“Thank you, ma’am,” Chad said after she came forward and he had removed one of the two glasses from the tray. The father took the other.

“Dinner will be another ten minutes,” she said.

The father nodded. Then she turned about and passed through the doorway. Chad took a sip of his mulled wine just as he heard Erin out in the hallway whine, “But mama.”

“Come along,” her mother’s voice said.

Then Chad saw Erin peer around the door frame one last time before scampering after her mother to the kitchen. Turning back to the father, Chad saw his eyes crinkled in amusement. He sipped his steaming cup of mulled wine quietly.

He and the father spent the time until they were called to dinner talking about Chad’s past, his hometown of Quillim, and other mundane subjects. Chad felt a great deal of relief when Alicia appeared at the doorway to the library and announced that it was time to come to the table. He allowed her father to precede him from the room. As he passed into the hallway, Alicia took his arm and walked with him to the dining room.

Five places were set at a table that could have held ten. Her parent’s sat at either end, while Alicia was centered on one side, and Erin sat next to Chad across from her on the other. The food laid out for dinner was much finer than anything he’d had in quite some time. Meals at Kevik’s estate weren’t what one would call gourmet. In fact, depending on who was doing the cooking, one couldn’t even call them edible half the time.

As he took his seat, the smell of the roast goose and fresh baked bread caused his stomach to growl. His mouth was watering fairly well and it was all he could do to be patient and wait. Fortunately he didn’t have to wait very long and was soon breaking off a piece of bread and spreading a generous portion of honey onto it. He had always loved honey. Being expensive as it was, it wasn’t something they had at Kevik’s estate.