Elspeth sat down in a chair near James, inhaling through her nose and then exhaling through her mouth. “I suppose you’re a trifle upset with me? For the voice thing?”
James ribbited once to show he was listening while not giving her the impression he was going on a rant about it.
“I apologize, dear. It was..... yes, it was a bit overblown of me. I just don’t like being questioned. And yes, that is a flaw. I’m not acting like it isn’t. But it’s who I am. I let you in under my roof, give you food and drink and shelter, and all I expect in return is complacency.”
James could see where she was coming from, but bore in mind that he had been taken into this home against his will. Regardless of how much fun he had been having before getting his voice taken away, he was still brought her by others’ own volitions. But he remained silent on the matter, whether Elspeth could understand him or not.
“..... I suppose Silas told you the truth. About him being human.”
James opened his mouth to respond, but couldn’t. The shock of Elspeth figuring out what had happened left him speechless. Moreso than he already was as a creature that couldn’t speak.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Bah. He’s a scoundrel. But he’s family. Even if he did say..... those things. As for that girl, Nicola? I can see he and her aren’t here. I suppose he’s kept all of his knowledge about the going ons here to himself when talking with her? Doesn’t want his new female companion to feel unsafe or like he’s not her only friend?”
James figured that a being over seven and a half hundred years old would have some incredible intuition and wisdom from being a literal old soul, but all of this was seriously impressing him. Or it would have, had he not been so unsure and nervous about what Elspeth was feeling about the current situation.
“Dear, I wanted to apologize, and I was thinking..... I could give you your voice back. If you promise. PROMISE. Not to say anything to frighten Nicola. She’s our guest, and she deserves to feel safe. I’ll even own up to the lies I told about sending you home so she knows what’s going on. Those fibs were merely said in the heat of the moment, I assure you.”
James thought for a minute, his brain working in overdrive trying to come to a decision. There was so much to unpack. Was Elspeth telling the truth? What had Silas done to make her turn him into a cat permanently? Would he and Nicola be animals permanently, too? Was she even mentally stable? Her instinctively lying and acting so angry over being questioned didn’t exactly scream perfect sanity to him.
With a wave of her hands, Elspeth smiled warmly at James. “There. Your voice is back. Now, do you promise?”