The Use of a Village - Part 4

"Are you going to open it?" Nila asked, clearly interested in the little bundle.

With a little flick of his finger, Oliver opened the cloth wrapping, revealing a simple meal of bread, cheese and jam. The bread was a large enough loaf for sharing and fresh baked from the softness of it.

"I know it ain't much… Probably nothing compared to those meals in the Academy… But that's jam that she made herself, and bread too. That cheese is from her father's cow – I've bought it now – and she's pretty proud of what she's managed to do with it," Judas said. "I tried to tell her that it's embarrassing to give something that simple to nobility, but well…"

"I'm going to have to side with your wife on this one," Oliver said. "She's got the right of it. I'm looking forward to this. The food in the Academy is as good as you'd expect, but I'd be an ungrateful man if I ever forgot to love the taste of fresh cheese, jam and bread."