amount into the waiting water.
“I know you had coffee before when you were not well, but do you normally drink it?” Rafael asked Isabella, settling her beside the fire that awaited a match. She perched on a cushion one of the men had placed there for her, and she looked at the others who worked silently around her, wondering which of them had thought of her comfort in such a way.
“I can tolerate it, though tea is preferable, but it was only available on occasion. The Mother Superior said coffee was not a healthy drink and she forbade it to be purchased for the convent kitchen, except in small amounts.”
“You may have whatever you desire at our home when we arrive there,” Rafael told her. “You may have anything it is in my power to provide for you.”
She looked up at him in surprise. “Why are you so generous with me? You just told me I was…what was it you said? Oh, yes, you told me I was burdensome. Not a flattering description, to my way of thinking.”
“I thought of something entirely different when I told you that,” he said with a laugh, a sound that was echoed by Manuel, who had apparently noticed his employer’s discomfort while riding during the last hour or so.
“I haven’t tried to be a burden to you. But then I haven’t put forth any effort to make your life easy, either. I suspect you’ll just have to put up with me the way I am.”
“I’m looking forward to just that,” Rafael said, bowing his head as if in tribute.
“My father used to tell me I was a troublemaker when I was a child. But our cook defended me. She said I was too smart for my own good, and my father did not understand me.”
“I’ll be sure towork at that, Isabella. Understanding you will be my priority for the next fifty years or so.”
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