Further Than Passion by Cheryl Holt Read Free Book Online
Authors: Cheryl Holt
Regina's thievery had forced Bella to live. Plus, Kate had never managed her own household, so she had no notion of what items cost, or how much was required for expenses. Regina altered Bella's invoices before passing them to Kate, so she was duped with the fakes, just as she'd been tricked into believing she'd had no legacy from her parents. It was simple to deceive Kate.
Of course, when her father had committed suicide, Kate had been very young, so she didn't know that she'd been manipulated. Regina had pilfered Kate's dowry, and by now, it had been missing for an eternity, so there was no trail that might lead to her as the culprit. She patted the satchel where she kept her
47
records, smiling with how successful she'd been at duplicity.
Her nest egg was growing by leaps and bounds, and she almost wished she could brag about how shrewd she'd been, though she never would.
She couldn't rationalize her behavior to others. Usually, it was difficult to defend it to herself, but better than anybody, she grasped how rapidly fortunes could change. One minute, she'd been stewing in her home in Cornwall, her husband dying, their savings squandered on worthless medicines, and two mewling babies pulling at her skirts. The next, her husband was an earl. He'd perished straightaway, her son had inherited the title, and they'd moved into a mansion with two hundred rooms.
Christopher and Melanie didn't recall that embarrassing period when their father had been next in line to a great earldom, but they'd been snubbed by the local gentry because he worked to earn their living. They thought life was a celebration, filled with fashionable, wealthy people who frittered away at nothing, but Regina would never forget how it had been, and she would never return to that horrid condition of groveling before her neighbors.
She couldn't depend on Fate. If they could ascend so high, they could descend just as fast, and she declined to plummet to obscurity.
If disaster reigned, she would have Kate's and Selena Bella's assets to tide her over, and she felt no guilt about the situation. The two women didn't deserve the windfalls. They were both daughters of a whore. Let them suffer for the sins of the mother.
48
Regina gobbled the last petit four off the plate, irked she'd have to ring for another, that the staff hadn't supplied more without her requesting it. S he liked to have food close by, liked to nibble whenever the ur ge caught her fancy. There had been a time when she hadn’t had a French chef, when she'd often had to prepare h er own desserts, and she'd never recovered from that dreadful experience.
"Where is Kate?" Melanie whined, tapping her foot in a show of petulance that annoyed Regina.
She'd struggled to provide a stable upbringing for her children, but with how they were surrounded by opulence, it had been challenging. Melanie presumed the world revolved around her, despite how Regina counseled to the contrary. The girl was shrill, spoiled, conceited, and Regina despaired for her. When reality slapped Melanie in the face, when tragedy crashed down, she would be incapable of coping, would crumble at the first signs of adversity.
Thank God, she'd birthed Christopher. He possessed Regina's intellect, her savvy and cleverness, and although on occasion he was overly compassionate, under Regina's tutelage he would go far.
"She'll be along directly."
"You said the same fifteen minutes ago."
"Then, quit harping. I'm always right."
She glared at Melanie, wondering when she'd evince an interest in something beyond her own self-centered objectives. Wasn't Regina's stake in any marriage as vital as Melanie's? For years, Regina had endured the rebuffs of the ton, and she'd seethed, while ignoring the whispers as to how there were questions regarding Christopher being the lawful heir,
49
as to how they were interlopers into the circles of the Quality.
When Melanie wed Stamford, how Regina would revel in
Of course, when her father had committed suicide, Kate had been very young, so she didn't know that she'd been manipulated. Regina had pilfered Kate's dowry, and by now, it had been missing for an eternity, so there was no trail that might lead to her as the culprit. She patted the satchel where she kept her
47
records, smiling with how successful she'd been at duplicity.
Her nest egg was growing by leaps and bounds, and she almost wished she could brag about how shrewd she'd been, though she never would.
She couldn't rationalize her behavior to others. Usually, it was difficult to defend it to herself, but better than anybody, she grasped how rapidly fortunes could change. One minute, she'd been stewing in her home in Cornwall, her husband dying, their savings squandered on worthless medicines, and two mewling babies pulling at her skirts. The next, her husband was an earl. He'd perished straightaway, her son had inherited the title, and they'd moved into a mansion with two hundred rooms.
Christopher and Melanie didn't recall that embarrassing period when their father had been next in line to a great earldom, but they'd been snubbed by the local gentry because he worked to earn their living. They thought life was a celebration, filled with fashionable, wealthy people who frittered away at nothing, but Regina would never forget how it had been, and she would never return to that horrid condition of groveling before her neighbors.
She couldn't depend on Fate. If they could ascend so high, they could descend just as fast, and she declined to plummet to obscurity.
If disaster reigned, she would have Kate's and Selena Bella's assets to tide her over, and she felt no guilt about the situation. The two women didn't deserve the windfalls. They were both daughters of a whore. Let them suffer for the sins of the mother.
48
Regina gobbled the last petit four off the plate, irked she'd have to ring for another, that the staff hadn't supplied more without her requesting it. S he liked to have food close by, liked to nibble whenever the ur ge caught her fancy. There had been a time when she hadn’t had a French chef, when she'd often had to prepare h er own desserts, and she'd never recovered from that dreadful experience.
"Where is Kate?" Melanie whined, tapping her foot in a show of petulance that annoyed Regina.
She'd struggled to provide a stable upbringing for her children, but with how they were surrounded by opulence, it had been challenging. Melanie presumed the world revolved around her, despite how Regina counseled to the contrary. The girl was shrill, spoiled, conceited, and Regina despaired for her. When reality slapped Melanie in the face, when tragedy crashed down, she would be incapable of coping, would crumble at the first signs of adversity.
Thank God, she'd birthed Christopher. He possessed Regina's intellect, her savvy and cleverness, and although on occasion he was overly compassionate, under Regina's tutelage he would go far.
"She'll be along directly."
"You said the same fifteen minutes ago."
"Then, quit harping. I'm always right."
She glared at Melanie, wondering when she'd evince an interest in something beyond her own self-centered objectives. Wasn't Regina's stake in any marriage as vital as Melanie's? For years, Regina had endured the rebuffs of the ton, and she'd seethed, while ignoring the whispers as to how there were questions regarding Christopher being the lawful heir,
49
as to how they were interlopers into the circles of the Quality.
When Melanie wed Stamford, how Regina would revel in
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