"She's on holiday," the gravid elemental sassed back, "left me here in charge of man-tending." Putting her coffee to one side on the counter she cracked the lid of a pot, peered inside, grabbed the wooden spoon sitting alongside and gave it a stir. There was the source of one of the delicious smells, creamy and savoury.

She looked up at him again and grinned. "If you want the chair's set up in front of the fire. Kick your feet up, I'll holler when dinner's a thing."