He was the man that Sophia had been sitting with.
“Definitely,” Thea said with a smile. “Thank you for the help.”
He was older than he’d looked from a distance. Maybe ten or fifteen years older than Sophia appeared, though his hair flopped over his forehead in the style of a much younger man.
And Sophia had barely looked at him since they’d arrived.
Maybe there wasn’t anything between them.
“The blacksmith will have a booth,” the young lady with dark hair sitting next to Thea said. “Mark us down.”
“And I can probably get the tailor to have a booth as well,” the young man next to her said.
Beatrice clapped her hands. “This is wonderful. Thank you, everyone. I’m hopeful that this year will be the best yet—and of course, if anyone wants to donate wood for the bonfire, please let me know.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” yet another young man said across the table.
There was silence then, as everyone turned their attention to eating Thea’s pot pie as quickly as possible. It was absolutely delicious. “I think Cook needs to learn a thing or two about pot pie from Thea,” Caspian said to Sophia.
“Her pot pies are lacking, it is true,” Sophia said with a grin.
“She’s a fantastic cook in everything else,” Caspian said. “But this is phenomenal.”
Thea stood, the legs of her chair scraping against the floor. “May I have a word with you?” she asked Caspian.
He swallowed a sigh as he stood and followed her across the room. He should have known this was coming.
“Lord Caspian,” Thea began once they were far enough away that they wouldn’t be heard.
“Call me Caspian, please,” he said.
“I’m going to be honest with you, Caspian,” the older woman said. “I see the way you’re looking at Sophia. Do you have the intention of wooing her or is she simply something for you to enjoy while you’re here for a short while? Because she deserves better than for you to have fun with her and then leave for Riyel again.”
Caspian didn’t have an answer to the question. He’d been wrestling with it all evening and hadn’t come any closer to figuring it out. “I’ll let you know when I have an answer to that,” he said after a moment.
Thea shook her head. “You’re going to break her heart. You should know that we won’t willingly stand by and watch you hurt her.”
Caspian glanced at the table, where the man who’d been with Sophia was staring at him. “Is there something there?” he asked.
Thea followed his gaze and smiled when she saw who was looking at them. She shook her head. “No, there is nothing between them, but Dietrich is very protective of Sophia. He was the one who found her outside of town and brought her to me. They’re good friends, and nothing more. Not that it should matter to you. I should hope you would realize how much she has to lose, and how little you do. I don’t want to see her get hurt.”
Thea was right. It wasn’t right for him to lead her on while he was still trying to figure out what he was doing himself.
He should stop spending time with Sophia, leave her alone, let her get back to her life.
He didn’t want to hurt her.
“I hear you,” he said gravely. “I will leave her alone.”
Thea nodded, the worry lines between her eyes easing as she looked over at the table where Sophia was laughing at Beatrice. “I hoped you would understand,” she said. “The only thing she has going for her is her determination not to let life bring her down, and I would hate to see anything diminish her fire. I couldn’t stand by and watch without saying something.”
Caspian made a noise in the back of his throat that felt something like agreement, but also irritation at the meddlesome ways of the townspeople. He wasn’t going to hurt Sophia. On purpose, at least.
It shouldn’t bother him that Sophia had people who cared for her enough to stand up to Lord Rendon’s son on her behalf. But it bothered him a little that they thought badly enough of him to think she needed their interference.
Caspian followed Thea back to the table and sat down in his seat next to Sophia, who glanced up at him curiously. He shook his head and turned his attention back to his pot pie.
Thea was right. Sophia deserved better than someone who might not be here in two months. And right now, she wouldn’t get that from him.
