Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven Charmain Kneeling on the Cake

When Charmain reached the door, the store was closed, but she could still vaguely see through the glass that someone was walking inside, cleaning the store.Charmain knocked at the door, but to no avail, so she put her face against the glass and yelled, "Let me in!" The people in the store finally came over, opened the door, and poked their heads out.He was an apprentice in the shop, about Peter's age, and Charmain had never seen him before. "We're closed," he said.He looked at Waif in Charmain's arms.The open door smelled of freshly fried donuts, and Waif put his nose up, sniffing happily. "And we don't let dogs in," he said.

"I want to see my father," said Charmain. "You don't see anyone," said the apprentice. "It's still busy in the bakery." "My father is Mr. Baker," Charmain told him. "I know he will see me. Let me in." "How do I know what you said is true?" the apprentice asked suspiciously. "It's about my job—" Charmain knew she should be polite and tactful at this point, but she lost patience, as she had with the goblins. "Oh, you fool!" she interrupted him. "If my father knows you won't let me in, he'll fire you on the spot! Go and call him, if you don't believe me!"

"Ouch!" cried the apprentice.But he took a step back and said, "Come on in, but you have to leave the dog outside, understand?" "No, no," said Charmain. "She will be stolen. She is a very precious magic dog. I tell you, even the king will allow her in. And if the king allows, you must allow." The apprentice looked very contemptuous of her. "You go talk to Lubbock on the hill," he said. Things got more and more complicated, but at this point, Bella, one of the store's female assistants, came out through the door of the bakery.As she tied her hood, she said, "I'm leaving, Timmy. Remember to wash this place—" She saw Charmain. "Oh yes, Charmain! Do you want to see your father?"

"Hello, Bella. Yes," Charmain said. "But he wouldn't let me take Waif in." Bella looks at Waif.A smile broke out on her face immediately. "What a cute little animal! But you know your father doesn't like dogs. Better leave her in the shop with Timmy. You'll take care of her, won't you, Timmy?" The apprentice grunted reluctantly and looked at Charmain wistfully. "But I have to warn you, Charmain," said Bella, still chatty as usual, "they're both busy right now. There's a special cake order. You won't be here long, are you? Leave your puppy here, she It'll be safe. And, Timmy, clean up those shelves, or I'll give you a hard time tomorrow. Good night, good night!"

Bella walked out of the shop, and Charmain walked in past her.Charmain did want to take Waif into the bakery, but she knew Waif was a bad eater.So she put Waif down by the counter, nodded indifferently to Timmy—he's going to hate me all his life, she thought—and walked alone through empty glass windows, cold marble shelves, piles of white Tables and chairs, people in Upper Norland like to sit here, have a cup of coffee and eat a piece of cake.Waif let out a desperate whine as Charmain pushed open the bakery door, but she pulled it together and closed the door behind her. Inside it's as busy as a beehive, as hot as the equator, and full of aromas that are sure to drive a greedy Waif crazy.There was fresh dough, dough in the process of baking, and the sweet smell of sweet bread, pastry, muffins, mingled with the delicious taste of pies and shortbread, mixed with rich cream and unique icing aroma, which is from a The multi-layered large cake exudes, and several people are decorating the cake on the table closest to the door.Rosy!Charmain thought as he breathed in the aroma.Lemons, strawberries, South English almonds, cherries, and peaches!

Mr. Baker was walking among the workers, instructing, encouraging, and checking as he walked. "Jack, use the back of your hand to knead this dough," Charmain heard him say as he entered.After a while, "Be gentle with that pie crust, Nancy. Don't beat it, or it will be hard as a rock." After a while, he went to the other side of the oven and told the young man there Which stove does one want to use.Wherever he goes, he commands instant attention and obedience. Her father, to Charmain, was the king in his bakery--more king than the real king in the royal mansion, she thought.The white hat on his head is like a crown.That suits him too, Charmain thought.His face was thin and his hair was red, just like hers, though she had more freckles.

She bumped into him by the stove, tasting a delicious mince, and told the mince girl that it was too spicy. "But it tastes good!" the girl retorted. "Perhaps," said Mr. Baker, "but there's a big difference between delicious and perfect, Lorna. You go help them make cakes, or they'll be busy all night, and let me save the plate of mince. ’ He took the pot of mince off the fire, and Lorna hurried aside, looking relieved.He turned and saw Charmain. "Hello, sweetheart! I didn't expect you to come!" He was puzzled. "Did your mother send you here?"

"No," Charmain replied. "I came by myself. I was looking after Uncle William's house. Remember?" "Oh, yes," said her father. "what can I do for you?" "Er..." said Charmain.She found it difficult to speak because she had just seen how expert his father was. He said, "Wait a minute," and turned to find a pot among the spices on the stovetop, uncapped it, and sprinkled some into the pot.He stirred it, tasted it, and nodded. "All right now," he said, setting the pot down to cool.Then he looked up at Charmain suspiciously.

"I don't know how to cook, Dad," she blurted out. "Uncle William's dinner is all raw. Do you have any written guides or something? For beginners?" Mr. Baker rubbed his freckled chin with very clean hands and thought. "I keep telling your mother, you need to learn some of this stuff," he said. "Decent or not. Let me see. Most of my stuff is too complicated for you. Pastries, savory sauces, etc. Now, I also expect my apprentices to come with a little basic knowledge. I think I can still find some simple notes from my start though. Let's go and have a look, shall we?"

He led Charmain through the bakery, past the hustle and bustle of cooks, to the far wall.There were rickety shelves jumbled with notebooks, scraps of paper stuck to jam, and thick file folders covered in floury handprints. "Wait," said Mr. Baker, stopping at the table piled with leftovers next to the shelves. "I'd better bring you something to eat, so you won't be hungry when you read your notes." Charmain knew the table very well.Waif will love it.On it were all the less-than-perfect baked goods: crumbled pastries, misproportioned sweetbreads, crumbled pies, and unsold-out items from the store that day.The bakery workers are free to take these home.Mr. Baker picked up a thick paper bag used by the workers and began filling it quickly.There was a whole brioche on the bottom, a layer of pie on top, then sweetbreads, then fried donuts, and finally a large cheesecake.He put the bulging bag on the table and began to rummage through the shelves.

"Found it," he said, removing a soft brown notebook smeared with dark, old oil. "I knew I still had it! It was a note from my youth as a clerk in a restaurant on the Market Square. I was as ignorant then as you are now, and I think this is what you need. You need A spell with these recipes?" "Spells!" said Charmain. "But, Dad—" Mr. Baker looked guilty in a way Charmain had never seen him before.For a moment, the little spots on his face turned red with embarrassment. "I know, I know, Charmain. Your mother will be very angry. She always insisted that magic is a low, crude thing. But I was born to use magic, and I can't help it, not only when cooking .In this bakery, we use magic a lot. My girl, don't let your mother know. Okay?" He took another thin yellow notebook from the shelf and patted it nostalgic. "It's full of simple spells to help with cooking. Do you want it?" "Yes!" said Charmain. "Of course I won't tell my mother a word. I know her as well as you do." "Good girl!" said Mr. Baker.He quickly put the two notebooks into the paper bag next to the cheesecake, and handed the bag to Charmain.They grinned at each other like accomplices. "Bon Appetit," said Mr. Baker. "good luck." "You too," Charmain said. "Thank you Daddy!" She craned her neck and kissed her father's floury and speckled cheek under his chef's hat before she walked out of the bakery. "You're lucky!" Lorna stopped Charmain when she pushed the door open. "I saw the cream cake he gave you." "There are two," Charmain said with a shrug, and went out back into the shop. In the store, she was amazed to see Timmy sitting on a glass and marble counter with Waif in his arms.He wanted to explain, or more precisely, justify: "You left her, she seemed to be really panicked, and kept yelling." Maybe we don't have to be enemies all our lives!Charmain thought.Waif jumped out of Timmy's arms, squealing with delight.She was bouncing around Charmain's ankles and making a lot of noise, so Timmy obviously didn't hear Charmain thank him.Charmain smiled at him, nodded again, and went out into the street.Waif was still jumping and screaming at her feet. Shops and bakeries are on the other side of the town on the embankment.Charmain could have walked straight across it, but it was closer from the upper street—Waif had to go by himself, because Charmain was carrying the bulging bag.Upper Street, although one of the main streets, looks far from that.The road was winding and narrow, with no sidewalks, but the shops on either side were the best.Charmain walked slowly along the road, looking at the shop windows from time to time, so that Waif had time to catch up. She dodged the pedestrians who came out to shop at night and the people who came out to hang out after dinner, thinking about things as she walked.She was both satisfied now—Peter now had no excuse to make any more horrible food—and pleasantly surprised.Daddy can use magic!He always will.Up until now, Charmain had felt a little guilty that she had tried the magic on the Book of Parchment, but she found that feeling gone now.I think I inherited my dad's magic!Oh great!Then I'm the one who can use spells.But why does the father always listen to the mother?He demanded of her decency as much as his mother.Really, parents!Charmain felt that he was still very happy about it. At this time, there was a loud sound of horseshoes kicking behind her, mixed with shouts, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" Charmain glanced back and saw that the street was full of men in uniform and on horseback.They were going so fast they almost hit her.People walking on the street leaned against the walls of shops on both sides of the street.Charmain turned to hug Waif.She accidentally tripped on the doorstep of a house and got down on one knee on the bag of food, but she managed to reach Waif without losing her bag.With Waif and the sack of food in her arms, she retreated to the nearest wall, while horse legs and human feet in stirrups passed in front of her nose.Behind them followed a line of golden black horses, tied by long leather bridles, and the whip fell on their backs from time to time.Behind them drew a great multi-coloured carriage, its gold and glass and painted shields shining in the sun, and two men with feathers in their hats swayed behind it.More people in uniform and on horses followed behind the carriage, and the sound of horseshoes was deafening. They went farther and farther, and disappeared at the next turn.Waif groaned under his breath.Charmain slumped against the wall. "What the hell is that?" she asked the man slumped next to her. "That," said the woman, "is Crown Prince Ludvik. I think he's going to see the King." She was beautiful and had a fierce look, which reminded Charmain a little of Sophie Pendragon. .She was also holding a little boy, which reminded Charmant of Morgan again, except that the boy was not noisy at all.He looked pale with fright, just like Charmain. "He should be careful, running so fast in such a narrow street!" said Charmain angrily. "Somebody's going to get hurt!" She looked in her bag and was even angrier when she saw that the cheesecake was broken in two and stacked. "Why didn't he walk by the embankment? It's much more spacious there," she said. "Does he not care?" "Not much," said the woman. "Then I can't imagine him being king!" said Charmain. "He's going to be scary!" The woman gave her a strange but meaningful look. "I didn't hear you," she said. "Why?" Charmain asked. "Ludvik doesn't like being criticized," the woman said. "He's got Lubkin to help him get what he wants. Lubkin, hear me, girl! I wish I was the only one who heard what you just said." She lifted the little boy up in her arms and walked away. up. Charmain thought this as he staggered across the town, holding Waif in one arm and the bag in the other.She found herself wishing dearly that her king, Adolf X, would live a long, long time.Otherwise I'd want to start a revolution, she thought.In addition, my God, why does it feel like the road to Uncle William's house is so long today! She made it at last, though, and she gratefully placed Waif on the garden path.Inside, Peter was in the kitchen, sitting on one of ten laundry bags, looking sullenly at a large, blood-red mass of raw meat on the table, next to three onions and two radishes. "I don't know how to cook these," he said. "You don't need to know," Charmain said, dumping the contents of the bag on the table. "I went to see my father tonight. And this," she went on, pulling out the two notebooks, "is the recipe and accompanying spells." Both notebooks looked worse because of the cheesecake up.Charmain wiped them on her skirts and handed them over. Peter cheered up and jumped off the laundry bag. "This is so useful!" he said. "It's even better with a bag of food." Charmain brought out twisted cheesecakes, broken pies, and flattened sweetbreads.The bottom custard had a knee-shaped indentation and was stuck to the pie.This made her angry with Prince Ludvik again.As she told Peter everything just now, she wanted to put the pie back together. "Yes, my mother said he had the potential to be a tyrant," Peter said, distracted as he flipped through his notes. "She said that's why she left the country. Are the spells being said while cooking, or before, after, you know?" "Dad didn't say it. You have to study it yourself," Charmain said, walking back to Uncle William's study, looking for a lighter book to read. The Twelve-Pointed Wand was fun, but it made her feel like her mind was shattered into hundreds of pieces.For each branch of the wand there are twelve branches, and those twelve branches have branches of their own.There's more, I'm about to become a tree, Charmain thought, looking for books on the shelves.She found a book called "The Journey of a Sorcerer", thinking it was an adventure story.From a certain point of view, it is true, but she soon discovered that this is actually a step-by-step description of the learning process of a magician. It made her wonder again how her father had learned to use magic.And, I know I inherited them all, she thought.I can fly, I can fix the bathroom plumbing, all in no time.Still, I should learn how to use magic smoothly and quietly without yelling and breaking things.She sat there thinking about it until Peter called her out to dinner. "I cast a spell," he said.He is very proud.He heats up the pie and really makes it delicious with onions and radishes. "And," he said, "I've been exploring all day and I'm exhausted." "For gold?" said Charmain. "Of course that's the right thing to do," said Peter. "We knew it must be somewhere in the house. But what I found was where the goblins lived. It was like a huge cave, and they were all making things in it. Most were making cuckoo clocks, and some Making teapots and others like a doorway sofa. I didn't talk to them - I didn't know if they were from the past or the present, so I just smiled and watched. I don't want them to regenerate Angry. What did you do today?" "Oh, dear!" said Charmain. "What a horrible day. It started with Winky climbing outside on the roof. I was terrified!" Then she told him the rest. Peter frowned. "This Winky," he said, "and this Sophie—you're sure they're not some evil people? Wizard Nolan said fire demons were dangerous creatures, you should remember." "I thought about it, too," Charmain admitted. "But I think they're good people. Seems like Princess Hilda asked them to help. I wish I could help the king find what he's looking for. He was so excited when I found that family tree. You know what?" ?Prince Ludwig has eight cousins, basically named Hans or Isola, and almost everyone of them ended badly." "Because they're all bad people," Peter said. "My mother said that the cruel Hans was poisoned by the murderer Isola, and she was killed by the drunk Hans. Then this Hans fell down the stairs and broke his neck. He Isola's sister, Isola, was hanged in Strangea for trying to kill her noble husband--how many times did I say?" "Five," Charmain said, fascinated. "There are three more." "And two Matildas and a Hans," said Peter. "The one called Hans Nicholas, I don't remember how he died, but he was somewhere abroad when he died. One Matilda was killed when the house was on fire, and the other Matilda is said to have died. Erda is a very dangerous witch, so Prince Ludvik locked her in the attic of the Happy Castle. No one dared to approach her, not even Prince Ludvik. She just had to look at people with her eyes Kill. May I give Waif this piece of meat?" "Perhaps," Charmain said. "If she doesn't choke. How do you know these people? I never heard of them before today." "Because I'm from Montalbino," Peter said. "At our school, everyone knows about the 'Nine Bad Brothers and Sisters of Upper Norland'. But I think in this country, neither the King nor Prince Ludvik wants everyone to know that their relatives are so vicious. It is said that Lu Prince Devik is just as bad as those others." "But we're a fine country, really!" Charmain protested.She felt bad that her Upper Nolan had produced nine such horrific beings.It was also painful for the king.