*
She was dreaming; she had to be. The glorious smell coming from the pot placed directly in the embers of the fire in the hearth was so magnificent, she dared not open her eyes for fear it would dissipate into a mist so light a breeze could carry it away.
"Kannak, wake up. He be back and we have food."
She dared to open one eye and then slowly opened the other. The magnificent smell was not a dream and she could not help licking her lips in anticipation. Then she spotted Stefan sitting at the table watching her with a grin on his face.
"Wake up, wee bairn," he said.
Annoyed at being called a baby, she abruptly sat up and glared. "From which o' our neighbors did ye steal this food?"
Stefan's grin turned to a scowl of his own. "I neglected to ask his name."
"Ye have brought a curse down upon us. There be a penalty in our clan for stealing and we will all be dead afore the noon meal."
"If that be the case, I suggest we eat all the evidence."
Jirvel was a striking woman at twenty nine with her daughter's same color of hair, although her eyes were blue and the years of hard work had robbed her of her youth. As her daughter did, she wore a long, gray striped unbelted frock made of wool.
It was Jirvel's custom to watch and listen to people before she made up her mind to like them and so far, she believed she was going to like Stefan very much. He had, after all, come back, he looked to be a strong boy and he had weapons. Already she felt safer.
She turned the hot bread over once more in the pot, poked a hole in it to make sure it was done and reached for a bowl. The boy had a way about him that was pleasant and she was enjoying their banter. Stefan was exactly what her daughter needed. With no siblings, the girl had gotten away with far too much for far too long.
"Ye admit ye stole it then?" Kannak asked, putting on one shoe and then the other.
Stefan rolled his eyes. He picked the two gold coins up off the table and showed them to her. The wheat for the bread be yer store for the planting and with this ye can barter for better seed and enough to feed us until the harvest."
"Where did ye get those?"
"If ye must know, wee bairn, I found them."
"Bletherskite." She did not believe a word of it. "They are English coins. Next ye will say ye favor the English. We dinna prefer them."