Chapter 3
“What do you mean?” I gaped at my brother. We hadn’t had so many deaths. Had we?
“Sorry. Hopefully, I’m mistaken. I’ve been investigating something from the past and whether there is a connection to the Moonrot epidemic. I’ll tell you more about it later.” Darcy opened his mouth to say more, but paused and closed it again.
"The Moonrot epidemic was intentional?" I blinked at my brother.
"I don't know, Georgiana. When I know more, I'll tell you." He looked to Henry, Bradford, and Oscar for answers. “Who died? And where?”
“I’ve no idea who it was.” Cousin Bradford had a bit of a flair for the dramatic. He leaned back, fanning his face and brushing back a blonde curl from his forehead. “I need to lie down. This is too much for my disposition.”
“I don’t know who he was either. We left him in the stable.” Oscar practically dragged Darcy by the arm, and the two of them rushed to leave.
“Stop!” Henry blurted before they made it out the door, his eyes wide. “I know who he was, and so does Georgiana. It’s Zac DeLounge from College de Synthese. But I don’t know what he was doing here.”
"That's a relief. If you know who the unfortunate chap was, then I don't need to worry about helping you figure it out. I'll be in my room should you require me." Cousin Bradford patted me on the shoulder, then swooped out of the room.
“Zac?” I gasped. He was the last person I would ever have expected to find murdered on my doorstep. Zac was the class clown and never took anything seriously. I stared at Henry for a moment. Nothing made sense. “You’re kidding. Here? Come to think of it, why are you here?”
Henry's eyes widened, and raised his hands defensively. “The artwork…and coming here was a family tradition when I was a kid. I was in the area.”
I shook my head. "Sorry, that must've sounded like an accusation. I'm just confused."
“You knew the victim?” Darcy narrowed his eyes at Henry. Everyone in the room stared.
Henry gave an awkward shrug before pushing out more words. “I‘m just as confused as everyone else. I didn’t know Zac was here. It’s a coincidence. I just toured the estate.”
“Art lover?” My brother rolled his eyes, though only I noticed. I didn’t want to argue, but he was right. It was awfully convenient timing, and there had to be more to his story. Darcy didn’t stop clicking his phone—probably calling the police. “Did you know Georgiana lives here?”
“Well, I thought she might still live here. I've been here many times with my parents, back when Georgiana and I were kids.” He muttered, obviously not ready to give us a full explanation. “She had mentioned returning to Pemberley a few times at school.”
I raised a brow. “We used to play outside or chase each other down the corridors when our parents held those dull galas. You should have texted. I would’ve given you a personal tour of the gallery. Though, I can't imagine that it's changed very much since we were kids.”
Henry scratched the back of his neck, looked toward the door, then back at me. “I guess I should have; it's just been a while. Would that have been presumptuous?”
“Of course not.” I looked around at the group listening to our conversation. “Sorry, I'm getting sidetracked. We need to call the police. Even if you think Zac’s dead, we should see if our healer can help him. Maybe…”
Henry’s expression fell. “I'm sure he’s gone, but of course it doesn’t hurt to check.”
“I’ve got a detective on the line. He’s connecting with dispatch.” Darcy held his phone to his ear, and we all quieted down as he spoke. “Yes… someone named Zac DeLounge. No idea… in our stables… tomorrow? That bad? Of course, thank you.”
“This is awful. I’m going to go see Zac.
” I stood. My blood pressure must’ve dropped, because the room spun around me and I had to sit again.
My cat, Marshmallow—we'd taken to naming our pets after foods—sauntered into the room and hopped onto my lap, purring.
The little ball of fluff soothed my nerves. "I just need a second."
Darcy hung up. “The police probably won’t get here until tomorrow.
Apparently, this is one of the worst storms they’ve had in years.
The whole town is snowed in, and they’re attempting to respond to emergencies when possible.
If he’s still alive, they’ll send in a helicopter. Let’s go check the stables.”
“You can't use your fae powers to clear the roads, can you?” Henry asked as he crouched down to scratch Marshmallow's fluffy brown and white head.
It was something we might be able to do if we had several powerful fae present. But the consequences could be disastrous.
“We can't. That would bend the laws of nature too far,” Darcy answered. “Are you sure someone shot him?”
“Pretty sure.” Oscar, who hardly ever disagreed with Darcy, nodded. “He had what looked like a gunshot wound and said the word ‘murder’ as he fell.”
"Sorry, sweet girl. I've got to go." I deposited Marshmallow onto the cushion next to me, then I carefully stood again, taking deep slow breaths. “Sylvia. Can you please bring me another coat? I'm afraid my coat is torn up."
Sylvia’s graying bun wobbled as she nodded and looked me over with worried eyes. Sometimes she was more like a loving aunt to me than a housekeeper. She knew more than I did about where all the spare clothes and things were. “And boots?”
I looked over my riding boots. A deep gash ripped one of them from top to bottom. Just looking at it made my ankle ache. “Oh, my. I’m lucky we have a talented healer here. Yes, boots too, please.”
“We’re just glad you’re all right.” She gave me a gentle smile and scurried out the door.
Darcy, Lizzy, Henry, Annie, and I made our way to the French-paned glass doors closest to the stables. Though a breezeway shielded the path, at least a foot of snow buried the stepping stones. I couldn’t even see the stables, which were only a few yards away.
“It’s worse than it was when we were out here a few minutes ago.” Henry pulled his jacket close to his body. “Annie must’ve done an incredible job. I can’t believe you’re up and walking about.”
A pinch of guilt for my irresponsible behavior pressed on me. “Yeah, I maybe need to not assume she can always fix everything, though. My ankle still hurts, and I’m a bit dizzy.”
“It never hurts to be cautious. Can I help you?” Henry caught my gaze as I stomped into the snow.
Like a gallant knight, he offered me his arm, and I realized how glad I was to have him with us.
We followed the breezeway pillars to the stable doors, which Oscar had left unlocked in his haste.
I turned the handle, and a gust of icy air blew the door open.
We hurried inside, and Darcy and Henry worked together to close the door against the wind.
Just as expected, Zac lay motionless on the stable floor. His blank, gray, open eyes told me all I needed to know. Annie knelt beside him and lightly touched his chest. Then she shook her head. No healer could help him.
I clasped my hand over my mouth and uttered a silent prayer in my mind. Zac dying in our stables didn’t seem completely possible until that moment. He was too young to have his life stolen from him. I gulped back tears and knelt next to my fallen classmate. "Oh, Zac, who did this to you?"
“Here.” Lizzy held out a large sheet. “I asked Oscar for something we could drape over him, in case…”
I nodded and took one corner to lay the sheet over Zac’s body, then stood and surveyed the stable for any clues.
"Thank you for thinking of that." Henry nodded to Lizzy. "Even though we weren't friends, I feel terrible for him and his family."
“This is really happening.” Nausea washed over me. “I have so many questions.”
“We all do.” Darcy rested his hand on my shoulder. “Georgiana, this is very unpleasant, and I know how passionate you get. But I really don’t want you to get wrapped up in a murder investigation. We can't do much right now anyway.”
I dropped my shoulder out of his grip and stepped to the side. “Well, somebody did this. If I incidentally pick up some information, it should be okay.”
"There's no way of knowing what's safe." Darcy shook his head. “We don’t know if there’s still a dangerous person around here. Henry, can you tell us anything at all about what happened?”
“Not really…” Henry's eyes widened, and he scratched his head. “I know nothing more than Oscar and Bradford. It’s a complete shock, and I’m even more bewildered that it was someone I know from school.”
“Strange coincidence,” Darcy muttered. He didn’t seem to be accusing Henry so much as maybe piecing the afternoon’s events together. Again, faint specks of fae magic drifted from his fingertips.
“Maybe it would be better if we discussed this in the house?” I suggested hoping to ease everyone’s nerves.
Darcy looked Henry over. “Yes, I think you’re right. We should go back to the house.”
I checked Luna's muzzle to make sure she wasn't hurt, and I also made sure all the horses had enough hay and water. The stables were warm and dry, so they’d be comfortable through the night. “What happened out there, girl?”
She huffed and stomped her foot on the ground as if to say she was just as confused as I was, and carrying a stranger home was a horrible ordeal. Too bad I couldn’t read her thoughts like I could my orchid’s.
"Did you see who did this?" I asked on the off chance she might reveal a clue. But she turned her head away from me. She didn't know. I gave her one last pat, and our small party trudged back to the house together.
“Do you think this may have been a hunting accident?” I asked the group as we removed our heavy coats and boots in the formal coatroom.
“It shouldn’t be.” Darcy’s dark eyes flashed, he paced in front of the picture window. “We certainly haven’t issued any permits in the area. Still, it’s possible that someone snuck onto the property.”
I added another log to the fireplace. "Hunting has no appeal to me. I wish we never allowed it.”
Though it was necessary to keep the ecosystem balanced when the deer populations were too high, I disdained the practice. As a fae princess, my connection to nature was inseverable, so I did my best to warn any threatened creatures to leave the area when the authorities permitted hunting.
"Nature can be cruel," Darcy muttered, stopping in front of the window to observe the gales of snow. “I know we believe it was murder. But we should look at every possibility. If it wasn’t an accident, any chance it could have been self-inflicted?”
“Doubt it. He really said 'murder' as he fell. Bradford, Oscar, and I all heard him. Why would he have said that if he wanted to hurt himself?” Henry rubbed his brow and helped me tend the fireplace, turning over some spent embers.
His arrival at my home at that moment seemed to be quite a coincidence.
We had many guests during the holiday open house.
But two guys from College de Synthese showed up at Pemberley on the same day by chance.
There was something else going on. There had to be.
I suspected Pemberley understood we'd need Henry about. Maybe her enchantments brought him to us.
“Even if he did, no one shoots themselves in the abdomen. Not on purpose, anyway. The angle is impossible. So we agree that someone must’ve killed him?” The nausea returned to my stomach, and the strength left my knees. “I need to sit down.”
“Of course,” Henry said, offering me his arm and leading me to a sofa. “Georgiana, I know I should’ve texted…”
"Oh, don't worry about that." Being a gracious hostess meant helping others feel comfortable, even though I silently agreed. He should have texted. “A lot of people from school have come to see the art.”
Henry broke our eye contact and stared at the floor. “I guess it’s just a little awkward, and I’m kind of embarrassed for not saying hello. But that doesn’t matter. We’ve got to figure out what happened to Zac.”
As random as Henry’s arrival at Pemberley seemed, he’d never murder anyone.
Plus, I’d had a lot of other fellow students visit the house.
In Paris, I’d talked about it and encouraged people to stop by.
So it wasn't all that strange. “Yes, this certainly isn’t turning out to be quite the December afternoon I thought it would.”
Darcy cleared his throat. “What worries me is that with the storm trapping everyone here, the killer has to be trapped as well. They're possibly in the house or at least on the property. We may all be in danger.”