The stew, thick and filled with finely shredded meat, is bubbling away at a full boil, and then Thace picks up two goose livers and drops them into the pot.

"A couple minutes for them to warm up--The recipe said fresh from a still warm carcass, but I'm improvising-- and it will be ready. Will you get some drinks for us? The fruit and nut salad is in the fridge too."

Thace leans in to nuzzle against Steven's cheek as he pulls a second dish--fish, it looks like--from where it had been kept hot in the oven and starts serving it on plates.