Oct 18th The Castle kitchen

Eleanor could do nothing but stare as she was led into the vast kitchen. At one end of the long room, the stone arch of a cavernous fireplace could be seen high above the heads of the helpers. Above the fire-lit curve, black greasy soot crawled up the wall, reaching the high ceiling. The noise from so many people working in such close confines, was deafening to her acutely sensitive ears. In one corner, a large burly man tipped logs from a pannier on his back into a large, empty wooden box. Under a table, two dogs growled and snapped as they fought over scraps. A group of women making pies chatted and laughed, surrounded by boards covered with their flour-dusted work. The stench of grease and rancid meat came from the fireplace. Clenching her hands and straighten her spine, she struggled to keep from being sick. Between the figures moving to and fro in front of the huge fire, Eleanor caught sight of a small boy turning a wheel that creaked as the haunch impaled on its spit, turned slowly above the flames.
A wave of warm air caressed her cheek. She twisted her head and caught sight of an open metal door and shelves covered in round loaves. Men with wooden paddles made haste to remove the freshly-baked bread. A warm, yeasty aroma filled the room, displacing the stomach-churning smell of seared flesh.
“I want you to help the girls in the preparation room,” the cook announced leading her across the kitchen.
They passed through a small corridor that led to a smaller room. The room had a low ceiling and a single table with bucket of water at its centre. Mud-caked vegetables were piled high at the end of the table and three women with knives were taking them and dipping them into the bucket to wash them, before peeling them and tossing them into a white, ceramic bowl.
“This is Eleanor, “ the cook explained, handing her a square of hessian. “She’ll be helping you today. Tell her what to do. We’ll need the rest of this finishing before we can put the stew on, so hurry now.”
Eleanor tied the hessian around her waist, as she had seen the other girls do and, picking up a tuber dipped it into the icy water. The skin felt rough and ridged under her fingers as she rubbed at it, working the mud free. The woman on her left, a sullen dark-haired creature of uncertain age, nudged a crude knife towards her. Picking up the knife, she forced frozen fingers to hold the vegetable tight as she struggled to cut through the tough outer skin.