Page 17 of Beauty and the Baker
“Why ever not? Marriage is one of the greatest institutions ever. I was married to my beloved for nearly forty-years.”
“If you knew what I had been through, you wouldn’t ask me that. No woman wants a man that is scarred over half of his body.”
“Don’t you think it is up to the lady to decide? Don’t throw the opportunity away because some vicious people hurt you. You have a good heart, as was demonstrated by you saving those boys. Good deeds are always rewarded.”
“Who are you?” Charlie asked again.
“I’m your guardian angel.”
Charlie scoffed. “A guardian angel…right. I don’t believe in such nonsense.”
“You may be right, but I have a job to do. And right now, that job is you.”
“You mean you’ve been an angel for other people as well?”
Mr. Pennyworth nodded. “For nearly forty years.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be in heaven?”
“Not yet. Once I’m reunited with my Blanche, then I can go.”
“Blanche?”
“My wife. I’ve been searching for her for years. I know she is in this town somewhere.”
“I’m good at finding people. Maybe we can help each other.”
Mr. Pennyworth nodded. “Yes, but you will need to go first.”
“What do you mean?”
Mr. Pennyworth pointed to the window. “First, you need to find Mr. Gladstone.”
Charlie turned around in time to see the cat’s gray tail disappear out the window.
Chapter 5
Georgina had just slid the tray of jelly pastries into the oven. Her aunt sat at the table on a cushion thumbing through a recipe book in front of her.
“Those will take about 12 minutes.”
“When should I start checking them?” Georgina asked, turning over the small sand timer that her aunt had on the shelf above the stove. There was enough sand to drop into the lower chamber for five minutes. Then she would need to flip it over again.
Her aunt had one-,two-, three- and five-minute timers.You’ll get used to how quickly time passes, so you won’t need the timers at some point, her aunt told her. Right now, Georgina thought she needed all the timers.
She was learning the recipes that her aunt most commonly made at the bakery. She was opening the bakery in two days. It didn’t give her much time to learn all of her aunt’s recipes.
“In ten minutes. You don’t want them too dark.” Maybelle pulled a large mixing bowl over. “Let’s do cream pastries next. These require quite a bit of work. You’ll need to get the butter as cold as possible.”
“How do I do that?”
“If we have enough ice, then I would sit it on ice for a bit. But right now, the ice is gone, so you’ll have to use cold water. Just float the butter bell in that crock.”
The butter bell was a ceramic cup that sat top down on a saucer. Inside, her aunt had packed fresh butter, made from the milk the milkman delivered.
Georgina filled the crock with cold water from the pump and then placed the butter bell in the water. The bell hovered for a few moments before sinking to the bottom.
“Is that alright?” Georgina asked, peering inside the crock.
