Yule Be Sorry: A Christmas Cozy Mystery Series by Mona Marple & Katie Forrest

Author:Mona Marple & Katie Forrest [Marple, Mona & Forrest, Katie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-12-20T00:00:00+00:00

13

Apart from the sound of kitchenware and utensils clanging into each other here and there, Claus Cottage was quiet. The house was enveloped by a devastating kind of silence that only Gilbert’s absence could create.

Since our Christmas dinner was a few hours later than usual, each one of us was tasked with making our own dish – like a potluck – out of one of Mrs Claus’ cookbooks.

I thought Mrs Claus had opted to do that so we could all be distracted from the shocking and devastating news. If so, she was right; I needed to keep busy with something else, or I might just break down.

Gilbert was a great friend to me.

Seeing Mrs Claus cook her Beef Wellington beside Father Christmas, who was tasked with putting together the winter salad, I felt ashamed that I couldn’t pull myself together as well as Mrs Claus did.

She must have been more heartbroken than I was, yet she was working on tonight’s main course effortlessly.

As for me, I was making apple crisps for dessert with a rather straightforward recipe. I guessed that was why this was given to me; it would be hard to mess up putting together sliced apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and oats.

I’d probably still mess it up, given how distracted I was, so I was putting in extra effort to line up the unevenly sliced apples in the baking dish.

August, a more seasoned cook than I was, was working on the green bean casserole. Tom and Jeb were upstairs for a nappy change followed by a nap. Nick was exempted from cooking because he had to be in his best shape for the night’s sleigh ride.

Finally, Gwen worked on what she claimed was her signature dish of mini mushroom and goat cheese tarts, plus an easy-made cranberry brie bite for appetisers.

Unlike all of us, Gwen barely felt Gilbert’s absence – how could she? She hadn’t been here before. In fact, she was the only one who was humming among the group. Perhaps it was her innate love for Christmas as an elf. Or her love of providing domestic help, which was innate in every house elf.

Hearing Gwen hum off-tune made me miss Gilbert’s sassy and uptight self even more. Sure, Gwen seemed eager to help and positively cheery, but Gilbert’s attitude whenever he worked in the kitchen was loved by all of us.

It wasn’t the same without him.

But what if it wasn’t going to be the same anymore?

Snap out of it, Holly. I scolded myself, turning my attention to the apples again.

“You okay there?” August must have noticed my frustration as she slid towards me.

“I’m just making sure this dessert will be perfect.” I lied. Honestly, I didn’t care about the meal at all.

“It doesn’t have to be,” August smiled at me. “I think the essence of Christmas is this – all of us cooking together. It’s nice, don’t you think?”

I looked around the room once more.

If I didn’t focus on Gilbert being nowhere in sight, it really was a heartwarming scene.

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.