“You would risk yourself so that your family might have a chance. And you might not even win the card game.”
“All my life I have done nothing. I have had no convictions. Finally I have something over which I feel strongly. Something that I know I can do. Something that makes me honestly want to get up in the mornings.”
“It is something that you would destroy yourself over.”
“And why do you not go to the continent?” Regina replied.
It was a bit of a low blow. Cora went pale.
Regina plowed onward.
“You could go to France. You would be quite welcome there. But you do not. You risk yourself as well, Cora. We all are willing to do stupid things for love.
“Perhaps my love is for my family and not for a lover. That I will allow. But does that make it any less strong or any less significant? Does that make it, in some way, less than? I do not think so.”
“Miss Regina,” Cora said slowly, “You have more of a backbone than most of the men that I know.”
Regina blushed, curling into herself a little and looking away from Cora. She suddenly felt incredibly embarrassed by her outburst. This was why she was not fit for polite society.
“I apologize. My behavior just now was… rather uncalled for. I am sorry if I have offended you.”
“Do not apologize,” Cora said. Her voice was soft and understanding. “I am rather in awe of you and your choices. I do not know a half a dozen people who could be so brave as all that.”
“It feels more foolhardy than brave,” Regina admitted.
“Often times, I have found, they are the same thing.” Cora smiled gently. “I don’t blame you.”
Then she straightened and stood up. “Harrison, however, is about to get an earful.”
“What?” Regina sat up. “Oh, no, Cora, don’t—”
It was too late. Cora was sweeping out the door and yelling for Harrison. Her tone clearly stated that he might not survive their encounter.
Regina, once again, wondered if the floor could just swallow her up.
Chapter 26
Regina sat by herself for some time after that, convinced that she was going to get up any minute and leave the house.
Yes. That was what she was going to do. It was the only proper course of action. Leave the house, and never come back. It was the only way to get over such embarrassment.
If only she could remind her body how to properly move.
After a time, wherein she found that she had apparently become a statue, Cora returned.
“Well,” she said. “Harrison is ready to apologize to you.”
“What on earth does he have to apologize to me for?” Regina asked.
Cora sighed. “He should have known that we would make the assumptions that we did about your relationship. He is the older adult here. And the man. It was his responsilbity—”
She cut herself off with a scathing noise. “Obviously his affection for you clouds his judgment. Now, off with you.”
Cora waved Regina towards the library. Regina felt rather as though she was being used like a tennis ball, lobbied back and forth between Harrison and Cora. It reminded her a bit of how Natalie and Elizabeth could be.
But she rose anyway and went into the library.
Harrison was sitting and idly shuffling cards. He looked up as she entered and gave her a wry smile. “I’ve been told I am to apologize to you.”
“Yes, I was told rather the same thing.”
Harrison sighed and stood up. He motioned for Regina to sit down. “I do apologize. I was thinking only of covering up the truth. I forgot how deadly the lie could be.”
“I should think the truth even more deadly.”
“The truth is that you are a well-intentioned girl who is doing something very brave and very daring to save her family. The lie is that you are a reckless girl who is pursuing her own pleasure despite it leading to her ruin.” Lord Harrison set the cards aside. “I think you underestimate the cruelty of society.”
“I told Cora this, and I am telling you now, I do not care what society thinks of me. It already scorns me. Right now my entire family is under a cloud. I considered it an improvement if only I was under one.”
“That is a fair assessment,” Harrison replied. “I commend you for your self-sacrificing nature. But the fact remains that I should have planned for this. I should have spoken to my friends and made up a better cover for us.
“And I should not have allowed the misinterpretation of our relationship to continue for so long. Even if it was only Cora who was here to think so.”
Regina bowed her head, accepting his apology. “I have a feeling that you will not stop until I simply say ‘thank you’ and agree to your wrongdoing.”
“You would be correct.” Harrison smiled at her for a moment. Then he sobered.
“I know that I am nothing of the sort, of course. But I cannot help but feel a sense of responsibility towards you. I find myself wishing to treat you as I would any young lady. Then I remember that I can’t.
“You have put your faith in me and I find that makes me feel responsible towards you. If you were to find yourself in a position of danger or scandal it would be my fault. I feel that I must take care of you in that way.
“It’s not because I feel that you are a child. I would feel this way, I think, even if you were older than I am. It is because rather of the position that we are in. Not our ages.”
“I just want you to treat me as an equal,” Regina replied. “You can look after me without coddling me. I appreciate how you treat me. I like that you are protective of me. I feel safe when I am with you.
“But I am a woman, and I wish to be treated as one. I know that there might be times when I am not always mature. I know that my age might create some barrier or moments of recklessness. I am certainly being reckless with this entire endeavor.”
Harrison chuckled quietly, amused.
“But I am also an adult and any mistakes I make are the mistakes of an adult, not the mistakes of a child.” Regina bit her lip. “Everyone always speaks of me as… as this mouse. As someone to be talked over and around. I do not wish to experience that from you.”
“And I am sorry if I have made you feel that way,” Harrison replied. “You are someone that I respect. Please do not doubt that. I will do my best to curb that behavior in the future.”
“So are we at a truce?” Regina asked, teasing him. “I have accepted your apology and you have accepted my corrections?”
“Yes, truce.” Harrison smiled. “Now, let us find Cora and avail her to play. There is not much time left and we must use all of it as best we can.”
Regina nodded. “Yes.”
Time was running out.
Chapter 27
They found Cora much in the same position that Regina had left her.