With the dragon finally out of the kitchen, things more or less went back to normal. The scones were a little late in coming, but there were still plenty of other desserts to occupy the guests with—creamy custards, blueberry Danishes, and of course, the daintily frosted cupcakes that had somehow escaped the invading dragon’s attention. These were brought out tray by tray as the footmen took them out for the guests, and the maids were able to take a breath of relief. Well, at least most of them.

Verity was still cleaning up after them, wiping off flour dusted countertops, sweeping away crumbs, and washing the dishes. So many pastries meant lots of annoyingly stubborn pans, so half of them were soaking as she worked on the dirty plates from dinner. It promised to be a long, long night with all the stacks of porcelain awaiting her, but it wasn’t hard work, and her mind was free to wander.

At least it was until the housekeeper’s voice was barking in her ear again.

“Verity! You neglected the young master’s meal, didn’t you! Drop those dishes right now and prepare a plate for him before the food gets any colder!”

Verity cringed, feeling like she was being blamed for yet another chore that’d been ignored in favor of the other work she’d been tasked to. How was she supposed to know exactly when to stop and switch between kitchen duties and the eclectic master’s needs? [i]Ah well, I’ll forgive her for tonight. It’s been stressful with so many guests. If the master is accustomed to being so irresponsible, though, I don’t think it should matter if his dinner is late. Serves him right for the trouble his pet caused.[/I] Even so, Verity did leave the dishes in favor of preparing a plate.

When Lettie saw the poor maid slapping on food on a plate, she scurried over to help. As it turned out, the food apparently had to [i]look[/i] nice, too. The pair of maids re-heated the roasted chicken in the oven for a minute or so, then set a healthy amount of roasted rosemary potatoes next to it. They added a bed of Brussel sprouts with chestnuts, then some sautéed mushrooms with butter and garlic to complete the dish. There also was a strange order to setting the tray.

“The placemat goes first, of course.” Lettie set down a lacey white cloth, flattening it ever-so-carefully across the tray. “Then you fold the napkin in half and place it on the left side. The plate has to go in the center, overlapping the right side of the napkin just a bit. Then we put the dinner fork on the left—not quite touching the plate, then the salad fork next to it…”

The whole process was a little too complicated the first time around, but it sort-of made sense. With a tray laden with dinner, forks, a small dessert plate, and a goblet topped with wine, Verity finally stepped out of the kitchen. The halls were still busy with the footmen going back and forth between the party and the kitchen, but things quieted down almost immediately after she passed the ballroom. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting of the rest of the house, but some part of her had expected to hear the growls of a dragon.

It wasn’t hard to find her master—she had Lettie’s instructions, after all. The kind maid had also informed her about the master’s ‘bodyguard,’ some strange, frightening woman she was urged not to speak to or make any threatening gestures towards. After the dragon incident, she honestly wasn’t that surprised, though she had no idea how a tiny little thing like him could have gained the respect of such a frightening woman.

The door was ajar when she arrived, so she stepped in without asking permission. She was met by a truly strange sight: there was an assortment of cages, a strange workshop-like setup along the opposing wall, and oddly enough, a woman sleeping in the corner of the room. On the floor. Verity perked up a brow, but decided not to question the master’s bizarre tastes: she just wanted to deliver the dinner and finish her work for the evening.

“Master Burkes: your dinner.” Verity approached from behind, lightly setting the immaculately prepared meal on the table where he worked.