“Have you no respect for your elders?! Why is this lady so old? She will die soon.”

“Not soon enough.”

“Revenge, then. And this food is all you offer me?”

“It’s enough to last you a season at least! Months of fine dining, and if you ration it, it could last all year.” Herb felt his blood pressure climbing. Not only had he risked his life to get here and made his offer, but he’d given her everything she required. To be turned down now would be rude! He caught a glimmer in her eye. The comment about the elders, this was a test.

He simmered down a little. “Madame, I have been more than generous, but if you require more, I shall get it. My sole purpose is to return the humiliation and heap failure back upon the woman who so heartlessly ruined my life.”

The woman stared at his face, unblinking. “You have brushed with death, I smell it upon you, see it in your eyes.”

“I had a heart attack, yes. All I could think about was what she stole from me,” he paused for effect, “My future.”