Sophia eyed him. “I just made some butter this morning. Would you like some?”
Caspian’s eyes lit up. “Fresh butter on a homemade roll? Absolutely.”
He smiled as she pulled the butter out from the crock in the corner where she kept it.
Most of the manor’s butter came from the cows they kept…but there was something special about the butter she made with the goat milk.
Ivy had more cream in her milk than the other does, and it tended to separate out, so she always milked her into a separate pail to make butter. Maybe it was the hours of work it took to make butter that made it taste so wonderful to her, or maybe it was just that good.
But there was something about taking the grumpiest goat’s milk to make her favorite thing that made taking care of Ivy just a little easier.
Caspian slathered butter onto the roll before looking around the kitchen furtively.
“I don’t suppose you want to be caught with the roll,” Sophia said.
“Not really,” he admitted. “Just let me wash this knife—unless, of course, you want a roll, too.”
Sophia shook her head. “I know better than to take food between meals.”
Caspian grinned. “But you want one, don’t you?”
Sophia’s mouth was watering. The fresh roll and the butter looked absolutely delicious. Of course she wanted one. “I suppose I could try one, but we better hurry.”
She didn’t want to get in trouble with Cook for this stranger’s shenanigans, but she didn’t want to be left out, either.
“Of course,” Caspian said, already pulling out another roll and buttering it for her. He quickly washed the knife and put it away while Sophia put the butter back and eyed him.
The other girls had been right. He was handsome.
His dark hair was cut close to his head, the way many of the guards wore it, and his beard made his face harder to see—but it made his smile all the more obvious.
“Come on, let’s take these outside. We’re less likely to get caught that way.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the outer door.
Sophia yanked her hand out of his but followed him out the door.
She felt a little less wary about him now that he’d introduced himself and offered her food, but she wasn’t going to let him hold her hand.
She wouldn’t mind letting him follow her to the barn, though. “I was going to go check on the goats,” she said. “Want to come with me?”
The fastest way to the goats was through the barn and over a fence. She’d never climbed the fence while holding a roll before, but it couldn’t be that difficult.
“Where are you going?” Caspian asked as she entered the barn.
“Going to check on the goats,” she said, frowning at him. Hadn’t she already said that? He was the one following her.
“You’re going into the barn with food?” he asked, his nose wrinkling.
“I was going to,” she said slowly, and it was almost a question. “Do you not eat in the barn?”
Caspian grimaced. “No, that does not rank up there in things I enjoy doing. I prefer to keep food and manure separate.”
Sophia laughed. “I don’t roll my food around in the manure,” she began.
He shook his head. “Even being in the barn is too close for me. I’ll just finish this out here.”
Sophia leaned against the wall of the barn. “If that’s what you want to do.” She ate another bite. “I don’t mind eating in the barn. But I spend a lot of time with the goats, I suppose.”
Sure, the goats were a little dirty, but they were animals. That was part of dealing with animals.
