Page 24 of Zenith
“That is a matter of opinion, and yours, my dear, does not count.”
“Doesn’t it exhaust you?” I asked, the force of her hatred bearing down on me. “To be filled with such jealousy and disdain? I imagine it would keep you up at night knowing you lost Edward because of your own callousness.”
“You think you have it all,” she mused, looking down her nose at me.
“On the contrary,” I said. “I have nothing of consequence. You already saw to that.”
“Oh, dear,” she purred. “You still have a great deal.”
I was at a complete loss for words, and I stared at her as she paraded herself before me, the picture of superiority. Even though I now had the fortune to match, I would never be in the same class as her. I would have to sacrifice my heart and conscience to do so, and it was an impossibility.
“What a shame it would be for the world to find out the truth of Thornfield and the Rochesters,” she purred, finally showing her hand. “What a scandal it would create. I’m sure it would have dire consequences on Edward’s company. No one would want to do business with a man who has locked up his murderous mad ex-wife against her will, and when they hear about her various attempts to kill the guests at Thornfield? What a shock! He would be bankrupt before the year is out, I suppose.” She smiled and fluttered her eyelashes. “Oh well, he could always turn to you, could he not, Jane? Oh, wait!” She raised her hand and pulled aside the fabric of my dress, revealing the twin scars on my chest. At the sight of my pain, she smiled in triumph. “Would it be worth it? He would try, and when he found he’d lost you…” She pouted and let my dress go with a flourish. “Heartbreak is a terrible thing, is it not?”
“Will all due respect, you seem to have firsthand experience.”
Blanche looked startled for a second before she laughed as if I’d told a hysterical joke.
“I won’t be your pawn,” I said fiercely.
“We are all pawns, darling,” she replied absently. “Except me.I’m the queen.”
Knocking her shoulder against mine as she glided past, she left me alone in the storeroom, my heart twisting tightly. She was going to ruin us all, and there was nothing I could do to stop her. How could I counter a woman like Blanche Ingram when every word she had to say was the complete and utter truth?
Could I go to the police? No, that was impossible. There were no witnesses to Blanche’s attack, and to prosecute Bertha was to destroy Edward and Thornfield. Despite the lies he had told me, I could not allow Alice, Bessie, and the staff to suffer because of it. Nor could I allow myself to harm Edward. All he was guilty of was attempting to hide his shame. He did not put the knife in his ex-wife’s hand.
I drew in a wavering breath and pondered what I should do next, knowing I did not have any options. Blanche had not come to threaten me.She’d come to gloat.
There was nothing to be done except crash and burn.
