After a Fashion (A Class of Their Own #1)(97)
“Have you lost your mind?” Harriet asked, trying to free herself from Jane.
“Stop fighting me,” Jane snapped. “I’m trying to keep both of us from being arrested.”
“Is that young lady wearing my old dress?”
Jane froze, loosened her grip on Harriet, but then shoved Harriet behind her before she faced Margaret once again. “Fine, now you know why I didn’t want you to meet my niece. I nicked your dress before I left England, and Harriet, unfortunately, took tonight of all nights to wear it.”
Harriet tried to step around Jane, but Jane abruptly turned, and the sight of her eyes burning with what looked like insanity froze Harriet on the spot.
“Stay hidden,” Jane hissed before she turned and positioned herself so that Harriet was hidden from the duchess’s view. “I do hope you realize, my dear, dear Margaret, that I only took your dress so that I’d have a little piece of you to remind me of our friendship after we parted ways.”
Standing on tiptoe, Harriet discovered the duchess walking slowly across the room, her beautiful face marred by a frown.
“If memory serves me correctly, Jane, you willingly left your position as my paid companion. Forgive me, but I thought the last time we saw each other, as you said your good-byes, you looked remarkably relieved to be parting ways with me.”
Jane released an exaggerated sigh. “Don’t be silly, Margaret, of course I wasn’t relieved to be parting ways with you. If you must know, your sorrow was enough to break anyone’s heart at that time, and I couldn’t bear to witness you so distraught, which is why I resigned as your paid companion.”
An elbow to her ribs had Harriet dropping from her toes, but then she leaned to the side and managed to catch sight of the duchess again. She was standing stock-still, her head tilted, and she was biting her lip, something Harriet did often when she was trying to figure something out.
“You mentioned your niece’s name is Harriet?”
“Did I?” Jane countered in a voice that had turned shrill.
“Besides having a dog named Peabody, I used to have a dog named Harriet,” Margaret said slowly. “It’s odd that you’d take the last name of Peabody, and have a niece who just happens to have the name of Harriet.”
“A peculiar coincidence to be sure,” Jane said. “But surely you know that’s all it is, Margaret.”
Margaret’s face suddenly paled as she raised a shaking hand to her lips. “What . . . have . . . you done?”
“I haven’t done anything.”
“Don’t . . . lie. You were behind the ransom, weren’t you . . . Which means . . . you are not only a thief—you’re a murderer as well. You murdered my daughter, and then . . . your twisted sense of humor had you giving my dogs’ names to your niece—whatever the relation.”
“I’ve never stooped to murder, Margaret, and I can prove that, given that your daughter is standing right behind me.”
A collective gasp rose from the crowd right as Harriet felt the room begin to spin. She feared she was going to faint, but then Jane grabbed her arm and pulled her forward, giving Harriet a clear view of the duchess, who just happened to be . . .
Harriet’s thoughts came to an abrupt end, and the room stopped spinning when Jane let out a burst of maniacal laughter before she released a grunt, dropped her hold on Harriet, and . . . from her reticule pulled a pistol, which she began waving wildly around.
The room fell completely silent once again.
“Fine, so now you know.”
The duchess stared at Harriet for a moment, but then turned back to Jane. “Why?”
“You know the answer to that.”
“Humor me.”
“I despised you, had always despised you. You had everything I ever wanted—loving parents, money, a beautiful estate in the country, and a townhouse in Mayfair. You were the darling of the London season the year you debuted, while I was forced to lurk on the sidelines as your companion. It wasn’t fair. I hated you because you had everything, while I had nothing but a gambler for a father and a weak mother who pushed me out of the house and forced me to accept that companion position with you.”
“I considered you more than my companion, Jane. I considered you my friend.”
Jane stopped waving the pistol. “You were never my friend, Margaret. You had to have known that I wanted Richard for myself, pictured myself a duchess quite often, but then . . . you snagged his attention away from me the moment he caught sight of you, and he never bothered to look my way again.” She gestured with the pistol to the duke, who was inching his way closer to the duchess. “Stop right there, darling, or I swear to you, I’ll shoot your precious duchess and be done with this for good.”
The duke held up his hands and stopped moving. “There’s no need for more violence, Jane. You’ve caused Margaret and myself no end of suffering, but if you’ll lower your weapon, I swear to you that I’ll do my very best to—”
“To protect me from prosecution if I spare Margaret?” Jane finished for him before she turned the pistol directly on Margaret and smiled. “You and Richard underestimated me once, my dear. I suggest you don’t attempt that again.”
“When did you decide to ransom my daughter?” Margaret asked.
Jane pursed her lips. “I do believe, since we’re being honest here, that I came up with my plan right about the time you announced to everyone you were expecting. The happiness surrounding your news made me downright nauseated, as did the adoring looks Richard kept throwing your way. I decided I had to leave because it was unbearable for me to witness your love. I had no love, no happiness, and no hope for a prosperous future, given that gentlemen had no interest in courting me since I was nothing more than your companion.”