Aunt Dimity Takes a Holiday (23 page)

Peter returned to New Zealand to finish his whale survey, but Emma tells me that his next project will take him no farther than the Shetland Islands, where he’ll spend the summer counting seals—and keeping his finger on the family pulse.

After two weeks of recuperation at Hailesham, Nell went back to Paris. When she failed to materialize at Christmas, Kit gave the boys rides in Rosie’s sleigh, and young Rainey Dawson, a neighbor’s granddaughter, won the coveted role of the Virgin in the nativity play. We’re all hoping the Honorable Nell will come home at Easter, on the arm of Pierre or Jean-Luc or François.

On the whole, Dimity enjoyed her visit to Hailesham Park. She was particularly proud of me for resisting the obvious temptations. When I admitted that it had been touch-and-go for about a millisecond, she asked what had held me back.

I smiled as the answer came to me, ready-made. “Why would I settle for a noble heart, bags of charm, and a pair of beguiling dimples when I have all of that and so much more with Bill?”

My answer seemed to satisfy Aunt Dimity, though I haven’t heard from her in a while. When we last spoke, she told me she’d need at least a month to recover from our five-day holiday.

Winnie’s Treacle Tart

1 9-inch pie shell

FILLING

 

 

1½ cups light corn syrup combined with 1 teaspoon
molasses
1½ cups fresh soft white bread crumbs
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground ginger
1 egg, lightly beaten

 

Prepare, but do not bake, your favorite pie shell.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, combine the corn syrup-molasses mixture, bread crumbs, lemon juice, ginger, and egg. Stir until the ingredients are well combined. Pour the mixture into the pie shell, smoothing it out with a spatula. The shell should be about two-thirds full.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, or until the filling is firm to the touch and the crust golden brown.

Cut the tart into wedges and serve at once.