I really wanted to know which ones she’d used in the sausages, but I was too shy to ask. I had a feeling it would be a company secret or something.
But since we’re here and all, I’ll just buy some and figure it out myself when we get home. Although I’m not entirely confident that I can discern a subtle herbal flavor like that, I thought.
I was just about to place my order when the woman’s eyes widened at the sight of something behind me.
What’s up now? I wondered as I looked back. I saw a thickset man walking our way, carrying cargo. Her husband, maybe? “Um?”
As I looked between the two, the shopkeeper gave me a sheepish smile. “Oh, my apologies. This is my husband.”
That tracked.
“Welcome.” The shopkeeper’s husband gave us a taciturn greeting.
I replied with a slight bow of my head. “Hello. We’re here to peruse your wares.”
The shopkeeper’s husband wasn’t that tall, but he was so well built that I would have believed it if someone said he was a soldier. The lower half of his face was covered by an ample beard, and his big, wide eyes left quite the impression. He gave off an intimidating air, but the goods he carried in his thick, burly arms dampened the impression.
The shopkeeper’s husband was cradling a jute bag filled with all kinds of vegetables and fruits. Ingredients for dinner, perhaps?
I was staring without realizing it, which made the shopkeeper smile, amused. It turned out that her husband had brought ingredients so they could develop new products. After using herbs to make dried sausages, their eyes had been opened to the prospect of new flavors, so they had been experimenting daily to see what else they could incorporate into their sausages.
Usually, her husband worked on making their products and never wandered around the market, but he was here today to search out new ingredients.
That made sense. I nodded as I listened to her, until she started speaking with her husband about Albert and me. Upon hearing that Albert was the son of Lord Hawke, her husband quickly bowed. Then, when he heard that we were visiting from the royal capital, he leaned forward to ask, “From the capital, eh? Have you had a chance to eat one of those new herby dishes?”
“I only get to enjoy them once in a while,” Albert answered.
“I eat them rather frequently,” I confessed.
“Ooh! As it turns out, I just devised some sausages with herbs.”
“We heard as much from your wife and were thinking about buying some to take home.”
“Is that so? Then maybe you wouldn’t mind trying them here and telling us what you think?”
Apparently, his herb-seasoned sausages were well received. However, the people who had tried them had never eaten other herb-seasoned dishes before, so they mostly praised him for his originality. They also said that they liked the flavor, but he wanted the opinion of someone who was already familiar with the famed herb dishes from the capital. Et voila, here we were. He grinned broadly as we confirmed our familiarity.
I’m not sure if I’ll have anything useful to say, but there’s no harm in giving my opinion, right? I could send him a letter with my thoughts via the people who worked at the estate—I hoped they wouldn’t mind the trouble. I agreed with a smile on my face. “I don’t mind at all.”
The husband thanked me happily. “So kind! I’ve got some other questions for you as well, if you don’t mind.”
“Dearie!” The shopkeeper stopped him before he could continue. “Wouldn’t it be better to speak over a table at an inn instead of in front of our shop? Besides, I’m guessing you two have things you need to do, right?”
We didn’t have any plans in particular, but the shopkeeper had a point. We would block other customers if we kept talking in front of their shop, so if we wanted to continue this conversation, it would be best if we did so elsewhere.
The shopkeeper’s husband reached the same conclusion. “Y-yeah, you’re right. Sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
“If you don’t mind, m’lord, could you spare a bit of your time?”
We paused to consider his request.
As for me, I was super interested to know what kind of herbs he’d been using. Had he used only one or had he added multiple? I still had a feeling it would be a trade secret, so I probably couldn’t ask which herbs he had used, but I did want to learn as much as I could based on what he was willing to discuss. It seemed like a good opportunity, one where I could get him to answer some of my questions in exchange for answering his. However, I would feel awful accepting when it would mean dragging Albert along.
Maybe I should say no? I looked at Albert, wanting to know his thoughts.
Albert smiled as he met my gaze. “What would you like to do?”
“I would appreciate being able to discuss the sausages for a little while, if that’s fine with you, Lord Hawke.”
“All right. Let’s go,” he readily gave his agreement.
“Are you sure?” I asked again, just to confirm he was okay with following along with my whims.
His smile deepened. “Of course.”
“Thank you!” I smiled as well, letting my delight shine through.
I turned back to the shopkeeper’s husband, who was also pleased to hear Albert’s consent. He hadn’t even needed persuading.
And so, with Albert’s approval, we all headed to the inn where the shopkeeper and her husband were staying.