Calum nodded.“Ah, so it is drunkenness that is avoided, and this is good advice indeed.”
That was not strictly so, but Leila did not wish to discuss doctrine on her first day at Killairic.She wished to blend in, not to be different, which would mean a measure of mulled wine on a celebratory occasion, such as she had savored in her uncle’s home.
Calum dropped his voice to a whisper.“We seldom have wine, and this will be the last of it for a good while.A wedding is the best time for wine, I believe.”
“As do I,” Leila agreed and sipped of hers.
There had been wine at Aziza’s wedding.
She refused to think about her cousin, not on this night, not at an occasion she would have liked to have shared with the woman as close to her as a sister.
She noticed that the villagers were served ale while those at the high table enjoyed the wine.She could only conclude that wine was expensive in this land, perhaps because the climate did not favor the growth of grapes.She would have to find out more.
Indeed, she was keenly aware that she had seldom eaten at a lord’s high table, even though she had journeyed the breadth of Christendom.While disguised as a squire, she had eaten stew from a bowl.At Châmont-sur-Maine, she had eaten in the kitchens with the servants, at a long communal table, again from a wooden bowl.It was only upon returning to Haynesdale that she had eaten at the board, after abandoning her disguise as Anna’s maid.No one had paid much attention to her there, and she did not doubt that she had made some errors of etiquette.
With the entire company intrigued by her, Leila was determined to have perfect manners at this meal.
Half of a loaf of flat bread sliced horizontally was placed before herself and Fergus, and Leila moved to pinch off a corner.She assumed it was the first item they should eat and she was ravenous.
Fergus stayed her with a shake of his head.“’Tis called a trencher and will act as a plate, absorbing all the sauces,” he advised her in an undertone.“They will go to the dogs after the meal.You need not fear for a lack of bread.There will be smaller loaves.”
“They did not use bread this way at Haynesdale.”
“They had wooden trenchers there, but the notion is the same.You and I will share.”
Leila nodded understanding, glad he had warned her.
“It is good you are hungry,” Calum said with a smile.“We were preparing to feast for May Day, so Fergus’ arrival is timely.”
“As if he saw the future,” Leila said, and her host laughed.
“As if he did.”He smiled at his son.
“Do you still have your cook from Paris, my lord?”Duncan asked.
“I do, indeed.I do not believe any soul could dislodge Xavier from my kitchen, to my own good fortune.”
Duncan winked at Leila.“At any other hall, it would be mutton stew or grilled eels, but we shall dine lavishly on this day.”
Leila was glad of it.She knew she had lost weight since leaving Outremer, given long days of riding and often meager meals at taverns.The fare had been excellent at Châmont-sur-Maine but more humble since then.
A sequence of servants moved before the high table, offering each dish from the kitchen to Calum first, and she eyed the platters with anticipation.Each servant spoke, probably naming the dish, but their Gaelic was too quick for Leila.It was Fergus who translated for her.There were no olives and few legumes, but that did not surprise Leila any longer.The squires served their knights, but the others were served by those from Killairic’s kitchens.
The roast venison was enormous, revealing that the deer in this land were larger than those she had known.The meat smelled wonderful and she knew she should compliment this Xavier when they met.Hamish whispered that it was Radegunde’s favorite, which made Leila smile and accept a little more.
Next, there were eggs of such size that Leila doubted they were from chickens.
“Grouse eggs in mustard sauce,” Fergus supplied.“While those are from pheasants and simply hard boiled.That may be parsley upon them.”
“Such birds are raised here?”
“Nay.The eggs are foraged from the woods.There are geese in the village, but they will be slaughtered at the Yule.This is civet of rabbit,” he said, gesturing to a dish being presented.“Which will have some wine in the sauce.The roast hare that is next will not.”
Leila listened to Fergus’ descriptions and indicated what she would like to taste, noting how the selections were placed on the trencher so that their sauces did not mingle.There was an onion tart and another with eels, both of which she wanted to try.
“Are the eels from the sea?”
“They are raised in the millpond.”
