Will surveyed the clearing around him. He had just placed the last of 24 small, unlit lanterns in the clearing. He would have preferred to use candles but common sense told him that it would be unwise to have two dozen small flames scattered along the edge of the dense forest. Even the lanterns would be pushing it, but Will figured that it should be okay, as long as no one came tromping through the forest, rather than using the path that lead into the clearing.
Along the edge of the clearing, Will had evenly spaced 16 of the lanterns. The other eight would be used to form a circle around a table big enough for two people to dine at. The table and chairs were made of a dark wood, supposedly the finest wood in the fief. When Will had found the wood, he had plans to make it into beautiful set that Alyss would adore, however, even though he had already cut the wood into the correct shaped pieces, he and Halt had spent the better part of the morning assembling them together and smoothing the wood out. The set looked rather nice at the moment, just not as nice as Will had originally thought. Hopefully it would be perfect enough for tonight and then he could add other details to finish it for their cabin.
"Well Will, I'm not sure how much smoother this table is going to get." Will looked at Halt who was rubbing his hand over the smooth wood. "I'm not sure this table set will fit in at your drab little cabin. It's too nice compared to the rest of the place."
Will shook his head at Halt. "Don't forget that it was once your cabin. You should have spruced it up when you first got there if you thought it was so drab."
"When I lived there, I didn't have someone important living there with me. There was no need to spruce it up."
"What about all the time I spent there as your apprentice? Didn't that qualify as having someone important there with you?"
"Nonsense. You were someone that I got to order around." Will opened his mouth to make a comeback when Halt continued on. "See Will, the difference between when I owned the cabin and when you owned it is this, there was only me and some young hooligan boy who rarely spent time inside. Hence there was nobody to impress. But you, you have a beautiful lady to share the cabin with, and in my experience, it is the women who prefer to have a nice, tidy home. Thus, it was not my responsibility to spruce it up, it was yours." To this, Will had no reply. He simply smiled and shook his head.
"You do have a point."
"Of course I do, otherwise I would not have said it."
"Right." By now, a wide smile had crept up on Halt's face. "Now let's get back to the task at hand before you find new ways for me to admit that I was wrong." Thinking quickly, Will evaluated what still needed to be done for tonight. "What did Lady Pauline say about the dinner plan?" Since Lady Pauline was now involved in this event, she insisted that Will share all of his plans with her so that she could decide if they were adequate enough for Alyss. Seeing the sense in it, Will agreed. After all, he wanted it to be perfect for Alyss. Halt had gone to talk to Pauline earlier this morning while Will had worked on preparations.
"She said that it was the worst plan ever. And she called you ridiculous for even thinking of it." Halt stated this with extra emphasis on 'worst plan' and 'ridiculous.'
"What is the matter with my cooking? Even you say that I can cook better than you."
"Rangers are usually good cooks. It's true. And I do say that you are better than me simply so that I do not have to do it. However, according to Pauline, if you want a perfect dinner, then you should not cook it."
Indignantly Will asked, "did she give any better ideas?"
"As a matter of fact, she did." Halt was enjoying seeing Will become defensive about his cooking and decided that he would see how long he could go before answering the question directly.
"Well, what was it?"
"She suggested two names. And she made me go talk to them before returning here."
"Who was it?" Will was nearly shouting now. Halt decided he had dragged it out long enough.
"Jenny and Master Chubb," he stated calmly.
As Will processed this information, a smile slowly spread across his face. Of course he should have thought about asking them. Master Chubb was Baron Arald's chef for Castle Redmont. He was one of the best chef's in the fief, if not the whole kingdom. Jenny was potentially even better than Chubb at the trade. Jenny was Will's and Alyss's wardmate when they were younger. She was apprenticed to Master Chubb for many years and had excelled so much. Chubb even tells everyone how amazing she is. Although he would never say that she is better than him out loud, the pride that shows in his eyes when he tastes her fine meals gives it away. She is just as good, if not better than him.
"Pauline is amazing." Will just nodded in wonder. "And you said that you already talked to both Jenny and Master Chubb?"
"Indeed, I did. And before you ask, they were both more than happy to create the best meal for you and your wonderful wife. Jenny said that they will have the meal here an hour before sundown and then you can bring Alyss here a half hour before sundown. That way you get the gorgeous sunset and then a beautiful candlelit dinner – those were Jenny's words, not mine."
"That would be amazing! I guess it really was a good idea to let Lady Pauline in on this mission." As Will spoke, he noticed that something did not feel right. It was as though someone was watching them. Without moving his head, he scanned the surrounding area. Nothing appeared to be amiss but being a ranger had taught Will that things are never as they seem. Casually Will stood up, turning to the side as he did so that he could scan the area further. "Well Halt, since I am no longer cooking dinner I now have some extra free time. Why don't we head down to Henry's tavern and get a cup of coffee?"
"That is quite possibly the best thing you have said all day." Halt stood and stretched. "Let's go."
"Perfect," replied Will. Then in a barely audible voice, "I sensed someone nearby watching us but they are well concealed. Keep an eye out for them."
Nodding, Halt muttered back. "Got it." Then in a louder voice, "let's just hope Henry hasn't run out of his coffee beans again. That would be catastrophic."
"Yes, yes it would," agreed Will.