English Trifle (19 page)

Cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

* For a tasty option, toast half the coconut by spreading coconut in single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until coconut is light brown. You can also put coconut in toaster oven on “dark” cycle. Check frequently to avoid burning.

~ ~ ~

Manny left and Sadie walked into the kitchen, smiling with deep satisfaction at the expansive countertops, twelve-range stove, and triple ovens that, for today at least, were hers and hers alone. Mrs. Land might not know chicken stock from bouillon but she kept a very nice kitchen.

Sadie took a moment to familiarize herself with the room—it was pretty straightforward—but not well stocked. Lacy may have cooked, but she likely only did things here and there to fill out the meal. Sadie found several black aprons hanging on a hook next to her jacket and picked out the cleanest one.

Someone had done some shopping as there were the basics in the glass-fronted refrigerator. The freezer also had a few items—including frozen scones with instructions on how to properly thaw and reheat them. Sadie was downright offended, but managed to push her way past it in order to focus on breakfast. There were potatoes left over from last night, plenty of eggs, cheese, and some ham and even a little broccoli. Unfortunately, she only found an old bag of coconut, and it didn’t have nearly enough for the macaroons. Plus, there wasn’t any chocolate to dip the macaroons into. She’d have to find a way to get what she needed for the cookies—in fact, she’d definitely need a store run if she were going to cook all the meals today. However, she didn’t let the missing ingredients overwhelm her excitement about the one English staple she’d been dying to make—crumpets.

Sadie had looked forward to tea and crumpets since she and Breanna first decided to take this trip, and she hadn’t been disappointed. They were a savory, non-sweet tea treat, and Sadie had first tried them at a little tea shop in Northampton. From the first bite she’d known she wanted to learn how to make crumpets on her own. She was encouraged by a good selection of baking items in the cupboards. All she needed was a recipe.

At the far end of the kitchen she located a shelf full of cookbooks, and with eager excitement, she set out to find a crumpet recipe. Finding a crumpet recipe in an English cookbook was easy; however, once she read through the recipe, she realized crumpets were very different from anything she’d ever made. Before actually eating her first crumpet, Sadie had thought they were like a crepe, but they turned out to be more like a muffin—sorta—but not really. They were similar in size and shape to the English muffins Sadie bought at the grocery store, but they weren’t the same thing. According to the recipe, they were cooked on top of the stove using something called crumpet rings to hold the shape. She’d never heard of crumpet rings. She’d never heard of baking muffins on a stove either.

The recipe called for yeast and rising time so she needed to verify that there was yeast somewhere in this kitchen before she got started. Luckily, a quick inspection turned up a couple packages of yeast in the refrigerator. She took it as a sign that she was meant to make crumpets since, despite the poor stock of the kitchen, she had everything she needed for the recipe.

She set the yeast to proof while combining the other ingredients—only wishing she had instant yeast to speed up the process. She soon wished that she also knew how to use metric measurements. It took a good deal of time to figure out all that math, but she eventually added the yeast and stirred until her arm felt ready to fall off. Once everything was thoroughly mixed, she covered the bowl with a damp flour-sack towel, preheated one of the ovens to 150 degrees, and put the bowl inside to speed up the rising process, which, according to the recipe, could take as long as an hour. Then she went on a hunt for crumpet rings.

She had to return to the recipe again in order to get a good mental image of what a crumpet ring really was. She assumed it must be round, at least an inch tall, perhaps with a handle to make it easy to remove once the crumpets set up. Then again, the recipe said to use tongs to remove the rings once the crumpets were ready to turn, so maybe there was no handle. It did say that crumpets made without rings were called pikelets. Sadie filed that bit of trivia away, but was determined to find crumpet rings if she could.

She was peering into the very back of a drawer she’d nearly emptied when the sound of footsteps made her stiffen. Whipping around with her heart in her throat, she half expected to encounter the murderer wielding another fireplace poker. Instead, Austin Melcalfe stopped in his tracks just inside the doorway of the kitchen that led to the staff dining room. For a moment his brooding expression was replaced with surprise, and then he quickly shut it down, opting for the disappointed frustration that was so at home on his face.

“What are you doing in here?” he asked briskly. “I told you specifically to stay out of the kitchen.”

Sadie cleared her throat and pushed her hair from her eyes while standing up straight. “I assumed that only meant yesterday,” she said innocently. “And we needed a cook; Grant wasn’t able to find a replacement for Mrs. Land.”

“Grant said you could take her place?” Austin asked sharply, his eyes and face issuing her a challenge. He was dressed in rather trendy jeans, faded across the thigh, brown leather shoes, and a button-up shirt that he left untucked, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. A rather casual country estate ensemble, Sadie thought, but nice.

“Grant didn’t give me permission,” Sadie said, not wanting to get the butler in trouble—even if he had put her in her place last night. She’d been careful not to put any staff members at risk with this venture; she’d feel horrible if anyone got in trouble. For that reason, she was glad Austin had discovered her before Grant had. “But Mrs. Land is gone,” Sadie continued with a shrug. “And I like to cook. Everyone needs to eat and I’m just doing what I can to help.”

Austin was silent as if it took a lot of concentration to process that thought. He looked at the drawer she had been rummaging through. “What are you looking for?”

“Um, crumpet rings,” Sadie answered carefully. Why did he care what she was looking for? And what was he doing here anyway?

He lifted his eyebrows while still managing to show his disdain. “You’re making crumpets?”

“Well, I considered praying for them instead, but I’m afraid my faith isn’t quite that strong.” She smiled at her own joke.

He didn’t crack a smile. “No one makes crumpets anymore.”

Sadie, still smiling as if he weren’t being boorishly rude, shook her head. “If people still eat them, then someone must still make them.”

His eyes narrowed and he walked further into the room. “I mean that households don’t make their own. We buy them.”

Sadie was not surprised and considered commenting on the fact that not having a real cook might have something to do with the fact that he assumed all crumpets were store-bought. However, she resisted saying so, choosing instead to turn the spotlight back on him. “And how would you know that? I don’t imagine you’re all that intrinsically involved in kitchen work.”

“Everyone knows you buy crumpets,” he countered.

“Well, I found a recipe,” she said, dropping her hand from her hip and turning back to the recipe. “And I plan to make them, but I can’t find crumpet rings.”

“Because no one makes their own crumpets anymore.”

“So you said,” Sadie replied. After a few moments she looked up to see he was still watching her. She didn’t mind so much so long as his watching didn’t lead to him kicking her out of the kitchen. “Can I help you with something?”

“Help me?” he repeated as if not understanding the question.

“Well, are you hungry? Is that why you’re here? I’ve got the crumpet batter rising and I’ll be starting a breakfast casserole in a few minutes. I found some cute ceramic dishes that I think will work perfectly for individual casseroles.”

“You shouldn’t be up and about on your own,” he said, completely ignoring what she’d said.

“Manny escorted me,” Sadie informed him. “Didn’t he tell you that? He’s posted at the staircase.” As soon as she said it, she cringed slightly, hoping she hadn’t just gotten Manny in trouble. Grant had been talking about staff when he said they could get in trouble for talking to her; Manny didn’t count as staff, did he?

“I came down another way,” Austin said.

Sadie made a note of that. She loved the idea of secret passageways—well, she loved the idea of knowing where they were for herself. It wasn’t nearly as much fun just to know they were there. That was actually kind of creepy.

“And why are you here?” Sadie pushed.

He paused and she imagined that he was trying to come up with a reason. “I heard noises,” he said. “And I’ve always been an early riser.”

“Apparently,” Sadie said, glancing at the clock—it was a quarter to six. She gave up on the drawer she was rifling through and stood, looking around for any other place she might find the rings. They had to be here. This was an English kitchen and despite Austin’s insistence that no one made their own crumpets, Sadie was not giving up. “Security knows I’m here and they said they’ll be checking on me now and again.” She considered telling him about the whistle, but no one seemed to respect it like she did so she let it go this time. He continued to stand there while she moved on to another drawer. “So, since security knows I’m here and you’ve solved your little mystery of noises in the kitchen . . .” He didn’t make any move to leave so she continued. “Is there something else you needed?”

“Actually, I am hungry,” he said, but made no move to get himself anything. Sadie gave up her crumpet ring hunt for the moment and headed for the fridge. He might not like that a guest was working in the kitchen, but he had no qualms about having her wait on him. She kept waiting for him to tell her to leave, but so far it didn’t seemed to have crossed his mind.

“Well, what’s your pleasure? I was about to dice up some ham, would you like a slice of that? There’s also milk in here and some fruit—would you like an apple?”

“An apple would be fine,” he said, as if doing her a favor. She took one out of the fridge, rinsed it off, and handed it to him. He regarded it for a moment, turning it around in his hand and then took a small bite while she returned to searching the drawer. After that one bite he put the apple on the counter, which to Sadie said he wasn’t here for food.

Austin let out a breath and looked around the kitchen, crossing his arms and planting his feet as if he were some kind of sentry. “Where is the kitchen help?”

Sadie threw her hands up and out, cocking her head coyly as if she’d just burst out of a birthday cake. “Ta-da,” she said with a big grin. It went over like BLTs at a bar mitzvah. Austin didn’t react in the slightest, except to glower even more.

Sadie dropped her hands and cleared her throat. “I haven’t seen anyone this morning other than Manny, the security guard.” However, the fact that Austin had asked after the kitchen help reminded Sadie that Lacy was usually in charge of breakfast. And then Charlotte had informed Austin that Lacy was missing. Would Austin have come to see Lacy?

“So,” Sadie said, trying to come up with something to keep him talking. “You spend a lot of time at Southgate, do you?”

Austin shrugged. “I’ve been living here since William became ill,” he said dryly, not seeming to be in any hurry to leave but not thrilled to be talking to her either. She wondered if he had a headache from all the wine he’d drunk last night—but then he’d been like this when she first met him, so maybe it was just his overall personality.

“Where did you live before that?” she asked.

“I had a flat in Exeter, but still spent a great deal of time out here. Once I became trustee it was apparent I needed to be here full time.”

“That’s very generous of you,” Sadie said, returning to the crumpets. She checked on the batter, but it wasn’t quite doubled just yet. There was still the problem of the crumpet rings. She wanted to explore the other parts of the kitchen, but felt funny doing so with Austin standing there. She decided to start the preparation for the breakfast casserole while she waited on the crumpet batter. She removed the ham and broccoli from the refrigerated case and set them on the butcher-block table. She diced the ham and began chopping the broccoli; Austin watched her with his eyebrows still pulled together.

Her thoughts went back to Lacy. “Do you make it a habit of watching the cooks when you’re here?” Was that it? He had some kind of cooking fetish?

“No,” he said simply, looking past her toward the staff dining room and, coincidentally, the door through which Lacy had disappeared yesterday. Sadie looked at him more closely, noting the tension in the set of his shoulders. Sadie finished the broccoli while Austin glanced at his watch and then looked up at her.

Sadie didn’t respond; she just held his eyes for a few seconds, smiled, and headed toward a shelf stacked with various bowls, containers, steam trays, and other kitchen equipment. She had her eye on a large bowl on the top shelf, but had to stand on her tiptoes in order to barely brush it with her fingertips. She stretched even more and managed to scoot it off the shelf half an inch at a time before it finally dropped, allowing her to catch it. She felt it very poor manners on Austin’s part that he didn’t offer to help. Strike four . . . or twelve. She couldn’t remember how many times he’d been rude to her in one way or another.

She put the bowl on the table, watching as his eyes went toward the door again. “Are you waiting for someone?” she asked easily.

“Why are you asking so many questions?” he snapped, glaring at her with what could only be classified as haughtiness. So much for his apology last night.

“I’m just trying to make conversation seeing as how you’re intent on hanging out here with me, and, well, I’m a little curious about a woman that was here yesterday. I thought if you spent much time in the kitchen you might know her.”

She was careful not to make eye contact while she said this, giving no impression she was leading him anywhere. The silence stretched itself tightly over several seconds, but Sadie forced herself to be patient. If she seemed too determined to get an answer, or too eager about what he would say, she might blow everything. She’d learned last night that Austin could reveal a great deal of information under the right circumstances. Too bad she hadn’t offered him any wine this morning. That might have helped.