Chapter 15 – Her Highness and the Pancakes
For the days leading up to Lady Martine’s visit we threw ourselves into the preparations. The restaurant closed for a few days and Mom and Dad turned the house out from top to bottom. I told Uncle and Auntie that a noble was coming, and went out to the forest to find where the raspberries were growing. I picked some while I was there and put them by at home as a reserve, in case it rained on the day and we couldn’t get to the forest at all.
So we prepared everything we could prepare, and at last the morning came. It was around nine, and the whole family was gathered in the restaurant. I was about to tell them the truth.
“Everyone, there’s something I need you to hear.”
“Is it the sort of thing that needs a face like that?”
“Huh? Am I making a face?”
Dad said it, but am I really? Well. I am certainly nervous.
“Big Brother, your face is scary.”
If even Marie is saying it. I made a deliberate effort to loosen everything above the neck, and looked around at my family.
“Don’t any of you be shocked. I said the girl coming today was a distant relative of Lord Frederick’s, and that isn’t true. The truth is that Lady Martine is… she’s the princess.”
“What? Leon, what did you say? The princess? Is that what you said?!”
“Leon, is that true? Truly, truly the princess?”
Dad and Mom fell straight into uproar. Well, that’s what happens when somebody says princess. Why on earth would she come to a restaurant on the outskirts of the royal capital? I still ask myself the same thing.
“Mom, Dad, she really is the princess. If word had got out beforehand that a princess was coming it would have been dangerous, so I couldn’t tell you until today. But don’t worry. You can go on exactly the way you were going to. A noble and a princess aren’t all that different, are they?”
That got a little of their composure back.
“W-well. Yes, I suppose that’s so. Noble or princess, from where we stand there isn’t much in it.”
“Th-that’s right. We’ve done the preparing, so it’ll be all right.”
Mom and Dad were talking themselves level, more or less. Marie, on the other hand, had clearly not followed a word of it. She was tipping her head to one side, puzzled.
“Is a princess someone amazing?”
“She is. She’s a very important person. She’s the child of the most important person in the whole country.”
“Wow! That’s amazing, isn’t it?”
Marie said amazing without looking as though she knew what was amazing about it. I don’t think she has a firm grip on rank yet. At five, fair enough.
“Mom, Dad, Lady Martine is the princess, but if anyone finds out she’s the princess there could be a real fuss, so when you speak to her, call her Lady Martine. That’s the only thing you have to be careful about. Marie, you call her by her name too.”
“I just call her by her name?”
“That’s right. You like it better when people call you your name, don’t you?”
“Uh-huh! Then I’ll call her by her name!”
And Marie went off practicing it, saying Lady Martine over and over. Marie really is a lovely, good-hearted kid. That’s my sister for you.
After that we all waited in the restaurant, fidgeting and quiet, until at last somebody knocked at the door.
Knock, knock.
“Lady Martine has arrived.”
A woman’s voice I didn’t know. Her maid, presumably.
“Of course.”
I answered and opened the door, and there they were: a young maid, somewhere in her twenties; Lady Martine, beaming from ear to ear; and Lord Frederick, watching Lady Martine with a wry sort of smile. She was dressed more simply than she had been before, perhaps so as not to stand out, and the maid and Lord Frederick were dressed to be overlooked as well.
“Thank you for coming. Please, come inside.”
All three came straight in at that, so I shut the door and followed them. Lady Martine turned to me at once.
“Leon, it has been too long. I have been looking forward to today so much!”
“I’m very glad to hear it. May I introduce my family?”
“Yes. Please do.”
“My father and mother, and my sister, Marie.”
Dad and Mom scrambled to bow their heads, and Marie beamed at her.
“Leon’s father and mother, I am sorry to have forced myself upon you today.”
“N-no, not at all, it is most honorable, and, ah, we do hope your enjoyment today is very good.”
“If it pleases you… we would be glad. Greatly.”
Dad and Mom were doing their level best with polite speech neither of them has used once in their lives, and it was coming out sideways and at odd angles.
“And you must be Marie. Let us be friends.”
“Uh-huh! Lady Martine, you’re so pretty!”
“Am I really? That does make me happy. You are very pretty yourself, Marie.”
“Really?! Thank you!”
Listening to that exchange, Dad and Mom went steadily paler. But Lord Frederick and the maid were watching it with obvious fondness, so it should be fine.
Once the greetings were done, Lady Martine looked around at everybody.
“One does not usually introduce one’s attendants or one’s guard, but I shall introduce them today, purely as a formality. This lady is my maid, and this gentleman is my guard. Please pay them no particular attention.”
The two of them answered that with the smallest of bows and nothing more. So attendants and guards aren’t introduced and aren’t spoken to, as a rule.
“Now that the greetings are behind us, what shall we do today?”
Lady Martine turned a pair of shining eyes on me as she asked it. Ugh… that expression on a beautiful girl has far too much destructive power.
“Today I thought you might look over my house, and then we would go to the forest. We would gather raspberries there, and then make a dessert called pancakes together at home, using the raspberries. How does that sound?”
“Wonderful! I have never heard of a dessert called pancakes. Is it something in fashion among commoners?”
“No. The recipe is one I thought up myself.”
“You thought of it, Leon?! How splendid! Now I am looking forward to the pancakes even more. But first, an expedition through the house!”
“Lady Martine! I’ll show you!”
“Thank you, Marie.”
And Marie took her by the hand and towed her off toward the living room. Lord Frederick and the maid followed her out of the restaurant, and I was about to follow them when Mom stopped me.
“L-Leon. The way Marie is speaking to her. Won’t she be punished for disrespect?”
“No. Lord Frederick told me not to worry about how anyone behaves, so it’s fine. Which means you and Dad could relax a bit too, you know. Your words were coming out very strange just now.”
“Were they. Well, that’s a relief. Speaking of which, Leon, how is it you can use formal speech like that? I’m fairly sure we never taught you any…”
“Dad’s been wondering about that as well. Using it as naturally as all that. Who taught you?”
Ah… I don’t think I have ever used proper formal speech in front of Mom and Dad before. I barely spoke when Lord Frederick came, and in any case the two of them were in such a state that they weren’t listening.
What do I say. I’ve told them about the attributes, but I do not have the nerve to tell them about being reincarnated…
“Um, well… Marcel taught me.”
Will that do? It has to do, really.
“Did he? But you haven’t known Marcel very long, have you? Could anyone learn it that quickly?”
“Um, well… that’s it! Marcel said I was clever!”
Ugh, I’m running out of road here. What do I do…
“I see. That’s our boy.”
I had a cold sweat going down my back by then, and Dad said that and stroked my hair. Thank you, Dad! And I am so sorry for lying to you… I was sinking under the guilt of it when Lady Martine’s voice came from the back of the house.
“Leon, whatever is the matter? Are you not going to show me anything?”
“Coming right now! Mom, Dad, I’m going.”
“Yes, off you go. And you can teach Mom some formal speech one of these days.”
“There may be more call for it from now on. Will you teach Dad as well?”
They don’t doubt me, they believe me, and on top of that they want to learn the same thing… I really am glad I ended up in this family.
“Sure! Of course I will!”
Still carrying a little of the guilt, but a good deal brighter than I had felt a minute before, I went after Lady Martine.
She turned out to be in the living room, and came straight over the moment I got there.
“Leon! I saw the well just now. It really is true that the water comes up out of the ground. I had studied wells, but seeing that one genuinely exists is quite moving!”
“I’m glad. For us commoners, water is a thing you draw out of a well.”
“Marie drew some for me a moment ago. Seeing a thing for oneself really does teach one so much! May I see the bedroom next?”
“Yes. You may look at anything you like.”
“Then I shall.”
“Of course. This way.”
“Big Brother, are we going to the beds?”
“That’s right. Will you show Lady Martine the way?”
“Uh-huh!”
So we all went up to the second floor and I let her see where we sleep. It must look dim and cramped and dirty to her, and not one flicker of that reached her face; she listened to Marie in complete earnest. She really is a kind, good-hearted girl.
“I always sleep here! Mom and Big Brother are next to me, and Dad’s on the other side of Mom.”
“How lovely, all of you able to sleep together.”
“Uh-huh! It’s warm when everyone sleeps together! Maybe a bit hot in summer though.”
We finished with the bedroom on that note, then went through the storeroom and the restaurant and everything else, and came back to the living room. Looking at the time, we needed to be leaving for the forest or there would be no time left for the pancakes.
“Shall we set out for the forest, then?”
I put the question to Lady Martine and got a puzzled tilt of the head in reply. What was that? Had I missed something? I was running my brain at full speed trying to work it out when she asked me.
“What are we doing about lunch? Are we taking it to the forest?”
Lunch. I had completely forgotten about lunch! Oh, I have made a mess of this. The pancakes had crowded everything else out of my head, but of course, at this hour pancakes are an afternoon snack. I was flailing for an answer when Dad spoke up, tentatively.
“Ah. We could make you something from the restaurant menu. We got it ready in case you wanted it.”
“Oh, I should like that very much! I have been wanting to eat food from the restaurant.”
Dad, thank you! Mom, thank you! I hadn’t thought that far ahead and they had it prepared anyway. That’s my parents. I thanked them both with my eyes and carried on with Lady Martine.
“Then shall we eat lunch here and go to the forest afterward?”
“Yes, that will do very well.”
“The menu here is steak, or stir-fried vegetables with pork. Which would you care for?”
“Let me see. I should like the stir-fried vegetables with pork.”
“Certainly.”
Then I took everyone else’s orders, and we all had a very cheerful meal. Lord Frederick and the maid didn’t eat, though. They were on duty, and confined themselves to tasting Lady Martine’s food for poison.
With the meal behind us, it was finally time for the forest. Mom and Dad were staying at the house, so the party was me, Marie, Lady Martine, Lord Frederick and the maid: five of us.
I had assumed Lady Martine would go by carriage, and it turned out she meant to walk with the rest of us. She does basic conditioning and swordwork as a matter of routine, apparently, so walking presents her with no difficulty at all. It surprised me a little to learn that girls train too. Well, a body is healthier for being worked.
“Lady Martine, have you ever been to the forest?”
“I have never been, no.”
“Then I’ll show you! I’m really good at picking raspberries!”
“Thank you.”
Marie said it beaming, and Lady Martine thanked her with the gentlest look on her face. I have no idea whether any of this is being done correctly, but Lady Martine is enjoying herself, so it must be all right.
We walked and talked and made a good deal of noise about it, and eventually the forest came up in front of us. It took longer than it usually does, and I don’t think that was Lady Martine slowing us down so much as the fact that I normally walk it in near silence and today nobody stopped talking.
“So this is the forest. There really are a great many trees.”
“All sorts of trees, all growing wild. What I would like to do today is find the raspberries among them and pick them. Is that all right?”
“Yes. I shall pick a great many myself!”
Her eyes were shining and she was thoroughly braced for battle. Her speech is every inch a princess and her manners are exquisite, and then her face goes curious and childish, and it is extremely endearing. I caught myself watching her and smiling.
“Leon, what are you smiling at?”
At which she narrowed her eyes a little, puffed out her cheeks, and gave me a look that was supposed to be angry. It was not frightening in the slightest. If anything it was cute.
“I beg your pardon. I only thought how cute you looked just then.”
I said it honestly, and Lady Martine went scarlet from the neck up. What? That embarrasses her? I’d have thought she heard that sort of thing constantly, and a reaction like that is starting to embarrass me too.
To get us out from under the atmosphere that had settled on us, I made a show of rolling my shoulders as though I were limbering up for something.
“R-right. Let’s pick as many as we can!”
“Y-yes. I shall pick more than you, Leon!”
“I don’t intend to lose either!”
Having got that awkwardness out of the way, Lady Martine and I hurried over to where Marie was.
“Marie, did you find the raspberries?”
“Uh-huh. They’re here!”
Oh, good. I’d found the place beforehand, but if somebody else had come through and stripped it there would be nothing left. It seems nobody had.
“There are lots of them. Lady Martine, please use this bag.”
“Thank you.”
Lady Martine watched how Marie was doing it and then set to work in dead earnest. That should be fine, then. I may as well get picking myself.
“Leon, can these be eaten as they are?”
“Yes. There is nothing wrong with eating them as they are, but I think you will find them very sour.”
“Will I? I do not dislike a fruit with some sharpness to it.”
“Lady Martine, these are sweet, they’re really good! I love them!”
“Are they. Then perhaps I shall try one.”
And she put a raspberry in her mouth without hesitating for a second. Two or three chews in, her face contorted and she froze solid. Yes. They are sour. I ate one once and resolved never to eat another one raw as long as I lived.
“Lady Martine? Are you all right?”
Her eyes had gone watery, and she seemed to get it down somehow.
“I… I am quite all right…”
She was extremely not all right, and that sourness stays in your mouth for a good while. I was about to call her maid over, on the theory that a drink of water would help, when Marie got to her first.
“Lady Martine, was it good?”
“Y-yes. It was very good indeed.”
Lady Martine put a perfect smile together and gave it to Marie. She is far too kind. And this is royalty. If the royalty of this country are made like this, then I think the country will be all right.
“Then I’ll give you one of mine!”
Marie said it with an innocent smile. I know she means nothing but well by it, but that has to be more than even Lady Martine can take. I moved to stop it, and before I could, Lady Martine had thanked her and accepted the raspberry.
“Thank you, Marie.”
And put it in her mouth without hesitating, again.
“It really is good.”
“Isn’t it! They’re even better in pancakes!”
“Then I have that to look forward to!”
Not letting a flicker of that sourness show was impressive enough on its own, and then she had taken a second without a moment’s pause. Belatedly, I got in between the two of them so she would not have to eat another.
“Marie, if we eat too many there won’t be enough left for the pancakes, so let’s hold off for now.”
“Oh. Okay, I’ll hold off!”
“Good girl. Shall we get back to picking, then?”
“Okaaay!”
Marie threw herself back into it, so I turned to Lady Martine and spoke quietly.
“Lady Martine, I’m very sorry. Raspberries are extremely sour eaten raw, but Marie and the others seem to like them that way…”
“They were extremely sour.”
“Thank you for taking such care of Marie’s feelings. Truly. A drink should make it a little easier, so please do take a rest.”
“That was nothing to thank me for. It is you who should be thanked, Leon, for all the care you have taken over a visitor who more or less forced her way in.”
“Not at all. I am enjoying the time I am spending with you.”
Which is the honest truth. I’d expected to spend the whole day too nervous to do anything but come out of it wrung dry, and instead Lady Martine is genuinely kind and good and clever, and being around her is a pleasure.
“I am glad to hear you say it. Thank you, Leon. I shall go and rest.”
She said it, and smiled at me, and it was a beautiful smile, and then she walked off toward her maid. That last smile caught me completely, and I stood there staring after her for a while like an idiot.
She came back before long and we all picked in silence for a time, and once we had more or less cleared the patch we decided to head home. We had less in us on the way back than we’d had coming out, tired, I suppose, and we kept our legs going with only a little conversation here and there.
The walk back took us a little less time than the walk out had. I opened the door and had Lady Martine and the others go into the restaurant first, then followed them in.
“We’re hooome!”
Marie announced it and scrambled up onto a stool at the counter, and Mom and Dad put their heads out from the kitchen.
“Welcome home.”
“We got loads of raspberries!”
“Well done. You’re making the pancakes next, aren’t you? Go and wash your hands and get changed.”
“Okaaay!”
Marie had that exchange with Mom and then went straight off to the well to wash her hands. Marie does exactly as she pleases.
“Lady Martine, would you like to change as well?”
I asked, and it was her maid who answered.
“We have brought a change of clothes for her, yes.”
“Then I shall change. Leon, might I borrow somewhere to do it?”
“Of course. Once everyone has finished washing, please use the living room.”
“Thank you.”
Then we washed at the well, put away the things we’d taken to the forest, and went through to the kitchen.
Mom and Dad had already laid out every tool and ingredient we needed, so there was nothing left to do but make them.
“Mom, Dad, thank you.”
“This is about all we can do, so it’s no trouble at all. I’m glad to be useful to you.”
“That’s not true! You two help me all the time.”
“Is that so. It’s a fine thing to hear you say it.”
Dad’s face went soft and he ruffled my hair. Harder than usual…
“Dad! You’re wrecking it!”
“Ha! Sorry, sorry.”
We were in the middle of that when Lady Martine came through, changed and ready, so it was time to start on the pancakes.
We made them in two teams: me and Marie on one, Lady Martine on the other. I would rather have had everyone make their own, but we only had two bowls the right size.
“We shall begin. First, break the eggs into the bowl, add the sugar and the water, and mix. Please mix it thoroughly.”
Marie started the moment I said it. She has made these enough times to know her way around them. I had thought I would have to guide Lady Martine as we went, but her maid was assisting her, so I could stop worrying about that.
“Once it is well mixed, add the flour and keep mixing. Please mix until there are no lumps of flour left.”
At that, everybody tipped their flour in at once and set to. There is something lovely about watching children working that hard at something. I thought so, having briefly forgotten that I am also a child.
“Leon, is this about right?”
“Yes. That’s perfect. Now, last of all, put in about ten raspberries.”
Last time we made these I crushed the raspberries and stirred them through, to spread what sweetness there was. With sugar in the house there’s no need for that. Better to keep a few whole for the texture and turn the rest into jam to pour over the top.
“Once you have done that, all that is left is the cooking. We shall start with yours, Lady Martine.”
Mom had lit the fire and brought the pan up to heat, so I put butter in and poured the batter. One bowl makes exactly one pancake. A very large one, admittedly.
“Now we wait a while for it to cook. After a little, lift it and look at the underside, and if it has browned properly, turn it over and cook it again. And it is finished.”
“I can hardly wait! I find I have become quite hungry.”
“A little longer, please. While the pancakes cook, let us make the jam.”
“Is the jam made from those raspberries?”
“Exactly so. Raspberries with sugar cooked into a jam become extremely good. And they go better with pancakes than anything.”
“It’s soooo good! I used to like raspberries best just as they are, but now I like pancakes and jam better!”
Marie has been thoroughly captured by sugar over the last few days. She still says plain raspberries are good, but once she’s used to sweetness, raw ones will start to taste sour to her. I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or a bad one. Either way I’ve decided to buy sugar in bulk so we always have it in the house, and to keep topping it up.
“Now the jam. Lady Martine, would you put the raspberries into this pot? Everything in that bowl, if you would.”
“Of course.”
“Thank you. Now we put it straight over the heat, and stir, crushing the raspberries with a wooden spatula as we go. Would you like to do it?”
“I should like to try!”
“Then please do.”
I handed her the spatula and she started stirring the pot with a very serious expression, which left me free to get the sugar and the lemon ready. Sugar doesn’t circulate among commoners, but making raspberry jam is apparently something plenty of people do, and it was Mom who told me a little lemon juice improves it. You want about half as much sugar as fruit. Mom and Dad seem to prefer rather less, but Lady Martine likes sweet things, so I went heavier today.
“Lady Martine, we add the sugar now, and a little lemon juice.”
“Yes, I see.”
“Now we let that reduce for about thirty minutes, and it is done.”
You’re supposed to strain the raspberries through a sieve for a smooth jam, but I’ve grown fond of the seeds and the texture, so I leave mine as it is. Straining is a nuisance, and plenty of people seem to eat it unstrained.
While we were busy with all that, the pancake started to come along. The smell was extraordinary.
“Lady Martine, I think your pancake is nearly there.”
“Really?!”
“Yes. Please come over here.”
I took the spatula back from her and steered her to the counter in front of the pancake, leaving the jam with Dad.
“Lift the pancake a little with this spatula and have a look at the underside.”
“I understand. …How does it look?”
I had a look under it myself. Perfectly done.
“Perfect. Now we turn it over and cook it a little longer, and it’s finished. Turning it is difficult, so may I leave that to my mother?”
“Yes, please do.”
“Mom, if you would.”
“Leave it to Mom.”
Mom picked up the spatula and the pan, looking slightly nervous, and flipped the pancake over cleanly in one go. That’s my mom!
“How wonderful! You made that look effortless!”
“Th-thank you.”
“Ohhh, the smell is glorious. Will it be ready soon?”
“Yes. Just a little longer.”
We waited a while after that, and the first pancake was done.
“And that is it finished.”
“Oh, this is the one I made, is it not. I am so pleased!”
“Would you like to eat it right away?”
“I should like to, but nobody else’s pancakes have finished cooking yet.”
“You are very welcome to start…”
“No, we have come this far. I want to eat with everyone!”
“I see… Then it is a little ill-mannered, but might I offer you one piece here, as a taste? We shall of course have some as well.”
“What a splendid proposal!”
Lady Martine agreed, so I cut the finished pancake into bite-sized pieces and handed them around. Lord Frederick and the maid could surely manage a single mouthful. That was my thinking, and even that they turned down.
“We are on duty. I am afraid not.”
“Leon, it’s a kind offer, but…”
“Both of you will have some. You are on duty, but you have not been relieved today either, so a little can hardly hurt, can it?”
At Lady Martine’s word Lord Frederick evidently decided to eat at once. He was on duty last time as well and ate perfectly happily, so presumably it is the maid’s presence that has him behaving today. The maid is a great deal too serious and looks constitutionally incapable of letting her shoulders down. The exact opposite of Lord Frederick’s slightly slack air.
Not that she looks down her nose at us. There were moments when Marie and the others used no formal speech at all and she said nothing and watched them fondly, so she isn’t a bad person. Just rather too serious.
I handed a bite-sized piece to everyone else after that, and told Lady Martine that they all had one.
“Lady Martine, everyone has their pancake.”
“Then let us eat!”
She popped hers into her mouth, looked startled for a moment, and then began to chew in earnest. When she had finished it she spoke.
“This is extremely good! The texture is fascinating, and the sweetness of the sugar against the sweet-sharpness of the raspberries is exquisite.”
She seems to have liked it. Good.
“She’s right. That’s a texture I’ve never had before, and it’s delicious…”
“It really is…”
Lord Frederick and the maid liked it as well. Relieved, I put my own in my mouth. Yes. Reliably good. Chewy, sweet, sharp with raspberry. A great deal better than the first sugarless pancakes we made. Sugar really is essential.
Milk and baking powder would make it better still. You can get a little milk in winter, but it barely circulates at all. It comes back to there being no refrigeration, doesn’t it. Butter, at least, we can get. Well, I’m satisfied with this as it is. Complaining about this would be asking for a thunderbolt.
We cooked the rest of the pancakes then, and finished the jam, and all the cooking was done. We were sitting around a table in the restaurant now, with pancakes and jam in front of every one of us.
“Then let us eat.”
Everyone said Itadakimasu after her and started. I put a generous amount of jam on my pancake and took a bite. Mmm, that’s good! I really do love this jam. The seeds and the texture make it.
“This… this jam is absolutely delicious!”
“I’m very glad to hear it. Straining it through a sieve makes a smooth jam, but I like the texture of the seeds, so I left it as it is. What do you think?”
“I like the seeds as well! I had wondered what the difference was from the jam I usually eat, and it is that you have kept the texture. I shall have the head cook make this jam.”
The head cook has surely been straining it so carefully precisely for Lady Martine’s sake, and being told the unstrained version is the better one is going to be a blow… I’m sorry, head cook.
We ate our pancakes and talked for a good while after that, and everybody cleared their plate.
“Leon, the pancakes were truly delicious. And thank you, all of you, for indulging me in all of this today. Today has been enjoyable enough that I may call it the finest day of my life! If ever the chance comes again, might I visit here once more?”
She looked thoroughly content saying it. Underneath that, she looked a little sad.
“Lady Martine, it may be difficult to arrange often, but please come whenever you wish.”
“I want to play with Lady Martine again!”
“Leon. Marie. I shall absolutely come again. Thank you.”
And she smiled, and the whole of her lit with it. It really is a beautiful smile.
She left very soon after that. She had apparently been due to leave rather earlier, and there was no stretching the visit any further.
A tiring day. And a good one. I meant that with my whole heart.