She smiled, her blue eyes twinkling. “Oh? And what did you think?”
“He was… interesting.” Mysterious. Weirdly alluring. And possibly in love with you. “I ran into him at the bookstore, but he was acting odd, to be honest.”
“Riley’s a bit of a goofball, but he’s a good guy. He was probably doing research for a story.” She shook her head. “Don’t ask me how, but he always has the best leads.”
We walked into the dining room, and Lizzy gave Dad a one-armed hug as he sat in his chair. “It’s good to see you up and about.”
Though his face was still pale and gaunt, his eyes twinkled as he smiled at her. “It’s good to be up and about, Lizzy.”
Jane had disappeared, probably into the kitchen to help Mom with any last-minute dinner prep if I knew my eldest sister.
“How are things with Charles?” Mom’s voice floated back to us, confirming my suspicions of her and Jane being together.
I shook my head and shared an exasperated grin with Lizzy, who started pouring mulled apple cider into the cups—a special treat to celebrate Dad being well enough to join us.
For a moment, it was like nothing had changed. Like Dad was still healthy, Jane and Lizzy still lived at home, and Austen Heights was the same uneventful place it had always been. It was times like these that made me think being “one of the Bennet girls” was a blessing and not the curse it sometimes felt like.
Lydia brought out the fresh loaf of bread I’d made earlier and said, “I’m starved. Let’s eat!”
“Not yet.” Mom and Jane emerged from the kitchen bearing a rotisserie chicken and potatoes. “We’re still missing someone.”
“Yeah, where’s Mary?” I glanced at the empty place setting at the table.
“She has her internship tonight,” Mom said.
Lydia twisted a curl around her finger and shot Mom a curious look. “Then who—”
Another knock on the door interrupted her.
“I’ll get it,” I said since the others had already taken their seats.
“You won’t believe all the scuttlebutt I heard from Hetty at the bakery today,” Mom said. “Do you want to hear it?”
“I suppose since you want to tell me, I have no objection to hearing it.” Dad’s teasing faded as I approached the back door.
Mr. Collins stood on the porch in slacks, a dress shirt, and tie that were a little too baggy. It wasn’t a good look for the fae pastor, but then he always seemed to prefer comfort over style.
“Good evening.” He held a small bouquet of chrysanthemums at his side.
“Mr. Collins, what can I do for you?” I blinked once, then tried to cover my surprise with a smile that might’ve come out more like a grimace.
Why would Mr. Collins be bringing flowers? Maybe he’d come to drop them off for Dad, doing his visits to thesick and weary. Although he usually acted like Moonrot was contagious, and he didn’t like to get too close to the victims. So that excuse was as ridiculous as the current situation. Hopefully, he hadn’t come for one of his “house calls.”
“Am I early?” He pulled his hat off, revealing his messy brown locks.
“Early?”
He blinked at me. “For dinner.”
My mouth fell open. “Oh, um we were just sitting down.”Mr. Collinswas the surprise visitor? That was one way to put a damper on family dinner. I stared at him for another long moment, then waved him in and closed the door. We stood by the entry for a long, awkward moment, but there was no way to get out of this. Holding back a sigh, I led him back to the others.
Their expressions turned to ones of horror that mirrored his when he took in Dad’s appearance at the table.
“Pastor Collins, what a treat to have you join us tonight.” Mom only called him Pastor Collins to his face or when she made us join her at church. Normally if she mentioned him around the house, it was just Mr. Collins.
“Thank you for inviting me tonight,” he said, hesitating at the door to the dining room. “I didn’t realize you’d be joining us this evening, Mr. Bennet.”
“As fate would have it, I’m feeling better today,” Dad said.
