Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2023 4:27:51 GMT -5
Thom’s retort earned him and Temperance a look of faux betrayal as Ber set down his spoon and simply stared between them. “You’re holding out on me?” He asked, skipping over the more sentimental part of the other man’s words because, well, what could he say? He already knew that they cared about him, and he could never verbalize exactly how much that meant to him. Instead, he looked toward Melody for some support in the face of such injustice. “Can you believe them? I would’ve thought Temperance would share all the stories with me, but apparently not.” Shaking his head, he turned his attention to his food and let them sit with their crime for a moment. Then Temperance spoke.
“You know, I asked him that,” Ber said, swallowing his mouthful of stew and looking over at her when she questioned why Woodwick had hired Gerard. “Apparently his previous assistant recommended Gerard, and I guess he’s good enough at dealing with nobility that Woodwick keeps him around.” A shrug followed the explanation. “If I was him, I’d hire three more assistants. Gerard deals with the nobles, two others do the paperwork, and one is a spare in case the others get sick.” Simple as that. It wasn’t his fault the captain wasn’t creative enough to find a solution for avoiding the most headache-inducing aspects of his job. He didn’t deign to acknowledge Temperance’s teasing beyond a mostly good-humored eye roll.
As Thom and Temperance spoke to each other and Artos, naturally, stole the show, Ber finished off his bowl of stew and turned his attention to the meat. Filled by a warmth that couldn’t be entirely attributed to the food in his belly and the fire in the hearth, he couldn’t quite keep a pleased smile from flitting across his face as he listened to their conversation. The seasons that he had spent eating at their table bathed everything in a comforting familiarity. Quietly, Ber tried to memorize every detail and store away everything that made his heart full. He would miss this when he was in Cambria.