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‘Is that you?’ The sound of feet hurrying down from the attic rooms above the kitchen was quite plain as Cook stood in the doorway that led from the stairwell into the little passage way beyond the stove. Soon the two servers, Buttercup and Ginger were in view, chattering to one another as they made their way down to Cook.
‘Yes, it’s us,’ one of them called. Be there in half a tick.’ True to their word they tumbled through the doorway and skidded to a halt in front of her. Cook looked at the both of them, a bit flushed in the face, they were, and wondered what they had been up to. Ah, well, never mind that, she thought to herself, there’s work to be done. Which were here exact words to the both of them.
‘Ladies! Time we get lunch ready to serve. It’s been a long morning for those who came back to give us a hand putting away all the things from the party. Now I’ve got a nice bean with hambone soup going. It’ll be all ready by noontime. Ginger you get out the loaves I baked this morning and get them sliced up and into baskets. Buttercup you slice up platters of cheese. And where’s that Ruby now – one of you find her. She can get the pots of mustard and the pickles out to go with the bread and cheese.’ Cook turned back to the soup pot and gave it a stir. From a bowl on the counter near her, she dropped in a generous portion of ham chunks, celery pieces, carrots, and onion. ‘Scoot now,’ she said to the two Hobbits. ‘We’ve got a hungry household to feed!’
Cook stepped to the table where she was just rolling out the pastry for the topping to the deep dish apple cobbler. Once it was all baked and cooled a bit, lunch would be served. Ginger’s voice called over to her as she plied the rolling pin on the soon to be flaky pastry.
‘Oh, Miz Bunce,’ said Ginger, pausing for a moment from her work with the bread knife. ‘Miz Bella would like to see you when you have some time.’
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