Aunt Dimity: Detective (25 page)

My eye hasn't stopped wandering, and Bill's drifts from time to time, but the bond between us is stronger than ever. If a true marriage recognizes human frailty—and thrives on a certain element of suspense—then ours is the truest marriage I know.

Aunt Dimity summed up the murder investigation by commenting that
Finch is surely the only place on earth where the crime of the century would be committed by a flowerpot.

Which is,
she added,
why we love it.

Nicholas seems to agree with her. It's autumn now, and although he's grown strong in mind and spirit, he's shown no inclination to return to London. Bill and the boys are delighted. Uncle Nicky has become as much a part of our family as Kit. Will and Rob—with mud on their minds, no doubt—want him to stay forever.

As for me, I say a prayer of thanks every time I drive by Crabtree Cottage. Prunella Hooper had been a blight upon the village, but even blights have their uses. Her lies forced the villagers to tell the truth. Her death brought new life to my marriage. She was the devil incarnate, but without her, Nicholas might never have found his way out of hell. Her evil had given rise to an awful lot of good.

I'll never build a monument to Pruneface Hooper, but when I drive by Crabtree Cottage, I give thanks.

The Pym Sisters' Gilded Gingerbread

Oven:
300 degrees Fahrenheit

Yield:
15 cookies

Butter two baking sheets. Warm sugar, honey, and lemon rind slowly over low heat until sugar has dissolved. Simmer for five more minutes. Add butter to the hot pan. Stir until it melts. Remove from heat. Stir in flour, baking powder, and ginger. Mix to a fairly stiff dough and roll dough out thinly on a floured board. Cut to desired shape. Transfer cookies to baking sheets with a palette knife or spatula. Bake for 20 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool.

When cool, use unbeaten egg white as glue to attach edible gold leaf in desired pattern.