He Counted My Lies Until I Died, Then Begged Me to Wake novel · Chapter 10 of 24
Chapter 10: The Walnut Paste
The next morning, Winslow called the whole household into the kitchen.
He had not slept.
He had my coat over his arm, because he carried it everywhere now.
Dorinda sat on a stool by the island with her arms crossed.
The housekeeper stood by the stove.
The driver leaned in the doorway with his cap in his hands.
The cook stood at the sink in her white apron, and she would not look up.
Sybil came in last, in her robe, with her hair undone.
"What is this?" she said. "A court?"
"Sit down, Mother," Winslow said.
"I'll stand."
"Then stand."
He turned to the cook.
"Three years ago, my wife told me you put nuts in her food."
The cook's hands stopped on the dish towel.
"She has a nut allergy," Winslow said. "You know that. Everyone in this house knows that."
"Sir, I..."
"Months ago I asked you alone, and you told me who gave the order. I wrote it down and said nothing to anyone."
"Yes, sir."
"Say it now, where my mother can hear. Who gave the order?"
The room was quiet.
I stood in the pantry doorway where I could see all their faces.
The cook looked at Sybil, and Sybil looked at the cook.
It was only a glance.
The cook's mouth began to shake.
"Sir," she said, "I have a daughter in nursing school."
"I know."
"Mrs. Holloway pays for her books."
Sybil said, in her lowest voice, "Careful."
"She said it was only a little," the cook said. "She said Mrs. Rhona needed to be taken down a peg, that it would only make her sick for a day, and then she'd be quieter. I told her no. She said my girl's tuition was due."
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