 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 thatyou, Jane, was 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. Her hopes lifted slightly. Was the poison working?
“You love him?” Jane’s voice lifted in anger. “When did you decide that?”
“Well, thanks to you poisoning me with the concoction that your father made, I ended up with Wayne that evening. Since he was poisoned, neither of us truly remembered 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 loyal 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 stomped 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 tired by the minutes, she breathed a heavy sigh. She was happy she could tell Jane her thoughts. However, Regina 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.
