He had a feeling there would also be venison coming up again at some point if Chudleigh had taken down a whole deer, though that point might not be until tomorrow if they were parceling out the meat. They'd never had a whole deer for Alys to go through, but Julian didn't mind, as he liked lamb a little better, anyway.
This pie was very classic but well-made, the sauce rich but not overwhelming the chunks of food. There was a generous ratio of meat to vegetables, too, with the tender pheasant surrounded by chunks of carrot, potato, and peas they'd clearly gotten from someone's hothouse with how sweet and young they were.Everything tasted of recent life and well-tended land, and the richness of the sauce and light puffs of pastry to add crunch.
"It's very good pheasant," said Lady Dahlia, though she was picking at the pie more than eating.
Julian was happy to let them talk about game pies they'd had before, eating his own with great gusto. He didn't have a lot of wild game in his life, since neither humans nor brownies hunted, so despite the very standard flavours, it made a nice departure.
Plus, he was still hungry.
"You eat quite well for such a slip of a thing," commented Camellia rather nastily.
Julian kept his eye-rolling to himself and instead plastered on a fake sunshine smile. "It's the magic, I'm always burning it off."
"Oh, now that is an advantage," said Applewhite, despite being a slip of a thing herself. For all Julian knew, she toiled for that slight figure, and was having to pace herself tonight to keep from ruining all her hard work.
"It can be hard to keep up with," said Julian, pausing for another bite and hopefully to let someone else pick a more suitable topic.
"I'm sure our Chudleigh will be happy to keep you in calories," said Halliwell. "He's like that, trying to make sure everyone has their needs met."
"He is, Chudleigh's a good man," agreed Julian. "Only so much to be done at a dinner like this, however."
"Oh, did you want the rest of mine?" asked Applewhite.
"No, no, eat your own dinner," said Julian. "You might have dancing later, and you'll need to keep up your energy."
"Her husband isn't a fan of dancing," said Lady Dahlia, "but I'm sure there's others who would be happy to partner her."
"It's all in good fun at a party like this," said Applewhite a tad defensively.
Not that Julian really understood what kind of party this was, but he was just happy to have a chance to finish off every bite of pie before the plate was removed and replaced with the next course.
Chapter 10
Alex was still quite peckish by the time he was served the sixth course, a hearty plate of venison with sautéed mushrooms, mashed tubers, Brussels sprouts, and a rich gravy over all of it. He'd been given big portions, much more than his neighbours, and a glance showed Julian, too, receiving a filled plate that would keep them both going through the next part of the evening.
His conversational partners had largely proven themselves to be worth their salt, thankfully, with Gallowglass bold as anything, Winterson hiding a surprising brain behind her fluttering, and Tsukiko possessed of a biting wit that kept Winston-Smythe in his place. Quentin McGuinness cheerfully went along with any topic and didn't appear to have a mean bone in his body, which meant even when silly things like Alex's appetite came up, he didn't bother to take the bait.
"I hope there's some spirits at the next part," Quentin was saying, after being served yet another mediocre wine.
It wasn't the worst wine, just nothing special, and Alex felt fine about leaving his in its glass after a single sip.
"We get a lovely honeyed whiskey from a local distillery," said Alex. "It goes wonderfully in tea."
"Oh, I think I've had that. In tea, you say? That would be smashing, it's too sticky-sweet on its own for me." Quentin looked very pleased indeed to have started a conversation, or perhaps just be able to talk about alcohol.
"It's also good over treacle pudding," said Gallowglass with a sharpish grin. "The whiskey helps cut the rest, especially with a nice custard to help it along."
"Oh, I've always liked rum on my winter puddings," said Winterson. "Especially the spiced sort."
"Spiced rum is a good winter's drink, for certain," agreed Quentin. "Lovely in a cocktail, too."
"Perhaps the bar will be open after dinner," suggested Winston-Smythe. "Or the den, for that matter. We can have a cigar and a brandy away from the fripperies."
"Are you not still single and seeking, Lord Winston-Smythe?" asked Tsukiko. "I would think you'd want to focus on the fripperies, as you call them."
"Ah, well, this isn't really that kind of event," Winston-Smythe prevaricated. "Chudleigh never was much of the matchmaking sort."
"Perhaps you'll find love with Lord Camellia," said Alex innocently, having felt his Julian's growing dislike of the man through their bond. Leslie had been fine during the courtship, but was showing his arse a bit tonight with his superior attitude. The Winston-Smythe family weren't even baronets, and Leslie wasn't in line to inherit anyway, so Alex wasn't sure where the attitude came from.
