"Come now, it's not that bad!"
Her manner changed, though, when she discovered the consistency of the material. Anest found himself shaking his head in wonder that anyone could be so absorbed in such a simple pleasure. And he was, perhaps, a little envious of her innocence. Taking her by the hand, he said, "Let's get some breakfast, shall we?"
When they reached the kitchen, Anest noticed that the house seemed empty; Belloc was nowhere to be found, and the others were probably outside working. Anest had the distinct feeling that either they were avoiding him, or they were deliberately giving him some time alone with the girl while he got things more or less sorted out.
Someone had left out a plate of greens and fruit; some clean leaf lettuce, skinned carrots and washed, cut sticks of celery, and some grapes and pitted plums and a couple of cored apples that had been doused in brine to impede their turning brown. This prompted a smile from Anest, for everything was carefully washed and laid out and ready to eat; the sight of such care taken over a single plate of food was a singularly unusual sight in this otherwise rustic household.
For himself, Anest had some cold salt pork and fried apple and eggs. While he busied himself, the sylph watched him studiously. The thought occurred to Anest that she might react badly to his eating of meat, but he decided to chance it, reasoning that, living with humans as she now did, there were certain things she would have to learn to accept or deal with. He poured them both a glass of milk and seated himself.