[quote]Jackdaw opened her eyes, and chewed her spoon thoughtfully. “...I could use a refresher on the eggs.” She admitted.[/quote]

"That's fine, the next bit's more important anyway." This bit's easier to do than to teach. Crack with one hand, throw and catch the yolk between the two halves of shell until all the whites are in one bowl, all the yolks in another. 

[quote]“...Lucien? Can you keep a secret?”[/quote]

Lucien doubles over laughing so hard his ribs hurt. He wipes the tears out of his eyes, straightens himself. Fiddles with his collar as he clears his throat. "Yes. Yes, I can keep a secret. I had friends who used to call it 'defusing ticking blackmail'. Here," Pass the whites and the whisk to Jackdaw, "Beat these until your arms are about to fall off, and while you do, tell me what's on your mind, so you don't have to worry about me finding out." The reassuring smile he gives is effortless, because it's sincere.  

Here's the other thing about raw eggnog - the superior eggnog - as a choice of recipe. Once the eggs are seperated there's no skill to it, no noises to raise your voice over, nothing to concentrate on. Just lots and lots of repetitive motions. Nothing to get in the way of talking.