“I think you’ve embarrassed the both of us enough,” Harrison said. He reached an arm around Regina’s shoulders, tucking her into his side.
The warmth of him was comforting, as was the weight of his arm and the solidness of his chest. She knew it was all a lie for his friends. Yet she found herself relaxing into it anyway.
“I’ll thank you for leaving alone any comments about Miss Regina and our relationship,” Harrison added.
“If you insist,” Lord Mannis said. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.
They all returned to playing the game. But for the life of her, Regina couldn’t remember a single thing about it.
Chapter 15
After the card game Regina expected everyone to leave. To her surprise, they all stayed.
Harrison had dinner served and everyone adjourned into the dining room. Regina was once again seated next to him. This time he was on her right. On her left was Lord Quentin.
Directly across from her was Lord Mannis. On the left, Miss Emily. On the right, Cora.
“I hope you will forgive the simplicity of the menu,” Harrison said. Regina had taken to calling him that in her head. At this point it seemed silly to keep adding the ‘Lord’ at the beginning.
“You know I don’t care so long as there’s wine,” Lord Mannis said.
“And he wonders why his health declines so rapidly,” Miss Emily said with a heavy, exaggerated sigh.
Regina kept quiet. She’d been quiet throughout the card game. Hopefully none of the others would notice that her quiet had changed after the almost-kiss.
Before, she had been quiet because she had been observing. Harrison had been right, she had learned a lot about how to read other players. But now… now she was quiet because her thoughts were in turmoil.
She was quite embarrassed, for one thing. Kissing was something to be done in private. She also felt oddly ashamed, although she knew logically that she had no reason to be. Kisses were private but not shameful.
It was just—Harrison was in love with someone else. Her sister, Bridget. And now she was reminded that she’d practically sold her sister to Harrison to get his help.
The feelings of heat and anticipation she’d felt when she’d been nearly kissed certainly weren’t helping. Regina put that down to it being her first real kiss, anyway. And Harrison was a handsome man. There was no denying that.
But to focus on it as anything more than that? Folly. And now she was spending all of this time dwelling on it.
She felt the warmth from Harrison’s body before she saw him lean into her. “I hope they didn’t embarrass you too much.”
He sounded amused but also wary. She looked up into his face and saw his brows drawn together—he was truly concerned about her.
“I apologize if I’ve been quiet. I just have this… fear, I suppose you might call it. I fear saying the wrong thing.”
“You’re in good company here,” Harrison replied. “I don’t think any of us has learned proper manners.”
“You certainly are all rather…” Regina searched for words.
“Unconventional?” Harrison suggested. His lips twitched in amusement.
Regina nodded. “Yes. Let us go with that.”
He gave a low laugh that she felt all the way at the base of her spine.
“I suppose that is what happens when society and fortune are less than kind. You’re getting a taste for it yourself, my little gambler.”
Regina felt herself instinctively puff up with pride at the possessive tone in his voice and his choice of words. The ‘my’ in there made her feel…
She didn’t know. It just made her feel happy.
Regina shook herself out of such feelings. Harrison was merely being teasing again. It seemed to be his natural state.
“It seems nice,” she said. “That you have all found one another.”
“We can be ourselves when we are together,” Harrison replied. “We will keep our secret for now, to be on the safe side. But other than our little scheme, you can trust them. You are in good company here.”
“Oi, you two, stop whispering sweet nothings,” Lord Mannis said.
“I think Harrison is rather scheming with her,” Cora said. “He has that look in his eye.”
“Planning to run away to Gretna Green, no doubt,” Lord Quentin said.
Regina was seized with a desire to one-up them. She wanted to banter with these people. She wanted to prove that she was able to hold her own against them in wit.
“How do you know that we have not already done so?” She asked, turning to look Lord Quentin in the eye.
Lord Quentin choked on his wine. Harrison barked out a laugh.
“Quite the little minx when she wants to be, isn’t she?” He said. He reached an arm around Regina’s shoulders again, drawing her to him.
She looked up into his face. Harrison was smiling down at her. He had a proud and mischievous smile on his face.
Oberon, Regina thought. She smiled back at him.
“Oh goodness, stop looking sickeningly in love for two seconds,” Cora snapped. “Some of us are pining in vain over here, you know.”
“Don’t be bitter, darling, it gives you wrinkles,” Miss Eliza said, passing Cora a plate of potatoes.
“If you did go to Gretna Green and got yourselves married,” Lord Mannis said, “And didn’t tell me, your best friend…”
“Lord Quentin is my best friend,” Harrison said.
“And didn’t tell me, your best friend,” Lord Mannis repeated with emphasis.
Lord Quentin casually sent Lord Mannis a rude gesture.
“Gentlemen, if we could not go to pistols at dark over something that actually hasn’t even happened yet…” Miss Eliza said.
“Dark?” Cora asked. “Doesn’t really have a ring to it, does it? Not like ‘pistols at dawn.’”
“I hate getting up early in the morning,” Miss Eliza explained.
“What I would like,” Lord Quentin said, “Is to know a bit more about Miss Regina. All that we know is her family name and that she has at least one sister. Personally, if she’s run away with Harrison’s heart, I should like to know more about her.”
“Hear, hear,” said Miss Eliza.
Regina realized that four pairs of eyes were now on her. She wanted to shrink back against Harrison. Perhaps even to bury her face into his chest simply so that she didn’t have to look at anyone. But that was not only childish, it was wildly inappropriate.
“There’s not much about me to know,” Regina admitted.
“Surely there must be something,” Miss Eliza said.
“No girl raised by Miss Bridget Hartfield could be boring,” Cora stated.
“Oh, but I am,” Regina said. “Bridget’s the star of the family. My sister Elizabeth, you might have heard of her, she’s made a name for herself for her temper.”
“And her middle sister Miss Natalie has made a name for herself as a flirt,” Harrison added.
“Is Elizabeth Hartfield the one that Denny likes?” Lord Mannis asked.
“Does everyone besides Elizabeth know that he feels for her?” Regina blurted out.
She wasn’t surprised that she didn’t know about such things. But for Mr. Denny to be pining and Elizabeth to know nothing of it was surprising.
“Poor man has taken great pains to hide it,” Harrison said. “Your sister is not known for being gentle with suitors.”