“We are already here.” Mary pushed open a door to the side of the stairwell, entered and touched her candle wick to the lamp on the wall next to the door.
She followed the lass inside and halted within a surprisingly large room.
Mary lit another couple of candles, one on each of the two side tables next to two basic wood-framed beds. The added light glowed over the stone walls and brushed the floorboards.
Mary heaved up the lid of an engraved wooden trunk in one corner, pulled out a sheet and flapped it over the unmade bed. She drew a white cotton case over a pillow and plumped it, then smoothed out a couple of thick brown furs over top.
“Thank you.” She set her cloak, bag and basket at the end of the bed Mary had prepared, then at the side table, poured water from the jug into the basin. She washed her hands of the dust of her travels and splashed her face to refresh herself.
With a wide smile, Mary plopped down on her bed, pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Rocking with a smile, she lifted her nose to the air and breathed deep. “Mmm, I can smell something very sweet within your basket.”
“’Twas given to me by a friend and she said there are goodies within, although I’ve yet to open it and see inside.” Perhaps taking a look at what was within the basket might help distract her a little from her tumultuous thoughts.
She eased down onto the bed next to Mary and with the wicker basket on her lap, lifted the lid and gasped at the sight of a large tub of red strawberries. Although not strawberries she’d ever seen before. These were almost completely covered in something hard and brown, something suspiciously resembling mud. How strange.
“Oh, that is most unusual.” Wide-eyed, Mary plucked one strawberry free by its stem and tapped the hard brown shell encasing the fruit. “Hmm, I wonder what this coating is.”
“My friend has traveled far and wide, so it could be almost anything.” She too plucked a fruit from the tub and examined it.
“Ships arrive often with all sorts of exotic wares from the lands far to the east of us. I adore riding to Carron Harbor to see them unload their vessels when they do.”
“Then let’s hope this is one of those exotic wares. Would you like to try a berry with me?”
“Aye, we’ll see what this tastes like together.” A firm nod from Mary, a sparkle of eagerness shining in her eyes. “On the count of three. One.”
“Two.” She tapped her berry against Mary’s.
“Three.” The lass popped hers in her mouth and so did she.
With a soft crunch, they both bit down.
Oh, sweet heaven. She moaned as the brown shell casing broke into pieces in her mouth and slowly melted against her tongue. The sweet flavor of the fruit blended deliciously with the full and rich elixir of the casing, the explosion of divine decadence making her sink back against the wall. Eyes closed, she savored the delight which had no name.
“I dinnae know what this mud is called,” Mary mumbled around her mouthful from beside her, “but I’m so very glad you have a whole tub full of strawberries covered in it.”
“Me too. Let’s have another.” She dove back into the tub then stopped as her fingers brushed a large block of something hard wrapped in shiny, purple parchment. She lifted the block out and gently slipped her finger under the top flap of the purple paper. The parchment fell away to uncover more of the same brown treat as what the strawberries were coated in, a large slab of it. “Well, well.”
“Oh, how wonderful.” Astonished, Mary clapped and jiggled on the bed. “What do the words on the parchment say?”
“Let me see.” The largest word embedded upon the paper spelled something she’d never read before. She traced along it, murmured, “Choc-o-late.”
“That must be the name for this treat.” Mary jiggled some more. “Calling it mud seems so very wrong when it tastes naught like it. Choc-o-late. What a divine name.”
“Here, we’ll go halves with it.” She broke the block in two and handed one half to Mary. “This is yours.”
“Ye wish to share this treasure with me?” A powerful wave of delight rushed from the lass and nearly overwhelmed her.
“Aye.” She laughed, even more delighted than Mary to have made her so very happy with such a simple gift. “This half is yours, and the other half is mine.”
“Oh, I dinnae wish to eat all of my treasure at once.” She scrambled to her feet, nabbed a clean cloth from the pile on the side table and wrapped her half of the chocolate within it, all except for one piece which she popped in her mouth and sucked away on madly. “This chocolate is sheer heaven.”
“Fiona?” A knock rattled the door. “’Tis I, Ella. The innkeeper told me you wished to sleep downstairs in his daughter’s room.”