He considered the answer for a moment, but nodded, "Likely I should be more concerned by that answer, but it's hardly the strangest thing I've heard, especially at this hour." It was the kind of statement that was rarely taken at face value, "And if you're going to take advantage, I say you do so to the fullest." He added, a shadow of a smile catching at the corners of his mouth as he pulled a small plastic container out of the basket, popping the top off and offering it over.

It was half full of oblong cookies, each about the size of a walnut, smelling faintly of citrus and almond, a light crust of powdered sugar baked onto them, "Ricciarelli, because my husband still thinks I need to be bribed into doing the laundry."