Chapter 10: A Recipe for Trouble

Four days after Mo and Meggie returned to Bremen, they went to the market to buy ingredients to make treats for Resa when she arrives. They still couldn't find their travelogs, so they used recipes they found in both old and new food magazines. When they came home, they made lemon-flavored scones, chocolate petit fours, and tiramisu. Meggie decided to wait until tomorrow to make the sandwiches. As Meggie was going over the tea party checklist in the living room, the doorbell rang.

"Now I wonder who that could be?" Meggie asked, and then she rose from her chair, walked to and looked through the window, and opened the door. It was the Steinblocks. "Oh, hello, Mr. and Mrs. Steinblock."

"Hello," Tim and Sylvia replied.

"Hi, Hilda. Hi, Wilbart."

"Hi, Meggie."

"Please! Come in!" The Steinblocks entered the front door. "Have a seat."

"Thank you," Sylvia said, and the Steinblock family went into the living room and sat down.

"Will you excuse me as I get Mo?" Meggie asked.

"That will be fine, Tim said. "We'll wait."

Meggie went to get Mo, who was in his study, using his notebook computer, reviewing his bank account.

"Mo! The Steinblocks are here!"

Then Mo got up, and followed Meggie to the living room.

"Tim! Sylvia! How nice of you to drop by."

"We have something that Meggie wanted," Tim said, and then he gave Meggie a few index cards.

"Gusteau's apple pastry recipe?" she asked.

"Remember? You asked if you could have it so you could make some for your mother."

"Yes, I remember."

"Forgive me for not giving it to you earlier. When is she coming?"

"Resa will be here in three days," Mo said. "We just finished making the baked goods. We were going to make the sandwiches next, until you brought up the apple pastries."

"Where is your mom, anyway, Meggie?" Hilda asked.

"She's in Naples, with her aunt Elinor. Resa, Mo, and I have been living at Elinor's for the past two years, and Mo and I have been fixing up this house to live in for the summer. Mo, is it all right if I give Hilda and Wilbart a tour?"

"That's fine with me. Just be careful. There's still a lot of work that needs to be done."

Later, when Meggie was showing Hilda and Wilbart the private library...

"Wow! These books are old!" Wilbart exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Hilda agreed "They all have leather covers."

Then Meggie was reminded of something else. "Speaking of books, I'm done with Peter Pan, so you can have it back now."

"Thanks, Meggie," Hilda said. "Oh, and about the apple pastries..."

"It's okay, Hilda. Mo and I can just go to the market to buy more ingredients for the apple pastries."

"What I was wondering was if you can make the apple pastries without going to the market."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you can read characters out of books. Can you do it with other things, too?"

"Wait a minute. If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, it's out of the question."

"You mean you cant do it?" Wilbart asked.

"Oh, I can do it all right. It's just that I won't do it, that's all."

"Well, can't you just read the ingredients off the index card?" Hilda suggested.

"It's not that easy. It only works with pieces of literature, and, apparently, letters. I'm not a genie, I'm not a witch, I'm only a Silvertongue."

Then Hilda had another suggestion. "What if you read ingredients out of books as a way to practice when you need to handle another emergency?"

"Yeah!" Wilbart said. "You could even fight crime."

Fighting crime with Silvertongue powers? Meggie has used her reading skills to conquer many foes from the Inkworld, but she never thought that she would ever have to use her reading skills for anything besides Inkheart. But it was only four days ago when she and Mo had last done so. Are there actually some benefits to having this ability? Meggie had to think about this.

[End of chapter 10.]