The Châtelet Apprentice Read Online Free PDF

delicacies, the canon’s one weakness. Gradually he had even learnt how to make certain Breton specialities, such as far, kuign aman or lobster in cider. Nor was his godfather, the marquis, averse to turning his hand to this noble activity which, to the canon’s great disgust, he described as one of the seven ‘lively’ sins.
    â€˜Cooked oysters!’ exclaimed Nicolas. ‘Where I come from we eat them raw.’
    â€˜What! Living creatures?’
    â€˜And how exactly do you make this soup?’
    Going on his experience with Fine, whom he had needed to spy on for a long time in order to discover her recipes, Nicolas was expecting to be thrown out of the kitchen.
    â€˜You so good that I tell you. I take two nice capons and bone them. I stuff one with flesh of other and add bacon, egg yolks, salt, pepper, nutmeg, bouquet garni and spices. I tie it all with string and poach in stock gently. Then I roll my oysters in flour and I fry them in butter with mushrooms. I cut up the capon and lay out the oysters, pour on the stock and serve with a trickle of lemon and some spring onion, piping hot.’
    Nicolas could not contain his enthusiasm and it showed; listening to Catherine had made his mouth water and he felt even hungrier. So it was that he won over Catherine Gauss, a native of Colmar, a former canteen-keeper at the battle of Fontenoy, the widow of a French guard and now cook to Commissioner Lardin. The formidable servant had adopted Nicolas for good. Now he had one ally in the household and he felt reassured by his ability to charm.
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    Nicolas was left with confused memories of the dinner. The splendour of the table with its crystal, silverware and sparkling damask tablecloth gave him a feeling of well-being. The warmth of the room with its gilded grey panelling and the shadows cast by the gleam of the candles created a cocoon-like atmosphere. This, added to his already weak state, made Nicolas feel languid, and the first glass of wine went straight to his head. The commissioner was not present; only his wife and daughter kept Nicolas company. They seemed of about the same age and he soon gathered that Louise Lardin was not Marie’s mother buther stepmother, and that there was little love lost between the two women. Whereas Louise seemed anxious to come across as assertive and rather flirtatious, Marie remained reserved, observing her guest out of the corner of her eye. One was tall and blonde, the other slight and dark-haired.
    Nicolas was surprised by the delicacy of the dishes served. The capon and oyster soup was followed by marbled eggs, partridge hash, blancmange and jam fritters. Nicolas, who was well versed on the subject, identified the wine as a Loire vintage, probably a Bourgueil, because of its blackcurrant colour.
    Madame Lardin questioned him discreetly about his past. He had the feeling that she particularly wanted to clarify the origin and nature of his relations with Monsieur de Sartine. Had the commissioner given his wife the task of getting Nicolas to talk? She filled his glass so generously that the idea did cross his mind but he thought no more of it. He spoke a great deal about his native Brittany, giving them a thousand and one details that made them smile. Did they take him for an object of curiosity, some exotic foreigner?
    It was only later, after he had got back to his garret, that he began to have his doubts: he wondered whether he had been too talkative. In fact he was so unclear as to why Monsieur de Sartine should have taken an interest in him that he easily convinced himself that he could not have let slip anything compromising. Madame Lardin must have been disappointed. He recollected also the irritable expression on Catherine’s face when she served or listened to Louise Lardin, who was herself very distant towards the servant. The cook muttered under her breath, looking furious. When, on the other hand, she served Marie, the expression on her face