Marriage is Murder

Michael didn't require much. The water was fine. And he was glad that Jess had thought to put him within earshot of Khaat. The fact that they had been held together made them want to be closer to each other for now, at least. Michael knew Khaat was insecure, and he knew that she was relying on him--at least for the moment.

Brian helped Khaat get comfortable in her own nightclothes and get comfortable. He accio'd for her a fresh cup of tea and sat with her for awhile until he was able to soothe her into a sleep. Once she'd dozed off, he cast a strong calming spell on her, hoping that once her fatigue helped her sleep, if she were calm, she might actually get some rest.

Jess lent on Robert and watched him and Kate " they will be ok emotionally ?" she asked him knowing he was not a psychologist but he knew them both well enough. With a deep sigh she sat back and drank some of Jacks coffee that he let her have. Cassidy walked in and watched them both before she headed to the kitchen.

" Angus you want a hand with anything ?" she asked moving to wash her hands ready for any baking or preparation she would be given.

"Yes," Robert replied. "Michael is going to be surly and angry for a few days. He doesn't like not being in control. And he is a poor patient. He's very impatient and testy. He will try to behave himself, but the chances of us keeping him here until he's completely well are almost nil.

"Khaat is more than likely to just be silent. Once she gets done being rattled, she'll be less reclusive and less clingy on Michael and Brian. She may go through a couple of days where she gets clingy with me as she tries to not overburden them. And then it will wear off. Its not like we haven't seen it before. Her voice will come back on its own. It always does. When Barker had her, she learne that to shorten his tortures or the time he even kept her was totally dependent on how much of a reaction she gave him. If she screamed or made any noise, it prolonged his pain. If she stayed silent, she bored him and he gave up. She has learned to stay silent in these things and then it takes awhile for it to wear off. She'll be fine, in time."

Angus was in the kitchen preparing asimple chicken stock in order to prepare a large kettle of soup for lunch. When Cassidy came in, he said, "I'm just going to make some soup for lunch, maybe a salad, put some slices of crusty bread with it, and I don't know what I"ll do for some sort of a dessert. I don't remember if I have any homemade ice cream or sorbet in the freezer or not. And I haven't even thought about what to serve for dinner later tonight. I think I need to get through lunch first."

Jess sighed and nodded " yes thats what I thought " she said and sat back quiet once more . Cassidy looked at the crusty bread and walked over placing it on a chopping board and taking out a bread knife.

"I'll slice it and put it on the plate , it all sounds perfect may be some sore of bread and butter pudding for lunch desert its warm and filling" she suggested as she began to cut the bread into slices placing each on plates to be placed on the table for the soup " smells good " she said and walked over to take a peek " is it simple to make?" she asked smelling the aroma it gave off making her mouth water the longer she stood over the pot.

"Bread pudding sound fine," Angus said. "If you want to make it. As for the soup, yeah, its just a simple chicken and vegetable soup. I may add a bit of fresh pasta to it. I don't know yet. The nice thing about soup is that you can add anything you want to it, and it works out fine. There's almost no way to bugger up a kettle of soup. And, since Khaat and Michael have largely gone without food for nearly a week, I figure something warm and comforting yet not too heavy might be good for them. But if they're as tired as they look, they'll likely miss the soup altogether and sleep most of the day."

"Soup is always better reheated anyway, Angus," Kate said, coming into the kitchen to refill her mug and Roberts. "Let them sleep. They'll feel more like eating once they've rested a bit. Robert said they both had a quiet night once you got them back, and that's a good thing. I would guess if they spend a quiet day or two, they'll be on their feet again. Robert doesn' think Michael will be patient that long."

Cassidy moved to gather all the ingredients placing them all on the table close to her a she began to make her bread pudding she Preheated the oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C) then Grease an ovenproof baking dish.. Evenly butter each of the slices of bread on both sides, then she cut each slice into 4 triangles then placed a layer of the buttered bread on the bottom of the dish, slightly overlapping each triangle. Then she sprinkle sultanas and brown sugar evenly across the bread for the second layer. She continue layering bread then sultanas and brown sugar until all the bread was used,Then sprinkle the top of the pudding with sultanas and sugar as she beat together the milk, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and poured this mixture on top of everything and let it stand for 30 minutes so the liquid is fully absorbed. It was now that she placed it in a baking dish and put it in the in the oven to bake until top was golden brown. she hoped everyone would like it and placed it on the table " Angus we could make some vanilla custard to go with it" she said

"Go ahead if you want," Angus said, rapidly chopping vegetables with a large chef knife, scraping the pieces across the board to the side out of his way so that he could continue chopping. Kate smiled slightly at the rapidfire staccato rhythm of the knife against the board.

"There is something comforting in that sound, you know," Kate said. "I've gotten used to hearing it in this kitchen. Just be careful that when you chop that fast you don't cut off something that should be left attached."

"I am always careful," Angus said. There. I think that should do it." He picked up the board and took it to the kettle and used the large knife as a bench scraper to scrape the large mound of vegetables into the kettle. He returned to the counter, flipped the board over and dumped a random amount of flour onto the board, cracked a couple eggs into a well he'd made in the center of the flour, added a pinch of salt, and began whipping the flour in rapidly with a dinner fork to make fresh pasta dough.

Cassidy started the custard making it next to Angus as he cooked his soup she could feel her tummy rumble softly as she was beginning to be come hungry. soon the custard thickened and she poured it into a serving boat. " we can reheat it later or serve it cold " she said placing it in the fridge and taking a deep breath " yum that smells wonderful" she said smiling as Jack came in sniffing as well.

" ow smells good Angus" he said staying back as he knew Angus was not ready to dish up yet.

"I hope its good," Angus said. He finished making his pasta dough and quickly cut it in a casual, informal manner and dropped them into the pot. He added some fresh herbs and stirred. "I think we need to let it simmer for awhile. Cassidy, did you consider a salad, or shall I? I think perhaps another 30 minutes or so and the soup should be ready."

"I think Robert should be finished with this latest batch of paperwork by then," Kate said. "I'll tell him. I think I need to go check on the kids. They're entirely too quiet." She delivered Robert's tea to him and headed for the playroom.

Cassidy looked at Angius " was considering it " she said and moved to gather all the ingredients cutting and chopping and missing it all in a beautiful salad bowl she had found in a cupboard. Jack pouted and then chuckled as he headed back into the living room where Jim was reading and jess was playing chess with Steven and winning for a change. Cassidy finished the salad and placed it in the fridge then cleaned up " anything else you need me to do Angus?" she asked " as I think I should check the kids too Kates right there too quiet" she said.