The Curse of Black Isle (Highland Healers Book 1) by Keira Montclair

Author:Keira Montclair [Montclair, Keira]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Keira Montclair
Published: 2021-04-22T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Brigid and Jennet stepped inside the keep, surprised no one was around yet. “I’m going upstairs to our chamber for a moment.” Jennet said, “I’ll meet you in the kitchens. I’m assuming you’re going to chat with Tara since you have the place to yourselves.”

“Aye, meet us there. I’ll see if she had better luck than we did.” Brigid brushed a stray hair away from her face, moving to the dying embers in the hearth’s fire to warm her hands before heading to the kitchens.

She stepped outside before opening the kitchens’ door. Her father had told her that long ago their kitchens had been in a separate building, but when Aunt Brenna had arrived, she insisted on a passageway from one building to the other, so serving lasses weren’t forced to walk outside in the elements during the worst weather.

Some people still didn’t mind their bread wet, apparently.

Tara was the type to so deeply focus that she never heard Brigid’s approach until Brigid stood directly next to her. “Have you found something?”

Tara jumped, startled by her cousin’s approach. Even though Jinny and Edda were nearby chopping vegetables and meat for a stew, she had been so involved in looking at the greens that she hadn’t expected Brigid at all. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Doesn’t bother me. I’m used to it. Brin loves to do it apurpose.” Tara smiled fondly when she named her only brother, who was several years younger than her. “While one or two of these are new to me, we’ve used all the others on multiple occasions. But this one…” She picked up a small object that looked like a red covering over a hard shell. “Jinny calls this nutmeg. She said the outside covering is a different spice called mace, and the inside is nutmeg. It has a nice flavor. She says she’s been using it for years and gets it from France.”

“That’s probably not the piece she’s used for years,” Brigid said, taking the spice and holding it in the air to get a better look.

“Oh! Come try this. She showed me this odd concoction that looks exactly like salt but it tastes the opposite. I wondered if this could be it.” She pulled out a bowl with a white granular substance inside. Tara stuck her fingertips inside and pulled them out, several granules sticking to each surface.

“What is it?”

“She called it sugar. I’ve not seen it before. Claims ’tis sweeter than honey and they get it from Spain. She uses it in her pies and any sweet sauce she has. They can’t get it all the time, so she saves it.”

“Sugar? ’Tis an odd name. I’ve never heard it before either. From Spain? They’ve used it before?”

“Often. Taste it.”

Brigid sniffed the odd substance but gained the courage to stick her tongue to the granules on her finger. She was surprised to find them melting in her mouth, leaving a sweet taste behind. “Oh, ’tis most sweet. Oh, my.” It gave her such a strong sensation she wondered how it was used.

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.