The Wammy House Memories

The Tea Party

(Sorry for any delays, I've got Covid 19 right now so I've been taking it easy and halting some of my fanfictions. I'm doing well right now, I've got an underlying illness so I've got to be monitored closely. Hopefully I'll be okay.)

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Chapter 3!

Elizabeth had been living with her Aunt Thora for nearly a month now, she really like living there sometimes. But not when her Aunt scolded her, she accidentally knocked one of her Aunt's bird ornaments off the cabinet in the living room a few days ago. She had been playing airplanes, her Aunt had sent Elizabeth to her bedroom for the day. She made her eat green beans with sprouts for lunch, but she didn't mind eating them because she liked vegetables. Rose had made some cheese sauce to go with them, she had sneaked Elizabeth some when her Aunt hadn't been looking.

Elizabeth's home schooling was going well, she liked her home school teacher. Her name is Jane Couldrey, she told Elizabeth that she taught at a local orphanage. The orphanage was called The Wammy House, it wasn't too far away from the cottage since Jane walked there and back again most days.

The date was the 18th of December, it would be Christmas in a few days time. Elizabeth had been helping Rose in the kitchen today, she had told her that this evening her Aunt Thora was hosting a dinner party for a few of her business contacts. Rose had to cook them a four course dinner, she had asked Elizabeth to help her out in the kitchen.

" Okay, now I want you to beat the sugar and egg yolks together until they're fluffy." Rose said, she placed a mixing bowl and a wooden spoon down in front of her. " I've got to see to my cream mixture on the stove, I've got to make sure that it doesn't burn or curdle."

" Rose, what else are you making for the dinner party?" Elizabeth asked.

" Well, I'm making French cuisine for Aunt's guests this evening." Rose replied. " I've got to make French toast with onions, Cuisses de Grenouille à la Provençale and Beef Bourguignon. I've brought some very nice bottles French wine called Anjou to go with the courses, the wine came all the way from France."

" What is Cuisses de Grenouille à la Provençale?" Elizabeth asked.

" Well done Elizabeth, you said that perfectly!" Rose said before she picked a little white salt shaker from the table. " The translation for Cuisses de Grenouille à la Provençale is Sautéed Frogs' Legs, it's a delicacy in France."

" Frogs?!" Elizabeth asked with a gasp. " Great Aunt Thora is going to eat frogs?!"

" Don't worry, they're not frogs from the pond in the garden." Rose laughed.

" And what is this?" Elizabeth asked, she peered into the bowl in front of her. " Does it have frogs in it too?"

" That's Crème Brûlée, there's no frogs in that dish." Rose replied. " Now I want you to beat the sugar and egg yolks together, I really need to check on my cream mixture."

Rose went to check on her cream mixture while Elizabeth began to beat the ingredients together, she loved spending time with Rose. She let her help her out in the kitchen sometimes, they made homemade strawberry jam in the week and tomorrow they were going to make some apple crumble for Sunday.

" Rose, who's going to Aunt Thora's dinner party?" Elizabeth asked. " Am I invited?"

" Oh just some people, you don't need to know their names." Rose replied, she continued to mix the cream mixture in her saucepan. " I'm afraid you're not invited, but you can host a tea party of your own in your bedroom."

" But I won't have any guests!" Elizabeth said with a sigh. " I'll be all by myself, I can't throw a tea party without guests!"

" That's where you are wrong, I've got a surprise for you." Rose said. " You'll have at least one guest at your tea party this evening. One of Miss Havisham's guests is bring a young boy with him."