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“You’re accepting a roof over your head and a decent wage, and those things should be rights, not privileges,” Pen said stoutly. “Don’t ever be ashamed of accepting what’s your due.”

“Yes, but Pen, you can’t do all this alone. I mean—”

“I won’t be. We’re going to go over to the council building tomorrow and we’ll find out what kind of help is available for you then. And I’ve got business over there too, so we’ll be killing two birds with one stone.”

“What kind of business?” Lucy asked, picking up a hot croissant off a baking tray. “Ow!”

“Mmm, lesson number one of working in a bakery, things that just came out of the oven are hot,” laughed Pen. “Come on, you can help me get this lot on the shelves and then we’ll test out your coffee skills. The morning rush’ll be in before you know it.”

As they were sliding rolls onto trays in the bakery, George came bustling in.

“Morning,” Pen said, smiling. “Coffee?”

“Depends,” said George, eyeing Lucy. “Am I to be poisoned again by your apprentice, or are you making it?”

“My coffee is delicious,” Lucy said, putting hands on her hips. “You said so yourself yesterday.”

“Only because you force fed me eight cups and I was in danger of dying from caffeine poisoning,” George said.

Lucy raised an eyebrow.

“Fine, fine,” he said hurriedly. “Beggars can’t be choosers. Two coffees and make them strong ones, Her Royal Highness is in quite a mood this morning.”

“The queen?” Lucy asked, getting to-go cups.

“Ash, my boss, the woman who owns the bookshop next door.” George winked at Lucy. “And Pen’s potential soul-mate, the Darcy to her Elizabeth, the Romeo to her Juliet, the Marc Antony to her Cleopatra, the—”

“The Moriarty to my Holmes, the Joker to my Batman, the… I’ve run out of rivalries,” Pen said.

“Oh,” said George. “That’s why she’s in a mood then, is it? The two of you have had a bust up?”

“We haven’t,” said Pen. “If only because there was nothing there in the first place to break. But she did make it quite clear last night that she really doesn’t want to help me or be involved in things. So…”

George rolled his eyes. “So what? Since when has that stopped you? You know she’s just thick skinned or tough shelled or whatever it is. You never give up, Pen.”

“Then maybe it’s time I learned a lesson. The woman isn’t even interested in being friends with me, let alone anything else.”

“She didn’t seem terribly friendly,” Lucy said thoughtfully. “But then she did throw me out quite nicely and she gave me a tenner too. So she’s not all bad.”

“And she’s definitely out of sorts this morning, so maybe she regrets being sharp with you,” put in George.

“Maybe,” said Pen as Lucy handed George his coffees.

“Alright, I’d better get back to it,” George said. “I’ll see you later for some lunch.”

He disappeared back off to the bookshop and Lucy jumped to close the door before Fabio could sneak back out again. Bending, she picked up the furry bundle who protested with a loud meow and then settled into her arms.

“You shouldn’t worry about it,” she said.

“Worry about what?” asked Pen, forming croissants into neat lines on their tray.

“Ash,” Lucy said. She put Fabio down and shooed him back toward the kitchen. “It’s probably nothing personal. It’s just… some people find it hard to accept help or even friendship. Those people take longer to crack, but they tend to be worth it.”

“Mmm,” said Pen because Ash was an ostrich egg at this point.

“If you like her, you should try harder but not so hard.”

“Lovely and clear that,” Pen said, chuckling.