“Not yet?”
“The cured meats were supposed to arrive this morning, but they still aren’t here. I’ve made all of this bread, but I’ve nothingto serve it with, and not many of the croissant customers were willing to take a loaf. I guess they prefer the familiar. Maybe if I cut some into samples and give them out in the street—”
“Julian, I don’t think you’re understanding me. You made bread? You’re trying to sell sandwiches? That’s half of Mrs. Knox’s business. More than half.”
Julian shrugged his shoulders. “Then the market must be good for it here. I don’t know what you want me to say. It isn’t personal. I loved that old woman—although I guess, she couldn’t have been that old, considering she’s still alive. But I have a business to run. And this is the way it works.”
Charlotte didn’t understand. Julian was acting as if he didn’t have a choice about what kind of business to run—maybe that was true. Maybe his father had come by the cheese business somehow, and he was just following the plan. But even if that were the case, he didn’t have to bring his business here, to this very street. To a street that already had a bakery.
“Why here? Why did you come back here?”
Julian’s face fell. “Are you not happy that I’m here?”
“Of course I am,” said Charlotte. “But I don’t understand. This isn’t the city. This town can’t support two bakeries; there just aren’t enough people. If you keep taking Mrs. Knox’s customers, she’ll have to close.”
“Ah,” said Julian. “I see. And then you’ll lose your job. But in that case, I’d be doing well enough to take you on. You don’t need to worry.” He rested his hand on Charlotte’s.
She snatched it away. “I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about Mrs. Knox. I don’t know how you could be so cruel to her. What happened to you?”
Julian pushed his chair back from the table and stood abruptly. “I learned a lot of hard lessons, including that you can’t let your feelings stand in the way if you want to survive. Mrs. Knox has been baking the same things the same way for decades.If she wants to win, she’d better come up with something new. Because I’ve got a lot of tricks up my sleeve, and I don’t plan on holding back.”
Charlotte’s mind reeled. Hard lessons? What had Julian gone through that had left him so cold?
“Julian—”
“Charlotte, if you’ll excuse me, I believe that’s the meat delivery at last.” He ran out the door in the direction of the approaching carriage, leaving Charlotte alone at the table.
What had just happened?
Mrs. Knox looked hopeful as Charlotte returned, but her face quickly fell when she saw Charlotte’s.
“No good?” asked Mrs. Knox.
Charlotte shook her head. “He’s changed. I don’t know what happened, but he wouldn’t listen to reason.”
“Did he feed you the same story about needing to lure people in with the smell?”
“Just the same.”
“Well, two can play at that game.” Mrs. Knox led Charlotte into a little office she kept in the back. “See this?” She pointed to a line on an order form. It was for the merchant in Sudport that supplied the chocolate, almonds, and other goods they didn’t grown in Wilderise.
“Coffee: 2s per pound, whole bean.Oh, of course.”
There weren’t many coffee drinkers in Wilderise, but Charlotte had met one once before: a dwarf who stayed with the korrigans for a year or so when she was still a girl. He’d ground the beans every morning by hand, then he’d made the coffee over the fire in a metal pot with a basket in it. The smell was so strong he’d attracted several of the townsfolk, forcing Charlotte to hide in case one of them recognized her.
One day, after the townsfolk had gone home, he’d let her try a taste. It had been a terrible letdown. The smell was so good, but the taste was so awful and bitter.
“You’ll like it when you’re older,” he had told her, but she hadn’t believed him.
“Do you think it will work? It smells good enough to get people inside, that’s for sure, but the taste…”
“Did I hear you say coffee?” Lady Sibba stood in the doorway to the office. She must have entered the shop as they were walking to the office.
“Yes,” said Mrs. Knox, clearly a bit uncomfortable about Lady Sibba’s intrusion but unwilling to miss an opportunity. “After Ms. Waters left and closed the café, there hasn’t been anyone selling it in town. I thought I might change that.”
“Thank the Gods! I went down to the café every morning before school. I’ve been dying since we got back from the college and couldn’t find any in town. It’s quite addictive, you know.”
Mrs. Knox raised her eyebrows at Charlotte. “Even better.”
