The Winter Mystery by Faith Martin

Author:Faith Martin [Martin, Faith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joffe Books mystery and crime
Published: 2018-12-17T06:00:00+00:00

* * *

It was nearly one o’clock, an hour before lunch was due to be served, when someone came through the outer front door. Jenny craned her neck, and waited. Whoever the caller was, he or she was actually pausing to remove their boots. And the Junoesque cook’s heart warmed: someone with thoughtful manners at last.

A few seconds later a youngish girl appeared, unwinding her long knitted scarf from around her neck to reveal a nipped red nose and large pansy eyes. Her hair was a wild nest of raven-dark curls. She would have made a perfect model for a Romany princess by one of those pre-Raphaelite masters who actually knew how to paint. The girl stopped when she saw that there was a stranger in the kitchen and gave an uncertain smile.

‘Hello,’ Jenny greeted her cheerfully. ‘Would you like some mulled wine? I’ve just this second finished a batch.’ She indicated a vast punchbowl, full of gently steaming wine, awash with spices, lemon and orange segments and the warming smell of melted honey.

‘Oh, yes please,’ the girl said, instantly winning approval. ‘I wondered if . . . if . . . Jeremy was around,’ she added, as Jenny, ladling out the beverage, handed her a cup. And with those few tentative words, Jenny was able to place her.

Mandy, the infamous landlord’s daughter, she mused with an inner smile. No wonder young Jeremy was so smitten. ‘He’s with the family at the moment,’ Jenny said, then paused discreetly. ‘There’s been a family tragedy.’

Mandy nodded. ‘I know. Mrs Jarvis told my mum yesterday.’ And she would tell anyone else that she could find, no doubt, Jenny thought ruefully. She glanced thoughtfully into the large, anxious eyes, and smiled.

‘I’ll see if I can smuggle him out for you,’ she said, and was rewarded by a beaming smile of gratitude.

Jenny tapped on the parlour door and gingerly poked her head in. Her eyes fixed on Jeremy. ‘I was wondering, could I borrow young Jeremy to help me bring up one of the large jugs of cider from the cellar?’ she asked sweetly. She was, in fact, perfectly capable of lugging about much heavier objects, but nobody here had to know that.

Stan, who’d been staring into the fire, looked up at the interruption, and waved his hand in vague consent. The quickness with which Jeremy fled the tensely silent room was hardly surprising. Bill returned to his day-old newspaper. He’d been on the same page for the last half hour. Bert and Delia returned to playing their desultory game of cards. Neither of them knew which one was winning.

Christmas Day it wasn’t. Even the presents under the tree remained unopened.

Jenny led Jeremy to the kitchen, smiling when he jerked to a halt at the sight of his sweetheart. ‘Mandy!’

Mandy flew into his arms like a cooing homing pigeon and Jenny hastily turned back to her Brussels sprouts. She gave a discreet cough. ‘I really do need that cider jug, young Jeremy,’ she said, thinking of baked apples stuffed with mincemeat and cooked in cider for tomorrow’s pudding.

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.