“I doubt he thought he’d be able to land the high-fae princess. I mean, obviously,” Henry muttered."But he might try."
His comment stunned me. Yes, the title was mine. But I couldn’t see what difference it made when I was among classmates at school. It seemed like many of the guys I knew tried making a connection at one point or another. They were anything but bashful. In fact, I struggled to know who cared about me, and who just liked the idea of a girl with a title and money. Henrycould've dated anyone he wanted, and I assumed he wasn't interested in me because he never so much as flirted. “Am I really so unapproachable?”
Henry started to reply, but Darcy bounded into the room with a piece of paper in his hand. “Here we go, a list of everyone currently in or around the house. We also had the security team look over the footage around the house. The victim rode Luna in from the woods, where there are no cameras. He was already injured when he got here, so we obviously have no footage of the shooting. But the timeline of his coming back lines up with when you heard the sound in the woods.”
"Did anyone else return from the woods?" I glanced at the extensive list in Darcy’s hand. “Since our cameras pick up sound as well, I think any other gunshots in the area would’ve been apparent. We can rule out anyone who was here at the house and didn’t leave this afternoon."
Darcy handed me the paper, which I shared with Henry and Dan. “Some unidentified person was out on a four-wheeler near the gardens and stables. It was likely just a groundskeeper, but we’ll need to verify that before ruling out everyone we assumed was here.”
I read over the list.
Guests:
Lizzy Bennet, Journalist
Henry Cyprus, Research Assistant
Daphne De Fleur, Art Dealer
Cousin Bradford Phillips, Historical Author
Mr. and Mrs. Milo Longfield, Business Owners
Farley Arnold, Entrepreneur and Neighbor
Staff:
Annie Plant, Medical Technician
Sylvia Lee, Housekeeper
Harriet Boarder, Housekeeper
Estelle Aubert, Housekeeper
Rose Dubois, Cook
Dorin Zhao, Chef
Oscar Huber, Butler
Andrew Weber, Butler
DanKamau, Security
Leo Auer, Security
Oliver Benali, Security
“Quite the list.” Henry looked overwhelmed. But it wasn’t so bad, really. We usually had at least that many people at Pemberley. Though my uncle was the interim leader of all fae, Darcy and I were the heirs to rule, which meant our home was more than a place to live. It functioned as a command center, meeting place, and social hub for countless fae around the globe.
“Thanks. So if anyone who’s not on the list pops up, we should contact security. Where did Lizzy go?” I asked.
“Oh, she’s with Leo in the main hall—I’m keeping security with her. She wanted to call her sister or someone.” Darcy studied the door a little too longingly.
“You like her,” I teased. “A lot.”
My brother’s cheeks flushed. “Is it that obvious?”
