" Can I help you?" Samuel asked.
" I saw that house that was deserted for two years finally had a new owner. The head priest sent me to deliver this from the sunday mass." He lifted the basket which was covered with a white cloth. Still Samuel could see a wine bottle poking out of it, he could guess it must be leftover from their Eucharistic Prayer.
Samuel wasn't overly religious but unlike others, he was aware of the presence of god. He wasn't sure who were the god of this domain but he met the main six gods before coming here. Still he took the basket and said," Thank you. But it is a norm to give out such expensive wines?" He could see from the label it must be over three hundred pound bottle.
" I am not aware of the price. These are mostly the ones donated by our patrons so you don't have to feel pressured. Ah, I am Noah a priest in training. It's nice to meet you." He calmly introduced himself.
" They must have some rich people visiting the place." Samuel thought for a second before introducing himself too. He didn't mention his family name, just Samuel.
" Eh? I wasn't aware that Sam came from Samuel." Noah chuckled finding something interesting about him.
" You know me?" Samuel was aware about his popularity in the city but still it was a remote place at the edge. Considering he was talking to a young priest, they mustn't indulge in entertainment gossip about some rich brat of Rothschild family. Didn't they have better things to do?
" Of course! I have watched all of your movies!" The priest said enthusiastically. That's when Samuel realized that his hair was still dyed black, no wonder Noah recognized him.
The young priest informed that he was still busy so he wanted to leave but Samuel stopped him and gave him a autograph because he could tell Noah was holding back. He hadn't given out much of it because of his minimal public appearance but it was something to keep the young priest's mouth shut and not publicize that he was living next door to him.
Who knows, he could be swarmed with a onslaught of rabid fans if news about him gets out. It was essential to made the young priest realize not to do anything drastic. They ended their short conversation on a high note before Samuel went inside with the basket in hand.
He told them what happened that's when Nicole spoke up," Young master, why don't I bake something to give them in return? It would be a nice gesture."
" That's a good idea...why are you looking at me like that!?" Nicole smiled sweetly upon him agreeing. It's like she was waiting for it!
" Young master! What about your infamous Shepard's pie!? It's been ages since I tasted it too!" He knew the little rascal was up to something.
Samuel looked around and saw that the fire was lit. Adele and Kate were pulled in on the premise of tasting his 'infamous' pie. He knew he couldn't get away with it even if he refuse because they would hound him for it.
" Fine, stop looking at me with those pleading eyes but I will do it right now. I don't want any distractions so it's better to get it over with."
" If you marinate it in egg whites, it will become softer with a deeper flavour. Addition of salt and spices will enhance the flavour of the egg."
" It's young master's special blend. He never told it to anyone including me!" Nicole commented.
" Don't listen to her, it is her excuse to make me cook." Samuel shook his head.
" Now we stir fry meat and put everything in a baking pan and topp it up with potato. To give it a little bit of zist, we add freshly made tomato puree and parmesan cheese because everyone loves cheese. Then bake it in the oven."
" It's that easy?"
" Yes, as I said, it's a low effort dish but with careful preparation the flavour profile will jump to another level. Let's leave it for few minutes and clean everything up."
After half an hour, they were almost done with scrubbing everything. Three people were enough to dust the whole place from top to bottom. The oven made sound signalling that it was ready. Your next read awaits at mvl
Samuel took out the pie which was blowing steam everywhere. Just looking at it made three of them gulp. Samuel immediately cut three pieces and handed to them.
" Try it."
" Wow,...it looks delicious." Kate blew over it for few moment before putting it inside her mouth. It was still hot but bearable. Her eyes lit up!
" This is really good! We can even sell it!"
" Of course young master is a renowned cook in the family. I watched seasoned chef coming to him for pointer!" Nicole relished the taste not before praising his cooking. She was like a mother feeling proud about her son's achievement.
While they were fawning over him, he went to find Adele to deliver her share of the pie. She too complimented it but soon went back to work. Her mind was too occupied to think about anything other than music so he left her alone.
After packing the rest of it, he asked Kate and Nicole to deliver it. They happily dressed up and went out because he promised to prepare another one for them in the meantime.
" I guess, I can only start working after satisfying these gluttons." he shook his head looking at them leave.