Page 2

CHAPTER 2

ELLA

T he sun sat low in the sky when Ella paid for the vegetables Ailith needed. Her basket was almost too heavy to carry, and she still needed to trade the woolen yarn for the silk thread Lillian wanted for her wedding dress. The deliveries had taken longer than they should have. The widow Helga had insisted that Ella have lunch with her and her son, Albert , who had just lost his wife.

Ella spent the odd meal of stale carrot and cucumber sandwiches fighting off Albert’s three children, who crawled all over her and Helga . Albert had been too distraught to interact with his children. But not too distraught to brag about his home in Morro . He prattled on about the five bedrooms and the large copper bathtub. Apparently , copper bathtubs ranked highly on women’s lists. A bathtub wasn’t even on hers. She’d settle for a face to go with the man in her dreams.

Last night, he had pulled her into his shadowy embrace and whispered words she couldn’t hear. It was the same man and the same sensation every night. When she woke, the sound of his voice sat like a forgotten word on the tip of her tongue. The harder she tried to remember him, the further he slipped into the cracks of her memory. And like all other times she dreamt of him, she woke with a loneliness she had to drag around with her all day.

“So, I hear you dined with Albert . Should I be worried?”

Ella had been so lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t heard William fall into step with her. “ That was quick.”

“Word travels fast in a little town that has little to talk about. Even faster when our beautiful Ella is involved.” William took the basket from her.

“Flattery will get you nowhere.” Ella's beauty differed from Lillian's soft brown eyes and tawny hair. Or Sissy’s warm and playful smile. The people of Riverton all had the same warm and friendly look to them. They looked like they belonged living amongst the warm brick and wooden buildings that clung to the river. Ella did not. The only warmth in her looks came from her pale golden hair. Her features were sharp; some even called them wicked. And her ever-shifting eye color did little to help.

Ella’s peculiar looks were why Ailith chose the name Ella . She thought Ella looked like the Fae from the stories. One who lost her wings and fell in the dew-covered grass. And for a while, that was the rumor, that Ella had been cast out from the land of the Fae . Others believed she was a changeling there to steal their children.

“Flattery got Albert a midday meal.” William nudged Ella .

“No, his mother’s refusal to pay for the goat’s milk soap she ordered got him that meal. Shouldn’t you be doing something other than harassing me?” Ella teased. She might not be in love with William , but she cherished his friendship.

“Harassing?” William put his hand over his heart. “ My dear lady. I am simply trying to court the most beautiful woman in all of Riverton . In all of Cambria , for that matter.” William opened his arms wide, causing a cabbage to fall from the basket.

Ella caught it before the vegetable hit the ground. “ Your courting is going to cause me an extra shift in the wash water if you’re not more careful.” Their relationship surpassed courting. They had already slept together several times. That was a secret she and William kept to themselves. The people of Riverton , including Mrs . A , still believed courting and marriage came before sex. Another rule she didn’t understand.

William took the cabbage, stopping. “ So you agree I am courting you?”

The corner of his mouth twitched with a smile. It was warm and inviting. Ella tried to imagine her life with William . With kids and domestic chores. But each time she did, it felt like exhaling before inhaling. She could do it, but it left her breathless. There had to be more to this life than marriage and children.

But unlike Albert , who only wanted someone to take care of him and run his household, William spoke of love. And children and the mill and his aging parents. But would he still love her when her beauty faded and she lost herself in motherhood and domestic life? Ella pushed that fear away. She’d deal with it tomorrow. “ If we start courting, we will have to stop our little meetings at the river. Is that what you want?”

“You don’t think we can do both?” William’s smile hinted to something more as his hand tightened around her waist, pulling her closer. “ Meet me tonight. By the river.”

She leaned into his familiar warmth. After all the dishes had been washed and the guests settled, Ella would slip away to meet William . At first he had been worried about her reputation. But after a little too much whiskey, William wasn’t too worried about anything other than her mouth on a certain part of his body.

“If you drop this ridiculous talk about courting.” Ella pushed open the door to the small shop before William did something silly again and proposed.

“Good day, Mr . Hanson . I have brought the yarn and soap for the thread Lillian wanted.” Ella set the four skeins of yarn on the counter.

“Ah, Ella .” The short man took the yarn and soap. “ The date is getting closer. Tell Ms . Lillian we have a new lace in.”

“That is the last thing Ailith will want to hear.” Ella handed the spools of silk thread the tailor handed her to William .

“Your timing is perfect. I have a delivery for a guest of yours. A Mr . Tenebris . He had the dress sent and asked that I finish it. I have never seen silk like this, and the stitching is otherworldly. I added the dark gems he asked for and took in the waist. Tell him if the lady who this dress was made for needs any adjustments, I will gladly make a house call.” He set the gown on the counter. “ Whoever this woman is must be very beautiful or the dress will outshine her. Let me just wrap it up.”

Ella’s breath caught when she saw the beautiful silk dress Mr . Hanson placed on the tissue paper. The tailor was correct. The dress was stunning. But it was the color that drew Ella’s attention. It was the color of the sky just as darkness set in. Not blue, nor black, but the color right in between. “ I have never seen a color like this.”

“I have.” William leaned in closer.

Ella couldn’t tear her eyes away from the dress as Mr . Hanson wrapped it. It felt familiar. But how? She searched the dark part of her memories, hoping for a small crumb. But she found nothing but a darkness so thick it made her head hurt.

“Where have you seen this color?” she asked William . Where would he have seen silk like this? He , like Clara , had never left Riverton .

“Your eyes,” William said into Ella’s ear. “ Do you know this Mr . Tenebris ?”

Ella tore her gaze from the dress. William was so close she could smell the fresh scent of the day on his skin and see the dark flecks in his eyes. His mouth so close she could steal a kiss. “ N -no.” She stepped away when Mr . Hanson cleared his throat.

“Young William , you will do well to remember Ms . Ella’s reputation.” The older man looked down his nose at the younger man.

“Her reputation is all I think about.” William winked, offering Ella his arm.

Ella took the package, careful not to wrinkle the silk. Clara would be disappointed that it seemed T . Tenebris had a wife, or at least someone he loved enough to spend so much on a dress.

She thanked the tailor and headed into the thinning afternoon crowd. Ella did her best not to see the people who pushed by them. Sometimes she swore she heard their thoughts. Other times their needs and frivolous emotions made her want to scream. And some looked as if they carried a golden light in their breast pocket. A light she sometimes wanted to rip from their body. A light that made her tongue want to form words her head couldn’t remember and her lips couldn’t speak.

She had never confessed that to anyone, not even Sissy . She feared that desire to murder someone was even too much for Sissy to understand. She kept her head down and tried to shut out the people around her. Their wants and needs felt louder today than any other.

Thankfully, William did most of the talking. His parents served on the committee for the Moon Festival .

“There is an old crone that travels with them, and for a small price, she will read your future or make you a love potion. Maybe she’ll tell you your one true love is right here in Riverton ?”

Ella pulled her arm from William’s as they got closer to the inn. “ If she does, will you help me find him?” Ella teased. Ailith rushed out the back door, yelling for Ella before William responded.

“There you are, child. Gods above, did you not think that I would need the cabbage for the evening meal? And you!” Ailith took the basket from William . “ Your poor father is busting his back at that mill while you harass my staff. Shoo .”

“See, you are harassing me.” Ella turned from William . “ I’m sorry, Mrs . A . Helga wouldn’t pay unless I had lunch with her. And then Mr . Hanson had a package for our guest in room six.”

“Yes, yes, Mr . Tenebris is checking in now. Boy , you better not still be standing here when I get back,” Ailith called to William , grabbing Ella by the arm and pulling her in the back door.

“Yes, ma’am. Ms . Ella , I’ll stop by to start courting you tomorrow,” William teased.

Ella said nothing as she stepped into the warmth of the kitchen. She carefully set the dress down, taking off her cloak. The kitchen was an organized chaos as the evening meal was being prepared.

“You cannot be seen with that boy unchaperoned. What will people say?” Ailith started cutting the cabbage.

“There is nothing to say. I’m twenty-seven, and I lost my virtue to some man I cannot remember.” She found out she wasn’t a virgin that night with William . If he noticed he said nothing. Or he didn’t notice because of the whiskey they both drank too much of. She also learned she hated the taste of whiskey as much as she loved it. Another odd piece to a puzzle she wanted so badly to solve.

“Oh, hush. Now go see to the new guest.” Ailith nodded to the door. “ And stay away from that boy.”

“Yes, Mrs . A ,” Ella teased, picking up the package and pushing the door open with her rear end. A few guests sat around the large fire. A local boy who helped with the guests’ horses was setting up the tables for the evening meal.

Ella found Lillian alone at the front counter. A scent hung in the air. One that was familiar to her. Memories danced before her eyes. A room without a roof, a man, and death. Her mind raced to keep up with the fading memories, trying to place all the pieces before they disappeared.

But as the scent faded, so did the memories.