Page 25 of Markets & Mooncakes

Nate is hard at work. I don't know where Chef Asselin is, but I'm sure she's busy too. Nate pauses the moment he notices our arrival. His gaze flicks over Veronica and our guest, but lands firmly on me before he bows. "Your Highness."

"Chef Matthews," I respond, feeling a little breathless all of a sudden and not really knowing what to do with myself, especially when we haven't really talked about this. I didn't really think about what might happen if we came to the kitchen on our tour.

Veronica clears her throat.

Nate turns. "Your Highness, My Lady," he says to my sister and the ambassador's daughter.

"This is Chef Matthews," Veronica says to the ambassador's daughter. "He's the royal pastry chef here at the castle."

"The pastry chef?" she echoes.

"He makes the pastries," I say, though as I do, I realise that maybe that's the word she didn't understand.

Nate smiles at her. "I make the desserts and pies, My Lady," he says.

"Oh." She turns away from Veronica and looks over the bench. "What are you making now?"

"Pork pies," he says. "They're made with minced pork and hot crust pastry. Have you had one?"

"No, I do not think so." She looks over the various parts of the pastry as they come together, and asks him a few questions which he happily answers, picking up the pastry mould to show her, while talking about how it's made.

"Seems like you might have some competition," Veronica whispers to me. Her tone is teasing, but I have no idea what she means by it.

"Competition for what?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "Never mind."

"Do you know how to make mooncakes?" Lady Sun Jinglan asks Nate when they've finished talking about pork pies. The mention of something new grabs my attention and makes me wonder if my sister is right and I might have something in common with the visiting noble after all.

"I've never come across them before," he responds. "But if you have a recipe, or know someone who has one, I can try to make them for you if you want them."

She nods.

"What are mooncakes?" I ask, moving closer to them both, intrigued to learn about something new with the word cake in it.

"They are celebration cakes from Shengda," she says. "They have a...erm...egg yolk but salty inside."

My eyes light up. "We've made those!" I look at Nate. "Do you remember? When the delegation from Shengda came? We made them for the custard baos."

He smiles. "I do."

"You know this?" Lady Sun Jinglan asks me. I think there's surprise in her voice, but it's hard enough to tell with people I know who are speaking Falhavien as their native tongue, I stand no chance otherwise.

I nod. "Nate...Chef Matthews got a recipe from one of the chefs who was visiting with the past delegation. We made them together."

I think the expression on her face is surprise, but I'm not sure if it is.

"That is good news," she says. "You need other food for it too. Oil from peanuts, lotus seeds, and some other things. I can make a list."

"I should be able to get hold of everything," Nate assures her.

"I know that it is a lot, even for a royal kitchen."

Nate's gaze slips past to me. "I think we'll be able to accommodate."

I smile back at him, knowing that he's thinking about how much I'll enjoy making something that I haven't before.

"Oh, and you will need moulds," Lady Sun Jinglan says. "I have two. I can let you borrow them."