Chapter 4
Jaro was a good runner. I’d taken him with me on my morning run around the grounds at Netherfield, and he matched my pace perfectly.
After a mile of him never pulling at the leash, I removed it and let him run free.
He didn’t stray from my side, even when a deer appeared at the edge of the woods, its ears twitching.
Jaro had slept in my room on a fluffy dog bed provided by Netherfield. The house had supplied a dog bed in almost every room of the house. I wondered what Caroline would have to say about that.
Netherfield also provided large bowls of dog food and water. I didn’t know much about dog food, but even I could tell that it was gourmet.
After breakfast and a shower, I drove into town. Darcy had offered me this break to figure out what I wanted, and facing that nebulous future would be easier if I was out among people. I parked downtown and set out down Main Street.
It was a little more than a week before Valentine’s Day, and the town was ready.
Banners advertising the Saints and Sweethearts festival hung between streetlights, stretching over the road to create a tunnel effect.
This town never met a holiday it didn’t want to decorate for.
I snickered as I passed a window with the words, “You want a pizza my heart?” painted in pink, scrolling letters.
As I walked, I mused over my future. Now that I was back at Netherfield, and now that I’d seen Jane, I had no desire to go back to Vienna.
I stopped in front of Cupid’s Confections, the Bennet family’s bakery.
I hadn’t intended to come here, but of course this was where I’d end up.
I pushed through the doors and was flooded with Frank Sinatra's smooth voice over the speakers. Roses completely blanketed the bakery’s ceiling, and there was hardly an inch of space that wasn’t red, pink or white on any wall, table, or even the floor.
A gasp pierced through Sinatra's crooning. “Charles Bingley!” Mrs. Bennet bustled around the counter and shook my hand in both of hers. “It’s such a pleasure to see you back in Austen Heights,” she gushed.
I grinned. “It’s a pleasure to be here.” Though I knew Darcy didn’t approve of her, I had a soft spot for Mrs. Bennet.
“Might we hope that this will be a more permanent visit?”
There it was again. The question I didn’t know the answer to.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted.
“Well, then we must take advantage of the time you’re here. You must come to dinner tonight at our home.”
“I would be delighted,” I said.
A flash of color from the back room had my heart picking up its pace, but it was Lizzy and not Jane who emerged from the kitchen.
“Hi, Charles,” she said. Her tone was polite, but not warm. Which was no more than I deserved after the way I’d left things with Jane.
“Does Jane know you’re back?” Mrs. Bennet asked.
“I bumped into her last night.”
Mrs. Bennet trained a glare on Lizzy, who held her hands up in self-defense. “Jane didn’t say a word.”
I fought to keep my smile from faltering. If Jane hadn’t even told Lizzy she’d seen me, then it must not have been a very big deal to her.
A timer beeped in the back room, and Mrs. Bennet scurried off to address it.
An awkward silence stretched between us. I rubbed the back of my neck. “I was at the shelter when the murder happened,” I said. “I tried to save the woman who died—Jeanine. I was too late.”
Lizzy frowned. “I wrote a piece about the murder this morning.”
“Then you know that Jane was there, too.”
She nodded, her expression guarded.
“I know it wasn’t her,” I said. “But I don’t know who did it. Or why. Do you have any theories on who might have wanted her dead?”
“It was a news brief, not an opinion piece. I didn’t speculate.” She folded her arms.
Lizzy had always been warm and friendly to me.
The fact that she was keeping me at arms length had to mean she was upset with me for leaving Austen Heights.
For leaving Jane. Well, I was upset with me too, and I was trying to fix things.
I gave her a disarming smile. I wasn’t best friends with Darcy for nothing.
It took a lot more than forbidding body language to scare me off. “I know you have a theory,” I said.
Her face softened, and I knew I’d made it past the first barrier. “My guess is that it had something to do with the hotel development.”
“What’s that?”
“Jeanine recently inherited a large plot of land, which happens to be where the animal shelter sits. She was in discussion with a hotel chain about developing it.”
Lydia flitted into the room. As soon as she saw me, her soft smile faded.
“Charles Bingley.” She spoke my name like it was an accusation, which I supposed it was.
Another Bennet sister mad at me. Good for them; Jane deserved sisters who’d have her back.
Now I just had to convince them—and Jane—that I would be good for her.
“Lydia Wickham!” Her smile returned at my use of her new last name. I spread my arms wide, inviting a hug. “I hear congratulations are in order!”
She gave me a big hug. Then, with a laugh, she disappeared into the back room again, calling over her shoulder, “I’ll get you something to eat.”
Lizzy’s expression was warmer when I returned to our conversation. “I’m guessing the employees at the animal shelter weren’t happy about the idea of their building being destroyed,” I said.
She folded her arms. “Not one bit.”
I thought back to the map I’d seen on the table. Terence had told me they’d been meeting about their lease, but he hadn’t said that Jeanine was planning on selling the building.
Lydia returned with a large cinnamon roll on a plate and handed it to me with a fork.
“I love these,” I said, breathing in the scent of the spices. “I can’t get enough of this cream cheese frosting.”
Lizzy smiled. “It’s on the house.” She and Lydia went back to work, leaving me to take a seat at a corner table.
I took a large bite of cinnamon roll. It was heavenly, though it tasted slightly different than I remembered.
There was an added sweet note that overpowered even the gooey frosting.
It was almost cloying. I took another bite, then went up to the front counter where Lydia gave me an assessing look.
“May I have a glass of water?” I asked. “There is something off about this cinnamon roll.”
I blanched. Why had I said that? I tried to recover. “It’s delicious, just not as good as last time.” I covered my mouth with one hand, and Lydia’s smile turned predatory.
Lizzy hurried over with a glass of water and a glare for her sister. “You did not.”
Lydia shrugged, a wicked gleam in her eye.
“You laced his cinnamon roll with a truth potion?” Lizzy glared at her sister.
“Just the tiniest dose. It will only last a few minutes, so now might be a good time for us to ask our dear friend Charles about his intentions with our sister,” Lydia said, steering me back to the table.
Lizzy followed, hands on her hips, but she seemed to concede that it was a good opportunity because she pulled up a chair and sat across from me.
A truth potion? I started to sweat. The Bennet sisters were all capable witches, so any truth potion they fed me was likely to have me spilling my guts before they even asked any questions.
The problem was, I didn’t know what was in my guts, and I wasn’t thrilled about finding out in front of an audience.
What if I said something that hurt my chances with Jane?
“I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to Jane,” I blurted.
Lizzy’s smile quirked up. “That much is apparent.”
“I would have answered your questions even without the potion,” I told them.
“We had to be certain,” Lydia said unapologetically.
Lizzy wasted no time. “Why are you back here?”
“Darcy suggested I take some time to figure out what I want for my life. I came to figure it out. And to see if Jane might be interested in me.”
Lizzy leaned forward. “And if she’s not?”
“Then I’ll be her friend.”
Lydia scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. Of course she likes you.” Hope started to rise in my chest. “Or at least she did. Now I’m not so sure.” That hopeful feeling deflated as quickly as it had come.
“But do you care about her?” Lizzy prodded
“More than care. I love her.” The words slipped out, and my whole body stilled. I knew that I liked her a great deal, but love? I hadn’t dared let myself wonder. But the potion wouldn’t allow me to lie, and more than that, the words rang true. I was in love with Jane Bennet.
A look passed between the two sisters. They seemed happy about it, or at least they were smiling.
I couldn’t hold back the question. “Do you think it’s foolish of me—to love her so soon?”
Lizzy shook her head. “To know Jane is to love her.”
“We are all fools in love,” Lydia said sagely, patting my hand.
A bell dinged above the door, and Charlotte and Pastor Collins walked in.
“It was good to see you, Charles,” Lizzy said. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
She hurried over to Charlotte and hugged her. Lydia turned to me. “I hope when you look down deep inside yourself, the person you find is who Jane needs.”
“Me too,” I said. She nodded once, satisfied, then moved to leave. “Wait,” I said. “What does Jane need?”
Lydia’s expression was as serious as I had ever seen it.
“I think that is something you should ask her.” She left me to my thoughts, and I hurriedly pulled my notebook from my coat pocket.
I flipped past “diurnal” to the next blank page and began scribbling my thoughts down.
I needed to take advantage of the clarity that this potion offered.
1. I am in love with Jane Bennet.
I wanted to pause and examine the beauty of that realization, but I didn’t know how long I would have before the potion wore off, so I kept writing.
2. I don’t really like being a CEO
3. I want to please Darcy and my parents, so I don’t want to tell them