William straightened at that.
“What did he say?” Dex asked.
“He said when Jane used to work for him she had feelings for him. He made it seem that it was all one sided, and that she thought they were in a relationship. He laughed about it. Told me that she believed he would propose.” I placed the bracewhere it needed to be, waiting for Dex to drill the hole then screw it securely.
“He said that?” Dex frowned, not even bothering to drill.
“Yes,” I confirmed.
William’s expression tightened as though someone had scraped something across glass.
“James told me he fired her because she got too attached,” I added. “He said she was in love with him. So when I saw her with him today, I thought… maybeshe still has feelings for him. However, I’m completely confused as to why he was making advances on her. He made it sound like he didn’t like her at all. I must have misunderstood.”
“That man is unbelievable.” Dex drilled the hole, then switched out the bit.
William walked to the support beam and rested both hands on it. He took a long breath. In the quiet that followed, a cold draft moved through the basement, rustling a plastic tarp near the stairs. The sound made the space feel even more isolated, like the inn itself was listening.
“Jane was confident before she left for the city,” he said quietly. “She was happy. She loved baking. She loved working in the kitchen and creating all sorts of food. She had a brightness to her.”
He nodded toward the ceiling, toward the kitchen above us.
“That brightness dimmed when she worked for James. Every time she came home, she was a little more tired. A little more unsure of herself. She talked less about her days. She smiled less,” William recalled with a heavy voice.
“I asked her to come home several times,” he continued. “She would not. She kept saying she could learn from James. That he saw potential in her. That he was going to help her grow.”
“But he didn’t,” I surmised. I closed my eyes for a moment. Something wasn’t adding up here. Jane had been hurt and James was at fault..
“No,” William said. “He did not.”
Dex secured the bracing. His movements were slower now, thoughtful rather than mechanical.
“She had feelings for him but that doesn't mean he deserved them. He built a version of himself she wanted to believe in,” Dex surmised thoughtfully.
William nodded. “I was relieved when she left that job. I had hoped it meant she finally saw him clearly. I hoped she would heal and regain some of her inner spark again.”
I looked toward the stairs. They seemed taller than before. The distance between the basement and the kitchen felt impossible.
“Then why do you let him near her now?” I asked quietly. “You must see how he affects her.”
William’s eyes softened. “Because she is an adult. If I interfere, it becomes a battle she never asked me to fight. Jane makes her own choices. My job is to support her when she needs it, not control her life.”
He studied me for a long moment. The basement light cast shadows across his face, making him look older, wiser, and somehow steadier than the beams he trusted us to reinforce.
“But she does still have a choice,” he gently told me.
I held his gaze.
“You care for her. Anyone with eyes can see that,” William stated the obvious.
Of course I cared for her. It was harder not to. Caring for Jane had become like breathing air, or drinking water. It was vital to my survival.
Dex leaned his shoulder against the bracing. “Lucy thinks Jane likes you too, by the way. She said it with the same tone she uses when pointing out that the sky is blue.”
A slow heat crept up my neck.
“I thought she did,” I said quietly. “Yesterday she looked at me in a way that felt… different.”
William gave a small, knowing smile. “I have seen that look.”
