There was a clatter as something fell to the floor and Sophia and Dietrich turned to glance at Thea.
“Here, let me help,” a man said, hurrying around the counter.
“Thank you, Nathaniel, but I can handle it,” Thea said stiffly.
Sophia raised an eyebrow at the tension in Thea’s voice. It was unlike her.
“You don’t have to do it all alone,” Nathaniel said, his voice so quiet she could barely hear him.
“I am quite capable of handling it,” Thea said. “Thank you though.”
The man left the kitchen and Sophia looked at Dietrich, who shrugged and shook his head.
He didn’t know what was going on, either.
“Can I do anything for you?” Nathaniel asked in a normal voice as he paid for his drink.
“No, thank you, everything in the building is perfect,” Thea said, her voice returned to her normal tone. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to speak to Dietrich and Sophia.”
“Anything for you,” he said.
Before Sophia could say anything to Dietrich about the confusing conversation they’d just overheard, Thea joined them, sitting down with a sigh. “Busy morning,” she said.
“I could have helped,” Dietrich said.
“I was fine,” Thea said, waving a hand dismissively. “I wanted to see Sophia for myself, and you fetched her.”
“What’s wrong?” Sophia asked, taking in the worry lines etched on Thea’s rich brown features. Her black, curly hair, usually tied back in a neat style, blew freely around her face, and Thea reached up to brush back an errant curl.
“I haven’t slept well the past couple of nights worrying about you,” Thea admitted. “I wanted to see if you were well.”
Sophia shrugged. “I haven’t slept well, either, but all is well.”
Thea nodded, the worry lines easing slightly. “I had hoped to hear that. Maybe I’ll sleep better tonight.”
“Please don’t lose sleep on my account,” Sophia said, setting her drink down on the low table in front of her and leaning forward to look at Thea directly, as much as she could with the warm lump of a cat occupying her lap. “You’ve done so much for me, and I could never repay you. Either of you.” She glanced at Dietrich.
“We would do it all over again,” he said lazily.
Dietrich reminded her of a cat himself, the way he liked to sit in the sunshine, sprawl back, and do nothing. Though he’d be a light tan tabby cat, short-haired and scrappy, rather than the spoiled, long-haired orange feline currently warming Sophia’s legs.
“Yes, we would,” Thea said. “I am so glad to see you’ve settled into Lord Rendon’s estate so nicely. I thought you would forever be nervous as a rabbit, but you seem to have found your place there and it makes me happy.”
Dietrich chuckled. “Sophia is a rabbit. Yes, that makes sense.”
“You’re a cat,” Sophia said, shrugging one shoulder.
“A what?” he asked, raising one eyebrow at her.
“You can’t even be bothered to sit up,” Sophia pointed out, looking between him and Ginger. “Yes, you’re a cat.”
“What does that make Thea?” Dietrich asked.
“A honeybee,” Sophia said promptly. The answer appeared in her head without any hesitation.
“I could see it,” Dietrich mused, rubbing his hand over his chin as he stared at Thea. “Though she looks more like a bumblebee.”
“Enough animals,” Thea said in exasperation, flapping her hands at him. “I was trying to lead Sophia to tell us more about her past and you’re rambling on about me being a bumblebee.”
