women.
“Mary!” Elizabeth grabbed Mary’s hand and tilted the pot upright. “Where were your thoughts? For your mind was not on pouring. Look at the linen.”
“W-what did you say?”
Elizabeth pointed her finger at her overflowing cup.
Criminy . There were the fat droplets of chocolate spotting the tablecloth too. “Oh dear. Let me fetch something to—”
“Never you mind, missy. I’ll take care of the spillage,” said Mrs. Polkshank , the cook and housekeeper whom Mary had engaged only two weeks before.
Mrs. Polkshank set down a plate of hot muffins on the table, and Elizabeth snatched one up. “Used to it, you know,” she told them. “The later the hour at the tavern, you see, the more spills there were, so I learned to be always prepared.”
Just as Anne entered the dining room, Mrs. Polkshank , who did not seem to concern herself with modesty, hoisted her pendulous right breast and snatched a homespun cloth from the waistband of her apron.
Anne stared in disgust as the cook dropped her breast back into place, wet the rag with the tip of her tongue, then began to dab away the chocolate stains.
“Oh, this ain’t goin ’ to do it.” The heavyset woman spun around and started for the door to the passage. “I’ll be needin ’ some vinegar.” She paused when she reached the threshold and looked back over her shoulder. “Shall I fetch some more chocolate? Maybe some tea for you, Miss Anne?”
Anne did not turn around to reply. Anger blazed in the golden bursts of her moss green eyes. She shook her head furiously.
“Well, then, I’ll be back in a tick or two.” Mary watched Mrs. Polkshank disappear into the passage.
Anne immediately addressed Elizabeth . “Sister, will you please tell Mary that Cook must go.”
Mary frowned. “She is not going anywhere, Anne, and if you wish to discuss our staff, you may speak directly to me.”
Two bright red dots appeared on Anne’s cheeks. “Very well, I shall. Where did you find her, Mary, on a street corner in
Drury Lane
?”
Elizabeth took a large bite of her muffin and carefully lifted her cup to wash it down with a gulp of chocolate. “I do not agree with you, Anne. We never had meals in the country like Cook’s. I think Mrs. Polkshank is quite talented. And she certainly keeps a cleaner house than Aunt Prudence’s thief of a housekeeper did.”
“She is quite gifted in the kitchen—and very economical,” Mary added. “She always has at least a shilling or two spare after marketing. You must agree that with her creativity in piecing together meals and her skill in preparation, it almost slips my mind how limited our budget is.”
“Our only shortages of funds are due to your frugality, Mary. We are not in want of coin. Why, with the portions we’ve been given, we could live like kings for several years at least.”
“Or princesses, at the very least.” Elizabeth hid her grin behind the lip of her cup.
Mary shook her head. “Anne, you are not angry because I engaged Mrs. Polkshank . You are not truly angry, at least not this morn, about my handling of our household accounts.”
“Really, Mary, am I not?” Anne folded her arms over her chest.
“No, you are still fuming over last night.”
Anne lowered her head, as if she’d been studying the cut-work edge on the serviette upon her lap. “Lady Upperton had just introduced me to a most diverting young man—an earl.” The green rim of her eyes grew clear and sharp as she looked up again. “And then, you come rushing into the drawing room, hair all mussed, and within an instant we are all standing outside the Brower residence waiting for the carriage to scoop us up and transport us home.”
“Blackstone kissed me.” Mary felt her voice tremble. “That wicked rake did everything he could to make a mockery of me before his brother. He did it because somehow he knows I have set my cap at Lord Wetherly . That is the only explanation.”
Elizabeth settled her hand on
“Mary!” Elizabeth grabbed Mary’s hand and tilted the pot upright. “Where were your thoughts? For your mind was not on pouring. Look at the linen.”
“W-what did you say?”
Elizabeth pointed her finger at her overflowing cup.
Criminy . There were the fat droplets of chocolate spotting the tablecloth too. “Oh dear. Let me fetch something to—”
“Never you mind, missy. I’ll take care of the spillage,” said Mrs. Polkshank , the cook and housekeeper whom Mary had engaged only two weeks before.
Mrs. Polkshank set down a plate of hot muffins on the table, and Elizabeth snatched one up. “Used to it, you know,” she told them. “The later the hour at the tavern, you see, the more spills there were, so I learned to be always prepared.”
Just as Anne entered the dining room, Mrs. Polkshank , who did not seem to concern herself with modesty, hoisted her pendulous right breast and snatched a homespun cloth from the waistband of her apron.
Anne stared in disgust as the cook dropped her breast back into place, wet the rag with the tip of her tongue, then began to dab away the chocolate stains.
“Oh, this ain’t goin ’ to do it.” The heavyset woman spun around and started for the door to the passage. “I’ll be needin ’ some vinegar.” She paused when she reached the threshold and looked back over her shoulder. “Shall I fetch some more chocolate? Maybe some tea for you, Miss Anne?”
Anne did not turn around to reply. Anger blazed in the golden bursts of her moss green eyes. She shook her head furiously.
“Well, then, I’ll be back in a tick or two.” Mary watched Mrs. Polkshank disappear into the passage.
Anne immediately addressed Elizabeth . “Sister, will you please tell Mary that Cook must go.”
Mary frowned. “She is not going anywhere, Anne, and if you wish to discuss our staff, you may speak directly to me.”
Two bright red dots appeared on Anne’s cheeks. “Very well, I shall. Where did you find her, Mary, on a street corner in
Drury Lane
?”
Elizabeth took a large bite of her muffin and carefully lifted her cup to wash it down with a gulp of chocolate. “I do not agree with you, Anne. We never had meals in the country like Cook’s. I think Mrs. Polkshank is quite talented. And she certainly keeps a cleaner house than Aunt Prudence’s thief of a housekeeper did.”
“She is quite gifted in the kitchen—and very economical,” Mary added. “She always has at least a shilling or two spare after marketing. You must agree that with her creativity in piecing together meals and her skill in preparation, it almost slips my mind how limited our budget is.”
“Our only shortages of funds are due to your frugality, Mary. We are not in want of coin. Why, with the portions we’ve been given, we could live like kings for several years at least.”
“Or princesses, at the very least.” Elizabeth hid her grin behind the lip of her cup.
Mary shook her head. “Anne, you are not angry because I engaged Mrs. Polkshank . You are not truly angry, at least not this morn, about my handling of our household accounts.”
“Really, Mary, am I not?” Anne folded her arms over her chest.
“No, you are still fuming over last night.”
Anne lowered her head, as if she’d been studying the cut-work edge on the serviette upon her lap. “Lady Upperton had just introduced me to a most diverting young man—an earl.” The green rim of her eyes grew clear and sharp as she looked up again. “And then, you come rushing into the drawing room, hair all mussed, and within an instant we are all standing outside the Brower residence waiting for the carriage to scoop us up and transport us home.”
“Blackstone kissed me.” Mary felt her voice tremble. “That wicked rake did everything he could to make a mockery of me before his brother. He did it because somehow he knows I have set my cap at Lord Wetherly . That is the only explanation.”
Elizabeth settled her hand on
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