Chapter 10
“Thanks for all your help, Tessa.” I put some money on the table. “We should go find Brexton.”
“Charlotte, wait.” She grabbed my sleeve. “Can I talk to you?” Her gaze darted to William, then away. “Alone?” she added in a whisper.
“Um, sure.” I waved him toward the door. “I’ll meet you outside. Just give me a minute.”
He gave me a wide smile. “Take as much time as you require. While I wait, I’ll purchase two cups of that spiced eggnog from the stand we passed. I noticed they were using nutmeg.”
“Thank you.” I turned back to face Tessa, my stomach dropping at her tense expression. “What’s wrong?”
She twisted her hands together. “I don’t know how to tell you this.”
“Being straight up about it is usually a good start.”
She blew out a breath, the hard puff of air disrupting her mug’s steam that had been forming into the shape of a snowman. “My brother told me he saw Dahlia and Pastor Collins kissing.”
My hands turned cold. Her words were like the gust of air that blew out a candle, leaving behind just the memory of warmth. “That can’t be right.”
“He’s sure it was them. He saw them outside the church three days ago.”
Her words sucked the air from my lungs, so my next question came out a whisper. “Three days ago?” That was the day before our wedding.
“I’m sorry.” She patted my hand.
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” I pulled mine free and wrapped both hands around my mug.
“He just told me yesterday. I wasn’t sure if I should say anything after the wedding, but when you called this morning, I figured it was a sign.” She scowled. “Honestly, if we hadn’t already ruled him out, I’d be pulling him in for questioning again.”
I blinked once, like that would somehow alter reality—alter what she’d just said. But no, I was still stuck at the table with Tessa’s pitying gaze pinning me in place.
William had been right after all. He called me frostpetal because I was supposed to be cold and frozen, and he’d shattered my heart as easily as if it were made of ice.
So much for him saying he’d never hurt me.
I swallowed past the lump in my throat and the nausea in my stomach. If William was interested in Dahlia, no wonder he’d been so eager to agree to our marriage without affection. Not that I had any right to be upset about it now.
“Are you okay?” She put a hand over mine.
“Of course I’m okay. I didn’t believe in love, anyway.
” My voice came out too soft, so I tried to force a smile.
“We went into this arrangement knowing it wasn’t that.
” So why had I ever let myself believe otherwise?
Hadn’t I learned my lesson with Hugh? Men weren’t to be trusted and love was only for fairytales.
“I should go.” I pushed to my feet. “Thanks for meeting with me.”
I stumbled back outside where William waited for me. He handed me a cup that smelled of nutmeg and cinnamon. Warmth seeped through the styrofoam into my hand, but it did nothing to thaw the ice in my chest.
“Is everything okay?” He studied my face intently, then tilted his head. “You’re doing that thing where your eyes go distant and your mouth tightens. That usually means something’s wrong.”
“It’s fine.” Except for the small fact that the one man I’d expected never to hurt me had done it anyway. I’d been right not to trust anyone. Never again would I put myself in a position to be hurt.
He frowned, struggling to interpret my mood. “Are you sure? You seem—”
“Let’s find Brexton.” I took off down the street, not looking at him. How could I have been such a fool as to trust him? I’d convinced myself I’d never care for someone like that again. And somehow, William had snuck past my defenses anyway.
He reached for my hand, but I pulled mine away and picked up my pace. I wouldn’t be tricked again. I thought I’d chosen safety. Instead, I’d handed my heart to someone with the power to break it. And he had.
I passed under a few pine trees that chose that moment to shake themselves, dropping the snow from their branches onto my head.
“Are you okay?” William hurried to catch up to me and reached to brush the snow off my head.
I stepped out of reach once more, not looking at him as I continued down the path. “I’m fine.”
It wasn’t fair for me to be so upset. William had told me that there wasn’t love in our marriage, but when he’d said he’d treasure me just before we walked down the aisle, I’d believed him.
But I’d been wrong. And if I’d been wrong about this, what else could I have been wrong about?
Maybe William was involved in the murder, and I’d been too quick to cross him off the list because I’d stupidly wanted to believe in him.
I chewed on my lip as I walked, William silent beside me.
No, that didn’t make sense. Either way, there was a third person there that night. Could it have been Brexton after all?
I needed to refocus. This wasn’t about William anymore. Dahlia deserved the truth—even if it shattered me. I took a slow breath and thought back on my childhood calligraphy lessons. Now, just like then, the truth would come one stroke at a time.
As we walked, I shot a quick text to Tessa’s mom to casually ask what time Tessa had come home the other night before heading into work. It was better to confirm her alibi just in case.
We made it to the church in strained silence. William took in the chapel’s wooden walls, polished pews, and scant Christmas decorations with an approving nod.
“It’s aesthetically pleasing,” he said. “I think we chose an excellent venue for our wedding.”
“Yeah, it’s great. Just wonderful.” I scanned the room for Brexton, trying not to pay too much attention to a small group who were huddled in a side room.
I spied Lenora’s silver hair among them, the fae from the gossiping group that had been there the night Dahlia was discovered.
She stood and held up a book—ah, the book club she’d mentioned earlier—but I turned away and hurried down the aisle toward Brexton.
He stood near the pulpit talking with Merrick, who held a box of ornaments that were probably from the Rosings Park drive.
It was so similar to how it was just a few days ago, the same red and green decorating the end of the rows, yet everything was different now.
Maybe it wasn’t William’s job Brexton envied, but his relationship with Dahlia.
“Tell Lady Catherine how grateful I am that she’s hosting the ornament drive at Rosings Park again this year, and thank you for coming to pick up the latest donations.
” Brexton turned from Merrick to lead him toward the door, and stopped as he took us in.
“Charlotte, Pastor Collins, what can I do for you?”
“I was hoping to ask you a few questions about Dahlia.” I folded my arms.
William gave me a small frown, possibly noting my shift from ‘we’ to ‘I.’ But we couldn’t be a team if I couldn’t trust him.
Brexton swallowed. “I still can’t believe she’s gone. I saw her the other day—the day of your wedding actually—and now it’s difficult to believe that she isn’t here.”
“Losing someone disrupts everything in life.” William patted his arm as if we’d come to console him instead of interrogate him. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”
Brexton’s eyes widened. “What? No. We weren’t together or anything.”
“We heard that you and she dated,” I said. “Something that you conveniently failed to mention when you told me to look into Pennyfern.”
“We dated years ago, but we’ve hardly spoken at all during her last few visits,” he said. “I’ve been interested in someone else for some time now, and from a few hints Dahlia dropped, it seems Dahlia had moved on as well.”
The words were like a punch to my gut, but I tried to keep my expression neutral. Based on the way Brexton’s gaze flicked to mine, I didn’t think I’d done a good job.
“Do you know who she moved on to?” William asked. “Maybe we should talk to them.”
Brexton hesitated, then shrugged. “Sorry, no.”
My stomach tightened, and I resisted the urge to glare at William even though he had no idea he was asking about himself. I forced myself to focus on Brexton. “Where were you on the night of our wedding?”
Brexton’s brow furrowed. “After the ceremony, I hung out with some friends. We ended up staying up kind of late, so I crashed at their place. You could ask them if you want to confirm my whereabouts.”
I blew out a breath. I wasn’t sure if I actually believed it could have been Brexton, but having the lead dangled in front of me and taken away just as suddenly was giving me whiplash.
The only thing coming here had confirmed was that apparently Dahlia had a thing for religious men.
“Is there anything else you think might be helpful?”
“Wait.” He held out a hand. “I don’t know if this is helpful, but I did see Dahlia later that night.”
“Why didn’t you mention this before?” I asked, probably more sharply than I should have.
He winced. “I remembered it after we talked. I was so shaken when I found out about what happened to Dahlia that it slipped my mind.”
“Where did you see her?” William asked.
“Not far from the church. My friends and I swung by to pick something up and ran into her. She seemed distracted. Anxious. I think she said something about the Star of Everlight, but she ran off before I could ask.” He shook his head and absently adjusted one of the small Santa figurines on a desk near the wall.
They had a habit of rearranging themselves when no one was watching.
“I should’ve checked on her or made sure everything was okay. ”
William hovered his hand for a second, then patted Brexton’s arm. “You couldn’t have predicted what happened. But checking in with someone—just a quick message or visit—can make a meaningful difference. It’s a habit worth developing.”
“I know.” Brexton hung his head. “I just regret that there wasn’t more that I could do to help her. Maybe if I had done something, she wouldn’t be gone right now.”