She called Aud up to her room to model her new design.
“What do you think?”
“Oh, my!”
“That good?”
“He will not stand a chance. My poor grandson!”
“I sincerely hope you’re right.”
She went down to the kitchen then and asked the cook for a sirloin roast and some baking supplies. The servant grumbled but did as asked when she saw Aud walk into the room behind Ruby. Ruby almost choked when the heavyset cook bent over, revealing numerous nicks on her hairless legs.
It took Ruby almost an hour to chop and pound the raw beef to the consistency of modern-day hamburger. It wasn’t as finely textured as it should be, but Ruby was able to form it into round patties. Laying them aside with slices of hard cheese, Ruby cut four-inch circles out of bannock as a substitute for hamburger buns. She smiled, supremely pleased with her makeshift efforts thus far.
Then she made baklava—Jack’s favorite ultasweet honey dessert. All the ingredients were available—walnuts, butter and honey—except for white flour. Ruby improvised with barley flour. She had difficulty rolling it to the required paper-thinness because of its gritty texture, but she worked at it diligently until she attained a reasonable facsimile.
While the baklava baked in the wood-fired oven, which Ruby watched closely, she started frying the hamburgers, making several extra for Aud and Dar to try. She made Thork’s medium rare.
The baklava turned out a perfect golden brown, which Ruby cut into diamond shapes while still hot. She made up a platter for Thork with three cheeseburgers and a half-dozen pieces of baklava, then did the same for Dar and Aud. Placing both platters in a warming oven, she instructed Ella to place one before Thork after everyone was seated. “And make sure you don’t put it in front of the young heifer next to him.”
“Heifer?”
“You know, the cow-eyed girl.”
Ella twittered, shaking her head. “What makes you think you can win the man through his stomach?”
Ruby shrugged. “They say you can trap more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.”
“Huh?”
Ruby rushed back to her tower room and dressed hurriedly for dinner. She was one of the first seated in the hall after the tables were set up. Giant butterflies waltzed in her stomach as she watched Thork sit down beside “Cow-Eyes.” He didn’t even look toward Ruby.
The jerk!
The first course of dinner was already being served and still no Ella. Ruby pushed the food around her plate nervously.
“Been filching any more wine?” her pimply-faced hesir said snidely.
“Drop dead.”
The young man blushed and turned away from her.
Finally Ella stepped up to the dais, carrying two platters. She placed the first in front of Aud and the other in front of Thork.
At first, Thork just stared at the odd items on his trencher, as if they might jump up at him. He picked up a cheeseburger gingerly between two fingers, examined it carefully, then took a hesitant bite. Ruby watched him chew slowly, break into a smile of appreciation, then wolf the three cheeseburgers down hungrily.
He was not so hesitant about sampling the baklava. One bite and he closed his eyes in ecstasy over the sublime sweetness. It was just what Jack did when she baked this dessert for him, although, she must admit, she hadn’t made it in years. Ruby frowned at the thought.
Thork was eating his fourth piece of baklava when he. glanced around and noticed that his dining companions weren’t sharing the same fine fare. He chewed the piece thoughtfully. Ruby knew the exact moment he realized that she’d made these favorite foods for him. He looked at her suddenly, pinning her with his gaze. Studying her over the rim of his ale horn, he seemed to be trying to figure out her game.
Having accomplished her goal, Ruby nodded at him, much as a chess player might do when he’d checkmated a foe. She rose from her seat and went to her room, exhausted by her day’s work, but extremely satisfied. She fell into a deep sleep, knowing she had a full day ahead of her tomorrow.