((You're fine! No worries.))
Molly perched on the edge of the seat, ready to jump back up the moment she was needed. It wasn’t something she would have hazarded at all if she weren’t so certain that the patrons were content.
The act of sitting unsettled her more than she had expected. For all that everyone treated here well, she still didn’t see herself as equal to the villagers. Her self-esteem had suffered for too long for her to be completely at ease.
But the conversation helped. Fishing was a good topic. It didn’t highlight her own ignorance or make her feel like an outsider. Molly nodded to the bit about preserving. “Back home we would sometimes smoke the fish. Bran taught me the basics, but that kind of stuff falls under the category of cooking for me.” She shook her head unrepentantly; “I’m no good at it.”
“Are you sure I can’t get you anything else?” See, this was the problem with trying to talk to Molly during a meal – she would keep trying to feed everyone instead of sinking in to the conversation.