"I think mustard waffles is exactly what the question's looking for," Darlington agrees, diplomatic if amused. He takes another sip of his tea, feeling it settle as less of a spreading warmth and more a zing of activity, brief and strange. "You may find yourself in luck. Whoever these otherworldly dinner guests are, something like that may be exactly suited to their culinary tastes."

Sitting up straighter, he raises a hand in a theatrical little flourish. "The gustatory pleasure of sweet and savory combined."