Her smile widens a little and she scritches him more.

"You're welcome. Though, I'd be kind of abandoning my duty as your partner to just, what. Leave you in a drunken heap to wake up hungover in the morning, your armor maybe damaged from lack of care? That's perhaps overstating things, I think you'd do yourself better than that, but still. When I accept duties I don't shirk them lightly. Or at all, if I can help it."

He's still drunk but even so it is possible to notice the deepening of the flush on his face.

He's so cute.

"Also, it's nice," she adds. "To take care of you. I like you, I'm glad when you're happy and comfortable and safe, and it's nice to make that happen more often."

Look she can't just keep saying things like that he's already spent from the socialising at the dinner he has no idea how to come up with good responses so he'll just blush.

Scritch scritch scritch. She's a little tempted to pounce for typical wedded activities, but actually she bets he really wants a bath right now, so.

"But, on that note, you should try to drink as much water as possible. Because otherwise you're going to be a bit miserable in the morning."

"—right. Thank you." See, that was much easier to respond to, he even had actual words, go him. Also yes he'll drink some water.

"You're welcome. The bread's similarly for settling your stomach, but that's a now comfort thing instead of a later comfort thing. Water alone doesn't entirely wash out bile's bite."

Pet pet pet pet it's so convenient that she can pet her husband while her servants prepare his bath for him, she'll need to remember to bribe the cook to make them all pastries. Especially since she'll be departing soon.

...okay if he's being petted though he is absolutely not gonna find it in him to acquire any nourishments of any kind this is too nice.

She notices this, and snorts. Being pet completely shuts him down, got it. Back to hand feeding it is, then. The water's trickier, it's a bit more awkward and requires some assistance on his part, but he seems very amenable to being gently bossed around. He can gently be fed water and bread between pets.

...

They are interrupted by a loud scraping sound, like something very large and very heavy being dragged across the floor, in from the hallway.

He sits up immediately, too drunk to realise that unexpected noises in a safe environment are probably safe but not so drunk that he doesn't still have decent reflexes.

Anavett barely manages to avoid spilling his water in the process, staring with dawning understanding.

".... Did you go and dig up the big bathtub from storage?" she calls, a little plaintively.

"Well, I thought," says Estrith, with a brilliant grin and a huff of exertion, "that this, would be more efficient," scraaaaaape, "since we were already heating up the water!"

        "How, did you, talk me into, this," grumbles a serving boy who looks like he regrets all of his decisions.

"If you can talk, you can push!!"

The 'big bathtub,' as it's called, is a giant and monstrous thing, built with even more giant men in mind. For those of a more average height and build, it seems a bit excessive. Two people could probably fit in it, if perhaps a bit cramped.

Alis stares uncomprehending at the huge... thing... they are pushing through the door.

E...fficient?

"Efficient," echoes his wife, who is also staring.

        "By the seven, did you come up with this scheme all on your own," hisses Estrith's innocent victim.

"A good servant anticipates the needs of her lady!" says Estrith, brightly. "Now, lift higher, we need to get it in at an angle!"

She went and dug up the big bathtub... specifically so Anavett could... presumably share it with her husband. Didn't she. That's what's happening here.

"Oh, dear," murmurs Ana, already beginning to flush. "You... you really didn't need to, it's, oh. Um." It'll be way more work to send it back and then drag the more reasonable one up, won't it, damnation. "Well, it's already here, isn't it. Thank you. Um. What's your name? I'm sorry for all of the trouble, I'll, uh, see that some kind of bonus is sent to you."

"Oh, uh. Corren, milady."

"Right. Thank you, Corren."

"Thank you, Corren," Alis agrees on automatic. And, damnit, where's his charm that he's worked so hard to get, see this is why he hates getting drunk, sometimes it makes socialising easier and the words come out smoother but sometimes it just gets him stuck in this dimwit state.

Corren seems terribly embarrassed by all of the attention, but fortunately those of the female persuasion seem to have things in hand. Estrith has him back to pushing in no time.

And Anavett gets up and leads Alis away so they don't... linger to stare awkwardly at the servants trying to do an impossible quest. She'll have to see about sending Corren some kind of bonus, because really, Estrith, what were you thinking.

".... At least she likes you???" she murmurs, when they're settled on a couch a bit further away from the scraping sound.

"That's... better than not, I assume?"

"Exactly. But it does mean that, ah. Sometimes... something like this... happens. She's helping, you see."

"...what, pray, is she helping with? Does she expect we are not fucking each other's brains out sufficiently, does she want us to spend more time doing that????"