Chapter 2
My stomach rumbles as I approach the mountain solar. A maid curtsies to me, while a footman pushes open the door so I can enter the room.
There's a peaceful atmosphere as soon as I step inside, a reminder that the rest of the castle doesn't really come here, it's just a place for me and my siblings to spend our time without anyone else around.
Most of the far wall is made of glass, letting in the autumn light and views of the mountain beyond.
My younger sister is already sitting at the breakfast table, and I head over to take my seat.
"What has the kitchen sent today?" I ask.
"Were you not there to ask last night?" Veronica responds.
"I was baking a pie, not breakfast goods."
"That's a shame. The bread you made last week was really good."
"Brioche," I respond.
"What?"
"That's the bread I made."
"Oh, well, it was good," she says. "You haven't made it before."
"Nate sent me the recipe recently," I say.
"Did he now?" She looks at me in a way that I don't think I understand.
I ignore her and pick up the pot of tea, glad that our trade treaty with Shengda has been going well.
I don't have a huge opinion on the trade deals that are made on behalf of Falhaven, but I do like the tea that comes from this one.
I pour myself a cup and set it down before helping myself to some bread.
It's impossible to ignore Veronica watching me as I cut a small sliver of cheese and try it to make sure it tastes right. I repeat the system with the ham.
"What are you checking for?" my sister asks.
"If it's too salty," I respond. "But it's all right today."
"Why don't you just tell the kitchen that you like it less salty?" she asks.
"I can't do that. It's difficult to control, especially when it depends on how the ham is cured." I cut a bigger slice of cheese and put it on top of my bread, doing the same with the ham.
"I didn't realise your expertise spread to things that weren't involved in baking," she says as she helps herself to more tea.
"I use cheese in baking," I point out. "Cheese scones, quiche, cheese and rosemary biscuits..."
"All right, I get your point," Veronica says.
"I can bake you something with cheese, if you want?"
"Maybe," she responds. "But it'll probably have to wait until after our cousins have been to visit."
I wrinkle my nose, but don't respond, as a maid enters the room with a tray in her hands.
"Your Highnesses," she says, dipping into a curtsy to me, and then repeating the gesture towards Veronica, but seeming to take longer about it.
Veronica clears her throat, seeming to remind the maid that she's here to do something.
She straightens and replaces the pot of hot water in the middle of the table. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Your Highness?" she asks Veronica, still leaning forward slightly.
"That will be all, Eleanor," she responds.
The maid nods and disappears from the room. As soon as the door closes behind her, Veronica lets out a sigh.
"What's that for?" I ask as I eat the rest of my breakfast.
"Nothing," Veronica mumbles. "Or nothing I want, anyway."
I don't know what that means, but it's clear she doesn't want to talk about it.
The door to the solar opens again, and I look up to find my brother walking in. "Morning," he says brightly as he comes over and takes the seat beside Veronica.
"You're cheery," she says. "Good night with your wife?"
Artie almost chokes on the air. "Can you not talk like that?"
"Well with her baker away, Evie's not got much going on that I can tease her about these days."
"I'd rather you didn't anyway," I say, stirring my tea.
"I'm your little sister, there's nothing you can do to stop me."
"You're twenty-three, you're hardly little."
Artie laughs. "It seems like you're doing just fine with teasing Evie. Besides, I think there might be something I can do to give you a subject." He holds out a letter to me. "The steward gave me this. It arrived from Wafeland this morning."
"It did?" I take it from him without waiting for an answer. I don't really need one. There's only really one person who writes to me anyway.
It only takes me a couple of seconds of seeing my name scrawled across the front of the letter in a handwriting I know well to confirm who it's from.
I tear it open, completely ignoring my breakfast. I scan the letter, my eyes widening as I take in the words within.
A gasp escapes me, and I press my hand against my mouth, though I'm not entirely sure if that works.
Veronica and Arthur exchange a look, but I ignore them.
"I'm assuming she's just reading the part of the letter where it says that her baker is coming to visit with our cousins," Arthur says.
"Did you read my letter?" I demand, glaring at my brother.
"Of course not. But I recognised the writing on the front, and they always send cooks to help with the preparation of the Wafelandian aspects of the banquet. You wouldn't have reacted to any other news the same way, and so, the solve. Your baker is coming to Falhaven."
I nod. "Though Nate is not my baker. He's my friend."
"The more you protest, the less true it sounds," Veronica says.
I roll my eyes. My siblings can think what they want, and considering that they've told me they thought that Nate and I were more than friends while he lived here, there's very little doubt about what they believe about our relationship.
But they're wrong. There's never been anything between us except friendship.
"It's a shame he didn't send anything with your letter this time," Veronica says. "What were those waffle things he sent?"
"Stroopwafels," I respond without thinking.
"They were good," Artie agrees.
"Maybe he'll make them for us when he's here," Veronica says. "Or teach Evie how to make them."
A horrible feeling settles in my stomach at her words. What if Nate doesn't want to bake with me again? I push the thought away as soon as it makes itself known in my mind. Of course he's going to want to bake with me. It's what the two of us have always done together.
"I'm not bothered about the stroopwafels," Artie says. "But I do hope he makes that thing with the elderflower that he used to make."
"Oh, I know the one you mean," Veronica responds. "Dessert has been good, but I can tell he left."
"He didn't leave, he was sent away," I say without thinking.
My sister raises an eyebrow at me.
"I told you when it happened. His father sent him to Gaullesse for an apprenticeship," I say. "He was supposed to come back after a year."
"It's been five."
"And a bit," I murmur. "He's been waiting for a job to open up here, but there hasn't been one yet."
"Ah, so that's how he ended up in Wafeland working for our cousins," Artie says.
I nod. "He got a good job there." But I wish he'd been able to come back sooner.
I look at the letter in my hand, trying to fully process the news that Nate is coming back to Falhaven now.
I know he's only going to be visiting for as long as my cousins are here, but it's more than I've seen him in the past five years, and I can't wait.
I'm going to have to make sure there's plenty of time for the two of us to bake together, not to mention reintroducing him to Ember. He was there the day she hatched, but hasn't seen her since she was a week old.
Maybe he'll even be able to help me with my croissant-making skills. He sent me the recipe in the first place, so I have to assume he knows what he's doing when it comes to making them.
But it isn't just his baking that I'm looking forward to. I want to see my best friend again, the one person who really understands me.