“And p-p-plum c-c-custard?” Siggy said.
Dolf made some motions with his hands and Vincz interpreted, “And stuffed dates fried in honey?”
“I can make fried apple pies and plum custard. I’ve never made stuffed dates fried in honey, but I can certainly try.”
The men shouted and danced around like little boys. Heinric came toward her with his arms outstretched again, but the men intercepted, and he ended up hugging them instead.
Sophie laughed at their enthusiasm.
They all made their way to the large hall at the front of the cottage, and Siggy again played the lute and sang while Dominyk played the drum. Sophie slipped away and hurried up the stairs to Gabe’s room. She opened the door to find Gabe still asleep. She tiptoed over to him and carefully laid her hand on his forehead. It didn’t seem as hot as the last time she was in here. She watched his chest rise and fall beneath the blanket. She longed to bend down and kiss his cheek, but she had better not.
With a deep sigh, Sophie turned and left the room.
Chapter 16
Sophie awoke in a room by herself, though there were two more beds beside hers. She had obviously displaced three of the men from their normal sleeping quarters.
The sun was still not up, but tentative rays of light were showing through the window. Sophie got out of bed and dressed in her new makeshift clothing, since she wasn’t sure what had happened to her old dress after her bath yesterday. She went downstairs and all was still and quiet, but someone had built a fire in the kitchen fireplace, so she set about mixing up the dough for a loaf of flatbread. While it was baking, she cooked some apples with some spices she found on a shelf and made several pie crusts. She began frying apple pies in a pot, then used lots of cream and dried plums to make a plum custard. Then she fried a large stack of ham.
She’d had to shoo the occasional curious man out of the kitchen while she worked, but now she invited everyone to the table.
“This is quite good, Sophie,” Dominyk exclaimed.
“V-v-v-very g-good.”
Vincz laughed. “Much better than what Gotfrid made last week. He tends to mix the salt up with the sugar.”
Gotfrid scowled even deeper than usual and suddenly made a rough grab for Vincz’s shirt. Sophie didn’t dare breathe until Dominyk sat them both down with a stern look.
Walther looked over at Sophie and winked. “Maybe you can make some labels for the jars.”
The rest of breakfast continued on peacefully, though by the end of the meal Sophie was anxious to leave the table. She had gone to check on Gabe earlier, but Bartel wouldn’t let her in Gabe’s room, claiming Gabe wasn’t yet dressed. As the eight men promised to clean up after breakfast, Sophie put some food on a wooden tray and hurried up the stairs to see Gabe.
Gabe felt as weak as a kitten, but at least his fever seemed to have lessened and his head no longer felt like a horse was kicking him in the back of his skull. His shoulder still hurt but not as sharply. He might actually live.
Now that he felt better, he realized he was hungry. Bartel, the monk caring for him, had been giving him watered-down wine with herbs, and Gabe hoped his next course of treatment was food. Whatever was cooking downstairs smelled wonderful.
Sophie had knocked on the door earlier, but Bartel was just helping him get up and dressed, meaning she needed to stay in the hallway. He hoped she would come back soon. He had a fuzzy memory of her sitting beside him the day before and telling him they were safe, and he was eager to see how she was doing now. He had been crazy with worry when he was too weak to go look for her, and he had called for her numerous times without her appearing. He kept remembering a room full of nothing but men when they’d arrived.
Now, alone again, Gabe was tired of lying in bed. Bartel’s orders or not, he would go look for Sophie himself.
As he sat on the edge of the mattress, the room began to spin. He blinked several times to clear his vision and stood up — and immediately had to brace himself with a hand on the wall, which caused a sharp pain to shoot through his shoulder.
Clenching his teeth, he put one foot in front of the other, taking miniscule steps toward the door. He was almost to the threshold when a knock sounded.
“Gabe?” Sophie’s voice came from the other side of the door.
“Come in.”
Sophie’s face peered in. When she saw him, a smile spread over her face. He’d never seen a more welcome sight.
“Gabe! Should you be up? Are you feeling better?” She swept in wearing an oversized robe, her hair pulled back in a thick braid that hung over her shoulder. She was carrying a whole tray of baked delights.
She set the tray down and came toward him, her brows slightly knotted. “Where were you going?”
“I was coming to find you, to make sure you were all right.”