[jon grins to hear himself so addressed--although it is probably not a great idea in public, at least it's loud enough here they won't likely be overheard. he takes note of her attempted ring-fiddling for future gifts, although matching their namedays to the months and dates here is beyond him.]

Would you believe that this is nothing, next to what our hosts provided?

[he slides into a chair next to her, a pint of dark ale in hand.]

The meat here is rarer than gold, and I've seen platters of it going around.

[it's hard to get excited about mystery meat after years of salt beef and mutton stew, but the charcuterie and the garlic meat rolls are nice.]

Truth be told I'm gladder of the cheese.

[the smoky flavor of bacon and sausage are easy enough to imitate, and he's always preferred breakfast meats over any other kind. cheese, though...]

Should I fetch you a plate, your grace? There's fruit...

[strange that the fruit here is more plentiful than the meat or cheese. to his mind, fresh fruit is still a bigger luxury. though he's beginning to see the value in the cheese...]