Theresa and the chef continued to talk comfortably. When Theresa was done eating she bid her goodnight and went to bed. She had a great deal of planning to do in the morning and she wanted to be energetic and clear minded.
It was time to utilize her human capabilities.
Daphne was predictably sleeping, so Theresa crawled into her own bed.
Talking to Missus Allendale had calmed her considerably. The woman was so steady it was hard to remain upset around her.
Theresa fell asleep almost immediately. She slept deeply and there were no terrible dreams that she could remember.
* * * * *
Daphne's voice was the first thing that she heard. "Breakfast is here, Theresa."
Theresa opened one eye and looked at her sister blearily.
Daphne was already dressed and ready for the day. Theresa wondered what the rush was and then remembered all of the things that she herself needed to accomplish. Not that Daphne knew her plans, but it was still time to get up.
Theresa jumped out of bed. There was a tray of food on the coffee table in their connecting room. Theresa ate quickly, and proceeded to the door.
"You're leaving like that?" Daphne asked incredulously. Theresa glanced down at herself. Though dry, she had not thought to change and was still wearing the clothes that they had travelled in when they first ran away. The skirt was serviceable enough, but it was rather filthy. The dirt from their flight obviously reappeared along with her bag and clothing.
Theresa had probably never been this dirty in her life, at least not without enduring serious reprimands from Francine.
"Perhaps not. I suppose I got used to wandering around as I pleased."
And cleaning herself whenever she had felt the desire. Shame all that grooming had not transferred to her human form.
"I already rang for a bath for you," Daphne informed her.
Theresa's first thought was to argue but she decided just to let Daphne go ahead with it. It was a good idea. She only needed one more thing. "Clothes?"
"There are a couple gowns that should fit you. I had them made when I ordered mine. I figured you would need clothing when you were restored to human."
"Okay," Theresa agreed, feeling bemused. She supposed that Francine and her spells had always taken care of such matters in her mind in the past, or perhaps it was a side effect of not having to worry about such matters as a feline.
She was pleasantly surprised that Daphne was acting so capable. Perhaps Daphne had actually been doing something besides batting her eyes at and going for joy rides with Thomas.
Within a few minutes, servants dragged in a tub and filled with it warm water.
Theresa bathed quickly. It did feel good to be clean, but she did not enjoy it as much as she once would have. Perhaps a small part of her cat side's revulsion to water had remained with her. She hoped it would wear off.
She dressed quickly and Daphne helped her with the laces on the back of the gown instead of calling for a maid.
Theresa used the brush Daphne acquired and worked the knots out of her hair.
It was a horrible mess and she suspected some of the knots were from the night they had escaped Francine's clutches. That suspicion was reinforced when she found a twig at the back of her hair.
In the end, Theresa was glad that Daphne had stopped her. She felt so much more human.
She noticed that her sister had faint circles under her eyes and she felt bad that she had not paid more attention to the strain on her. Perhaps Daphne had been trying her best and Theresa had been been a mite too nit picky.
"Thanks," she said.
"You're welcome. I'm really glad you're completely yourself again."
Theresa smiled and walked out of the room. She could feel the old affection for her sister building inside her. Daphne might make her crazy but there was no one Theresa loved more.
She supposed that she had been in a rather foul mood lately. It had been perfectly natural she felt that way, but perhaps she had overreacted occasionally.
Perhaps she should even apologize. It was not Daphne's fault that everything had gone horribly wrong from nearly the moment they escaped.
The blame for that lay squarely on Francine's stiff shoulders.
Theresa followed the familiar way to the wizard's tower, although it looked different with the warmer colors and the higher vantage point. She walked up the stairs and knocked on the door. She did not hear anyone answer, but the door gently opened.
"Good morning, Lady Theresa," said Wildwood.
"Good morning," she responded with a sudden feeling of terrible awkwardness.
"Why don't you take a seat?" he offered.
"Thank you." She sat down in her usual chair and straightened her skirt.
"Can I help you with something?"
Theresa nodded. "You've done a lot for me, for us. I appreciate that. I just wanted to thank you."
"It was no trouble," he said, looking at her intently.
Theresa saw the polite lie for what it was.
He had spent days reading over an area of dangerous magic with which he was hardly familiar. He had managed to change her back into her human form; she looked exactly as she had before Francine had changed her.
She still felt different but that was to be expected. Experiences change people and the way they see things.
Theresa had experienced some drastic changes very quickly and who really knew what she had been like all this time underneath Francine's oppressive magic? She did not even really know her true self.
Theresa realized that he was waiting for her to say something. "I need to get to the capital."
She did not remember conversations being so terribly difficult.
"The capital?" he repeated, still observing her carefully.
She felt oddly like a magical experiment under observation.
Perhaps she was. Wildwood would probably write a book about this magical problem one day.
Perhaps then his writing would one day be quoted in a tome of magical mishaps and successes, rendering her misery famous alongside poor Reginald's sad demise.
She had to make her point. "Yes, Daphne and I need to get to the capital as soon as possible," she reiterated cautiously.
Wildwood continued to watch her as if he could see her thoughts whirling in her mind. "Why?"
"I have business there."
Simply because he had done so much for them did not mean that he needed to know more than was strictly necessary.
She looked into his eyes. They looked deep brown, rather than the dark grey they had seemed when she was a cat, but still they remained deep and unfathomable.
She bit her lip. "We appreciate everything you've done, but you have helped us more than enough. We can make our own way."
Wildwood smiled. "You still need my assistance for the time being. In fact, I st—"
"No, thank you, I don't want you to feel obligated, my lord," she said, cutting him off quickly.
Though she was finding herself oddly drawn to him, a part of her did not want to be more indebted. A part of her still could not trust him.
After all, he had left immediately after her aunt. What if Francine had convinced him to stall them here?
Perhaps they would be better off simply setting off on their own. She had the supplies that she had carried again restored to her and they were much closer than when the started out of Waldwick.
"I insist, Lady Theresa. The roads once you leave Wildwood are hardly safe and there are always predators. I'll arrange transportation for us."
"Us?" she repeated, feeling startled.
"I can hardly let two ladies under my protection venture out into the countryside alone, can I?" he asked.
Theresa considered arguing, but decided that perhaps it would be better to have added protection along. The offer of having additional competent company was appealing.
She had little doubt that Wildwood could easily take care of a few thieves or highwaymen if the need arose.
She would simply have to be extra vigilant while dealing with him.
Something about him seemed different now; something about him made her feel out of sorts and awkward.
She nodded her acceptance of his offer.
Wildwood smiled solicitously and the expression made Theresa feel happy, but the feeling did not particularly please her. She did not have time for happy at that moment.
He had a book sitting open on his desk and Theresa suddenly realized that she had probably interrupted him. "I'll let you get back to reading," she said.
"It's no trouble. Do you enjoy reading yourself?"
Theresa thought about that. Her tutors had taught her to read and she had spent many hours with books while trapped in her aunt's care. She had also spent hours in this very room peering over his shoulder when she had nothing else to do under the curse.
He must have guessed she might have been doing it because there was not much else to do.
She considered. "I suppose that I do."
It was certainly better than doing nothing.
"Not your preference?"
She shrugged. "I love to ride and play chess, Lord Wildwood. But I like reading, too, of course."
She did not want to insult what seemed to be his favorite pastime.
He nodded, as if he could see more than what she was saying. "Would you like to go riding? You're perfectly safe if you stay within the estate grounds. A groom could accompany you."
The offer was tempting, but a small part of her wondered if her cat half's unease for riding would carry over to her natural form like her new slight dislike of water.
She was afraid that she may have lost the joy of riding. Perhaps it was cowardly, but she was not ready find out just yet.
"I don't think that I'm feeling up to it. May I borrow a book instead?"
"Of course," he agreed. "I have a number up here or you could look in the library."
"There's a library?"
Theresa was surprised that she had not found it in all her wanderings. Likely Missus White kept it closed tightly when an unwanted cat was around.
She wondered how the woman would act when she saw Theresa in her human form. She would not have to suffer the woman's behavior in silence now. The thought made Theresa almost smile.
"It's at the end of the hall through the east doors," Wildwood said and looked down at his text.
Theresa nodded. She wondered if he wanted her to leave.
He had not seemed to mind her presence when she had been a cat, but now something was different.
"Would it be acceptable if I simply read here?" she asked tentatively. She did not know why she even asked, except that she found the room comforting for some incomprehensible reason.
"That would be perfectly fine, my lady," he agreed. He smiled once and went back to his text.