Deeds of Honor by Elizabeth Moon Read Free Book Online

finished, the bowl and pot clean and ready for the next meal.
    Farin counted herself lucky that nothing more disturbed the day; she cooked, and supervised the others, and made sure that every detail of the kitchen ran exactly as it should. Lady Verrakai did not appear. Only the steward, as they were cleaning up after the second meal. He said nothing about Efla's bruised face, the darkening bruises on her own face and arms; he gave her the orders for the evening meal and went on his way.
    She slept that night in the servants' bath house, dank and chill as it was, for she did not feel safe in either of her usual places. Cold and pain kept rousing her, so she hardly slept. Thus she heard the clatter of a rider arriving fast, sometime after the turn of night. Voices in the stableyard, then several sets of boots went in through the kitchen entrance. Shortly, the great bell rang, rousing the household.
    Farin got up, wincing, raked her hair back, put on her cap and slippers, and hurried into the kitchen. Through the door she could see lamplight in the passage. Quickly she touched spills to the fireplace coals and lit the kitchen lamps. Whatever it was, food would be needed...
    The steward put his head in the door. "Cook! A hot meal for the family, at once. Travel rations for forty—"
    Something big had happened. What could it be? Forty people leaving the household? All the family? She could hope for that. She pulled all the eggs out of the cool pantry: not enough, but they would have to do. She could extend them—milk, cream, onions...they still had a basket of dried mushrooms...there was the ham in the meat pantry...
    By the time two of the kitchen maids had stumbled sleepily into the kitchen, Farin had both frying pans hot on the fire, onions sizzling in them, one of the dough bowls with twenty eggs and two measures of milk beaten to a froth, and the dried mushrooms soaking. "Chop those mushrooms," she said to Efla. "No bigger than your thumb end." To the other "A slice off the ham, cut it in strips the width of your little finger. Then a fat slice off that wedge of older cheese and grate it."
    "Should I put the dough in the oven now I'm done with the mushrooms?" asked Efla.
    "It's not risen enough, most like. I'll check." She took the mushrooms Efla had chopped and tossed half in each frying pan. Then the ham, and then, finally the egg and milk mixture. "Shake these around, Efla, while I check the dough. Put some salt in, not too much. Don't let them burn on the bottom."
    She checked the bread dough—close enough—punched it down and made medium-sized everyday loaves, small enough to bake quickly, putting them straight into the oven, then checked Efla's handling of the stirred eggs. She blinked, seeing little green spots...
    "I put them herbs in, like you use," Efla said. "T'ones milady likes."
    Farin sniffed. The right herbs and the right amount. She hadn't thought Efla was that advanced. Perhaps the girl had a parrion after all. "Good," she said. "Now go help Maia and Jaim slice meat for the meat platter, and I'll finish these." She reached for the dish of grated cheese, intending to melt it on top of the eggs, and had just sprinkled it on top when she heard more noise. Spurred boots clattering and jingling on the stairs, raised voices, men's and women's both.
    Farin piled platters with the egg mixture, scattering more grated cheese on top—no time to melt it in the oven as she'd planned—and handed the platters of eggs and meats off to the serving maids now waiting at the passage door. A basket of yesterday's bread—not nearly enough, but the bread in the oven wasn't done yet.
    What was happening? Jaim took out a bucket of kitchen waste—eggshells and a bit of cheese rind and such—through the stableyard and on to the pigsty; he came back with news that almost every horse in the stable was being saddled. So they were going somewhere, but where? And why? Few traveled in winter.
    She smelled the bread, brought it out