Operation Red Book

Mrs. Emerson had just finished her last piece of Baba Monaco when Andrew and Dorian arrived at the restaurant.

"Mother! Are you feeling better?" Dorian slowly moved to the side of the lady.

A sunny smile appeared on his charming face, making everyone present feel delighted.

"It's an amazing thing, Dorian, I have never felt so light in my body. I have no pain, I can get out of bed, and I can eat."

Mrs. Emerson giggled and took the time to greet Andrew at the end of the table.

"It must be that the merciful God heard my prayers and granted me this miracle, don't you think, Clare?"

The head maid glanced at the smiling Dorian. She opened her mouth several times but no words came out. Only inexplicable emotions flowed in her eyes.

"Claire?"

"Ah! Madam, I am... I think it's because of the charity you did the other day. The newspapers were all about you saving children. I'm sure God saw that newspaper too."

"Hahahaha! Claire, you are really good at talking. God knows everything. Of course he knows that I like children. I just don't know what other people will think..."

As Mrs. Emerson spoke, she choked up. She wiped the tears from her eyes and became depressed.

"Mother mother..."

"Mother……"

"It's okay, it's happening all the time lately. This house is too empty. Maybe it will become lively once the guests arrive..."

The lady forced a smile, but her heart was clearly elsewhere. She didn't even notice that Andrew had sat down next to her with some fish and chips.

"Let's not talk about this anymore, mother. How was your lunch today?"

"Oh, it's very good, Dorian! The Australian beef pie is very tasty, the Balkan sausage is very chewy, the bread outside the Wellington steak is very crispy, and the Indian curry stew chicken is a little spicy, but I ate several pieces..."

"The dishes that satisfied me the most were Peking duck and Neapolitan pizza... As expected, only British food made me feel like eating was a punishment."

Mrs. Emerson talked incessantly while Andrew silently pushed the plate of fish and chips away.

Dorian did not miss Andrew's little action. He reminded his wife in time: "Mother, are you interested in experiencing the meal that Brother Andrew has carefully prepared for you?"

"Oh! Andrew, what did you do for your mother?"

The lady looked at Andrew with surprise. Andrew was a little overwhelmed and pushed the plate of fish and chips even harder to the side full of empty plates.

"Nothing, Mom. Just some fried food, potatoes, flour, salt and so on. It's nothing compared to those world famous dishes, Mom."

"I've never heard of a dish called fish and chips, Mother, but I just tasted it and I must say it's quite good!" Dorian said with his eyes squinting and his head tilted.

"What a surprise! I'd like to try it even more. Claire, please pass me another plate and knife and fork."

Andrew's face turned red immediately. In fact, the plate of fish and chips did not look so bad from the outside. The fish and chips were as tender yellow as egg liquid, and sprinkled with crystal salt grains and sesame-sized pepper salt.

In order to enrich the taste, he specially prepared two sauces, one is tartar sauce that is like egg custard, and the other is French yellow mustard that is like melted cheese.

Of course, the idea for the sauce came from Miss Ivy, the sauce was made by the kitchen maid Jessica, and he just served it.

"Andrew hasn't been in the kitchen for several years, you should know, Claire." Mrs. Emerson picked up her knife and fork.

"Haha, speaking of this, I heard the news when I just woke up. Did you hear about it?"

Mrs. Emerson, still talking, forked a piece of fish and dipped it into the orange French mustard.

For some reason, Andrew lowered his head a little, and his cheeks were no longer so blushing, but became nervous and pale.

There was something wrong in the atmosphere, which was not what Dorian had expected. He picked up the glass of white wine beside him, trying to stop his wife from talking, but it was too late.

Without any warning, the lady suddenly threw back her head and burst into laughter. The brown fried fish trembled in the air, reaching her mouth several times but then slipping away.

"Oh, Claire, you must know! Andrew, our Lord Duke, blew up the kitchen again today hahahahahaha!"

The head maid smiled awkwardly, her eyes fixed on the piece of fried fish that seemed to be falling, and placed the plate aside.

Andrew's head dropped even lower, and Dorian could see tears welling up in the corners of his eyes.

The air around seemed to be frozen, and apart from the lady's hearty laughter, no other movement could be heard.

In the awkward silence, Claire gave Dorian a look, and he knew what he was going to do.

"Mother, would you like to have a glass of white wine to moisten your mouth? This is Contralto Orvieto from Italy, it has a very good flavor..."

He handed over the wine glass in his hand. The liquid with small bubbles swayed in the tall glass, reflecting the faces of the three people.

"Oh, Dorian, thank you, I don't want to drink just yet."

The lady still had a smile on her face. She wiped the tears from her eyes with a handkerchief and gently pushed the glass of white wine handed to her by Dorian.

"Dorian, you must not know how naughty your brother was when he was a child. He was like this even when he was in my belly. He would kick and hit me at any time, which tortured me so much!"

Speaking of Andrew, the lady seemed to be still unsatisfied. She simply put down the fork in her hand and focused on talking about Andrew's childhood.

"Andrew had a blast in the kitchen a long time ago. Let me think about it. It was probably more than ten years ago. Andrew was only about ten years old. I was going to Spain to attend the princess's engagement ceremony the next day..."

"Mother mother..."

"He was reluctant to let me go because I would be gone for more than half a month, so he asked the chef and the cooks for the recipe of French cream of mushroom soup. You know I love that dish..."

"Brother Andrew..."

"Right! I still don't know how he could have blown up the whole pot when he was just making a soup! Hahahaha! After that, he was blacklisted by Lucas and is not allowed to set foot in the kitchen again!"

"Brother, he just..."

"No need to say it!"

The muffled shout interrupted Mrs. Emerson's chatter and Dorian's repeated persuasion.

Mrs. Emerson finally stopped talking and fell silent. She stammered a few times, moved the muscles in her brow, and finally fell silent with Dorian.

"Mom, I'm so sorry. Today should have been a happy day."

Maybe because he was lowering his head, Andrew's voice was a little dull, like a round-headed cactus in the middle of the desert.

Dorian couldn't see the expression on Andrew's face, but he could see the bulging eyelids and the wetness in his eyes.

"Andrew, is something wrong? Please don't tell me your lungs are hurting again."

The lady's expression was somewhat solemn, and Dorian could see the worry and concern in her eyes.

"Yes, it is a little bit. I feel like I can't breathe..."

Andrew stood up. His thick body was like a load-bearing wall, but he was shaky when he walked.

"So, if you'll excuse me, Mom, I need to go first... Thank you, Dorian, and Claire, enjoy your meal."