“I don’t know you, so I don’t know what you want with Caro. But you should know she has a lot of people who care about her, including a six-foot-four cousin who is built like a brick shithouse and sees her as a little sister.”

The baker surprised me with a small smile. “Aye, I’m aware Roane Robson would have my head if I caused that lass any more hurt than she’s already found. I just wanted to speak with her about a work opportunity.”

It was almost on the tip of my tongue to dress him down for coming to Caro now that she’d proven herself popular on Market Day, when he’d rejected her before. I bit back the snark and gave him a sharp nod. “I’ll let her know you’re looking to speak with her.”

“My thanks.” He moved toward the door and then glanced back at me. “You seem like a nice lass, and Penny is a friend of mine . . .”

“Yes?”

“I don’t know who started the rumor, but it’s milled its way out of The Alnster Inn and found its way among the villagers.”

My heart began to race. “What rumor?”

“A lot of the village try to shop local when they can, and always buy and order books through Penny. Rumor out of The Alnster Inn is that in Penny’s absence, you’ve upped the price of books that are already more expensive than what people can get online.”

My lips parted in affront. “That’s a blatant lie. The prices are the same. Plus, I’m offering my charity discount. Everyone knows that.”

“Aye, well, I know Penny counts on parents ordering books here for their kids when they go back to school after the holidays, so you might want to see about killing that rumor before it takes on a life of its own.”

“Why would anyone lie about that?”

Tony grimaced. “You decided to settle down awhile, that makes you a villager, and you made your choice clear.”

“My choice?”

“Milly.”

Just like that it dawned on me what Tony was getting at. “The village feud?” I huffed. “Seriously? Isn’t this all a little over-the-top, immature nonsense?”

He chuckled. “Oh, aye . . . but this is also one of the smallest villages on the Northumberland Coast. If drama can be found to spice up life, you’ll be sure people will mine that stuff for decades.”

“I came here for peace and quiet.” I threw my hands up in disbelief.

Tony grinned. “Aye, you’ll find that here too. On the beach. At sunset. When no other bugger is around.” With a nod he strode out of the store, and I was left there fuming with my hands on my hips.

Had West Elliot started a petty rumor just because I failed to frequent his premises?