Chapter 12: To the Castle Barracks
THERE are a few customs in Marlowe, the capital of the Marlais region, that were started by Marguerite, Olivia’s grandmother:
One: When a member of the family has come down with something contagious, only one person in the family should care for them.
Two: Always get fresh air. This is obvious in summer, but make sure to have fresh air in the house in winter, too.
Three: Disinfect anything the ill person touches using boiling water, or at the very least, wipe it down with rubbing alcohol.
Boiling water was hard for people with very little money since they couldn’t afford to use what little they had on the extra fuel for their fires, but Marguerite continuously insisted this was still better than a family member dying. If they lived, they could work again and help earn back the money, and they must not let their family die just for the immediate money savings.
Plenty of shops also stocked alcohol that prioritized alcohol content to flavor for those families who didn’t have much money to spare. Freddy’s Pharmacy was one of them.
Perhaps it was because of these particular customs in Marlowe that the illness that ravaged the capital passed through Marlowe without taking too many lives.
Soup Forest saw largely unchanged business once Randall had recovered. Olivia’s customers were still coming, only slightly less than usual. According to the traveling merchants, though, the illness was seeing no end in the capital.
“It’s bad. Even the doctors and apothecaries are laid up with this bug.”
“Even the doctors?” inquired Olivia.
“Apparently, even the castle’s servants are bedbound. I didn’t recognize any of the people working there when I went to make my delivery.”
“Oh, dear.”
“And on a different topic, this soup is really good. What did you season it with?”
“Spring onion and ginger. The usual. Oh, and the flavor of the bitter potato dumplings has probably melded into the broth.”
“Bitter potatoes? Haven’t had that in forever. People don’t really eat it that much these days, not with how easy it is to get wheat.”
“My grandmother told me people fought over bitter potatoes when there was a famine.”
“Yeah, sounds about right. Bitter potato is the kind of food that falls out of favor for those with a more affluent lifestyle.”
“Perhaps.”
The soup of the day was a salty spinach with pork meatballs soup. There were also a few bitter potato dumplings thrown in. The mound of spring onion and ginger that went into it meant a bit of salt was all you needed for seasoning, and eating it warmed you so much from the inside it could make you sweat.
Randall didn’t visit the restaurant again. While she wiped down the tables after the customers left, Olivia thought, Randall said he’d retired from being an apothecary, but, with things as they are, maybe he was called back to duty.
Arthur came home and started talking about the illness going around. “Freddy’s Pharmacy is selling distilled alcohol for cheap, but he’s soaked bitter plants in it to make it taste nasty so people who just want a cheap drink don’t buy it. That means we still have some to sell to the people who really need it, when other shops are running out.”
“What a good idea.”
“This soup is great. There’s something chewy in here, besides the meatballs, isn’t there?”
“Those are bitter potato dumplings. I love them, they add a nice flavor.”
Arthur seemed to like the meatball and dumpling soup. He had three whole bowls then kept rubbing his belly and complaining about how he ate too much. There was a small fire in the stove, a kettle of water warmed on top so they could make a cup of tea whenever they wanted.
“I realized how fun digging up bitter potatoes is because of the time I did it with Randall,” said Olivia. “I’ve gone and made two giant potfuls of dumplings. Tomorrow, I think I’ll try something new with them when I use them in the soup.”
“I think this soup with the bitter potato dumplings is one of my favorite ones you’ve ever made,” said Arthur.
“There are plenty more dumplings where that came from. Eat as many as you want.”
“Can’t wait.”
They then heard the sound of a carriage outside, and Rob was the first to rush towards the sound.
“Who could that be at this time of night?” wondered Olivia, but Arthur waved her back and went to the door himself.
He talked for a moment with whoever it was, then came back to the kitchen with a severe expression. “It’s from the castle. Seems there’s some emergency for you.”
Olivia hurried to the door, wondering what this could possibly be, and found a tired-looking man standing there.
“Are you Ms. Olivia?” he asked.
“I am.”
“You’ve been summoned to the castle. Please come with me immediately.”
“First, come inside for a moment and please explain what this is all about.”
Arthur came to join the conversation and hear what was going on.
“The castle’s doctors and apothecaries are falling bedridden one after another,” said the man. “They’re in a constant state of exhaustion as they deal with the sick, and now they’re catching the illness too. You’re requested to come to the castle and assist in treating the ill.”
“How did anyone at the castle even hear of me?”
“Mister Randall Auber suggested we call you in, as he has been as well.”
“Oh… But I’m not a registered apothecary. I don’t have the qualifications.”
“Mister Auber said he left you a document. If you have that, there will be no issues. Mister Auber oversees the apothecary qualification exam.”
That little note?! That’s why he gave it to me, he was thinking of a situation like this! thought Olivia. She and Arthur shared a look of understanding.
“This is an emergency,” the man continued. “Please, come to the capital immediately.”
“Right this moment? Though, I understand I can’t really refuse in this situation. I’ll go,” said Olivia.
Olivia left Soup Forest that evening, along with a giant load of bitter potato dumplings.
“I don’t know when I’ll be back, so I’m going to take all the dumplings,” she said. “I worked really hard to make all these. I can’t bear the thought of them going bad and becoming inedible.”
She was so insistent Arthur had no way of talking her out of it.
The man who came to summon her introduced himself as Edgar and explained the situation as the carriage drove down the road.