“Yes, your chocolate mare, Hetty. She’s a good one. One of your butlers will usually drive me home when I drop her off.” He nodded. “I know you’re not suspicious of me, Georgiana, and I’m glad. But you should still be careful in situations like this and question everyone.”
“I’m trying to be. So you saw nothing?” I asked.
“Well, not unless the victim was out on horseback. Someone was out riding this afternoon. Saw them dash by on a dark gray horse going really fast.” Herubbed his chin.
The person out on the dark horse was probably me, unless he saw Zac riding back.
“Do you remember if they were riding toward or away from Pemberley?” I asked.
“Toward, I think.” Farley crunched up his brows and thought before answering, “Yes, because I was coming from the south and they were coming at me from the north, so definitely toward.”
But that made no sense. I hadn’t ridden back to Pemberley, and there’s no way Zac could have been racing back in his condition.
“Are you familiar with our horses, Mr. Arnold? Was it my horse Luna that you saw out there?” I asked. “I’m assuming you didn’t recognize the rider?”
“Of course I know Luna. She’s a sweet girl. No, this was another one, bigger with more gray in the mane.” He answered. “The rider was wearing a dark coat, hat, gloves… no idea.”
I remembered the sopping wet thing in the coatroom. “Wait, could it have been a dark burgundy by chance?”
Henry looked to the side and made eye contact with me.
“Could have been.” Mr. Arnold nodded.
“The horse sounds like Storm,” I muttered. Storm was a thoroughbred racehorse. Someone must’ve taken him out, and the timeline lined up enough that they could have been the killer. “Well, you’ve been so helpful. I hope you’re comfortable, and dinner is in the main hall at 7:00.”
“Looking forward to it.” He smiled and opened the door for us.
Chapter 9
“WhoeverwasridingStormmust’ve been the killer,” I whispered to Henry as we left the guest wing. “I don’t know if any of the guests are skilled horseback riders, though.”
Henry shook his head. “I hate to ask, but could it have been a staff member?”
I shrugged and frowned. “Anything is possible, and I think Mr. Arnold is right. I should question everyone.”
“I don’t know if the killer really was the one on the horse. But it might be good to see if we can figure out who that was,” he suggested.
An unsettled pit formed in my stomach. Thinking that someone on our staff was a killer wasn’t just frightening. It broke my heart. I thought we were like a family here, but maybe I was wrong. “We’ll keep asking. Also, we didn’t end up actually saying Zac’s name to everyone. Maybe if we drop it at dinner someone will react.”
“Maybe.” Henry paused. “And maybe the killer’s not even inside the house. Oh, would you look at that?”
I looked up and saw a sprig of mistletoe tied to the chandelier above us with a silky red ribbon. “Did you put that there?”
“How could I have done that? Plus, I thought we were still trying to figure this out?” He chuckled, gesturing between the two of us.
“Yes, we are. But it is Christmas, and there are rules.” I smiled and stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek, but he turned his head and kissed my lips.Those butterflies. I wasn’t going to be able to go back to just being friends. Ever.
Henry stepped back with his brows furrowed. “Sorry. I shouldn't have—I just couldn’t resist. I won’t do that again.”
“Don't make promises you can't keep. You sure you’re not fae? That was a pretty good trick.” I brushed his cheek with the back of my fingertips. Though I suspected Pemberley herself landed us in the spot.
“I’m part Irish, does that count?” he asked.
“It must. What are we going to do?”I gulped. "We keep kissing each other. I don't usuallyjust do that."
He leaned his shoulder against the wall and waited a minute before speaking. "Neither do I, Georgiana."
There was no way I was going to be able to just let him walk away. But how would it even work? "Henry, I don't even know what's going on in your life right now. You said you're working in a lab nearby, but is it a permanent thing? Are you heading off to grad school right away? Do you realize I might be? This afternoon has filled me with a rush of emotion, but it's all so new. I've only been aware of your feelings for a few hours now."
