action;
[ at first, it may seem as if there's no one in the kitchen but herself, that particular cake, and a six-foot-some-odd man, clad in black, standing straight and firm as a marble statue—covered in mess.
but, soon—a half a moment after even—alois' little face pops around that tree of a man's side, smiling at her. ] Hullo, [ he chirrups, and like the butler before him, with his back to her, he's got flour and honey in his hair. the butler—claude's—suit has been powdered with flour itself, and there's egg in his hair (maybe three tops) and quite the disorder of baking ingredients all over the floor and counters. strawberry stains, too, of course on this or that (clothes, mostly). and, though it's hidden with him standing where he is around claude, there's a bruise forming on his elbow, the result of slipping a few minutes earlier during his running about and playing and making things, as usual, harder for claude.
as he waits for her to speak, still curiously peering around claude's side, he climbs up to stand on his shoes and balances himself by holding onto the cuffs of his sleeves. ]