Theresa looked in all the likely places that her sister normally was found, but Daphne was in none of them. As she was walking around, she found herself in the path of the nasty housekeeper.
"Lady Theresa, I presume?" the woman said stiffly.
"Yes. Missus White, I presume?" Theresa answered in a similar tone. Better to pretend to not know who the housekeeper was. If Missus White suspected that she was the cat that had shed fur all over her pristine castle, Theresa doubted it would make dealing with the nasty woman any easier. Not to mention Theresa still did not want anyone else to know the truth about her.
"Yes, I am Missus White. Is there something that I can do for you?" Her tone said exactly the opposite.
Theresa put on her false polite tone in response. "Yes, actually there is. I'm looking for my sister, Lady Daphne."
"I believe that she rode out with Sir Thomas not long ago."
"Thank you," Theresa said, her tone dismissing the other woman. The woman needed to learn who outranked whom.
Missus White looked slightly affronted by the dismissal and carried herself away with her neck stiff. It was probably a lot harder for the housekeeper to look down her long nose at Theresa when she was easily an inch taller than the older woman.
Theresa smiled.
Her smile faded.
Daphne was out riding with Thomas again, of course. She might have known.
Theresa shrugged her shoulders. Daphne could do whatever she liked. If everything worked out and Thomas turned out to be worthy of trust, she supposed she should be happy for Daphne.
It was a lot easier to be genial that possibility now that Theresa could give well deserved verbal set downs again.
Theresa decided to go to the kitchen.
She walked quickly through the halls and pushed open the door.
The chef was there. "Good afternoon, my lady," she said quickly. Theresa realized suddenly that she must have forgotten to eat a midday meal. Her stomach did feel rather empty.
"I seem to have missed lunch. Could I have something, please?"
"Of course you can." The chef seemed to have been about to add something else, when the door swung open again. "Oh, hello, Matt. Matt, meet Lady Theresa. She is Lady Daphne's older sister."
"N-n-nice t-to m-m-me-meet y-you, L-lady T-t-theresa," he said with his eyes downcast, clearly more uncomfortable than normal. It seemed to Theresa his stutter became more pronounced when he was nervous.
Theresa felt bad for the boy. His would not be an easy life. She responded as kindly as she could, "Nice to meet you as well, Matt. Is that short for Mathew?"
"Y-y-yes, my-my lady," he said and he glanced up at her shyly.
His eyes grew round in his head as if Theresa had transformed into a monster. Theresa realized that he must have recognized her eyes.
She glanced at the chef, who shrugged her shoulders, clearly unconcerned. Matt would be the last person to tell anyone. Her secret was safe with him.
"Please fetch Lady Theresa something to eat, Matt."
He brought Theresa a plate full of food. "Thank you, Matt," she said.
"Y-you're wel-welcome," he said barely audibly. Theresa began to eat and Matt began to work. Chef continued to bustle around the kitchen.
Theresa finished eating. "Would you like a piece of pie?" the chef offered.
"Oh, please," Theresa said. Chef's cooking was supreme and she would have to be careful not to overeat.
When she finished her piece of apple pie, she wondered what she should do next. "Do you play chess, chef?" she asked.
Afraid not. Mister Allendale enjoys it but I've never been particularly good at it."
"Oh, that's fine then," Theresa said, wondering what she could do to pass the time. She finally had the hands to play but no one to play with because she had been abandoned by her sister.
"Why don't you teach Matt how to play?" the chef suggested.
"M-m-m-me?" squeaked the boy, horrified.
The chef smiled. "You work very hard. It would be okay if you took a break now and again."
Theresa shrugged. "Would you like to learn?" she asked as gently as she was able. She did not want him to feel bullied into it even if it may be good for him.
He nodded, looking very much as if he would rather be thrown in a dungeon than play a game with her. Theresa shrugged again and went to find the board and pieces she had seen her sister using.
Once a board had been obtained, Theresa began to teach the boy how to play.
When he finally got over the worst of his fear of her he turned out to be a very clever boy. Once he had learned the pieces and moves, he was a rather competent player for a beginner.
Theresa's beautiful vision of beating Thomas into the ground transformed into an even more appealing vision. She could clearly picture the look of surprise on Sir Thomas' face when he was beaten by her new protégé, a mere kitchen boy. He could surely learn to play better than her sister.
Besides the incredibly compelling thought of Thomas' chess related downfall, Theresa felt sorry for the shy boy and thought it might build his confidence.
After two games, Matt whispered that he needed to go back to work and Theresa did not argue. She sat around the kitchen idly, watching the activity in the kitchen.
The chef clearly noticed her boredom and suggested, "Why don't you go down to the stables and get Mister Allendale to provide you a horse and groom?"
Theresa thought about the idea. What if she was still so terrified on the horse that it sensed it and panicked? She had long believed that horses responded better to calm riders who remained in control. That was in part why she had been such a good rider. Even under her aunt's compulsion magic, her personality had peeked through.
But now she had this ridiculous unease to face up to and she really did not want to.
But she also did not want to stay away from horses forever, either. While she clearly recalled the fear of her cat self, she also could remember when she had rode fast and how wonderful it had felt. Perhaps she could ask for a calm and gentle mount to begin with. She clenched her teeth at the thought.
"That's a good idea," she said finally. "Thank you, chef."
"Always happy to help, my lady," chef said as she kneaded some dough. "You've got a couple of hours before supper, if you wish to eat in the small dining room with the others. Of course, you can always come here, or send for a tray," she added.
"I might do that. Thank you, chef, Matt," Theresa said as she went out the kitchen entrance to the outside world.
Theresa realized that it was the first time that she had been outside since she had regained her true body.
It was nice not to be particularly interested in the waving grass on the lawn or tempting sounds from the forest beyond although she thought she might still be more aware of such things than before she had spent time as a cat.
She glanced at the barn and could not even imagine why she would have wanted to go in there when she might have gotten stuck. Perhaps it was true that cats were curious animals.
She opened the door to the stable and looked in. She could not see anyone. "Mister Allendale?" she called.
A man came around the corner. "He's not here." He looked at her and added, "My lady."
"Are you a groom?" she asked, eyeing the man. He had blond hair, icy blue eyes and a strong form. Theresa imagined he would have appeared quite handsome if he had not also seemed so cold.
"I am," he agreed without looking particularly accommodating. Theresa's instant dislike of him grew.
"Could you please get a horse ready for me?" she asked, although her tone was that of a command.
"I can, my lady," he responded impertinently.
She ignored his tone and looked at the horses. They did not make her nervous, which was encouraging until she recalled that she had not been nervous as a cat when she had been around them, only when she had been precariously perched upon the back of one. There was only one way to find out if she was able to ride again.
"A gentle and patient horse, please. I have not ridden for some time." It had not really been that long, but she was not about to explain her unpleasant cat experience to him. "I want to see if I still can."
The groom nodded. "I'm sure that you will be able to, my lady." His words seemed like they should have comforted her, but they had the opposite effect.
She smiled past her unease and nodded. It was odd to feel so nervous about something she had so loved to do.
The groom rounded the corner and Theresa waited. She noticed that one of the horses seemed familiar. He was a slightly reddish brown color and it took her a moment before she realized. "Mahogany!"
The horse looked at her through its soft brown eyes and she wondered if the horse knew who she was. Probably not.
She rubbed his muzzle while she waited and wondered why Mahogany was still there. The Wizard Jim had said that he would come and fetch him. It was nearing a month since they had left his cottage, although it hardly felt so long to her.
She dearly hoped that nothing bad had happened to Jim for helping them.
Her thoughts were interrupted as the groom brought a horse around the corner. Theresa smiled when she saw the one that he had chosen. It was grey from head to hoof and so would have looked exactly the same to her cat eyes. The horse was wearing a well cared for side-saddle.
"Her name is Misty May," the groom told her. He scratched his arm absently. "Are you in need of an escort, my lady?" he asked without enthusiasm.
"No, thank you. I'll stay in the yard," Theresa assured him. She wanted no witnesses if she panicked on a gentle horse, especially not the off putting groom.
"There's a mounting block around the side," he pointed out.
Theresa nodded and took the reins. She led Misty May out of the stable and around the side to the block.
"There's a good girl," she told the horse, scratching her behind her ears. She looked the horse over carefully.
Then she realized that she was stalling. She moved Misty May into position and forced herself to mount.
Theresa closed her eyes and waited for the panic to begin.
After a long moment she still felt nervous, but the panic had not come. She cautiously opened her eyes and directed Misty into a slow walk. She could feel an old feeling rising inside of her, but it was not fear. It was excitement.
Theresa felt like crooning. She was herself, not a cat and she felt alive. She urged the horse into a faster pace and directed her around the cut lawn a few times. What had she been worried about?
Theresa and Misty lapped the lawn again. She remembered the direction where Daphne and Thomas had rode when she had been watching them as a cat. Perhaps they were there again.
Theresa urged the horse to turn and go the way that she had seen them ride. Perhaps she would discover exactly why she had not been welcome with them, or perhaps she would simply have a nice ride. Either way, it was an excellent plan. She hoped she would find out what mischief her sister and Thomas were up to.
Theresa followed the road, and then found a well worn path intersecting it. She could see occasional hoof marks. It was clearly a riding trail. She turned Misty May down it, and they followed it. It was a pretty trail and she enjoyed watching the scenery. If she had been seated astride, she would have urged the horse into a full gallop but the side-saddle called for a slower rate.
Francine had been livid when she had discovered Theresa had learned to ride astride. Theresa wondered why she had stopped.
Likely it had been tightening of Francine's compulsion magic.
Theresa rode on, enjoying the chirping of the birds, the chattering of the squirrels and the noises of the forest. She was thankful she did not have the desire to kill anything that she heard. If felt good to be human and alone on the back of a horse.
After a while, Theresa came to a wild field with lazy grass swaying in the breeze. The well trod trail continued on alongside it before plunging back into forest.
A moment later, she noticed two horses tethered alone, their riders were nowhere to be seen. One of the horses was wearing a side-saddle. It was almost certainly Daphne's horse and the other Thomas'. Theresa looked around suspiciously as she wondered what her sister was up to. Odd to go riding only to leave the horses standing about in the middle of the ride.
A bit of movement caught her eye across the field, obscured by a few stray bushes. She could not clearly see them but she was sure it was Daphne or Thomas. She directed Misty May towards where she would surely find her sister.
It was time for a well deserved confrontation.