“Come,” she called.
The door creaked open softly and Stephen stood there, his cornflower blue eyes intense. “Good afternoon, mistress,” he said in his deep, gentle voice. “I have brought you something.”
Curious, Toby stepped away from the window and the glare of the weak January sun. Immediately, she spied something small and furry in the crook of Stephen’s left arm. Two big cat-eyes looked back at her.
“My goodness,” she said with a grin. “What in the world do you have, Sir Stephen?”
Stephen took a timid step into the room. “I seem to remember you boring one of my patients with tales of your cats,” he indicated the little orange kitten in his grasp. “I brought you one.”
Toby’s smiled broadened with delight as she set the emerald garment aside. She held her hands out and Stephen deposited the warm, purring bundle into them. She hugged it tightly.
“He is so sweet,” she crooned, laying her cheek against the furry head. “Wherever did you find him?”
“The stable is full of them,” he told her. “They multiply like mad in there. This one, however, is small and seems to be left out of the food chain. I thought you could help him since you seem to like cats so much.”
She cuddled her new pet, her hazel eyes full of gratitude. “Thank you,” she stroked the little head and was rewarded with a healthy meow. “I love him already.”
Stephen smiled, watching her embrace the kitten. It had worked the magic he hoped it would. In truth, while Tate was off repairing the castle, Stephen had finished with his rounds in the great hall and had set off to the stables in search of a cat. He’d seen them there before and as luck would have it, there were several for his choosing. He’d stood by and watched her say a very difficult farewell to her sister that morning and was hoping the cat would cheer her up.
“Well,” he said, realizing his business was concluded and that he should probably leave. “I can see that the cat is in good hands.”
Petting the kitten, Toby began looking around the room. “I fear that I have nothing to feed him. I should go down to the kitchen and find him something.”
“Would you allow me to accompany you?”
A twinge of disquiet ran through Toby as she gazed up into his brilliant blue eyes. She was coming to sense that the man was interested in her on more than a mere acquaintance level; that was obvious when Tate and Stephen ran into each other in her chamber last night. She did not want to be cruel to the man but she did not want to encourage him, either.
“I am sure you have more important things to attend to,” she insisted. “You do not need to worry about me. I can fend for myself.”
“You are the last person I would worry over,” he replied. “And I offer to escort you for purely selfish reasons.”
“What might those be?”
“Because I want to.”
A warning bell went off in Toby’s head. The smiled faded from her lips as she gazed up at him, not at all wanting to hurt the man’s feelings for he had been inordinately kind to her. But it was not fair to not tell him the truth of the matter; she wasn’t interested in him and never would be so long as Tate was in her life. She cocked her head thoughtfully, trying to think of the correct way to phrase what she must say.
“Sir Stephen,” she started off hesitantly. “May I… speak with you?”
His expression warmed. “Of course. What do you wish to speak of?”
The cat meowed again and she looked at the animal, rubbing its ears as she thought of way not to upset the big knight.
“You have been extremely kind to my sister and me,” she began. “I want you to know how grateful I am. You have been compassionate and attentive and I will never forget your kindness.”
“It has been my pleasure,” he said before she could finish her train of thought. Then he wriggled his eyebrows. “Although when we were first introduced, I must admit I was not so sure our association would be pleasant.”
Toby was caught off-guard by the statement. “What do you mean?”
Stephen laughed softly. “You were, shall we say, rather outspoken.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “I see,” she sighed with exasperation. “Did all of you think I was an appalling lout, then?”
He laughed again. “You were not a conventional lady, to be sure. I think we were caught off guard more than anything. It was apparent having only known you for a few minutes that youwere the one who ran the town, not your father. We could see who truly held the power.”
“And?”
“And a strong woman is a rare thing though, in this case, not entirely unpleasant.”
