Chapter 5
I gasped. “Why would someone want to kill William?”
Mr. Ashford’s hands clenched at the word “kill,” and I cursed at my thoughtless word choice.
“I don’t know, but the police seem to think it makes more sense for someone to have been targeting him than Dahlia.
She was only visiting and hardly knew anyone in town.
And from what I hear, they were both hit by magic. ”
That explained why William woke up on the ground.
“Would I have done anything that would make someone want to kill me?” William frowned and looked between us like the answer to his question was hidden there.
My thoughts darted to Brexton’s comment about how William had insulted Pennyfern during one of his sermons. He’d also driven away many of the Bennets with his anti-witch lectures. Who knew how many others in town he’d offended before with his blunt and sometimes tactless speeches?
“Don’t you remember what the killer looked like?” Mr. Ashford asked. “Or anything useful at all?”
“I wish I could say yes, but no matter how much I think back on that night, I don’t remember anything until the moment I woke up over Dahlia’s body.” William shifted his weight from foot to foot, not meeting Mr. Ashford’s gaze.
I frowned and twisted my fingers together. So we wouldn’t know the killer’s identity until William’s memories came back—if they came back? And that was assuming the killer wouldn’t return to finish the job he started before then.
This was so much bigger than William getting tangled up as a suspect in a murder case. It didn’t matter if our marriage was real or not, I couldn’t stand by and do nothing while someone might be targeting him.
“We should go.” I grabbed William’s hand and pulled him toward the door, calling over my shoulder, “Thank you for your time.”
William was silent until we escaped outside. The groan of the gate creaking shut behind us made him jump. “What should we do?”
“I don’t know.” I glanced at our interconnected hands with a frown. Had I been the one to reach for him? Maybe he didn’t realize that this was our first time holding hands, but my pounding heart proved that I was all too aware of it. It was my first time with him and with any other man since Hugh.
I let go, then headed down the street.
He walked a step behind me, his voice quiet. “That was… comforting.”
I glanced over my shoulder. “What was?”
“Your hand.” He looked at his palm as if it still held the warmth from my touch. “I didn’t realize I needed that until it happened.”
My pulse sped up a little, and I faced forward again. “You should go home. It’s too dangerous for you to be wandering around town when someone might be trying to kill you.”
“I can’t leave you alone. If someone tried to hurt me, they might try to hurt you too,” he said. “There is safety in numbers, so we should stick together.”
I laughed. “I doubt anyone would target me. I’m just an Unmarked with no magical powers. What threat could I be?”
“Since I don’t know who’s after me or what they’re willing to do, leaving you alone feels like an unnecessary risk.
” His hand returned to his cuff, tracing the fabric with steady circles.
“If they can’t reach me directly, you might be the next logical target, which means leaving you alone is unacceptable. ”
I blew out a breath. “All right. Fine. Let’s both go home and figure out our next move.”
He looked around. “Did you drive?”
I shrugged sheepishly. “No.”
“Is something wrong with your car?”
“No, I just like to walk in the snow.”
His fingers flexed once at his side, then stilled. A small smile tugged at his lips. “I see.”
“What?” I said defensively.
“Nothing.”
“Then why are you smiling?”
He hesitated. “Because you chose to walk even though it’s inefficient. That’s interesting, and it made me happy.”
“Why?” I narrowed my eyes.
“Because I’ve re-learned something we have in common.” His smile widened. “I also enjoy walking in the snow. There’s something magical about the way it muffles the world, like walking inside a secret. I’ve always loved that too.”
He said re-learned, but that wasn’t something I’d ever known about William. It was like getting to know a stranger—a new name for a changed man. But was he truly different, or had I simply not taken the time to truly get to know him before our marriage?
He slipped a small notebook from his pocket and scribbled a few words before putting it away again.
I’d noticed him doing that a few times—quietly, quickly, like he didn’t want anyone to ask.
If I hadn’t seen him jot things down before the wedding too, I might’ve thought he was keeping notes on the case.
“You really can’t think of anyone who might have a grudge against you?” I asked.
His forehead wrinkled as he thought. “Nothing comes to mind about anything recent.”
It was hard to tell how much of that was because of him forgetting everything since the Autumn Festival and how much was him seeming unaware when he offended people.
I chewed on my lip. “So you also won’t know if anything unusual happened lately.”
“If we’re talking about unusual things, I believe our matrimony should be mentioned. Statistically, marriage was not a likely outcome for me. But objectively speaking, I did quite well. You’re very competent and… pleasant to look at.”
My cheeks heated, and I dropped my gaze to the sidewalk.
We walked in silence until we reached the Christmas Market.
We passed a stand of floating wreaths that sang carols in low, whispery hums. A vendor stirred a glowing cauldron with a long peppermint stick, and the scent of mulled cider and gingerbread fae-cakes drifted toward us on the chilly air.
The Christmas lights woven through the trees and the crowds reminded me of going out to see the illuminations in Japan with my family when I was a child.
A sprite flitted in front of her stand, creating frost-painted portraits for people. Actually, it wasn’t just any sprite. It was Pennyfern, her green wings sparkling in the afternoon light. Lenora stood next to her, enticing people to her booth by displaying a stunning portrait.
Behind them, Merrick wrote a notice on a board about Lady Catherine’s Christmas ornament drive.
As a high-born fae, she easily had the means for the murder, and since she was the one who asked William to postpone our honeymoon and come see her, she also had the opportunity.
The only part I wasn’t sure about was her motive, but how could I bring that up with William considering how much he respected her?
A glance at William proved he was also studying the sign. No doubt he was thinking about Lady Catherine too, but not for the same reason I was.
“I wonder why you survived that night and Dahlia didn’t,” I said.
“I’m not certain, but based on the condition of my necklace, I believe it absorbed most of the spell’s force.”
“Your necklace?”
“I have a charmed necklace that was blessed under the solstice moon that I always wear, but the metal was bent almost in half. I think it absorbed the brunt of a spell, and that could be why it didn’t kill me like it did Dahlia.”
My hand fell to the necklace around my neck, and William’s gaze flitted to it. His eyes widened and he cocked his head to the side. “Did I give you that?”
“Yes, you did.”
“I probably put a similar spell on yours—a protection spell.”
“Oh. Thank you.” My hand tightened around the quill while my heart fluttered. “I wonder if you tried to cast a spell to save you and Dahlia, but your magic wasn’t strong enough to cover both of you, so she still died.” That would at least explain why there were traces of his magic on her.
He sighed. “I hope so. That’s better than thinking I did nothing.”
“Either way, it isn’t your fault that she’s dead. You know that, right?”
“Right.” But he fell silent for the next few minutes.
“You know, I didn’t think about this before, but what was Dahlia doing outside your house?” If she wasn’t attacking William, why was her magic on him?
“Our house,” he corrected again absently. “I don’t know, but I’ll try to recover the relevant memories as soon as I can.”
“I don’t think that’s something someone can control.
” Unless… maybe there was some sort of magic that could help with it.
I would have to ask Lizzy later. “Either way, once we get back we need to figure out what our next step is,” I said, determination flooding through me.
“We should help the police find the killer so we can wrap this case up quickly, because the longer it drags on, the longer you’ll be in danger. ”
“And that means you’ll also be in danger.” He frowned.
I glanced at him, then back at the ground. “That means we need to make a list of suspects.”
“I know, but I’m not sure how considering my memory.”
“I know someone who could go on the list.”
He turned to me, his hazel eyes widening with anticipation. “Who?”
I swallowed. “Lady Catherine de Bourgh.”
He frowned. “What are you talking about? She’d never try to hurt me.”
“But just think about it, William,” I said. “She’s the reason we didn’t leave for our honeymoon last night. She knew exactly when you left her house and where you’d be. She had means and opportunity, and just because we don’t know what her motive is doesn’t mean she doesn’t have one.”
“No. No, that’s not—that doesn’t make sense. She wouldn’t do that. She’s a woman of grace, refinement, and precision,” he said. “She had a checklist for the last party she hosted at Rosings Park, Charlotte. A color-coded checklist. People who do that don’t just murder people.”
I blew out a breath. That had gone about as well as I’d expected. “Then why did she ask you to come visit her so abruptly that night?”
“I can’t remember.” He huffed out a breath and it misted in front of him in a white puff. “But it wasn’t her.”
“You can’t ignore the possibility simply because you admire her,” I said.
We walked for a minute in frosty silence, but then William’s shoulders dropped.