“If you got the energy, wouldn’t hurt if you mucked out the coop after dinner,” Sath suggested. “Really shouldn't wait another day.”
Aevrin shot Cassia a sidelong apologetic glance and nodded.
Did that mean their talk was postponed to another day, she wondered nervously? Or just happening later at night?
“This is mighty good,” Boone said, loading up his fork with the dumplings. “This griffon from your land in the sauce?”
“Where else?” Sath said scornfully. “‘Course it’s ours!”
“Cassia, this tastes just how my mother used to make it,” Gramma Prisca said quietly, her hand tight on her fork and her eyes bright on Cassia. “How’d you come up with this?”
“The recipe book in the kitchen.”
“Never came out right when I tried that,” Prisca said with a sad smile.
“I had to fill in some blanks,” Cassia explained.
“I was thinking maybe I could get back to work tomorrow,” Sorven said abruptly. Everyone but Boone, who was fixated on mopping up a patch of sauce with his bread, stared at the youth.
“You’ve still got a boot on,” Sath pointed out.
“Yeah, you can barely walk, limpy,” Mavek said.
“Have you even been doing those exercises?” Aevrin asked.
“Aw, c’mon,” Sorven said. “You’re as bad as Cassia! No offense, Miss Cassia. But those exercises are a load of…” seeing his Gramma’s stern look, Sorven quickly switched to: “they’re real boring.”
“Listening to healers is important,” Sath told him sternly.
“Yeah, but Evelya just said I had to start using it again and getting it stretched out. Why can’t I do that in the field?”
“You’re not ready to be working with those cows.”
“I can polish tack or sweep the coop or something, then. I know just moving around again will help.”
“Lord have mercy,” Gramma Prisca said. “Is one of my boys begging tosweep? I must be having some kind of episode.”
“If you can’t follow simple instructions…” Sath said.
“But pa, I know it’ll start getting better if I just start moving around a bit.”
“...when that’s how you got in this mess to begin with…”
“We could check with Evelya,” Mavek said, sounding kind of hopeful about having an excuse to visit the healer. He rested his elbows on the table, fork dangling from one hand. “See what she thinks about it all.”
“Where’d you pick up this bread?” Boone wanted to know.
“Oh, I baked it,” Cassia answered. He looked a bit disappointed as he reached for another piece.
Aevrin elbowed her and winked. Cassia smiled back, then cut back into a dumpling with her fork.
“Ifyou go back to the healer’s,” Sath said. “You gotta agree you’ll hold to whatever they say. And if it’s those exercises, you’re going to be doing them, or Saints help me I’ll know why.”
“Deal,” Sorven said too quickly.
“Cassia?” Sath asked. “We’ve got a full day tomorrow. Would you mind, now that you know how to drive?”
“I don’t need a nursemaid,” Sorven muttered.
