Theo stood in the doorway and watched as the servant girl went scurrying back down the hall. It had been some time since he'd last visited the Van Eldt estate, he realized. Too easy it was too lose himself in duties and his own mire of troubles, so much so that he wondered how his personal ties did not suffer more. But here he was at last, Theo reminded himself, keeping his thoughts tied to the present. He strode over to greet Domina, his usual forceful gait hardly deterred by his recent predicament, and if not for the slight palor of his face and dark bruises underneath his eyes, one would find it difficult to discern that there was much of anything amiss with Theo of late.
Aside from his recent impromptu trip to the country, at least. Wandering away on short notice wasn't his usual habit, to be sure. A fact that was difficult to hide from Domina--his clumsy attempt at lying proved to be useless, of course, and he should've seen that coming. She was right, he could admit to himself, that it might've been easier if he'd never said anything at all. But there was the call of responsibility again, forcing him into well-meaning but likely unwise actions.
"Domina," he greeted as usual, doing as his hostess suggested and finding himself a seat. Theo sat back and attempted to look as humble as he could. After all, he was still very aware of how badly he'd handled his return. "Yes. Thank you." Without any sort of profound greeting, he waited to hear what questions she would ask, wondering if he truly had the ability to give her useful answers.