Chapter 3
“It is best to choose a young, vibrantly fruity wine when looking to add excitement to any ordinary custard.”
—From the salvaged notes of A., apprentice in the kitchens of Fontainebleau c. 1530s
“I saved you some swan, Henri.”
“No thank you, uncle.”
The nobleman hadn’t looked up from his plate of feathers and bones. Henri had a feeling there would be no francs falling out of Uncle Guillaume’s mouth today. Even leaning forward in the low backed chair and crowned now with a curly horsehair wig, Uncle Guillaume appeared regal. His satins still sparkled bright red, even if they had been reshaped by his bulging belly and hunched up shoulders which gave him the illusion of a back draped with dark wings. A raven cruising around the Parisian boulevards in a poppy bloom. What lore hi
