Rose began to tear up all over for shame. Father would be so disappointed. And what would people say if they heard that she failed to feed her husband? But she wiped her tears and nodded. "Aye... but I'll learn." She looked at him, her eyes almost begging. "I'll get better, I promise."

"I will teach ye," he said as he helped her clean up the mess. "If ye want, that is," he went on to say, trying to make her feel even the tiniest bit better. "Come on, let's finish cleanin' up and I'll take ye somewhere ta eat. How does that sound, darlin'?" He was trying to look into her eyes.

That made her feel worse. Her own husband, whom she was supposed to feed, teaching her how to cook! That was unheard of. And it wasn't as if her mother and Maggie hadn't tried to teach her. But it was one thing to know how to make things, and quite another to actually make them.

She avoided his eye and bit her lip, picking up pieces of scattered fish and scattered pride alike. "Aye, let's eat somewhere else," she replied, ignoring the other suggestion." She rose to throw the fish and pieces of vegetable out. How long before Andrew would regret their marriage? Perhaps he already did. "How was your day?" she tried to continue her good wife part, because there was nothing else to do but try.

He was at a loss for what to do with his wife. He was trying to be helpful but he only made things worse it seemed. He frowned and said nothing as he continued to help her clean up the mess of fish and veggies. "I have ta talk to ye about somethin'." He was prepared for an argument. "I hired on a boy to be me apprentice at the shop. Wit' things getting busy as of late, I need the extra hand. The Carringtons come through me ta get their bread now and they have friends, and they have friends too. And on top of that, I want to spend me time with me wife." He finished cleaning up the soup and tossed the rag into the sink. "Are ye okay?" he asked then, taking her hand to see the damage done by the burn.

She froze when Andrew told her he needed to talk to her about something. Here it was! He wanted her to move back to her family! He was already sick of her and her cooking and drama! Was poor cooking a legal ground to separate?

But Andrew moved in an entirely different direction, and Rose relaxed. "Oh..." She was so relieved that she barely considered it. "Well, that's good, isn't it?"

She had already forgotten the burn and looked down at it confused, only feeling it again when she became aware of it being there. "Oh.... aye. Don't worry about me." She looked up and smiled lightly. "I'm proud of ye, Andrew. With the Carringtons and other rich folk comin' for yer bread, ye can push the prices up, and hire more staff, and maybe open more locations. There's a business man, alright."

He picked the pot up and put it in the sink, sighing softly. Driving prices up? Now, why would he do that? He had some of the best prices in town on his foods! He then shook his head, and waved his hand, "I didn't bring it up fer that reason though. The boy is possibly a thief, but I think someone tried to frame him in me shop so I had ta tell the constable he was me hire. I need the help and so does he. I saw that hungry look in his eyes and I had ta do somethin'." He looked like he was tired from the decision. "Anyway, I'll be havin' ta keep a close eye on him at first and I want ye to come help too and keep an eye on him as well. I did what was done fer me as a boy."

She looked at him confused when he said the boy was a thief. Why on earth would he hire some delinquent kid, when there were decent boys looking for jobs. Possibly a thief. Well, still a risk. She opened her mouth to argue, when he mentioned how he had the same done for him. She closed her mouth. That was unfair. How could she argue with that? "Of course..." she said, though hesitantly. "But ye know... workhouses are a lot better these days... And there's a lot of good kids whose families could use the extra money. Wouldn't it be wiser to hire someone... not so suspicious?" She didn't want to argue with him, especially since she felt she was indebted to him for not getting angry about the spoiled meal, but she didn't like the idea of what an unreliable boy could do to her husband's business.

He looked her in her eyes, "I understand there are plenty o' kids who need the money, but I remember how I felt back then and I couldn't just let 'im starve. And it's one less thief on the street. It's important ta get him ta mend his ways afore he makes a life of bein' a criminal." It was the same thing his mentor had said about him.

Was Andrew... sentimental? Rose still didn't like he idea, but Andrew seemed very attached to it. "If you say so..." she said. "When am I to help ye out? I'll have to be home on time to make our tea, and there's all this other housework..."

"Ye come in whenever ye are able to." He almost told her she wouldn't have to cook for him anymore if she didn't want to but he knew she would probably take that the wrong way when it wouldn't have been meant as an insult. He knew she had pride in her that would prevent her from taking up the offer even though she really... really... ought not to. While her food was... edible in most cases, it was still a poor diet compared to what he was used to. He was used to cooking for himself. He pulled her to him then, sitting down and hauling her onto his lap, assuming she let him, and he buried his face against her neck with some affection. He wasn't trying to get her to make love with him, he was merely holding onto her because he wanted to. Part of having a wife for him was being able to hold someone.

He kissed her cheek then and murmured, "Everything will be alright, love."