An Agent For Amaryllis (Pinkerton Matchmaker 82) by Julia Ridgmont

Author:Julia Ridgmont [Julia Ridgmont]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-07-10T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Amy never thought she would enjoy spending a day in the kitchen, but here she was with Jessica, helping Mrs. Thornton bake cookies for their outing tomorrow, and actually enjoying it. The sprightly old woman had lots of stories to tell about when she and her husband had crossed the plains in a wagon train. “We ate the same thing morning, noon, and night,” she told Amy and Jessica as she added butter and molasses to the mixture. Amy had been tasked with chopping cherries and using them to make a filling for the center. “The three B’s, as we called them. Bacon and biscuits and beans. What a treat it was to come across greens or berries growing wild. Mind you, we had to make sure they weren’t poisonous. I even heard of one company who came across some parsnips that were growing wild. The starving company ate them, but found out too late that they were poisonous. It made them quite sick. A few of them died. Even touching them caused excessive burning on their skin.”

“Oh, my!” said Jessica, her face contorting. “That sounds dreadful. I’m so thankful that I never had to experience that. When Chas first brought me out here by train, I was so awed by the vastness and variety of the country. I applaud those early pioneers who made the trek by wagon and foot.”

Jessica had come out to Denver with Chas on their honeymoon shortly after they solved the case in Virginia that Mark had commissioned them to. Amy had stayed home with the Packards. She, too, had been in complete awe while crossing the plains a few weeks ago. Even though she’d heard what a tremendously big and different place the West was, she really hadn’t been able to comprehend it until seeing it for herself.

When Amy had the cherry sauce bubbling in her saucepan, Mrs. Thornton looked it over and gave a satisfied nod. “Looks about right. Now we’ll drop spoonfuls of batter onto the cookie pan and you, Amy, will need to add half a spoonful of cherry filling to each one. And then Mrs. Bryant can come after you and drop another dollop of batter over the top.”

The trio worked in easy companionship over the next few minutes until the cookies were placed into the oven. After the first batch was taken out and set aside to cool, a second batch went in.

Footsteps could be heard from the hallway, and a minute later, a man with light brown hair, round face, and cleft chin came in. His hooded eyes, grayish in color and slightly slanted, opened wider upon seeing the kitchen was occupied.

Looking up at the man, Mrs. Thornton asked, “What can I do for you, Pete?”

Rubbing a hand over his chambray shirt, he shuffled his feet, looking down at the floor. “Just smelled those cookies and decided to follow my nose, ma’am.”

Chuckling, Mrs. Thornton wrapped a few cookies in a clean cloth and handed it to him. “Here you go.

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