When, in 1598, Sir Edward Coke (pronounced "cook") married his second wife -- Lady Elizabeth Hatton (widow of Sir William Hatton and granddaughter of Lord Burghley) -- many wondered why a lady with such connections would conjoin with a man of such lowly roots. The following story may provide an answer:
One night, Coke, in bed with his wife, put his hand on her belly and felt the stir of a child. "What," he remarked. "Flesh in the pot?" "Yes," his wife replied, "or else I would not have married a cook."
Sources
J. Aubrey, Brief Lives
