“That one,” Michaels said. “She’s been slipping out early. My guess is that she has a secret lover. She’ll catch cold at that if Mrs. Twitchel catches wind of it.”
“Is that not against her contract?”
“Oh, indeed it is! She could be turned off for it if she’s caught.”
“Who do you think she is meeting? She seemed very fond of Jones.”
“I don’t know if fond is quite the right word, but there was certainly a connection there. She didn’t seem to mind coming down to the kitchen when he was cook.”
“How very odd. It is clear that she does not like coming down here now, or working with me. Still, it is worrisome. Sophie can be unpleasant sometimes, but she is Grace’s friend. I would not want something to happen to her.”
“Don’t you worry on her account, Girlie. You just take care of yourself. Yer doin’ real good here, an’ you needs ta take advantage of tha favors tha Marquess is doin’ ya whilst ya can.”
“I know. He is being extremely kind. Since I’m up, I might as well start the day. If you’ll excuse me…”
At Michaels’ nod, she slipped into the laundry room and finished dressing.But a cold hand seemed to squeeze about her heart. What was it Samuel used to say? If it seems too good to be true, then it is probably a trap.
Chapter 23
Percival listened as Tiffany read a passage, first in Latin, then in French. Her accent was execrable, but she pronounced all the words more or less correctly, and was then able to translate them into English.
“Why should I care about what this dead king was doing?” she asked.
“Because that dead king, as you put it, very nearly conquered England. We should be grateful that Julius Caesar was having political problems at home, or it is quite likely that we would be speaking Latin today,” Percival explained.
“But he didn’t manage, and we aren’t,” she said. “So tell me again, why am I learning these languages?”
“For many reasons,” Percival replied, “but here are two that you might take to heart and understand. First, many of the great cooks of the world are French. When they can be persuaded to write their recipes out, they inevitably write them in French.”
“Very well, My Lord,” Tiffany said. “That accounts for French. But why Latin? Your dead king didn’t conquer England, after all.”
“Because in your line of work, many plants are used. These plants are given distinct names in Latin. While local names for things can be confusing, the Latin names remain the same and make identifying these things easy. For example, perhaps you want some thyme from the garden. We have boththymus vulgarisandthymus camphoratusgrowing there. How would you know which one to put in soup?”
“By its smell and taste, of course,” Tiffany said scornfully. “They neither look, smell, or taste the same.”
“Of course they do not,” Percival replied. “But what if you had to tell someone in the kitchen to go pick some. How would you tell that person which one to pick?”
“I would tell that person to pick the one that smells and tastes like a good sausage, not like a chest plaster,” Tiffany retorted, with some asperity.
Percival shouted with laughter. “To be sure, you would. But if you had to identify it from a book, the difference in name could be important. Besides, what if you and your gardener developed a special sort of plant and you wanted to name it? If that were so, the Latin would be valuable.”
“If you say so, My Lord. But if I wanted to be understood by my kitchen help, I would tell them to pick the one that has small flowers, grows low to the ground, and tastes like it should go in sausage. I’d be more likely to get something back that could go in food than if I told them to look for… what was it . . .thymus vulgaris. They’d most likely ask me if it stuck out its tongue or called me a rude name.”
This was completely too much for Percival, who abandoned his role as teacher, and dissolved into guffaws.
“That’s right. Laugh at the poor, ignorant orphan, My Lord. Some of us are not to the manor born.”
Percival wiped his eyes, and resumed his role. “To be sure. But do take my word for it, learning Latin and French will expand your knowledge and make it easier to learn even more things.”
“Since you are paying for it, and taking out the time to teach me, I will, as you say, take you at your word. But truly, Percival, I do not think I can absorb another word today that is not in English.”
“Very well,” Percival said. “We shall not try to stuff your head full of knowledge as if you were a Christmas goose that needed a good thyme and onion dressing. Instead, tell me a little about yourself.”
“What do you want to know, My Lord? I think I have told you everything that I know, where I lived, how I learned to cook.”
“You’ve given me official information,” Percival said. “But you’ve not told me the little things, the sort that make you a person.”
“I think I’m a person regardless of what I might tell you,” Tiffany pointed out.
