Page 22 of Christmas Secrets

“Nay, I have an energy drink.” Dottie held up her thermos.

“Well, I need a drink,” Toni replied, fanning her face as she sat the teakettle on to boil. “Let me sit down, and then I’ll tell ye what I know.”

Dottie giggled. “Don’t tell me yer mum and dad have decided to come home fer Christmas. That’s the only thing I can think of that would get ye in such a dither.”

“Nay,” she mumbled, reaching for her teabag and mug. “It’s not my mum and dad, thank the Lord. It’s worse.”

“What can possibly be worse in yer life?”

“The problem isn’t in my life—it’s in yers.”

“Mine? What about mine?” Dottie jumped up from the table and went to the cabinet where Toni was dumping sugar into her cup before she added water.

“I’ll tell ye in a minute, just let my tea water get hot,” she insisted stubbornly, wanting to be in a position to offer comfort if Dottie fainted or something.

Dottie huffed and stomped back to the table and dropped into a chair. “Ye are the most frustrating person sometimes.”

The kettle was barely beginning to scream when Toni yanked it from the stove and poured the lukewarm water over her teabag in the mug. It would have to do; she needed a drink. Picking up her mug, she walked back to Dottie while the teabag was steeping.

Sitting down, she faced her friend across the table. “It’s about Ben,” she announced.

Dottie gasped and leaped up. “What about Ben? Is he cheating? What do ye know? I swear, if he’s cheating on me...”

“Nay, he’s not cheating on ye,” Toni yelped. “Will ye just listen?” Then she explained what Dal had told her in the market regarding making a treat with Poppy’s help, but not that Ben was taking cooking lessons. After all, she was trying to keep part of it secret. “So, what is yer favorite Christmas treat, Dottie?” she finally asked.

Dottie looked shell-shocked as the implications hit her. “Nay, it can’t be true,” she gasped. “Do ye really think Ben would make Clootie Dumpling’s fer the party?”

“It’s all supposed to be a surprise fer ye, Dottie. What doyethink it means?”

“It means if Ben is really making Clootie Dumplings, then he’ll know how much work and time goes into them. He’ll know I couldn’t have made them because there will be no evidence of it around the cottage. Toni, we don’t even own a bamboree! And I’ve never used a Clootie bag and I don’t even know what the ingredients are. It won’t take him long to figure out something’s fishy.” Dottie was wringing her hands by this time.

“Can’t ye borrow one from yer mom and...and...just set it on the stove or something?” Toni waved her hands around, looking for inspiration.

“That would never work, he’s already watching me because he’s worried about me. Hiding things from him isn’t the easiest thing to do.” Dottie dropped back into her chair and groaned. “This can’t be happening. Gawd, I have the absolute worst luck. What did I do to deserve this? I should have just confessed the other night when Ben was spanking me. Then this would all be over with.”

Toni sighed in sympathy. “Ben spanked ye? Fer real? First time ever, right?”

Dottie chewed on her less abused thumbnail. “Fer real.” She held up her thumbs. “All this anxiety is making me cannibalize my nails down to the quick,” she wailed. “And he notices when I do it. He knows something is wrong.”

“Then stop eating yer fingers, ye nit.”

“I can’t help it when I’m worried,” she whined. “I admitted part of my worries because I got too flippant with him fer once, the part where I jumped on the crazy train and volunteered fer food assignments, but not the rest.”

“Aye, sounds like ye missed a good opportunity. I mean, how much worse could it be? Ye were already in position and wouldn’t have to dread it coming, so why didn’t ye?”

Dottie ran her hands down her face and then glared at her friend. “Mayhap because my very good friend told me I could get away with it? And then there’s his belt just ready and handy when he gets furious at my admission,” she added sarcastically.

Toni held up her hands. “Whoa, now. I never said that...not exactly.”

Dottie jumped up and began pacing. “Aye, ye certainly did. Ye even told me ye’d help me ease the magnificent dishes I prepared into something not as magnificent but still edible. And I should just buy magnificent once in a while,” she practically shouted. “But even that will cost me more than I want to pay and it will be harder and harder to keep Ben from finding out.”

Toni eyed Dottie, wishing there was something she could do to help. “Oh, what a tangled web we weave and all that,” she finally said with a sigh. “The way I see it, ye still have the same decision ye have always had.”

Dottie stopped pacing and glared at her. “And that is?”

“See this through or fall over Ben’s lap and beg fer mercy. Maybe he’ll go easy on ye if ye tell him before he catches ye out in a lie. That’s the way I’d go, I think.”

“Ye think? Ye have never had to worry about it,” Dottie snapped.

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