"Because my father's gone and used up the last of the butter!" He shook his head as he continued preparing the tea "I'd be embarrassed just the same if you were Mistress al'Vere." He smiled over his shoulder at her "Beginnings and endings are both important but we never get to be in those, we're always stuck in the middle. So what are you an apprentice in?" He opened a cupboard and thanked the light, they still had some honey his father hadn't found. He put that on the table with a small spoon as the kettle rattled and hot steam shot out of the spout. Soon enough he was pouring the hot tea for her.