The Seahorse and the Spice 🪼🎩✔

10: In Every Job That Must Be Done...

The carriage pulled into town and I got out. I felt a little weird because I wasn't dressed in fine clothing like the other people coming out of their carriages and I could see everyone staring at me from behind their precariously placed fans that hid their mouths but not their degrading eyes. I had been looked down all my life so I knew what it felt like to be looked at like that. It was nothing new to me but I still didn't like that fact anymore than I did when I was a flower seller and those who knew my real father looked at me like a peasant.
I went around the marketplace, picking up different vegetables, things I had never been able to get ever since we were ousted from the house at a young age as well as things that had been too expensive for us otherwise. Before I left, I remembered the Duke's sweet tooth and went into the sweet shop to look for something he might like.
"We don't serve your kind here."
"My kind? As in? Paying customers?"
"You maids. We only serve the elite here."
"I am shopping for Duke Barma, thank you."
"Duke Barma? The duke doesn't like sweets."
"How would you know?"
"I've never seen him walk in here and he's never sent a servant for one of my sweets before. I'm one of those types of places." He said, looking at me with a venomous glare.
I glared at him as well and then placed a sum of money that was well over any price of a sweet in the store and then leaned on the counter.
"I think you want to give me the sweets, sir. I'm sure the Duke will not be pleased if I have to come back to the mansion without a sweet for him. Would you rather I return empty handed and tell him that the sweet maker refused to give me what I asked for or give me the item I ask for?"
"Don't threaten me, lady-"
"I don't think we need to come to blows here."
"Lord Higgaby." The man said, taken aback. "I have your usual ready for you."
"Thank you. And what is it that the Duke wants?"
"What does he like?" I whispered.
Andrew ordered what the Duke would eat and the man took the money I laid out for him but Andrew glared at him.
"The price has doubled since I came here last for those?"
The man gave a nervous laugh and gave me back the excess coins. Andrew led me outside and then handed me the bag.
"I saw Salem's carriage and knew it had to be you. Jeff can be a handful but he's a good guy."
"Thanks... What are you doing in the market?"
"I was passing through to get to the park when I saw the carriage. I'm surprised he let you go out..."
"He insisted I use this gawdy thing... He threatened to throw me in it and then even threatened to come along."
"He's always been like that." He said with a laugh as he graciously carried my food. "As stuck up and ass-like as he is, he actually has s soft spot for some people. He has a soft spot for you and those boys, I can tell you."
"I doubt that."
"You don't see it the way I do. Something about you and especially X that makes him seem almost like a man and not a spoiled little boy. How is he, by the way?"
"He's ornery and wanting food. I am going to cook stew so he can have some vegetables too. Would you like to come?"
"Stew? I've never had stew. What is it?"
"You've- oh... I guess it's a poor person's thing... Well, it's more like we mix everything together in a big pot and serve it. It's a type of soup."
Andrew looked at me in confusion. "So... you mix the meat and the vegetables in the same dish?"
"Precisely..."
"This sounds interesting. Sure, I'd love to come and try this 'stew' thing."

*******************

I got back to the mansion and the Duke met me at the door.
"What'd you get me? Huh? Huh? Is it a good cake? Cookies? Maybe even some pie? Huh, huh?"
"Hold your horses..."
"But I want something now."
"Not until you eat dinner. I'm making stew so that we can eat it quickly and have everything you need."
"Stew? What the hell is stew?"
"Poor people food. Now, you're going to eat it or no dessert."
"But Moth- Minerva! I'm the duke and I say I want the sweets."
"No matter how much you beg you won't get it. And I help the cook so you'll eat what I say."
The duke went into a tantrum and then threw his hand up, his finger pointing at me angrily.
"You're just like her! I can't do anything in this house!"
He threw his hands in the air and waddled away. I waited for a couple of minutes when I heard him crying and smiled since the pregnancy was making him act stupid. I heard coughing and frowned, moving to look around the corner of the other door to the kitchen. Bastion was still laying on the couch, holding himself like he was cold. I breathed in and turned to the cook.
"Do you have any blankets?"
"There's some in the small room under the stairs."
I nodded and went past her as I went to the stairs. I found a good sized blanket and headed back to the living room but the Duke blocked me.
"Duke Barma-"
"God dammit! Just call me Salem. For god's sake, woman, can't you understand that there's no one here to hear if you speak to me improperly?"
"But calling you by your name-"
"Who the hell is going to come here and want my company, eh? Andrew doesn't care what you do and he said you could call him Andrew so what does it matter?"'
"Whatever you choose, milord... I just need to give this to Bastion. Please move out of my way."
Salem moved and I went over to where Bastion was napping. I touched his face gently and he opened his eyes.
"Are you cold?"
"Freezing..."
"The living room has a bigger couch on it if you want to lay there..."
"Or I have a small bed in a hidden room." I turned swiftly as Salem walked in slowly. "I had found a secret passage when I was younger and made a bed by it when there would be parties. My mother would usually find me and get me back to bed before the house woke up but it's cozy..."
Bastion nodded and Salem led us over to a wall that looked like a wall. He moved a picture to the side and pulled on what was a secret door handle. It swung open and there was a nice bed in the walkway.
"If you want to leave when you wake up, either take the stairs behind you, which goes into a room on the third floor, or just knock and we'll let you out."
Bastion nodded, holding his head and I pushed him toward the secret place. He looked at me with a smile and took the blanket from me.
"Don't worry, Mum, I'm fine. Just hungry and have a headache."
I nod but I don't really believe him.

*******************

Salem
I watch Minerva with the oldest kid and I feel a little bit... jealous. I shouldn't because I have no business in being that way but I do. She turned to me as she closed the door for the secret room and looked at me.
"What?"
"Nothing... I still want my sweets."
"If you help me make the food then I'll think about it."
"But that doesn't make sense. If I help you make it then that means that it has to be done for me to eat the sweet. So... I'm not dumb, Minerva."
"Actually, there are vegetables involved and once those go in, then you can have your... dessert."
I gave her a look as she smiled at me and I frowned back at her.
"You're just like my mother... Fine, I will help you... "cook" this concoction of vegetables in a pot or whatever it is that I'm supposed to eat."
"Good. Go wash up and meet me in the kitchen."
She turned her back and walked to the kitchen and I frowned.
"'Go wash up and meet me in the kitchen.' Bah... what a load of codswallop. Why do I have to cook to get a sweet? I own this house! I'm the duke!"
"Mum only gives rewards to those who help." I heard from the other side of the wall. I opened it back up and looked at Bastion, who had his pillow over his face. "She does it to everyone... If you want that sweet, just do what she says. And stop whining! You're the duke for god's sake! Act like a man instead of a woman."
"I happen to be pregnant with weird side effects of... womanly things... like nagging."
"Nagging is of the mind not because of babies. You're pretty dumb."
I growled and closed the door on him. I went and washed my hands like Ms. Bossy said and went to the kitchen.

******************

Minerva
"I wanna chop the veggables!" X said, jumping up and down beside me.
"No, the duke is going to help us make stew tonight so he's going to chop up the vegetables instead."
Xerxes gasped and smiled wide. "He's going to help us cook!?"
"If he wants his sweets he does."
"Did you get us any?" Eadric asked from the doorway.
"Of course I did. They were the best sweets I've ever seen so of course I got us some. We'll never get to have the luxury again once whatever happens with the duke and the baby happens."
"Is he really pregnant though? I mean, it's a bit odd how that happened. What could cause that in the first place? Magic?"
"Maybe there's more out there like us, Mummy!"
"Maybe..."
"So I'm like this because of magic?" I heard from the other doorway.
We turned as the duke walked in, a hand on his back and another on his distended stomach.
"I don't know if that's the truth or not, Salem, but all we can do is wait. I honestly don't know how it happened but we'll be with you... Now, who wants food?"
Xerxes raised his hand and jumped up and down. Salem looked at me with a weird look and I turned to get the vegetables. I move them to the chopping block on the table and handed the knife to Salem.
"Now dice these up while I cut the meat to put in the pot."
He nodded and I went to where I had gotten some meat from the butcher. I took the cleaver and sliced the meat up. Xerxes was sitting by Salem on a chair and laughing at him as he tried to cut up vegetables. Eadric was with the cook as they made some bread when Xerxes laughed loudly.
"You're not good at this, Mr. Salem!"
"Well, I've never done this before. Do I look like I chop up vegetables for a living?"
"Lemme show!"
"No! Xerxes, no... Eadric, please show the duke how to chop up vegetables before both of them get hurt."
"I'm making bread."
"Eadric."
"Ma, I'm making bread."
"I'll help him." We turned and saw Andrew coming in. "I was wondering where everyone was... Would you like me to help you out?"
"I can do it myself, thank you very much. Besides, how do you know how to chop vegetables?"
"A cute little maid by the name of Piper taught me one night... I repaid her kindly." He said with a smirk as he rolled up his sleeves and pushed Salem out of the way.
"You- Piper never showed me!"
"You never showed Piper..."
"Enough. You are going to taint my children."
"Is he talking about sex, Ma?"
I glared at the nobles and they grinned innocently. This was like cooking with four children instead of two and two nobles...