She let out an indelicate snort at that as she shook her head. “Not happening, Robert.”
“Elizabeth, it’s good for you,” he said, giving her a smile that did funny things to her stomach.
“Then, you drink it,” she said stubbornly, refusing to be swayed by a charming smile.
With a roll of his eyes and a muttered comment about her being a big baby, Robert brought the cup to his lips and took a sip that he quickly spat back into the cup.
“What the hell is in that?” Robert demanded in outrage as he placed the offending cup on the table. He wiped frantically at his mouth to erase the taste and when that didn’t help, he grabbed the vase by her bed, yanked the flowers out of it and tipped it back, drinking every last drop. When he placed the empty vase by the bed, he was still cringing at the bitter aftertaste left in his mouth.
“Good,” Elizabeth said with a nod as she threw the covers off and shifted her legs to the edge of the bed. “Now maybe I can get some real food.”
“The doctor said that you had to stay in bed for at least another week,” Robert pointed out as he moved to help her back in bed.
“Was it the same doctor that said I had to drink that tea?” Elizabeth asked, relieved when he stepped back with a sigh and held out his hand to help her to her feet.
“It’s well past midnight. I don’t think there will be anyone up to make you something to eat,” Robert pointed out once she was on her feet.
“I’m sure that I’ll manage,” Elizabeth said, not bothering to remind him that she knew how to cook since most men of his standing would be outraged to have their wives do something that they believed was a servant’s job.
“I could always run down to the kitchens and look for something,” he suggested, sounding hopeful.
“You’d eat it all before you even left the kitchen,” Elizabeth pointed out with a smile.
He considered that for a moment before he shrugged with a self-deprecating smile. “You’re probably right.”
“One day, you’ll have to explain how you manage to eat so much,” she said, heading to the door, but she didn’t make it very far before she found herself swept off her feet and in his arms.
“I actually have a theory about that,” Robert said with a smile as he walked to the door.
“Really? What is it?” Elizabeth asked, too curious to pretend otherwise.
His appetite was rather frightening. She’d never seen someone eat so much food in one sitting. There were actually several maids that refused to wait on him, terrified that he’d accidentally devour their hands if they didn’t release the platters of food fast enough.
“You,” he simply said as he waited for her to reach over and open the door to her bedchamber.
“Me?”
“Mmmhmm, you,” Robert said with a teasing smile as he pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose and carried her out into the hallway that was dimly lit by several candles slowly burning away the late-night hours.
“How exactly am I responsible for your terrifying appetite?” Elizabeth asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
“If I recall correctly,” Robert said, shifting her slightly in his arms so that he could safely navigate the poorly lit staircase with her in his arms, “you cursed me and all my future heirs.”
She gasped. “I did no such thing!” she said, even though it did kind of sound like something that she would do.
“You certainly did, minx,” Robert said, chuckling as he carried her down the back hallway towards the kitchen.
“Well, I’m sure that you did something to deserve it,” Elizabeth said with feigned haughtiness that had him grinning as he turned and pushed the kitchen door open with his back.
“I buried all your dolls in the pig’s pen,” he said, chuckling as he carefully set her down on her feet.
“You really were a horrid child,” Elizabeth said with a smile as she walked away from him and began searching through the cupboards, wondering what she’d done to make Robert do something so cruel. It was probably something much worse than what he’d done to her, she thought with a satisfied sigh.
“Tell me what you need and I’ll get it for you,” Robert said as he quickly lit more candles as well as several oil lamps so that they could see what they were doing.
As she quickly scanned what was available to them, she decided that eggs, ham, and fresh biscuits would probably be the easiest thing for her to make. Decision made, she told him what she needed as she did her best to ignore her stomach’s growling demands.
Robert shot her an amused smile that she chose to ignore as she started on the biscuits. By the time she had the dough made and ready to rise, she was ravenous and considered skipping this step and simply cutting the biscuits and baking them, uncaring that they would end up flat. The only reason that she hesitated in doing just that was Robert. She’d bragged that she made the best biscuits and now, she wanted to prove it. But she was so hungry and she wasn’t sure that she was going to be able to wait until-
