Storing Up Trouble, стр. 72

Mamie frowned. “I’m not so sure about that. Fish eggs sound revolting, unless they’re scrambled and cooked up.”

“They’re eaten raw,” Aunt Gladys said, looking over her shoulder to the door and frowning. She picked up the bell again and gave it a vigorous ring, watching the door for a good few seconds before she blew out a breath. “Edgar is apparently put out with me again.”

“He did seem annoyed after Miss Beatrix told everyone about the attack outside Marshall Field & Company,” Della said, looking up from where she’d been scribbling something onto a notepad. “I’ve just been writing down an account of everything Beatrix and Theodosia told us so that nothing will be forgotten. I’ll type up my notes later on this evening.”

“An excellent idea,” Aunt Gladys proclaimed. “Once the culprits are apprehended, they’ll be taken to trial, and your notes may be able to aid a prosecutor with winning a case against these men, especially if Beatrix and Theodosia remember something they share here that they forgot to tell the authorities.” She looked to the door again, picked up the bell, and gave it another ring, this time more vigorously than the last. When Edgar did not appear in the doorway, Aunt Gladys rose from her chair and marched out of the room.

A mere thirty seconds later, she breezed back in again. “Good news, ladies,” she exclaimed. “Edgar, I’m pleased to report, is not put out with me. He’s been helping Hubert with that new leg Norman made for him. They’re having a few difficulties getting it attached.”

Theodosia removed her napkin from her lap and rose to her feet. “I may not have much proficiency with maneuvering my way around a table set with all this cutlery,” she began, nodding to the cutlery in question, “but I’m more than proficient with matters involving prosthetics. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be back directly.”

Aunt Gladys beamed at Theodosia as she quit the room, then sat back down and turned her smile on Beatrix. “She’s such a delightful lady and has so much potential. I have to imagine she’ll take Chicago society by storm after we get done with her.”

“I’m not sure Theodosia will be comfortable with that,” Beatrix said slowly.

“Being comfortable is overrated,” Aunt Gladys returned as Edgar strode into the room, Hubert right behind him, with Theodosia bringing up the rear.

“Ah, I see Theodosia got your leg on properly, Hubert, and in no time at all,” Aunt Gladys said.

Hubert grinned. “She knows what she’s about with this leg,” he said before he proceeded to walk up and down the dining room, his gait still slightly stiff, but he was moving much better than Beatrix had ever seen him move. “The foot part works almost like a real foot, and the leg is incredibly comfortable, something I never expected.”

“What a lovely happenstance it’s turning out to be, having Norman drop into our lives as he did,” Aunt Gladys proclaimed before she sent a pointed look Beatrix’s way. “Why, one could claim without hesitation that Norman’s arrival in our lives has presented us with unforeseen opportunities that may very well enrich our lives, something I’m certain Hubert agrees with, given the freedom his new leg is sure to bring him.”

“Indeed it will,” Hubert said, still walking back and forth across the dining room. “I’ll never be able to thank Mr. Nesbit enough for his unexpected kindness.”

Beatrix’s heart missed a few beats.

Norman had shown an incredible kindness by creating a new leg for Hubert, a kindness that had certainly taken her by surprise, but a kindness that spoke to who Norman really was.

He was not just a man possessed of an unusual mind, but a man who truly could make a difference in the world, although she wasn’t certain he understood that quite yet.

“Can we please get on with this meal?” Roberta demanded from the doorway. “Creating a seven-course meal and then serving it so that it may be fully enjoyed is all about the timing, and our timing is soon to suffer if we don’t start serving everyone their food.”

Aunt Gladys nodded. “An excellent point, Roberta, but I must mention that it’s rare for a professional chef to speak so crossly to her customers.”

Roberta rolled her eyes. “I don’t know of any professional women chefs, Gladys. We’re always considered lowly cooks.” With that, she disappeared from view, Hubert and Edgar trailing after her.

Less than five minutes later, the first course was served, followed by six more courses. The menu Roberta and Susan had chosen was an ambitious one. Potage Saint-Germain followed the caviar, then came Homard Thermidor, which Beatrix had to explain to Mamie was lobster with potatoes. Mamie didn’t balk over eating that course, but she did balk at tournedos aux morilles, tender beef with wild mushrooms.

Mamie apparently didn’t trust mushrooms so refused to eat that course, earning a lecture from Roberta, who’d stepped into the room to see how the dinner was progressing.

Aunt Gladys had been forced to intervene, sending Roberta back to the kitchen after reminding her that really great chefs, of which Roberta should consider herself to be, never wasted their time berating a guest since they found that type of behavior beneath them.

The rest of the courses were spent enjoying the different dishes, which consisted of cailles aux cerises, which were quails with cherries, consommé Olga, and then the final course, chocolate-painted éclairs with crème. Aunt Gladys spent the meal dispensing instructions regarding proper table etiquette, even though she didn’t bother to reprimand some of the ladies when they all but devoured the éclairs, although she did send Mamie a quirk of a brow when Mamie picked up her plate and licked the last bit of crème from it.

Sitting back in her chair as Edgar and Hubert cleared the last of the plates, Beatrix set aside her napkin and smiled at Roberta and Susan, who’d just walked into the room, anxious to discover what everyone had thought of the