Chapter Four #2
With that, the other knights grabbed at it, taking hunks for themselves. Kellen sat opposite Maximus and next to Troy de Wolfe. He seemed rather confused by the question.
“It is… truthfully, I am not sure,” he said. “I will have to ask my daughter.”
Maximus peered at the plate of bread. “Did she instruct the servants to bake it thusly?”
Kellen appeared uncomfortable in the slightest. “She created the recipe,” he said, avoiding the question.
He didn’t want de Shera to know that his daughter had been working like a slave in the kitchen for the past two hours because Ellice was hiding most of the servants from him.
The man didn’t need to know his family’s problems and, frankly, he was embarrassed by it.
“Courtly fostered at Prudhoe Castle in the north and the lady of the castle was evidently quite adept in cookery. She learned in France and passed her knowledge along to my daughter. Therefore, my daughter is skilled in the art of fine cookery. You will be sampling it tonight.”
That seemed to impress Maximus. “Where is your daughter?” he asked, looking around the room. “Will she join us?”
Kellen’s discomfort grew. “She will, eventually,” he said, trying to be delicate on how he explained things. “There was some trouble with the servants this evening and she is in the kitchen at the moment, overseeing things. But she will join us at some point.”
Maximus watched Kellen as the man fidgeted a bit and had difficulty meeting his eye. He wondered why. Reaching out, he took a piece of the flat bread and bit into it. Tiberius had been correct. It was quite delicious.
“How are your daughters after their experience today?” he asked, chewing. “I hope they suffered no ill effects.”
Kellen shook his head. “Fortunately not,” he replied.
“But all of their clothing and possessions were burned, so I will apologize in advance that neither one has had the opportunity to change into more appropriate clothing. Until I can secure a seamstress or material for them, they are forced to make do.”
Maximus finished one piece of bread and reached for another. “That is very unfortunate,” he said. “Had I known, I would have brought material with me. I would assume your daughters can sew.”
Kellen nodded. “They can,” he said. “Courtly can, anyway. Isadora does not have much interest in it.”
“Oh?” Maximus said. “Why not?”
Before Kellen could reply, Isadora emerged from the small doorway on the other side of the fire pit, a pitcher in one hand and several small wooden cups in the other. She was trying to be very careful about not dropping anything and when Maximus saw her, he jumped up and went to her.
“Here, lady,” he said, taking the pitcher. “Allow me to help you. I fear the pitcher is much too heavy for you.”
Isadora gazed up at the man who had a hand in saving her young life. She hadn’t a chance to speak with him at all earlier, as Courtly had seemed to do all of the talking for them, so she was a bit shy to speak with him, and his chivalrous gesture had her cheeks flushing.
“I can carry it,” she insisted.
Maximus could see that he’d either embarrassed or offended her and hastened to make amends. “Of course you can,” he said. “I only meant to help. Forgive me for offering if you did not need it.”
Isadora was growing more flushed by his sweet behavior and she smiled timidly. “I am not offended,” she said, moving towards the table of men with the cups in her hands. “I was being very careful not to drop it.”
Maximus nodded. “I could see that,” he said. “You are quite strong. In fact, I do believe your muscles are bigger than mine.”
Isadora’s smile grew as she became flustered and flattered at the same time. “I am not too strong,” she said. “You are teasing me.”
Maximus grinned, the corners of his eyes crinkling just as Isadora said they did. “I never tease a lady,” he insisted, although it was obvious he was jesting. “Well, not much.”
Isadora giggled. Much like her sister had been, she too was very quickly becoming enraptured by the big, handsome knight. “I must return to the kitchen and bring out more food,” she said eagerly. “I will come back.”
Maximus’ confused expression returned. “Why must you get food?” he asked. “Why do you not sit down and join the conversation?”
Isadora spoke before her father could interject a tactful explanation. “Because we cannot find the servants,” she told him with straight honesty as only a child could give. “It is only my sister and I, and one servant Papa managed to find.”
Brow furrowed now, Maximus glanced at Kellen. “Where are your servants?” he asked the question to both of them. “Has something happened to them?”
Kellen was appalled that his youngest daughter had divulged the information he had been trying very hard not to disclose. Isadora was young, intelligent, and tactless.
“Nay, nothing has happened to them,” he said quickly. “They belong to my sister and… you see, my sister has….”
“Auntie did not want to prepare a feast tonight,” Isadora said helpfully because her father seemed to be stumbling.
“She did not want to share her food or servants, so Papa became angry with her and she ran off and took her servants with her. Courtly and I have been working in the kitchen and cooking. She wanted to make a good meal for you and I have helped her.”
She said it rather proudly as Kellen put a hand over his face, appalled at the words that had just come out of his daughter’s mouth.
That which he had been trying to conceal was now common knowledge for the entire room.
He didn’t dare look at Maximus, who was staring at Isadora as if attempting to comprehend what she had just told him.
“Your sister has been cooking?” he repeated. “Do you mean to tell me that she has actually cooked a meal?”
Kellen’s hand came away from his face. “It is not as bad as it sounds,” he insisted weakly. “Courtly is a fine woman, my lord. Cooking is a servant’s task and she certainly would not do it habitually. She….”
Again, Isadora cut her father off, eager to tell Sir Maximus of Courtly’s accomplishments. At least, Isadora thought they were great accomplishments.
“She wanted to make sure you were presented with a great feast,” she said enthusiastically.
“She did it herself, all of it. She made a stew with beans and pork, and she made a boil of vegetables that has vinegar and honey and pepper in it, and she also fried the pork and made a sauce of onions and butter to put on it. But she had trouble with the bread… it has eggs and milk and onions in it. She couldn’t make it puff up like real bread. ”
Maximus listened to the child rattle on.
He was stunned, but not for the reasons Kellen might have thought.
True, it was shocking for a noblewoman to cook, but he was overcome with the fact that Courtly actually went to the trouble to do it.
Once again, faced with a situation that was seemingly difficult, in this case an aunt running off with all of her servants, Lady Courtly showed her ingenuity by cooking a meal herself so that there would be food to eat for guests.
For him. Truly, he was astonished by the lengths the woman went to in order to please her guests.
The fact that cooking, by noblewomen, simply wasn’t done had never even entered her mind.
“Where is your sister?” he asked after a moment.
Isadora pointed to the door near the fire pit. “In the kitchen.”
Maximus’ gaze found the door. It was difficult to read his thoughts for his expression remained neutral. He had learned long enough never to show his emotions. After a moment, he turned to Kellen, who was not so adept at hiding his thoughts. He spoke.
“You are ashamed of this.” It was not a question.
Kellen was looking up at Maximus with some hesitance in his features.
“I did not want you to think my daughter is anything other than a fine lady,” he said.
“Noblewomen do not spend time in the kitchen, cooking, and I do not want you to think I forced my daughter into some manner of servitude. It was her idea, I assure you. She simply did not want me to be embarrassed when you attended a feast with no food.”
“So she cooked an entire meal by herself?”
Kellen nodded with some resignation. “She did,” he said. “I apologize that I have no cook or servants to offer you this evening. Although it is unseemly, it would seem my daughters must do the work tonight. I pray you can overlook that breach of etiquette.”
Maximus just looked at the man. Then, he moved away from the table and headed for the small door near the fire pit. Isadora, not to be left behind, trotted after him. When they disappeared through the door, Kellen turned his perplexed expression to Tiberius.
“Where did he go?” he asked. “Surely he does not intend to humiliate or berate my daughter.”
Tiberius wasn’t sure where Maximus had gone but he shook his head firmly in response. “Never,” he said firmly. “My brother would not do that. I am sure he intends to thank the lady for her efforts.”
Kellen, now concerned over Maximus and his daughters, alone in a kitchen, returned his focus to the small kitchen door. “Then mayhap I should go also.”
He started to rise but Tiberius put out a hand, forcing the man to stop. “No need,” he said evenly. “I am sure Maximus will return shortly. Meanwhile, you will tell me of Kennington House. I have never heard of it before, you know. How long has it been in the de Lara family?”