Her Majesty’s Secret Service

051. Wedding ceremony

When I first heard the Queen’s order to prepare a special dish for the wedding, my mind was pounding trying to figure out what to make.

However, after taking a day to think about it, I realized that I had been worrying about it for no reason.

“When it comes to weddings, isn’t it a wedding cake?”

Of course, cake did not exist in this era. However, it was clear that there would not be a wedding cake like the one I was thinking of, a modern cake with cream spread on fluffy bread and decorated on top.

“If you think about the reaction you get when you make whipped cream, there’s no way there’s a whipped cream cake.”

Last winter, when I made whipped cream and presented it to the queen, both the chef Marco and the other chefs reacted as if it was their first time seeing whipped cream, so there was no way that there would be a dish using whipped cream.

“I don’t know how to make a cake, but… Well, if I get the chefs to do it, everything will work out.”

Even though I didn’t know perfectly how to make a whipped cream cake, I knew that all I had to do was spread whipped cream on soft bread. The problem is baking the bread, and if you train the chefs, you won’t get the results somehow.

So, I was put in a position where I had to go back and forth between the kitchen and the office to bake cakes for a while.

* * *

If someone asked her when the happiest moment in her life was, Mary would answer without hesitation: today.

Today was the wedding day of Queen Mary and Eric.

“So many people have gathered… .”

Mary muttered as she looked at the crowds filling Winchester Cathedral.

The reason why the ceremony was held at Winchester Cathedral, 70 miles away from London, was because of the possibility of infectious diseases.

The 200 or so nobles currently sitting as guests were all influential figures in a local area or known to have some level of power within the palace, so just in case something happened, the wedding venue was chosen to be Winchester Cathedral, which was far from London and was not subject to concerns about infectious diseases. .

“Jane, did you feel this way too?”

Mary looked at Jane Gray, who was serving her, with slightly trembling eyes. Originally, she would have been imprisoned in Richmond, but she was briefly released from confinement and brought to Winchester to serve as Mary’s attendant at this wedding.

“yes? Umm… I’m not in the same situation as Her Majesty the Queen, so I can’t answer… .”

Jane answered Mary’s question with a puzzled face. Mary wondered why Jane was like that. She thought about it carefully, and the reason came to mind.

Although Jane did get married, it was under the pressure of two traitors: Henry Gray of Suffolk and John Dudley of Northumberland.

Couldn’t his case be the same as Jane’s, who was forced into an arranged marriage for power? Mary reflected on her own indiscretion.

“Uhm, I’m sorry. It hurts for no reason… .”

“I am fine, Your Majesty. Oh, may I ask who made the dress you wore today?”

“You mean my dress? This is what Anne prepared… .”

The queen couldn’t help but smile awkwardly at the sight of Jane not only laughing off her mistake, but also changing the topic to another story out of fear that she might feel embarrassed.

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After that, Jane seemed to have sensed that Mary was nervous and continued to talk to her, asking her questions ranging from miscellaneous things like where she got her dress and jewelry to slightly sassy questions like what she liked about her husband-to-be, Eric. .

Mary was able to relieve most of her tension thanks to Jane’s youthful voice, which brought up common topics of conversation that would be of mutual interest.

“Hehe, then are the dishes prepared by Lord Logan for today’s dinner?”

“That’s right. “Well, it looks like the cuisine from back then was quite palatable.”

“Yeah, bacon cheddar cheese pizza? Will that come out today too? I also wanted to try other dishes. “I never dreamed that an opportunity like this would come.”

“Pizza? This is my first time hearing that… ?”

Upon hearing the name of the dish for the first time, Mary looked at Jane and let out a curious voice. Jane continued her words with her voice full of anticipation.

“yes. That was my first time eating something like that. therefore. On bread… .”

We were chatting comfortably about the dinner, especially about the cooking.

“I apologize for our chatting, Her Majesty. You need to prepare quickly… .”

“hmm? “Has it already been that long?”

While Jane and Mary were talking, a servant told them that the ceremony was about to begin. Mary answered the attendant that she understood and stood up.

“Jane, please take care of me today.”

“yes. “Her Majesty the Queen.”

Mary responded with a smile to Jane, who answered in a confident voice, and walked towards the door of the cathedral.

The dress Mary was wearing was a purple dress made in the French style with rich, sleeves decorated with gold leaf, and the long, full skirt underneath was made of luxurious satin fabric and had a pure white sheen.

Mary stopped in front of the cathedral door and waited for the door to open. It was the moment when the servant announced his arrival into the cathedral.

‘Did your mother feel this way too?’

The story of his mother, Catherine of Aragon, passed through his mind. Indeed, who would have thought that her own mother would divorce her father, King Henry? After her marriage, wouldn’t Eric also change like his father Henry? That feeling of anxiety slowly began to bloom.

Perhaps knowing that Mary was feeling uneasy, the door to the cathedral opened with a squeak.

The servant opened his mouth to Mary, who was still lost in thought.

“Her Majesty, you must go in now.”

Even without the attendant saying so, I had already memorized all the ceremonial procedures. To distract herself from her rising anxiety, Mary gently stretched out her right hand and placed it on her lower abdomen.

At some point, a strange throbbing sensation in my lower abdomen began to push away my anxiety. Mary placed her hand gently on her lower stomach and exhaled slowly.

After taking a deep breath, Mary felt some of her anxiety subside.

“Okay, let’s go in.”

It was a little late in answering, but not that late. It was literally time to take a deep breath.

After saying that, Mary stepped on the carpet and walked towards the ceremony hall.

As Mary walked away, the choir singing blessings for this marriage rang out. As I walked in while listening to the singing, I saw Eric sitting on the chair that had been prepared. The empty seat on the right was for Mary.

Mary sat next to Eric and took a look at the nobles present. Soon the singing of the choir stopped, and Bishop Nicholas and several bishops following him appeared among the choir.

The ceremony began with Latin speaking from Bishop Nicholas’ mouth.

* * *

After the wedding, the Queen, the Grand Duke, and the guests moved to the banquet hall in the cathedral.

The sounds of musicians playing violins, recorders, and other unknown instruments were echoing in the hall, and thirty dishes prepared by me and the royal chefs were placed on silver plates and placed on tables also decorated with gold and silver. .

Thirty types of dishes were laid out along the route in the hall, and nobles would bring silver plates and choose the dishes they wanted to eat.

Foreign ambassadors and high-ranking nobles of England were crowded between the king and queen, offering words of blessing. Among them, the French and Spanish ambassadors especially stood out because they made rhetorical remarks to the queen and king as if they were competing with each other.

“Attention everyone!”

While everyone was enjoying the dinner, Eric’s voice echoed throughout the hall.

“With this, I give thanks to the Lord of Heaven that today’s ceremony has ended safely. “I offer this as the heir of Sweden and the Archduke of England, if you will raise your glass to bless this day!”

At Eric’s words, the nobles in the hall filled their glasses with wine, raised them high, and shouted, “For the honor of the queen and king!”

After Eric left, this time the Queen came out and raised her glass. The Queen said that she wished for the health and honor of the nobles who attended the ceremony and poured a glass of wine, and the nobles responded with applause to the Queen’s appearance.

Slowly, the time was ripe.

“Marco, are you ready?”

“Yes, Sir Logan. I told you to bring it in now. however… “Is there a reason you didn’t inform Her Majesty the Queen?”

“Oh, when we’re standing alone, I want you to speak like before.”

“Haha, that’s not possible. “Isn’t our status different now?”

I was waiting for Oliver outside the hall where the banquet was in full swing.

Just as the Queen’s toast was over and she was finishing her glass of wine, Oliver and several cooks were seen carrying a large tray.

“Why are you so late?!”

“I’m sorry, Lord Logan, I don’t know the way… “But I brought the cake safely.”

The tray that Oliver brought was topped with a three-tier cake, totaling three layers. I tried to recreate as best as I could the three-tier cake I saw at a relative’s wedding a long time ago.

It wasn’t made with sponge cake. The round baked castella was cut lengthwise, cream was spread between the slices, and cream was also spread on the outside.

As for why castella was used, none of the chefs in the kitchen know what a sponge cake is. So, I explained the characteristics of sponge cake one by one.

Meanwhile, one of the cooks in the kitchen confidently started making something, thinking he knew what I was talking about.

I had high expectations, but what I baked with confidence was castella, not sponge cake. I was a little disappointed at first, but after thinking about it again, I realized that there was no problem in making the cake I wanted even if I spread whipped cream on the castella.

That’s how the three-layer castella cake was created before my eyes.

It took two weeks just to get used to cutting the castella lengthwise like a sponge cake, spreading jam and whipped cream in between, and shaping it. The sugar alone seemed to be more than a few bags, so it could truly be said to be a cake worth spending money on.

“Okay, there’s no crushing anywhere. good. “Take this and follow me.”

The chef and Oliver heard me and very carefully followed me into the hall carrying the cake. When I suddenly entered the hall carrying a cake, I felt the eyes of the nobles focusing on me.

“Logan, what is it?”

“This is what I promised Her Majesty the Queen.”

The queen said this to me with a slightly surprised expression.

“Oh, I didn’t see anything special for dinner so I thought you forgot. “If it had been a little later, he might have been locked up in the Tower of London for deceiving the king.”

Other people seem to laugh and say that it’s a joke, but after witnessing a Tower of London prisoner’s head being blown off, I don’t really want to hear such jokes. But what can I do? Isn’t this the queen’s joke?

“For your loyalty, please forgive me for being late.”

When she said that in a slightly humorous voice, the Queen also responded in a humorous voice.

“Yes, after tasting it.”

“First of all, Her Majesty the Queen, please cut this.”

“Do you mean me?”

“It was made to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s ceremony, so shouldn’t Her Majesty share it with you?”

A wedding cake is cut by the bride and groom together. What the queen wanted was special food for the ceremony. If you lack cooking skills, why not make up for it with an event like this?

“Hmm, is that the case elsewhere? Yes, today is a good day. But what should I cut it with?”

“yes. I cleaned and prepared the knife for cutting the meat. “Use it.”

There was nothing I could do as the only knives I could bring into the banquet hall were meat knives for cutting whole grilled meat.

Just as the queen was about to grab the knife and cut the cake, she opened her mouth again.

“How about having His Majesty the Grand Duke join us? “Isn’t the ceremony a ceremony to wish the couple a happy future?”

“her. It’s unheard of, but I heard you prepared to celebrate the ceremony… .”

Eric and the Queen held hands together and cut the cake in half.

The cakes cut in this way were distributed to other nobles by servants, but since the amount of cake was small, most of the cakes went only to the Queen’s closest aides, Archduke Eric’s aides, or foreign ambassadors.

Since there were not enough servants, the kitchen cooks who came with the cake had to carry the cake while holding plates.

* * *

After sharing all the cake that Logan had brought, the Queen declared that mealtime was officially over.

After giving orders to prepare a ballroom in another hall for the nobles who wanted to enjoy it, Mary and Eric moved to the room together.

Originally, Bishop Nicholas, who oversaw the wedding, would have had to bless the queen’s bed, but this time, that procedure was omitted.

In fact, there was no reason to give a separate blessing.

Still, since it was the first day of the wedding, Eric and Mary had to share the same room. Shouldn’t the first night be held as a formality? Since the results were already in place, there was no need to wallow in them.

Time passed and the dance was over, and Mary and Eric were lying in the same bed, trying to sleep.

Eric had fallen asleep after drinking a lot of wine at dinner, and Mary’s eyes were full of affection as she looked down at him.

Mary stroked the forehead of Eric, who was sleeping and snoring, probably because he was very tired, then opened the paper on the desk and began to read.

It was a document received from the Spanish ambassador at the wedding dinner, and it outlined the amount of primary support for naval reconstruction that Charles had promised.

The work that needed to be done on the first night was already done two months in advance, so the only thing left was time.

I don’t know if it was anything else, but funds came in to rebuild the English Navy.

‘It seems like it’s a little more than I promised earlier. With this money, there will be enough money left over to pay for the dry dock expansion project. After paying the bill, I added the remaining funds and the money I received from the count earlier… If you were to add a little more budget, you could buy one of Brian’s ships… No, the problem is who is in charge of this job… .’

As soon as confirmation was received that Spanish funds would arrive, work began to expand the dry docks at the Royal Dockyard in Deptford.

The dry dock at the Royal Dockyard was scheduled to be completed within a month. Mary, who also confirmed the amount of funds that Spain would send, began to worry about who she should put in charge of building the new ship.

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*In modern times, royal marriages are held in Westminster, but in the 16th century, weddings were held in deserted cathedrals due to infectious diseases. At the time, the population of London was 100,000, and the nobles who attended the Queen’s wedding wielded almost as much power as kings in each province, so health issues had to be taken into consideration.

*The fluffy cake used in modern times, i.e. sponge cake, did not become known in England until 1615. It is also called genoise, and sponge cakes are still called genoise in confectionery and baking recipes.