#tanith lee

There was steamed asparagus with butter and black pepper, served with a Riesling of the Napa Valley. Then came poached pike with a sauce of cumin, honey, oil, and white wine, served with a dark rose of Anjou. Lamb followed baked in pastry, having a filling of apple and dates, and matched to a red African wine from Mbanga. After this was bream flaked and baked with onions in sugar, and served with tall thimbles of vodka. Then strawberries in a brandy sauce, with champagne. Last arrived long plates of Camembert, white goat’s cheese, and strong Cheddar, with slices of guava, raisins, and various nuts, and a French dessert wine.

“Oh, the cat’s lovely . They call her something funny. But I call her Victoria. She’s so like my last one. My Victoria Plum, I used to say. So glossy and plump, she was. This one’s rather thin. But you’re still my Victoria, aren’t you?”