Austin as the last two staff members passed through the door. “They’re going to find a corpse. Don’t you think they ought to have been prepared for that?”
Austin shrugged, and turned to look at Sadie. “I mustn’t believe they are going to find a corpse then, must I?” His hazel eyes were hard, relentless as they stared her down, telling her in no uncertain terms that he was not a man used to being questioned about anything.
“Do you really think we would make this up?” Sadie asked him, feeling a bit more bold than she had when the staff had been there. “Why would we do that?”
“Why would someone kill the earl’s nurse in the first place?” Austin questioned, crossing his arms. “If someone did kill him, why use a fireplace poker in the sitting room? And if someone did kill the earl’s nurse with a fireplace poker in the sitting room, why move the body? Do you really think those questions have an easier answer than why two American women, one of whom will become a countess if things work out just right, wouldn’t make up a story that ensures they miss their plane so as to stay at the earl’s estate a few more days? Every minute helps build a bridge, right, Mrs. Hoffmiller?”
High Tea Lemon Cookies
* Shawn will eat half the cookies—hide some of them!
Cookies
2 cups butter (room temperature)
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups cornstarch (this is not a typo )
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add lemon zest and vanilla. Beat well. Add flour and cornstarch and beat until well combined. Do NOT refrigerate.
Roll by hand into 1-inch balls or use a well-packed scoop, placing cookies about an inch apart as they do not spread much while baking.
Bake 15 minutes on ungreased cookie sheets until bottom edges are light brown. Cool on wire racks before frosting with lemon glaze (below).
Makes about 5 dozen small, delicate cookies.
Lemon Glaze
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest (get zest from lemon before juicing)
1/4 to 1/3 cup lemon juice*
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
In a medium bowl combine butter, zest, juice, and sugar. Stir until well mixed. Place a piece of wax paper beneath the wire racks where the cookies have been cooling and drizzle glaze over cookies.
* For best results when using lemons, choose the largest lemon you can find and roll it on the counter for about a minute before juicing in order to get as much juice as possible. Zest only the yellow part of the lemon peel; the white portion leaves a bitter taste.
Chapter 7
~ ~ ~
Sadie was absolutely stunned by Austin’s accusation that they would lie about a dead body as part of some gold-digging scheme. Her head and chest prickled with shocked rage and indignation. “I—I can’t believe you just said that! You think we’d make this up for a . . . a title?” It was so completely ridiculous that she could barely say it out loud. She looked at Breanna who looked as shocked as Sadie felt, and then at Liam, who was also stunned into silence.
“Oh, don’t take it so personally,” Austin said, every word dripping with patronizing arrogance. “It happens all the time. My point was simply that there are a lot of questions in the world, woman, and what we need now are answers—which no one seems to have.”
Woman?
Sadie counted to ten very slowly in her head to keep from exploding. She looked to Liam to step in, to defend Breanna, but he was looking at the floor as if deep in thought, his hands still in his pockets. Breanna’s face had turned red as she too looked at Liam for rescue.
Sadie was just opening her mouth to say something to defend Breanna’s motives when Liam finally spoke.
“You’re wrong, Austin,” he said, his voice surprisingly calm. “Breanna doesn’t want my title.”
Sadie felt his defense was a bit deflated. Austin seemed to think the same
Austin shrugged, and turned to look at Sadie. “I mustn’t believe they are going to find a corpse then, must I?” His hazel eyes were hard, relentless as they stared her down, telling her in no uncertain terms that he was not a man used to being questioned about anything.
“Do you really think we would make this up?” Sadie asked him, feeling a bit more bold than she had when the staff had been there. “Why would we do that?”
“Why would someone kill the earl’s nurse in the first place?” Austin questioned, crossing his arms. “If someone did kill him, why use a fireplace poker in the sitting room? And if someone did kill the earl’s nurse with a fireplace poker in the sitting room, why move the body? Do you really think those questions have an easier answer than why two American women, one of whom will become a countess if things work out just right, wouldn’t make up a story that ensures they miss their plane so as to stay at the earl’s estate a few more days? Every minute helps build a bridge, right, Mrs. Hoffmiller?”
High Tea Lemon Cookies
* Shawn will eat half the cookies—hide some of them!
Cookies
2 cups butter (room temperature)
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups cornstarch (this is not a typo )
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter until creamy. Add powdered sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Add lemon zest and vanilla. Beat well. Add flour and cornstarch and beat until well combined. Do NOT refrigerate.
Roll by hand into 1-inch balls or use a well-packed scoop, placing cookies about an inch apart as they do not spread much while baking.
Bake 15 minutes on ungreased cookie sheets until bottom edges are light brown. Cool on wire racks before frosting with lemon glaze (below).
Makes about 5 dozen small, delicate cookies.
Lemon Glaze
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest (get zest from lemon before juicing)
1/4 to 1/3 cup lemon juice*
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
In a medium bowl combine butter, zest, juice, and sugar. Stir until well mixed. Place a piece of wax paper beneath the wire racks where the cookies have been cooling and drizzle glaze over cookies.
* For best results when using lemons, choose the largest lemon you can find and roll it on the counter for about a minute before juicing in order to get as much juice as possible. Zest only the yellow part of the lemon peel; the white portion leaves a bitter taste.
Chapter 7
~ ~ ~
Sadie was absolutely stunned by Austin’s accusation that they would lie about a dead body as part of some gold-digging scheme. Her head and chest prickled with shocked rage and indignation. “I—I can’t believe you just said that! You think we’d make this up for a . . . a title?” It was so completely ridiculous that she could barely say it out loud. She looked at Breanna who looked as shocked as Sadie felt, and then at Liam, who was also stunned into silence.
“Oh, don’t take it so personally,” Austin said, every word dripping with patronizing arrogance. “It happens all the time. My point was simply that there are a lot of questions in the world, woman, and what we need now are answers—which no one seems to have.”
Woman?
Sadie counted to ten very slowly in her head to keep from exploding. She looked to Liam to step in, to defend Breanna, but he was looking at the floor as if deep in thought, his hands still in his pockets. Breanna’s face had turned red as she too looked at Liam for rescue.
Sadie was just opening her mouth to say something to defend Breanna’s motives when Liam finally spoke.
“You’re wrong, Austin,” he said, his voice surprisingly calm. “Breanna doesn’t want my title.”
Sadie felt his defense was a bit deflated. Austin seemed to think the same
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