Fresh Scones and Cream

Chapter 1

Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked scones first thing in the morning.

After being a laundress for a while, you grew bored with your job. You would never be able to wash other people's clothes for the rest of your life. Always wet and cold. You wanted something warm, dry, and exciting. A job where you could talk to people and make personal connections.

When your friend said that there was an opening at the bakery she worked at, you knew it was a divine sign. This was it.

The interview was harder than you thought it would be. The manager was an intimidating man with a well-oiled mustache and eyes that seemed to be made out of stone. He asked you question after question about your experience, your attitude, and even your appearance.

"A Witticks girl must be cordial and inviting in words and looks. She must always be ready with an open ear and a warm countenance for her customers," stated the manager manner-of-factly.

I hadn't realized how much work it took to be a bakery clerk. You didn't just have to sell baked goods., You had to have conversations with customers, make relationships, and look invitingly pretty without too much makeup. To men, you must be polite but coquetteish; to women, you must be a friend to confide in; to children, you must be a doting big sister.

And yet, the connections you had created made all of the work worth it. You loved your job, from the smile on a child's face while eating a fresh biscuit to a wife's relieved expression when she confided in you about her husband's bad habits, from an old woman picking up treats for her bookclub meeting to a young man nervously buying his sweetheart dessert on their first date.

But whatever your relationship with your customers, those relationships stopped at the door.

Until a rugged-looking man in a tophat walked through the bakery door.