Closed Pantry Blues

[Adelaide Sitai]

16th Summer 514AV
1st Bell

It was a Summer day as they only were in Kenash: the air of a civilisation built on a Swamp, heavy and sticky, almost unbearable but, on that particular day, far from too hot. Rather everything felt dense and moist, as if there was something pressing down on Adelaide. It made her far from productive, rather lethargic and unwilling to leave her room where she was supposed to be counting up the Household expenses at her desk. Already that morning, she had been forced into activity; planning the menu for an upcoming dinner with Dynasty guests, finding a uniform for a new chambermaid who was rather too tall, refusing a family member's request for an extension on the repayment of their loan (knowing full well that they had been viably able to repay it already for close to a Season) and arranging a meeting with her Uncle Dervain in order to discuss buying new curtains for the Blue room.

Now, Adelaide was quite content in her pose of productivity, vaguely looking over the cost the dinner would come to if they were truly to have a dozen Ortolan starters, a selection of sea food served with asparagus for the main course and a pineapple cake for dessert, served with a lashing of coffee cream, a luxury if ever there was one for, to procure such a thing, one had to intercept travellers returning from the jungle and pay them handsomely for the trouble they had gone to. She had nothing else planned for the day, however, and to say she was taking her time with the calculations was an understatement. First off, Adelaide had no gift for sums, having not practised them since she was a child and rarely used them since, knowing that as long as she did not spend too extravagantly, the funds would be there. Secondly, Adelaide was vaguely doodling swirling patterns, all paisley shapes and curls like snail shells, looking out of her window at the vast plantation. It goes without saying that her attention to her work was suffering for it but, still buoyed by the morning's successes achieved in such a short space of time, she felt she could relax more for the next bell.

This charming pose was unfortunately interrupted by the arrival of Winn, one of the house slaves: a deaf-mute slip of a woman with close-cropped hair, a slave of no importance, with a message from the Cook. Adelaide hardly read this at all but stood up, managing to retain a sigh, and left her room, winding her way down the corridors to the back of the House where the Kitchens and the Pantries were. She passed her Grandmother who was exiting the dining room, for once not hidden by a dark cloud - the rest of the family insisted that she refrain from smoking her usual narcotics when in communal areas - and Adelaide smiled at the old woman kindly, wishing her a good afternoon. Yatmina Sitai, however, greeted her granddaughter's salutations with a scathing remark about the lack of whisky at Lunch (something, she felt, Adelaide ought to remedy) her irritation a manifestation of the anger caused by not having something smoke-able jammed between her wrinkled lips. As Adelaide continued down the corridor with a good-natured smile, out of the corner of her eye she noticed her grandmother taking out her irritation on a passing slave, giving him a violent kick, before asking him to take her back to her room and fetch her hookah.

The Kitchen was empty when Adelaide first arrived and she could not help but be the irritated by the lack of person ready to greet her and inform her of the issue.

"Hello?" she called, poking her head around a door, "Is there anyone there? Helena? Mrs Winthrop?"

At that point, the cook - a scrawny woman of close to forty with dark hair, pulled back into a punishing bun topping a red face - and the assistant cook - a younger, pretty woman with a voluptuous figure and curly red hair tucked back under a cap - appeared from behind the door leading to the Larder, visibly anxious. Behind them were all seven members of the Kitchen Staff, carrying ingredients and counting them up. At that point, the steward also emerged from the Buttery.

"What is going on here?" asked Adelaide, her eyes narrowing slightly as she stepped fully into the chartreuse-coloured kitchen, "By all the gods, what are you doing?"

"We're lookin' for certain ingredients for tonight's meal." said Mrs Winthrop, the cook, breathlessly, "For 'tis an emergency."

"An emergency? I had everything restocked seven days ago. For anything except fresh produce, you should have been set for the next twenty days or so, at least."

"We 'ave no flour left."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"And we need some more butter and yeast."

"Yeast? I repeat, that was restocked very recently. You don't expect me to believe that that much bread is eaten in this house?"

Mrs Winthrop pouted slightly and put her hands on her hips, "The fact remains milady that, unless you and your folks want to be eatin' not'n but kidney beans and carrots 'til the thirtieth of this Season, we be needin' more supplies."

"And meat?" asked Adelaide icily, not impressed with the attitude being shown the Cook but deigning to ignore it, "Only yesterday, two suckling pigs were delivered by our supplier. We can have them for dinner while you work out where exactly the supplies have been mislaid and who is responsible."

The cook suddenly looked very sheepish, even ill at ease. She raised her eyes to the sky then let out a melodramatic shrug.

"Well, yer see Milady, it's like this..."

Adelaide was ready to snap, to tell the woman to get straight to the point, when Helena - the red-haired assistant cook - interrupted.

"Milady. We think someone's nicked the stuff."

Adelaide's eyes had momentarily softened at the sight of the red-haired slave, one of her favourites, but they almost immediately flashed in anger and consternation at Helena's revelation. Mrs Winthrop was looking angrily at her subordinate and looked as though she would have made excuses, even shouted at the only honest woman in the room, if Adelaide had not raised her hand to demand silence.

"Thank you Helena. Would you be so kind as to tell me what has been taken, since Mrs Winthrop seems to have a loose relationship with the truth."

The red-haired beauty nodded and started, in spite of the spitting fury of her superior, her eyes gradually getting more worried as she elaborated, "Well Milady - both those suckling pigs, a hunk of gammon, a couple of dozen eggs, some milk, nearly two thirds of the flour, oats and corn, a lot of salt, cinnamon and sugar, all the yeast and a good deal of the butter. Also, a few bottles of Wine and a couple of Rum."

Adelaide inhaled deeply and bit her lip to stop herself from swearing, "Is that all?"

Helena shook her head and now she looked very worried, "Milady - someone took the spice boxes and... and..." the slave suddenly spoke very quickly, "The supplies of Saffron have completely vanished."

"Petch!" yelled Adelaide angrily, turning away, "Petch you all! You don't think! How can you all be such useless petchers?! Petch you and petch the petching Saffron!" Saffron was very expensive and hardly likely to be something targeted by starving slaves. With the announcement of this last missing item, she had realised that the items had now probably been stolen so that someone could sell them, make a profit. It also meant that the affair was henceforth beyond her control, debutante as she was in running the house - she had to speak to the Head of the House (and indeed of the Dynasty) before deciding what to do next.

"Winn - I need you to find my Uncle."

[Adelaide Sitai]

16th Summer 514AV
Ten chimes later

It had not taken long for Winn to find Dervain Sitai. While Adelaide had stayed in the Kitchen, being subjected to the usual stories from Mrs Winthrop, who was being more than usually melodramatic, Winn had resolutely resolved to find out where Dervain was and whether he was at home. When she came back, nodding and indicating that he was in his study, Adelaide breathed a sigh of relief. If he had been at the Magistrates' office, she would have had to wait for him to return home and it was very possible that he would not have been in the best of moods after a day spent enforcing the new Kenashian rules. Also, by that point in the day, he might have been irritated to know that she had gone a whole day without taking decisive action and would thus have regretted his decision to make her Caretaker. Of course, Adelaide was projecting rather too much, but she knew that this was a serious affair. A theft at the Sitai Plantation could not be tolerated and would not be tolerated. She still suspected the work of a slave rather than external influences but, for the life of her she could not understand why a slave would take all the Saffron.

With a small smile at Winn in praise for having found Dervain so quickly and abandoning the Sommelier (to whom she had been talking in order to ascertain the exact number of missing bottles of rum and wine) Adelaide swept out of the Kitchen, indicating that Mrs Winthrop and Helena follow her. Mrs Winthrop, her eyes now rather red, was blinking ferociously while Helena merely looked ahead, her hands nestled behind her, like a soldier standing to attention. Adelaide felt a pang of pity for the Kitchen Crew, who had to deal with the most unpleasant situation, but it didn't last long. If the whole sorry affair was to be proof that she had neglected something or not done her job properly, if it was proven to be down to her own incompetency and carelessness, then she would be punished too. Only differently and far more privately.

She wove her way back down the corridors, this time free of wizened old ladies, and up a spiral staircase, holding on to her black skirt so that she would not trip, before arriving in front of the door to her Uncle's study. She knocked and waited to be called in. If her face denoted nothing but maturity, no signs of worry overcoming someone simply going about their daily business, then it did not accurately reflect what she was thinking. She felt like a naughty child, waiting for a couple of ticks, before going in to explain herself. She was still wondering who in Kenash could have made off with so many foodstuffs and what they could possibly be doing with all of it. Fortunately, Dervain then indicated that she should come in and these thoughts left her mind.

Adelaide entered, flanked by Mrs Winthrop and Helena, who both bobbed a little curtsy, and nodded in a gesture of respect to someone who both the head of the House and her elder, her Uncle and Godfather.

"Uncle," she said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "I hope you are not too busy? I have something relatively worrying to inform you of and have come to ask for advice. Mrs Winthrop, if you..." The cook shrank back, looking mortified, "No? Well, Helena - do you mind explaining to your Master the situation as you told it to me."

Helena nodded and stepped forward, looking up from the ground, "Yes Milady. Milord. We think there's been a theft in the Kitchens," she counted off on her fingers before saying, almost word for word as she had related the problem to Adelaide, "Two suckling pigs, a hunk of gammon, a couple of dozen eggs, some milk, nearly two thirds of the flour, oats and corn, a lot of salt, cinnamon and sugar, all the yeast and a good deal of the butter. Also, a few bottles of Wine and a couple of Rum."

Adelaide interrupted, "I have checked with the Sommelier. Four bottles of wine and seven of Rum. More than a couple. Also, and this is unfortunately a costly loss, the entire supply of Saffron has disappeared." she paused before adding, almost pleadingly, "I had everything non-spoiling restocked seven days ago and it should have been enough for the next twenty days. Two days ago, I checked in the Larder and the Buttery - nothing was missing and we had enough Saffron to last us a year."

[Vice]

Dervain Sitai had far more important things to tend to than some sort of petty larceny going on in Bloodflower. The added responsibility of being the Magistrate, in addition to the budding alliance forming with the Radacke family, weighed in heavily in his thoughts. It was, of course, none of Adelaide's business, but her intrusion would perhaps give her a grander insight into what was transpiring,

"I am far too busy, Adelaide, to be cleaning the messes of your incompetent slaves. I will, however, make a suggestion to you. Assign a guard in the kitchen if you must. Thievery is unacceptable, and we must show both our slaves and any others who visit Bloodflower that we are not meek. A guard in the kitchen, begin the assignment of a rotating guard schedule, as well. We have plenty of Freeborn at our disposal. Your slaves must be watched, for they are not above suspect. And there is a perimeter about Bloodflower, ask the guards in the area if they saw anyone leave with the items mentioned."

A frown pursed Dervain's lips as he returned to his work. A letter was written in beautiful calligraphy, though it was obviously not Dervain's own writing, for rather than adding onto it, he was reading. A slow, cursory glance showed that he skimmed what looked to be a contract before he noted,

"Micah is a shrewd man... his terms are far too high. Adelaide, I would much appreciate it if you can scour the ranks of your charges and provide for me a young woman that is not vital to your service. I have a need for a slave that has the trust of my dear niece."

A smile graced the man's features for but a moment, though he was not yet facing Adelaide. When at last he turned to face her, he would speak clearly and quickly, intent on hearing her opinion on something,

"Replace what we lost, as well. If we locate the stolen items, then we will have double of our supply, and we can use the excess for a small gathering within Sitai house itself. It has been far too long since we have all gathered together with no other guests. Do you think that something of this nature is a good idea?"

The man had one last thought, a sudden blurted idea that he expressed without thinking,

"And when you can, please ask Marshall to come by for a visit. It has been quite a while since I have heard from him."

[Adelaide Sitai]

Adelaide could feel herself gently flushing as she was reprimanded, even if it was mildly done, for her lack of initiative. Luckily, the room was just dark enough so that the light redness overcoming her cheeks was well hidden.

"Yes. A guard in the kitchen..." Why had she not thought of that? Adelaide prided herself on her independence and her ability to think for herself, and here she had proven unable to do either. More than that, she had disturbed Dervain Sitai, who was already busy running a city. Of course, he had better things to do than worry about some theft or other in the Kitchens... even if she would have to replace a pound of Saffron, or sixteen ounces of the valuable spice. On the current market, the value would reach 1000gm easily enough or, to be exact, sixty five gold mizas per ounce making ten ounces worth six hundred and fifty mizas. Then, six times sixty was three hundred and sixty, and six times five was thirty. Added together, that made the worth of the stolen Saffron something close to one thousand and forty mizas. Adelaide was counting up the value on her fingers even as she listened to her Uncle speaking. That was more than most people earned in a Season... more than she earned in a Season! She'd have to be clever and ask someone to investigate before immediately buying more.

"Yes, Uncle. I will immediately call someone to look into it and, so as to not prove ourselves meek - or let anyone know of this issue - perhaps someone from the family."

Adelaide loathed the idea of asking for help from her younger half-sister, but unless she used Konrath's detective agency in complete secrecy, it seemed like the best option. Aria, at least, knew to guard the honour of the family.

"A slave? Why yes, of course." the young woman looked at Helena out of the corner of her eye, "I am sure Helena would be glad to help you with whatever it is you want. Or need. Helena..?"

"Milord." the young, red-haired woman curtsied deeply, "I am at your service."

"Otherwise, it would be of no problem to me to send someone else your way. There are a couple of other slaves who I hold in high esteem and who, I am sure, would be more than willing to be of assistance."

Adelaide didn't ask why he needed a slave or what he meant by 'Micah's terms' being too high, but hardly felt that it was the time or the place to ask questions. She knew to be discreet, and although she was not lacking in curiosity, she had no desire to get involved in whatever political machinations were brewing. Unless, of course, it personally involved her, something or someone she cared about and if she was asked to.

"Yes." replied Adelaide, wondering if she had she not already used that word enough that day, "I think a family gathering would be a good idea." Rosamay, naturally, would not be invited to this 'family' gathering, but Adelaide did not feel like broaching the subject of her disgraced Aunt at that point, "It would also be an excellent opportunity to keep track of what, uh, certain members of our esteemed family are currently occupied with, or who they're occupied with, so to speak. If you would like me to organise this small get together, I can send word out within a day and I will go over the menu with Maya and the kitchen staff tomorrow."

[Vice]

.

Dervain seemed as if he had stopped paying attention. Thoughts cast towards other matters, a creased brow and a premature wrinkle showing upon his forehead. The mantle of Magistrate obviously wore on the man, though the same could be said for any of the Head of Households. Most did not last to hold a second term, and Dervain Sitai, in the annals of his mind, knew that he wished not to deal with the complexities of the station a second time.

"Most definitely someone from the Family. That Konrath woman is out of the question. She was caught snooping about on the grounds surrounding Bloodflower. I trust your discretion in this particular investigation and that you involve no one that we cannot trust to keep their silence. Perhaps one of the guards."

The Magistrate looked over Helena for a moment before nodding,

"You should suffice. Wash up and ready yourself, we leave in two bells. We have business to conduct."

"Absolutely, Adelaide. We need to keep together as a family if we are to weather the trials of the next few seasons. Especially in the Fall. I can see thunderclouds forming with the laws that passed in the beginning of the summer. And Maya's wedding is sure to cause a stir."

Despite the forlorn tone of his voice, if Adelaide were astute, she would catch a glimpse of a smirk settling upon the Magistrate's lips,

"In any case, if we are to survive, we must be united. And my dear brother, Marshall... he must become involved more heavily. Do you approve of his sheltering himself within the Auction Hall, Adelaide? Or yourself in our dear Bloodflower? There is more to do than what is being done."

Enigmatic and cryptic as his words were, Dervain Sitai did not elaborate upon his point, instead casting the topic back towards the festivities,

"I trust that you won't disappoint, Adelaide. Now, do you need anything else? If not, then arrange a carriage for me, I have matters to tend to."

.

[Adelaide Sitai]

Her Uncle seemed older since being sworn in magistrate as, indeed, every magistrate tended to look so even that early in the season. Adelaide stayed quiet for a bit, unusually silent whenever in the sort of situation where she felt she had to measure every word she said. The little smirk she could see on Dervain's face disturbed her slightly and she decided that, as always, it was best to ignore it. She had done well out of ignoring things up until there and nobody seemed to have noticed. At least that was what she thought.

"Well," she didn't want to answer the question. Sometimes she envied Marshal who, in a way, had managed to follow his own path and break away from the Madhouse. He never got involved in politics, and she didn't want to be either. And what could he mean by saying that she was sheltering herself? Bloodflower was her home and the Sitai Dynasty was her family, something she could not betray consciously, but neither did she desire to get involved in any rift between the Dynasties. After all, her mother had been an Askara and she could not help but feel an element of loyalty, even if it's mistaken loyalty, towards that family: currently so maligned by her own Dynasty. What did her Uncle want from her? She paled slightly, not wanting to her ask. To close her eyes to what was going on around her made her happier and she would continue doing so for as long as she could. She disagreed with the lowliness of her Aunt Rosamay's position in the family, but she said nothing. She disagreed with pushing Maya into marriage, but she had said nothing when hearing of it. Such things caused her great inner conflict, knowing that not saying anything made her a facilitator, but knowing also that Dervain did what was best for the Dynasty. All these things she could have said, all hidden behind her perfectly composed face. Instead, she merely answered his request, managing to hold back a withering note of disappointment from her voice - such a thing would not do, "Of course, Uncle. A carriage."

Adelaide turned on her heel and left the room, followed swiftly by Helena. As she emerged into the corridor, away from her Uncle, she suddenly noticed that her fists were clenched. Slowly, she unclenched them and held up her left hand where she could see the place where her nails had dug in, a tiny crescent scar in one place where she had pushed in just a little too far. She barely understood what emotion the conversation had caused her, but she was not happy. She vaguely understood that he wanted her to stop sheltering herself within the family home, but could not understand what he wanted her to do instead. Her father had never done much more than that, after all.

"Helena - go and get ready for my Uncle." Whatever the young woman was needed for and whatever would happen, Adelaide didn't want to know as long as Helena was in no real danger, "Mrs Winthrop, try and find the coachman so that he knows that he needs to be ready to leave soon, then return to the Kitchen. I will want to speak to all the Kitchen staff."

Adelaide was shaken by the urge to walk back into her Uncle's study and ask him exactly what his words were supposed to mean and why he couldn't simply speak plainly, but she didn't. She had too much respect for her godfather. Or did she merely desire a quiet life? Either way, she wasn't going to make a fuss.

"And I will try and find a messenger to send word of the upcoming family gathering." she murmured it to herself, rather than to anyone else.

[Adelaide Sitai]

A bell later and Adelaide was sitting in the kitchen, having just finished lecturing the staff about indiscretion and inattention. She had made a request for anyone with information to come and talk to her and had gotten nothing from it. Now, she was tapping her fingers impatiently against the kitchen table, slowly getting more infuriated as the slaves insisted on standing still, their hands tucked behind their backs and eyes set on the floor.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you." she snapped, instantly feeling slightly ashamed. It was the mark of a bad master to be vindictive, and Adelaide considered it a mark of a lack of distinction in those who couldn't act calmly. Discipline should be enforced with reasonable thought rather than in anger, "I will talk to you one by one in the drawing room while the rest of you start preparing dinner. I'm assuming we still have enough food to cook?"

Mrs Winthrop nodded as Adelaide stood up and swept away. She went up the stairs from the lower level - where the quarters devoted to things such as the Kitchen, the Cook's room and the silver room were - and up onto the ground floor. With a small sigh, she took her place in the Drawing Room. Every five chimes, a new member of the Kitchen staff entered so she could talk to them and each chime spent on such an interrogation seemed entirely wasted. Nothing was coming out. Two bells since had passed since Adelaide had stopped around to see her Uncle and she took a break from her pointless exercise to see him and Helena, who had washed and changed her clothes, off on their way, making sure that he had everything he needed.

Returning to interviewing slaves had become an increasingly dull task and Adelaide had started, almost sub-consciously tracing the wooden parquet table top with her finger, preferring that to listening to the man (the sommelier) in front of her explain everything that had not happened.

"That will do. Thank you." she stood up imperiously with a graceful smile and moved to leave the room, "Serve Whisky at dinner tonight since Grandmother is becoming unbearable about the fact that she is not allowed whisky at Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. And remind everyone to remain vigilant."

She had to find a messenger. Firstly, she had to tell Aria of the situation, asking her to swing by so that she could investigate. Secondly, Dervain had asked that the family gather soon, and soon they would gather. The 22nd, she decided, would be a good date, allowing the more busy members of the Sitai to make arrangements for the day, while also allowing for an element of speed. Unfortunately, a messenger was harder to find than anticipated and Adelaide reminded herself, again, that hiring a new one would soon be necessary. Instead of wasting time, she sat down at her bureau and started writing the short notes (for they were hardly invitations) to her relatives. Marshal, naturally, was to be called to his brother's side. Aria and Flavia, too many cousins and a couple of great Aunts. Adelaide could not help but wish that Zuleikha were there, with her in Kenash, to assist her in getting through the situation in one piece. Instead, having finished the last note and swept them all into her pocket in case she ran across a messenger, she decided to go an find Maya.

Maya was sitting in her room, failing in her endeavour to embroider a pattern onto a little cushion and instead looking blankly out of the window.

"You don't seem to be doing much." she said to her cousin with a smile before explaining the situation, "Your father's decided that we should have a family gathering, and I've arranged it for the 22nd of this Season. I thought you could come and help me decide on what should be on the menu. After all, it will be of importance to you after you've married and have to be an exemplary hostess."

Maya smiled slightly forlornly at Adelaide and stood up. They exited the room together, in silence and Adelaide could not help feeling that, for such an eventful and stressful day, it was crazy how normal it all seemed.

[Vice]

Adelaide Sitai :

Skills

• +2 Organization
• +3 Leadership
• +3 Rhetoric
• +2 Socialization
• +2 Interrogation
• +3 Observation
• +2 Mathematics

Lores

• Where are my supplies?!
• Unleashed Severity
• Mrs. Worthrop: Liar
• Seeking out Dervain Sitai
• Petch me! They nicked me Saffron!
• Vocabulary: Going Petch Crazy
• Mathematics: Counting Totals on Fingers
• Dervain Sitai: Worn by the Magistrate's Office
• Envy for Marshall Sitai
• Dervain Sitai: Ruthlessly pushing the Sitai forward.

If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please send me a PM, and we'll discuss my reasoning behind why the grade given was received. Please make sure to edit any posts in the grading queue to 'graded' and update your CS as soon as possible. Enjoy! ^.^