He turned and walked out, the bell chiming cheerfully behind him. Through the window, Chloe watched him cross the square toward the Mercantile.
Going to spread more rumors she assumed as she forced herself to at least look unbothered.
"Chloe." Freya's hand closed around her arm. "Don't listen to him."
"He's not wrong about what people think."
"He's wrong about you. That's what matters."
Chloe shook her head. "If everyone believes I'm doing this, what difference does the truth make?"
The door chimed again. Chloe looked up, bracing for another accusation, and found Corin filling the doorway instead.
He looked tired. Dark circles under his hazelnut eyes, tension in the set of his broad shoulders. His gaze found hers immediately.
"What happened?"
"Nothing." Chloe turned away, busying herself with the chamomile jars she'd abandoned. "Just a difficult customer."
"Paul Whitmore was here," Freya said flatly. "He accused Chloe of poisoning the land with her druid blood. Told her to stop touching the soil so everyone could see if things got better."
Chloe winced. "Freya."
She just gave her a look as if saying, “Well, what did you expect me to say?”
Corin had gone very still. When Chloe glanced back at him, his jaw was tight and his hands had curled into fists at his sides.
"Where is he now?"
"Corin, it's fine. People talk. I'm used to it."
"Where?"
Freya pointed toward the window. "He was heading for the Mercantile."
Chloe watched Corin's gaze track across the square, finding Paul's retreating figure as he climbed the steps to the Tansley brothers' shop.
"Corin." She stepped toward him, her hand raised but not quite touching. "Don't. It'll only make things worse."
"He doesn't get to say those things about you."
"People have been saying those things about me my whole life. Making a scene won't change that."
"Maybe not." His voice was low, rough. "But I'm not going to stand by while he spreads lies."
He was already moving toward the door. Chloe grabbed his arm, and he stopped, looking down at her hand on his sleeve.
"Please. Just leave it."
For a moment, she thought he might listen. His expression softened when he looked at her, that strange attentiveness she'd noticed over the past few days surfacing again. Like she was the only thing in the room that mattered.
Then his jaw hardened.
"I found the source," he said quietly. "The old well. Someone broke the seal deliberately. This has nothing to do with you, Chloe. Nothing. And I'm not going to let him convince people otherwise."
He pulled gently free of her grip and walked out.
Chloe stood in the middle of the shop, her heart pounding, watching through the window as Corin crossed the square with long, purposeful strides. He climbed the Mercantile steps and disappeared inside.
