Murder Through the English Post by Jessica Ellicott

Author:Jessica Ellicott [Ellicott, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2022-03-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Beryl pulled the motorcar to a stop at the curb in front of the Silver Spoon Tearoom. She gathered up the crate of greengage jam samples from the boot and bustled into the shop with a bubbling sense of enthusiasm. Generally speaking, Beryl had always thought of food as little more than fuel and hadn’t spent enough time preparing any of it to give much thought to how the overall process even occurred. But between Simpkins’s involvement in his company and her recent experience of harvesting fruit, she found it had sparked a level of interest in the viability of the product that she would not previously have considered possible.

Humming under her breath, she pushed open the plate glass door of the shop and stepped inside. Generally, Minnie Mumford’s shop bustled with activity. Hers was one of the only places in the village to stop in for a bite to eat, and although Minnie gave Prudence Rathbone a run for her money in the gossip department, one could not fault her for the quality of her baked goods or, should one’s interests run to such things, her pots of strongly brewed tea.

But this afternoon Beryl was surprised to see only one customer in the shop when she entered. And it had to be said, the atmosphere was a strange departure from the normally cheerful and welcoming one the shop generally exuded. In place of the gentle chatter of satisfied patrons and the clinking of cutlery against fine china cups, the noise of a heated argument filled the space.

Beryl wondered if by any chance the air of hostility had driven off other patrons. She stood in front of the door with the crate of jam jars poised on her hip, considering how best to proceed. Unlike Edwina, who certainly would have known exactly what to do to smooth the waters while simultaneously feeling agonized at the discomfort the circumstance produced, Beryl simply took in the scene unfolding in front of her.

Mrs. Scott, the wife of Mr. Scott, the village greengrocer, stood red faced and shouting at the far end of the room. Within arm’s reach and prudently cowering behind the counter used to hold the ornately wrought brass till, was Minnie Mumford. Although Beryl could not drum up a great deal of enthusiasm for Minnie based on her tendency towards gossip, she generally found her to be a benign and gentle sort of a woman. She generally seemed eager to please and as though her highest goals in life were putting her customers at ease and connecting with them in a friendly way.

Beryl had sometimes wondered if that was the reason for Minnie’s tendency to gossip. Prudence always came across as someone who took on the role of gossip as a way to distinguish herself from her fellow villagers, but Beryl wondered if Minnie did it as a way to find common ground. By commiserating with them or chewing over the business of others, she could while away a few

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.