15 A dog and his owner

The Baron's family had their mornings to themselves, coming downstairs for the midday meal. Sitting at the table while talking to Elias, Whitlow faced away from the silent steward. They had talked that morning, but he still felt a tad uneasy. Between them, Vardimann sulked while playing with his potatoes. He had been steadily winning at dice only because Richard was hot-blooded and easily provoked into losing the dice under the table. When the doctor decided to join in, half of his gains had been sucked away in no time at all. Whitlow had absolutely no problem ignoring his brooding.

Thankfully, Nathan quickly finished his meal and left to meet with the townspeople. Whitlow was able to relax and talk to Elias more normally. But not for long, as his travelling companion soon stood.

"I'm bored. I'm gonna go run around for a bit."

Whitlow quickly lunged and grabbed his collar. "No you don't! I won't let- I mean, I have something for you to do. Don't I, Tina?"

The two of them looked like an enthusiastic dog and his owner. Tina hid a smile. "That's right." Her previous irritation at Vardimann had faded, to be replaced with curiosity and a mild amusement. Of course, she wasn't going to forgive him so easily.

The three of them went upstairs to Whitlow's room, where he directed Vardimann to pick up some potted plants. The men carried them upstairs to Tina's solarium, placing them by the windows where they would get plenty of sunshine.

"All right. Vardi, from now on it's your job to look after these plants. If they wilt, I'll take it out of your pay."

"You don't pay me."

"Then I won't make dinner for you anymore."

Vardimann wailed and clung to his thigh. "You can't stop cooking! I promise I'll look after them!" His own cooking could only be described as...edible. If he didn't use spices, the meat would be tender but bland. If he tried using spices, even a simple pinch of parsley somehow created an abomination of flavor. But they couldn't waste food, and the abomination was still technically edible...

Whitlow pried this fully grown child off his leg. "The other thing I want you to do is to help Tina with her sewing. She wants to take a record of these plants and their uses. You've used these ones before, so you should be able to teach her, right?" Vardimann nodded. "Good."

Vardimann was left alone with the woman who had tried to kill him only yesterday. He coughed awkwardly. "Nice weather today."

Tina nodded, maintaining an expressionless facade. It would be fun to play around with this cute guy for a bit.

Vardimann wrote down the names of the plants and their uses on paper scraps, leaving next to their respective pots. And then it seemed like his job was already done. He looked at Tina, sitting next to a lemon thyme bush with a small sewing frame in hand. He decided to sneak out without disturbing her.

"Where are you going?"

Vardimann nearly jumped out of his skin and took a tumble down the stairs. "Uh, I thought I wasn't needed anymore, so I was going to...read a book..." He trailed off.

There was a long silence.

Tina smiled. "Sure. You're welcome to read it here. The light's better."

The smile made Vardimann nervous, and he quickly abandoned all thoughts of running away.

About an hour later, Whitlow was loitering outside the kitchen, bored. One of the reasons he didn't like the idea of staying in this place for the winter was because there was almost nothing to do. He wasn't a knight. He wasn't going to swing a sword around in the warmer months, let alone knee deep in the snow. Books didn't really interest him unless it featured medical plants or theories, and he already owned all of those. The alternative was to play with the children, or talk to Elias and the servants. The servants were too nervous around a favoured guest of the baron, and Elias would inevitably drag him outside to hunt. Whitlow hated the snow. He would much prefer to hibernate.

And castles were cold! It felt like there were draughts leaking around every brick. At least the city was warmer, admittedly due to rotting gases escaping from the sewers. But a few days of living there would be enough to adjust to the smell or kill your nose. And there were more events, like winter markets and the circus.

The doctor did feel a bit guilty. He owed the baron a lot. Elias was great company during the summer, but their personalities just didn't match during the winter.

A servant passed by, carrying a plate. The smell of roast meat pulled Whitlow out of his boredom stupor. "Is that going to Tina?" The servant nodded. "I'll take that for you." He may as well see how Tina and Vardi were getting along.