January 14

During the biting winter of 1421, Sir Percival Brattleby returned from the Agincourt campaigns with a most unusual captive: Jean-Luc de Valois, a master falconer seized during the siege of Melun. On this fourteenth day of January, the frost was so severe that the captive's leather gauntlets had frozen to his wrists. Percival, moved by the man's stoic silence and the plight of the starving gyrfalcons he carried, ordered the Great Hall's hearth to be stoked with seasoned oak until the stones glowed.

Lady Elspeth Brattleby performed the rite of hospitality, offering the Frenchman a spiced posset before the court. In a gesture that would define the Brattleby reputation for chivalry, Sir Percival did not commit the falconer to the damp oubliettes, but instead granted him the liberty of the mews. It was said that the bond formed that cold afternoon between the English lord and the French captive led to the breeding of the famed 'Lincolnshire Grey' strain of hawks, a lineage that served the House for three centuries, symbolizing a bridge built across the chasm of the Hundred Years' War.

In the depth of the January frost, the proximity of one's seat to the central hearth is the unspoken measure of the Baron's favor and the guest's ancestral standing. One must never approach the fire unbidden, regardless of the chill lingering in one's marrow. The Lord of Brattleby occupies the high-backed chair to the dexter side of the flames, while the guest of highest degree is seated sinister. It is a grave breach of etiquette to stand with one's back to the fire whilst others are seated, for this obscures the warmth and suggests a lack of deference to the communal nature of the hall.

Furthermore, when the logs are replenished by the Groom of the Chambers, conversation must pause momentarily. This silence honors the wood that gives its life for the comfort of the House. Young pages are reminded that they are to remain in the shadows of the tapestry-line, where the draft is keenest, to cultivate the hardy spirit required of a future knight. To complain of the cold is to admit a weakness of character unsuited to the Brattleby bloodline.

Begin by pounding the haunch of venison with a heavy mallet to soften the fibers, for the winter deer is lean and tough. Season the meat heavily with ground juniper berries and long pepper, then allow it to marinate in the sharp verjuice for no less than four hours. The crust is constructed of a heavy rye coffin, reinforced with rendered beef suet to ensure it withstands the long heat of the banked bread-oven. Layer the meat with knobs of butter and blades of mace to provide a rich liquor as it slow-roasts.

Once the pasty is encased and the lid crimped with the mark of the Brattleby Boar, wash the pastry with the beaten egg yolks to achieve a golden sheen. Bake until the crust is hard as a shield-wall. This dish is intended to be served cold to travelers or hunters, as the thick suet crust preserves the meat for many days against the damp. When sliced, the heart of the pasty should reveal a dark, fragrant interior that tastes of the deep woods and the late autumn frosts.