English Trifle (2 page)

“The scones,” Breanna said, pronouncing the word like an American, “I like. But that cream stuff is nasty.”

“That cream stuff is called clotted cream,” Sadie corrected as she put the halves of her scone back together, making a sandwich—which was how the English ate their scones. “And Devon is famous for it.”

Breanna looked up and lifted her eyebrows. “The very words clotted cream make my point: it even sounds gross. And talk about unhealthy—it’s like pure butterfat.”

“And what do you think butter is made of?” Sadie asked, but then she promptly ignored her daughter’s reply, putting up her hand to block any further complaints as she took her first bite, allowing the cool cream, sweet jam, and smooth scone to combine perfectly in her mouth. She chewed slowly and carefully, savoring every moment. When she opened her eyes, Breanna was grinning at her.

“You’re such a food junkie,” Breanna said.

“Agreed,” Sadie said before taking another bite.

It was several minutes before she finished a second scone, set down her cup of tea—peppermint, since she thought real tea tasted like wet socks—and let out a satisfied breath. “Our last tea in England,” she said sadly. “And I never did wrestle the scone recipe away from Mrs. Land.”

“Whatever,” Breanna said dismissively. “You’ll go home, spend two weeks baking scone recipes you find online and end up with a recipe that blows Mrs. Land’s out of the water. You can call them ‘Sadie’s Scrumptulicious Scones’ or ‘Scones to Die For’ or something like that.”

Sadie cocked her head and smiled at the compliment. “You know me too well.”

Breanna nodded and leaned back in her seat. She looked at her watch—a waterproof, multifunctioning black monstrosity that was as feminine as a chainsaw. “Where’s Liam?” she asked.

Sadie shrugged. He’d texted Breanna, telling them to wait for him in the sitting room, but that had been nearly fifteen minutes ago. Sadie eyed the two scones they’d left for him and wondered if he’d notice if she ate one. Would he even have time to eat both scones with the staff in such a hurry to be done with them? And yet, when she’d put on her jeans this morning she found them a bit harder to button up than they’d been when she had arrived. At fifty-six years old she no longer had the metabolism of her youth and needed to have limits. But it was so hard! And how often was she going to have a cream tea in Devonshire? Sadie gave in and grabbed a third scone. Breanna didn’t seem to notice, so Sadie quickly prepared it and then savored every bite. When it was gone, the last scone called to her, but this time she ignored it. She couldn’t eat all of Liam’s scones.

In order to distract herself from that last baked confection, she reviewed all the amazing things they’d done and seen that week. She and Breanna had made a list on the airplane from the U.S. and had diligently sought out things from some of their favorite books and movies set in England. They’d toured Tintagel, the ruins of King Arthur’s castle in Cornwall, Ascot where Eliza Doolittle attended the races in My Fair Lady, Alnwick Castle in Northumberland which was used as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies, and they even took the Jack the Ripper tour in London—creepy. Sadie felt sure they’d gotten everything on the list, but reviewed it in her mind one last time, mostly to keep herself from the final scone. Instantly, she sat up.

“We need to take a turn about the room,” she said excitedly. She didn’t wait for an answer, instead she moved to her daughter’s side and pulled her to her feet.

“What?” Breanna asked, looking at her strangely as she stumbled to get her balance, nearly dropping the scone in her hand as she did so.

Sadie was already tugging her toward the perimeter of the room. “Remember? It was on our list—taking a turn around the room like Miss Bingley and Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice.” She waved her hand through the air in a regal fashion. “I’ll be Caroline Bingley and you can be Elizabeth—although with your bad attitude, maybe you should be Caroline.”

“I don’t remember us assigning characters when we put it on the list,” Breanna said before taking a bite of her scone.

Sadie gave her a dirty look, ignoring the commentary. Breanna shook her head but fell into step beside her mother, standing nearly five inches taller than Sadie thanks to the genetics she’d inherited from her birth parents. They walked slowly, scanning the collection of paintings and antique furniture on the interior wall as they made their way toward the far end of the long, narrow room. They’d been in this room twice before, but hadn’t inspected it too closely. It was only fitting that doing so should be part of their final moments at Southgate estate.

When they neared the far wall, they turned and found themselves looking out the window furthest from the door. It was one of three floor-to-ceiling windows covered in elaborate folds of the same fabric used on the settees she and Breanna had been sitting on earlier. It had rained off and on all week, and had just started to sprinkle again, giving the view of the garden a watery look. Breanna popped the last of her scone in her mouth.

“I wish we’d had more time to walk through the gardens,” Sadie said as they walked toward the window and she looked out upon the meticulously kept shrubs and bushes. “It’s too bad it was so wet.”

Breanna suddenly stopped, and since Sadie’s arm was linked through Breanna’s she was pulled to a stop as well, and none too gracefully either.

“Why are you being so difficult?” Sadie said, tugging on her daughter’s arm again.

Breanna didn’t respond. Instead she lifted a hand and pointed toward the curtain panel just to the right of the window.

The curtain was pushed out from the wall, nearly a foot. Poking out from beneath the folds of the heavy pleated fabric were the toes of two black leather shoes. A glass-fronted china cabinet, which stood between two of the windows, kept that particular curtain panel from being easily noticed. It was a perfect hiding place for whoever had chosen to do just that.

“Hello?” Sadie asked after several seconds of silence.

No response.

She and Breanna shared a look and Sadie felt annoyance rush through her at the idea that they were being spied upon. They’d have overheard her suspicions about the staff wanting them to leave. How embarrassing.

“Alright,” she said in her schoolteacher voice, directing her comments toward the shoes that hadn’t moved. “We can see you, so come out. Is that you, Liam?” Liam didn’t strike Sadie as the practical joker type, but it was the only explanation she could think of.

No answer. Not Liam.

Breanna took a step back, pulling her mother with her, and although Sadie’s chest prickled with apprehension, she refused to give into it. She pulled herself up to her full five and a half feet and raised her chin. “This isn’t funny,” she said. “So just make it easy on all of us and come out.”

Nothing.

Taking a deep breath, and ignoring a new tremor of fear, she took a few steps forward and in one motion pulled the drapes back in order to unmask their uninvited guest.

Sadie sucked in a breath and didn’t move.

Breanna screamed before clamping both hands over her mouth.

The man impaled and subsequently pinned to the wall by what looked like a fireplace poker did nothing but stare at the floor with his face frozen in shocked horror, a blossom-shaped bloodstain on his chest.

Sadie’s American English Trifle

1 yellow or white cake mix (can use pre-made pound or angel food cake), cut into cubes

1 package Danish dessert , raspberry or strawberry (can use Jell-O)

1 packet Bird’s brand custard mix (can use a large box of vanilla pudding)

1–2 cups frozen strawberries, thawed (Shawn prefers raspberries)

2 bananas, sliced

1 cup whipping cream, whipped

A couple of hours before assembling the trifle, prepare the cake mix, the custard mix, and the Danish dessert according to the package directions and allow to cool properly.

In a trifle dish or glass bowl layer all ingredients in the following order—cake cubes, Danish dessert, custard, fruit, and bananas. A trifle dish will usually allow two layers; a glass casserole dish will only allow one. Top trifle with whipping cream and refrigerate until ready to serve. Don’t layer trifle more than six hours before eating or cake will get soggy and bananas may brown. Serves 8.

* If using Jell-O instead of Danish dessert, allow time for Jell-O to set up in refrigerator before serving, about 4 hours.

* Bre’s chocolate trifle: chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, and crushed Oreos instead of fruit. Yummy!

~ ~ ~

Sadie stumbled backwards, grabbing Breanna’s arm as she did so, and unable to catch her breath for what felt like several seconds. She stared at the man while her brain argued over what she was seeing.

A dead man?

No way. Not here.

That poker isn’t there for decoration.

Once Sadie fully absorbed the sight before her, she began walking backward again—away from the man behind the curtain though she couldn’t stop staring at him. The light in the room reflected off the brass handle of the poker, drawing attention to itself as if there were any way they wouldn’t notice. She bumped into Breanna who was frozen in place, reminding Sadie that she wasn’t alone. Breanna’s wide eyes kicked in Sadie’s motherly instincts, even if her curiosity didn’t want to leave just yet, and she grabbed Breanna’s arm.

“Come on,” she said as she tugged Breanna toward the door. Breanna finally pulled her eyes away from the body and took her shaky hands away from her mouth as they dodged furniture on their way out of the room. The slamming of the door behind them echoed off the marble floor and vaulted ceiling of the foyer. Sadie’s heart was pumping in her chest as she and Breanna stumbled to a stop on the marble floor.

A fireplace poker? She asked in her mind as she scanned the huge area for help, feeling very small and vulnerable in the cavernous room. Was it really a poker?

Maybe she should go back in and take a second look, just to make sure. She shook away the thought. What is wrong with you, Sadie Hoffmiller? she demanded of herself. She had Breanna to take care of right now. Focus, woman, focus!

The holiday decorations that had seemed so festive and quaint during their stay now looked garish. The red ornaments on the two trees flanking the marble staircase, and the red leaves of the poinsettias spread throughout the room, reminded Sadie not of the holiday season that was coming to an end, but of the bloodstain on the chest of the man pinned to the sitting room wall. Deep red. Fresh. Her stomach tightened at the realization that the body hadn’t been there—hadn’t been dead—for long. She and Breanna had enjoyed their tea without any idea they were in the company of a corpse. How disgusting. The memory of their final tea was definitely ruined forever.

“Help!” Sadie yelled, though the word caught in her throat that had gone dry. She swallowed and tried again. “Someone?”

In the center of the foyer was a wide staircase that led to a landing before branching into two narrower staircases, leading to the upper east and west wings of the house where the bedrooms and family suites were located. A garland-wrapped balcony rimmed what could be seen of the second floor, but no one was on either level.

“Please,” Sadie called. “Help us!”

The silence that echoed back was eerie and Sadie shivered as her mind considered their options and her heart raced with adrenaline. Breanna’s hand was still in hers and she didn’t seem in any hurry to let go. Sadie gave her daughter’s hand a squeeze, her way of assuring Breanna that everything was okay, just before Breanna leaned forward, bracing her free hand on her thigh. “I think I’m gonna be sick,” she said.

Sadie immediately identified a nearby chair as somewhere Breanna could sit down, but with a dead man on the other side of the wall it seemed an unwise choice to stay so close—especially out in the open. She couldn’t help but feel a little like Bambi and his mother in the meadow. Instead, Sadie put an arm around her daughter’s waist and pulled her toward the far side of the staircase. “Come on,” Sadie said. “Let’s find a staff member.”

On their first day at the estate she’d noticed that staff disappeared on the far side of the staircase and although there was a call button in nearly every room of the house, Sadie wasn’t about to wait for them to come to her. She’d asked Liam for a full tour of the house when they first arrived, curious as to the setup of utility areas such as staff rooms, kitchen, and laundry facilities—but he’d said that in order to respect the privacy of the staff, he could only show the public areas. Though these weren’t the circumstances Sadie would have chosen, she was eager to see the servant portion of the house all the same. And they’d certainly find someone to help them down there. She was sure of it.

Exactly as she’d suspected, on the far side of the stairway, beneath the stairs themselves and hidden behind one of the towering Christmas trees, was a door. It wasn’t green, but all the same Sadie was pretty sure it was the proverbial green baize door that separated the servant area from the main house—all the Regency romance novels she’d read lately mentioned that door. Since beginning a new relationship with a new man—Detective Pete Cunningham—she’d developed an odd hunger for the British romances where morality still held some merit but allowed room for a little passion all the same.

Sadie opened the door, leading Breanna and herself onto a cement landing at the top of a short flight of stairs. Centered at the base of the stairs was a set of swinging doors like the ones that divided a restaurant kitchen from the eating area. A narrow hallway separated the stairs from the door and small windows in the door showed a bright room on the other side, though the Plexiglas was too scratched to see much detail. It had to be the kitchen, and imagining that the cook was likely in the middle of preparing dinner, the kitchen seemed the obvious place to find someone to help them.

“Just a little further,” Sadie urged Breanna, who was decidedly paler than she’d been when they left the sitting room.

Sadie helped Breanna down the stairs and pushed through the doors into what looked like a pantry for dishes. Shelves and shelves of glass-fronted cabinets held a wide variety of dishes, some ordinary and some quite elegant. A rolling ladder, similar to one in the library, allowed access to the higher items. Through another doorway opposite of where they stood, Sadie could see into a large kitchen, but what caught her attention was a small desk and chair tucked into one corner of the dish room. Sadie steered Breanna toward it, pulled the chair clear of the desk, and helped her sit down. Breanna leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands.