"Ah, I imagine so, yes."

"I can help you in crafting a letter to Sophie now about your offer to aid one of her events - possibly by instructing her cook in your home country's cuisine as discussed at last night's dinner?"

"Sure. I'll need to know more about the ingredients and appliances that are available to pick something, of course."

"I expect it would be much the same as my kitchen - we can visit that now if you'd like?"

"Sure."

Lucette can call a maid to alert the cook and then lead them to the kitchen soon afterwards where the cook can give a tour of the various stoves, pots, utensils, pantries, and other kitchen miscellanies. 

Haru thinks he'll be able to make a tolerable stirfry, though without soy sauce it won't be quite right.

"Possibly you could discuss the matter with Sophie's cook and the two of you can craft something suitably similar?"

Lucette has no idea how cooking works.

"If you have any immigrants from China or Japan they might have it."

"None presently that I am aware of, though I mostly only know nobility."

"Yeah, I don't have much sense of how much travel there might be. The stirfry will be okay without it."

Nod. In that case they can compose the letter to Miss Brynd. 

Miss Brynd (or possibly Mrs. Brynd given the lack of mentions of the weather) sends a reply swiftly, suggesting that Thursday as an appropriate time for such a dinner and requesting Mr Swan forward the recipe and meet with her cook the day previous to the dinner to sample their attempt and provide additional advice for the preparation of the final version.

Sure, he can write up a recipe for stirfry and then re-write it incorporating all the things he accidentally thought might go without saying.

And then he has dance lessons scheduled with a tutor, additional clothing tailoring, and then finally, that evening, there's another dinner much like the previous one he went to, but he can get away without attending it if he'd rather not.

"Is there anyone odious I should be on the lookout for?"

"Lord Hart and both Lord and Lady Jameson all have expressed opinions on commoners significantly worse than average - Lady Jameson also seems especially fond of gossiping about things I'd consider both private and unobjectionable. There are also likely to be many others I don't know all that well as this is my first season. You may study my notes if you'd like."

"Please."

The notes are kept on square index cards, neatly organized in boxes. Each card has information on a single person, family, place, or event, depending on the box.  There is an additional small book that provides a sort of directory, so you don't have to look for a person's card to find the name of one of their family members.

How charming. He reads all the ones he's going to meet tonight.

She doesn't have a guest list but she can refer him to the ones she knows will be attending, and he can check the host's entry in the directory for her close friends as well as the cards for lists of less close friends who might still be invited.

She's going to be so jealous when he explains computers later.

He is a capable dancer once taught - thanks, esper awakening! - and tolerates the tailoring with good grace and appears at the dinner.

The party also turns out to be attended by the unobjectionable son of an extremely wealthy Earl, and several of the present ladies are doing their best to attract his attention with their attractively ladylike behavior. Lucette is unfortunately among those ladies, doing her very best to have the most sophisticated opinions about the present season's fashions whilst being demure and deferential to the young lord.

Ew.

What are the most sophisticated opinions about the present season's fashions, inquiring Narnian dukes want to know because they did not bring a book to the social event.

"Well, I know that rubies are favored now, I for one think that violet garnets will return to fashion once they increase in rarity once again - they match our native flowers much more nicely."

"Oh, does your library contain books on the future of gems as well as the past?" asks another young lady.