"No.Because it sounds like it would be fun," I respond."If you want.I know that's more public than the theatre."
He passes me the eggs, and I add them one at a time, beating in between.
"I'd like that," he says."If you're comfortable with it."
"I don't know the answer to that," I admit."I want to be able to go wherever I want with you, but I know that it could cause rumours and I don't want to make things more difficult for you, or make Mama angry when she already seems so annoyed at me."
"We've got time."He reaches over and touches my hand."You can add the rest of the ingredients now."
I nod and add the flour and almonds, while he uses the knife to slide the chopped ginger off the board and into the bowl.He grabs a tablespoon measure and adds some of the syrup to the mix before gesturing for me to stir.
The ginger fills the air with a sweet and spicy scent, making me look forward to finding out what the frangipane is going to taste like, even if I'm not looking forward to taking tea with Lady Elizabeth.
"I'm going to grab the tart case, will you drain the apricots?"he asks.
I nod and set aside the beater so I can do as he asks.The jar is heavy, but it doesn't take much doing to get it to the sink and to drain it.By the time I'm done, Nate has returned with the pastry case.He sets it down on the table and starts filling it with the frangipane until it's full.
"What now?"I ask as I put the jar back on the side.
"We put the apricots in," he says, fishing one out of the jar and pressing it into the top of the frangipane, and then following it with another.Once I'm confident in what he's doing, I start helping, adding my own apricot halves until the tart is complete."All right, let's put it in the oven, and then we're done."
"It's a shame I have to have tea with Lady Elizabeth in order to try it."
He laughs."I'd say it's something for you to look forward to, but I actually have something better."He slides the tart into the gas oven and flips over the timer.
"Oh?"
A moment later, he produces a small tart with a single apricot half in the centre."This is a spare one from my test run earlier.I wanted to make sure that the amount of stem ginger was right, and then I saved this one because I knew that you were going to want to try it before it cooled."
"You make me sound so impatient."
He chuckles."I just know you, Evie."He puts the plate down in front of me and grabs a knife to cut into it."Do you want a fork?"
"Does it need one?"
"I imagine the Queen would say yes."
"And you?"
"I don't think you need it," he responds as he finishes cutting it into quarters."
"Then my fingers will do."I pick up a piece of the tiny frangipane and smell it."Oh wow, the ginger is coming through strong."
"There's more of the syrup used to preserve the ginger on it from after the bake," Nate says."So there's lots of it."
"Ah."I take a bite and let out a satisfied hum."That's good."The sweetness from the syrup hits my tongue and is followed by a pleasant heat from the ginger.It's all accompanied by the nutty almond cake, the slightly tart tang of the apricots, and the crunch of Nate's pastry, which is as perfectly crisp as usual.
"It is," he agrees as he eats his own piece."This is the recipe I had us do for the larger one that you'll have with Lady Elizabeth."
"Hopefully, she likes it, because then at least I'll have something to talk about, even if there are several topics on the banned list."
"Like?"
"The fact that I baked it, the history of baking, and anything that could be consideredtoo much cake.I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to talk about, because it's not as if I can have a real conversation with her."
"Have you asked Veronica?"
I frown."Since when do you not say Princess?"
