Page 14 of Charlotte's Story
I stilled. “What gossip?”
She leaned across the counter and lowered her voice. “That Lady Catherine wasn’t asked to put the Star of Everlight on the tree for the ceremony this year. Word on the street is that she’s quite displeased.” Mrs. Bennet had a large smile as she said this, as if her happiness was in direct proportion to Lady Catherine’s displeasure.
I relaxed and pulled some cash from my purse. “Who did Mayor Pembroke ask instead?”
Mrs. Bennet leaned closer and passed me the bag. “No one knows. That’s the mystery!”
“Did I miss any other pieces of gossip?” I accepted it and gave her the money.
She waved a hand. “I don’t think so, but then again, I was busy with Mr. Bennet all night. His Moonrot has taken a turn for the worse, and he hasn’t been doing well lately.”
“I’m so sorry.” I frowned, thinking of Lizzy. Her father’s sickness was hard on her and was the reason she’d moved back to Austen Heights.
The door to the bakery opened with another jingle. “You will not believe what I just heard about Pastor Collins!”
I spun around to find Ms. Bates, one of the gossipiest fae in town, at the door.
Her eyes widened as she took me in. “Oh goodness, Charlotte. I didn’t see you there. No, I didn’t see you at all.”
“Oh, no problem at all.” But that was my cue to leave. Gathering info was one thing, but being there while they gossiped about me was something else. “Thanks for the food and the news.” I rushed out the door with one final glance over my shoulder and bowled into someone walking down the sidewalk.
Small red and green bags flew from their hands at the collision, and they held onto each other for balance.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there.” I knelt to pick up the bags and handed them back to the two brownies from Rosings Park.
“That’s okay, miss,” the female one said, wearing the same uniform as before.
“I saw you both at the wedding, but I didn’t catch your names,” I said.
“It’s Merrick.” The male brownie ducked his head, wearing a similar outfit that must’ve been their work clothes.
“And Maris.” The female dipped into a small curtsy even though she wore pants.
“I’m sorry for running into you.” I glanced over my shoulder where Ms. Bates and Mrs. Bennet were both chattering with animated gestures. The two kept glancing at me through the glass. “I need to go, but are you both okay?”
“We’re fine.” Maris opened a bag and checked the contents. “And it looks like Lady Catherine’s ornaments are fine too.”
“Okay, good.” They were probably on their way to set up Lady Catherine’s stall for the ornament drive at the annual Christmas market. She was a proud old fae and probably didn’t want to come into town yet since she knew word was spreading about her not being asked to participate in the ceremony. “It was nice to meet you.”
“You too,” they said in unison before walking off.
I waved at them and hurried the opposite direction with one final glance back at the bakery. After a moment, I pulled out my gingerbread cookies to eat, and they were gone before I’d even made it another block. I passed Mansfield Book Haven, which had glowing runes etched into the corner of the glass to keep frost from covering the display windows.
“Charlotte!”
I turned at the familiar voice, then blinked in surprise. “Firth?” He had a bit of scruff around his jaw from being out all night, hiding his face’s usual softness, but the oversized sweater and pants from last night were gone. Instead, he wore a tailored wool coat, a cashmere turtleneck, and nice slacks. Without his baggy clothes, he was surprisingly fit. “What happened to you?”
“I was with the police. Did you forget? Did something happen to your memory too?”
“No, I mean with all this.” I gestured to his outfit and his hair which sat in soft, tousled waves. “What happened to your clothes from yesterday?”
“Oh, that.” He glanced down at his outfit as if reassessing it, his fingers tapping a short pattern on his pants. “An officer saidnone of my clothes fit correctly. I explained I prefer soft, worn fabrics because scratchy ones distract me. But he said you might like it better if I wore clothes that fit. So I went shopping this morning and picked up some new stuff. It’s just as soft as my old clothes, but I thought you might like them better.” He joined me on the sidewalk. “Do you?”
They made him look a bit too much like Hugh, who had always dressed so well. But I couldn’t deny that he looked nice. “They look good on you.”
“Good.” He ran a hand down the front of his sweater and gave a single satisfied nod. “Also, you don’t need to call me Firth. You can call me William.”
“William?” I blinked and glanced at him. “But you told me to call you Firth before.”
