Tears pricked the back of her eyes. She'd been used. Her entire life she'd been taught to uphold her duty. But at what cost? Being used and trampled; ignored and never good enough. She blinked back the tears and her eyes landed on that ridiculous rabbit. Edward. Edward had never once treated her as if she were unimportant. He might have tried to keep her occupied to assuage his guilt for lying to her, but even his omission wasn't done to hurt her. Just the opposite, he'd done what he could to protect her feelings and pride. He didn't try to use her feelings for him against her as her father would have done.
"No, your efforts were not for me," she said as smoothly as she could when she found her voice again. "You didn't do anything for me; you did it all for your own gain. Don't even try to deny it. Everything you've ever done for me was actually for you."
Father smoothed his left cuff. "I have no idea what you speak of, Regina, and to be frank, neither do you."
The condescension in his tone hit her harder than his palm could have. "Yes, I do, and you know it. It's the reason you refused to come visit me at Sloan's. You wanted me to meet Edward that day without knowing he was already my intended, so I could become smitten by the address he paid me-which you knew he would because we were already betrothed-and wish to attend every social event I could manage an invitation to, in hopes of seeing him again. But you knew all along that he was mourning his father and wouldn't be there. Still, you encouraged me to go and look for a suitable husband. That wasn't for me. That was for you. Just like my marriage to Edward wasn't for me, it was for you." A sudden onslaught of emotion clogged her throat, robbing her of her voice. "You just wanted your daughter to be a real lady. It didn't matter one bit to you whose lady she was."
"Yes, well, that matters naught, now. A baron was the best I could manage for the price I was willing to pay to get you to the position of being a titled lady."
"Get out of my house, you blackhearted, filthy bastard," she shouted, jumping to her feet and pointing to the door.
Her father didn't move from where he sat on the settee. "My, my, Regina, I do wonder what your husband thinks of your coarse language and tart tongue?
"It's what he loves about her most," a deep baritone said from the doorway.
~Chapter Thirty-Two~
"Her husband loves it when she speaks what's on her mind. It's what makes her, her. And part of the reason I love her." Edward cast Regina a slim smile. This wasn't how he'd planned to tell her that he loved her-actually he wasn't sure if he'd have ever told her. But it was his loose tongue and the habit he had of having things tumble out before thinking about them, that had put voice to his deepest thoughts.
Mr. Harris pushed to his feet and snorted. "Love? Her?"
Edward speared him with his eyes. "Yes. I do love her. You might have formed some ridiculous reason in your mind not to find her lovable, but I do."
"You cannot possibly love her," Mr. Harris retorted with a scoff. "She's defiant, tart tongued, and despite all the money spent to send her to a girls' school, she still lacks an ounce of social polish."
"Ah, but those things have never mattered to me, Mr. Harris. I know they are of great import to you, but I couldn't give a hang if I'm ever invited to darken the door of another lord's house again." He gave a casual shrug. "In fact, I care so little that I think Lady Watson and I might retire to the country, never to participate in another Season again."
A vile curse escaped Mr. Harris' lips. "Now, you listen here; I didn't pay your father fifteen thousand pounds to be ignored. My daughter is Lady Watson. She'll not be secreted away because you'd rather count how many thorns are on your rose bushes. She'll attend all the invitations she's issued and host her own events, starting with another breakfast. She owes it to me."
"No, you listen here," Edward said in measured tones. Never before had he had such a strong urge to stop someone's words with his fist. "She's your daughter. She's not some animal you can command about. She's told you she's not hosting another breakfast and asked you to leave. I'd advise you to do so."
"Or what, she'll redecorate my townhouse-"
Crack! Able to control his urge no longer, Edward's fist collided squarely with the center of Mr. Harris' nose, knocking the older man off balance and leading him to fall to the floor.
Mr. Harris grunted as he staggered to gain his footing. He moved his left hand to cover his nose and bright blood trickled out between his fingers. "You broke my nose, you son-of--"
Crack! Edward punched him again-in the jaw this time. "No need to finish that sentence. I already know my mother's shortcomings," he said grimly. "Besides, there's a lady present."
"She's no lady," Mr. Harris spat, from his newfound seat on the floor. "She's an ungrateful-"
"She's my wife, and the lady of this house," Edward growled. He refused to kick the man while he seemed to be so defenseless. "And I believe, as such, she has requested that you leave. I'd advise you to heed it."
Mr. Harris wiped the back of his hand across the blood pooled at the bottom of his nose and stood. "Not until she promises me another breakfast to make up for this travesty."
Edward tightened his hands into fists. One more mention of a breakfast and this man would be unable to break his fast again for lack of teeth.
"Actually, Father," Regina said, coming to Edward's side. "In four weeks, I'll be having another."
Edward's jaw dropped. After all the vile things he'd said, not just about her, but also to her, and she was still cowing to his demands?
"If you'd like to join the Society of Biological Matters, you are welcome to return for their meeting next month," Regina finished smoothly, eliciting a slight measure of pride for his wife. At least she wasn't giving in completely to him. Not that he loved the idea of him joining his Society, but he could deal with that matter later. Being president did have its advantages.
"No," Mr. Harris sneered. "You'll host the breakfast and the ball you promised me."
"No. I won't," she shot back, her brown eyes flashing fire. "I'll no longer play the pawn in your games. Today's was the last invitation you'll ever receive, if I have anything to say about it."
Pride for his wife soared. She'd done it! Regina had finally stood up to her father! And she hadn't just asked him to leave today, she'd made it clear to him that not only would she not be inviting him back to her home, but also that she'd no longer be a means to garner him invitations.
"What are you waiting for, Harris?" Edward barked. "If I were you, I'd take myself out of here while my legs are still able to carry me." Now that Regina had taken a stand for herself, Edward just wanted him out.
Mr. Harris scowled at them both. "This isn't over."
"Yes. I do believe it is," Edward said, gesturing to the footmen in the hall.
Before Mr. Harris could have a fair chance to know what was going on, two of Edward's largest footmen, Banes and Finn, lifted him up and tossed him out the front door.
"Do you think he'll really leave us alone?" Regina asked quietly.
"Yes. All he cares about is appearances, and once it's reported in the Times that he was bodily tossed out of Lord and Lady Watson's London residence, he'll stay as far away from here as he can."
"However would that information make it into the Times?"
Edward shook his head and made a tsk, tsk sound. "Oh, Regina, have you learned nothing from our time together? That story will find its way into the gossip column. Do not worry about that."
A slow smile spread her lips. "And they call John, Trouble."
"As you said, he had to learn his tricks from someone."
Her smile faded. "But what if that doesn't stop him? What if it makes him angrier?"
"Then, my lady, you'll just have to trust the hero of your fable to slay that dragon for the lady he loves." He put his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. "That's right. I love you. Despite my best efforts to fight that emotion that has the power to cripple a man and make him into a candidate fit for bedlam, I've fallen madly and deeply in love with you." he whispered in her ear. "I love everything about you, Regina. I love the way you have a quick retort for nearly everything I say. I love the way you keep me aspiring to be a better husband to you. I love the way you're not afraid to stand up to me, even if it means decorating our townhouse to look like a rainbow exploded."