Chapter 93 – The Lady and The Schoolmistress
Lady Glorissa had arrived early that morning.
She was certain few ladies of status would appear at the venue so soon. In a true noble household, gentlemen and ladies were expected to remain at parties late into the night
Ten o’clock for waking. Breakfast at eleven. Luncheon at one. Social calls beginning around two.
That was why Jade had only encountered the grandest ladies during the afternoon.
Lady Glorissa had intentionally retired early the previous night and risen ahead of schedule today so she could visit the charity bazaar and observe the ragged schoolmistress more carefully.
Though relieved to discover the schoolmistress posed no threat to her hopes of becoming Lord Ashborne’s wife, Lady Glorissa still disliked the idea of such an exceptional gentleman paying attention to someone so far beneath his station.
The bazaar offered a perfect opportunity, as the schoolmistress would be outside of her classroom, visible and accessible.
Yet to Lady Glorissa’s surprise, the schoolmistress was absent.
She wrinkled her nose slightly and lifted her fan to cover her mouth. She remarked, “How irresponsible, to be absent from such a venue.”
Miss Arrowot, who happened to be attending her, answered with polite humility. “My Lady, Miss Jade is absent because she is baking some sweet biscuits for the booth. She felt the display appeared too empty and worried it reflected poorly upon the venue. Rather than leave the space lacking, she requested one of our clergy members from the domus to present his nut brittles while she prepared fresh stock this morning.”
“She bakes biscuits herself?” Lady Glorissa raised her brows in surprise. “Apart from teaching, needlework and science pursuits, she also bakes?”
“In truth,” Miss Arrowot replied carefully, remembering Jade’s instructions to downplay matters where possible, “Miss Jade’s greatest talent may actually be cake decoration. Had circumstances been kinder, and had it not been for her desire to repay the domus for sheltering her, she likely would have sought work as a pastry cook in a noble household or a respectable hotel kitchen.”
Lady Glorissa immediately caught the implication, and asked in a lowered voice, “She intends to leave teaching for a kitchen position?”
“Yes, if matters proceed as planned,” Miss Arrowot answered, lowering her voice to match Lady Glorissa’s. “Miss Jade expects to resign during the final week of May. She has not yet decided where she will go afterward, though it will almost certainly involve pastry work. She often mumbles that she cannot properly teach advanced pastry skills to her apprentice.”
Lady Glorissa felt a quiet satisfaction; another degree of distance between the schoolmistress and her beloved Lord Ashborne.
Now reassured of the schoolmistress’s harmlessness, she found herself willing to extend a measure of generosity, particularly if it encouraged the separation to happen sooner.
“Tell her the kitchens of the Earl of Conbury would welcome both her recipe and her application,” Lady Glorissa said, chin raised elegantly behind her fan. “She would be rewarded well for loyal service.”
As the subtle cue, her chaperone stepped forward and handed Miss Arrowot a calling card beating Lady Glorissa’s name and address.
“Yes, my Lady. I shall pass along your message.” Miss Arrowot replied.
Now in a more pleasant mood, Lady Glorissa noticed a crowd gathered near one corner of the booth. A monk stood behind the table, presenting samples of something unfamiliar.
She frowned slightly. “Why is everyone gathered there?”
“Our clergy member, Brother Milo, had created a nut brittle using malt sugar,” Miss Arrowot explained. “While malt cannot compare to refined white sugar, it offers sweetness at a much lower cost. I believe that has attracted the interest of many housewives wishing to provide small treats for their children and guests.”
Out of curiosity, the chaperone purchased a small packet of nut brittle.
LadyGorissa, however, had little desire to remain at the bazaar. With the schoolmistress absent, the venue no longer held much interest for her. Still, she had time to spare and it did her no harm to stay at an event hosted by the Dowager Countess longer; she could observe and gather news with her own eyes. It would be rather interesting to see a young Lady of a noble household meet the gaze of a supposed gentleman in such a venue. Perhaps news of an elopement would soon be published.
…Not that she was inclined to wait for the schoolmistress to arrive in the afternoon.
With these in mind, Lady Glorissa withdrew with her companion to the refreshment room, where several cushioned seats had been arranged for guests.
Her chaperone, Mrs. Maneshore, was a distant cousin who had married to a solicitor.
After examining the package for a moment, Mrs. Maneshore said, “My Lady, I have seen this packaging before.”
Lady Glorissa glanced toward her.
“I used to purchase biscuits from a small stall,” Mrs. Maneshore continued. “Apparently, it belonged to this same domus.”
She pointed at the stamped words coloured in red. “This could be considered as their unique mark. It marks the recommended date for consumption and the ingredients used. It serves as a reminder before the goods spoil. Quite thoughtful, I would say.”
Lady Glorissa had only a vague idea of what a scientifically minded person ought to resemble. Yet somehow, this small red stamp gave her a stronger impression than she expected.
Inside the wrapping, the nut brittles appeared rustic. Each piece was a small square of crushed nuts bound tightly together beneath an amber coating of hardened sugar. Mrs. Maneshore praised its unusual balance of sweetness and a small hint of salt after taking a bite. Lady Glorissa merely dismissed it and instead turned her attention to the lemon custard served by the Silver Acorn.
Meanwhile, Jade had no idea that two women of status were quietly waiting for her return. She was now in her full-load mode, working at high speed beside Josh.
Swirl after swirl of biscuits batter flowed from her piping bag. Her speed was so great that two students had been assigned solely to add jam to the piped biscuits, while Sister Miriam continuously refilled piping bags so Jade never had to pause.
It was the first time everyone – including Josh – had truly witnessed how fast Jade could work once she entered her rhythm.
Twenty-five biscuits per minute. One full tray. One emptied piping bag.
After every four minutes of continuous piping, Jade forced herself to rest for one minute, kneading her right palm with her left hand to avoid cramps.
Inside the domus bakehouse, the students already understood the timing of each recipe once the oven reached proper heat. Those responsible for the oven worked in coordinated motion.
Two held open the heavy oven doors. Two removed finished trays. Two slid fresh trays inside.
The process flowed without interruption.
The iron oven could hold eight trays at once, and each batch required ten minutes to bake.
Which meant that, with proper support and nothing to distract her from focusing on piping, Jade alone could produce nearly 1200 biscuits in a single hour.
Josh had originally intended to assist with piping the swirl biscuits. He had practiced enough to create swirls nearly identical to Jade’s. But after witnessing her pace, he quietly stepped aside – he did not want to interrupt her flow.
Neither did anyone else.
The entire bakehouse shifted instinctively around Jade’s rhythm, making room for her swift hands and smooth movement.
Rather than compete for piping space, Josh focused on preparing a second type of biscuit intended for sale that day.
The recipe was simple.
The dough was rolled flat, cut into neat rectangles, baked, then sandwiched together with sweetened fava bean paste.
Jade had initially wanted to use jam, but the domus was currently low on fruit and berry donations. Thus, Jade used bean paste lightly tinted pink with beetroot juice.
So, after Jade’s intense one-hour of piping, the oven swallowed the trays of biscuits prepared by Josh. Meanwhile, the younger students quickly wrapped the freshly baked biscuits in paper and stacked them carefully into baskets lined with hay to prevent breakage during transport to the bazaar.
Jade was exhausted. While resting, she glanced over at Josh, who was now piping creamy bean paste onto the rectangular biscuits so the other helpers could sandwich them together.
He could not pipe as quickly as Jade had managed the swirl biscuits, but he worked fast enough that one student remained stationed beside him, fully occupied with assembling the finished biscuits.
After another hour, the exhausted apprentice collapsed onto the bench beside his master.
“Sensei,” he asked tentatively, “is this the kind of speed we need if we become professional pastry cooks?”
“It depends.” Jade shrugged. “If we work in a biscuit factory or workshop where our only job is piping decoration, then yeah, we’d probably need to move like this.”
“However?” Josh prompted..
“However, your Sensei hates factory work.” Jade chuckled. She explained as she listened to her pupil’s giggle, “If we run our own shop or work as a private cook in a household, we’d have to do everything ourselves. That means we’d need to prepare the dough, heat the oven, bake everything, decorate, and clean up afterward. No assistants. You can imagine how long that would take. My guess, four trays per batch would be the maximum.”
Josh quickly calculated the timing in his head and nodded. He began imagining a future where he followed Jade into the kitchen of some wealthy household. It sounded very much like the kind of life his Sensei preferred – aside from owning her own confectionery.
“Alright, time to clean ourselves and get the cart ready.” Jade said, taking a deep breath as she stood. She turned toward Josh. “Now, you’re the one who knows how to drive a donkey cart, so I’m counting on you not to tip us into a ditch, okay?”
“Okay, Sensei,” Josh pouted. “I’m not that stupid to drive into a ditch…”
Jade chuckled. She began to enjoy the feeling of teasing a pupil.
Once Jade and Josh departed with baskets filled with biscuits, the bakehouse erupted into excited chatter.
“Did you see how Miss Jade swirled out the biscuits?” one student exclaimed, miming the motion with his hands, “Just like that! Done in seconds! How could she move that fast?”
“I know! It was incredible!”
“And Josh! Did you see how he piped the bean paste? He just drew a ‘z’ and the filling spread perfectly across the biscuits!”
“He practiced here for ages, so maybe we shouldn’t be surprised… but bloody hell, he was so smooth too!”
“No, we should be surprised. He wasn’t that fast when he’s practicing!”
“Really?”
“No wonder he became Miss Jade’s apprentice…”
“Or maybe he became that fast because he’s Miss Jade’s apprentice?”
“Do you think we could do that?”
“Maybe we could have a try?”
“Children,” Sister Miriam cleared her throat, cutting through the rising excitement. “We still have biscuits and pies to prepare for both the stall and the domus. The tuition students will arrive soon.”
“Yes, Sister Miriam!” The students answered in unison before returning to work, saving the rest of their excited discussion for later.