Y –is for Yorkshire pudding
Sybbie stepped off the last stair into the servant's hallway and looked around, first to Mr. Carson's door and then to Mrs. Hughes's pantry. Both doors were shut, which wasn't terribly unusual given the time of day, so she decided to see if Mrs. Hughes was busy. However, she didn't make it very far when she heard her favorite person's voice coming from the kitchen.
She tiptoed into the room and watched as Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Patmore leaned over a book on the work surface. From the looks on their faces, it was a rather serious discussion, and Sybbie was unsure if she wanted to interrupt. But, her desire to spend some time with her friend was greater than her need to return to the nursery.
"So, you're going to need eggs, flour, milk and drippings. I truly believe you can do it, but we'll make a test batch now so you're not worrying over it on Christmas Day at the cottage. Mr. Carson is out, you said running errands, and this should only take us an hour, maybe two if we take our time."
"What are you baking?" Sybbie asked as she tentatively stepped into the kitchen, a little intimidated by the red headed cook who liked to shout a lot at her assistant.
Elsie smiled sweetly and put a finger to her lips. "It's a Christmas surprise for Mr. Carson. If you can keep a secret, you can help me bake a test batch with Mrs. Patmore's help. Do you think you can do that? He mustn't know what we've been up to today or his surprise will be ruined."
"Oh, I promise, Mrs. Hughes. Cross my heart, I won't tell him, even if he tickles me until I can't breathe."
The housekeeper paused, pretending to give it some thought just to tease the child. "What do you think, Mrs. Patmore? Do you think she can withstand the tickling Mr. Carson might give her to get her to talk?"
Beryl Patmore couldn't resist teasing her friend. "You'd know more about that tickle monster than I would, Mrs. Hughes. I'd say you're a better judge of his efforts than any of us in this kitchen."
"Och! Get away with you," she said, lightly scolding her friend. "Sybbie, come over here and we'll pull up a chair, and I'll explain what we're making. You can help me measure out the ingredients and pour them in while I mix them together."
"I think I can do that, and I want to help with his surprise. What do I need to do first?" After helping her at the large sink to wash her hands and tying a makeshift apron around her little body, Elsie explained that, together, they'd be attempting to make a Yorkshire pudding.
"I want to make it for my Christmas dinner with Mr. Carson at the cottage but I wanted Mrs. Patmore to help me. I've never made one by myself, you see, so I needed some help. And, she was kind enough to agree to help me with it."
"Is she going to yell if we don't do it correctly?" Sybbie's whisper wasn't as quiet as she'd intended and Mrs. Hughes had to suppress a smirk. "I want to spend time with you and learn but I don't like it when she yells. It's scary."
"Yes, it is a bit, but I promise you, she won't yell at you or me. And if she does … well, we'll just tell her that's not very nice and remind her that shouting isn't the best way to get a point across."
"Good idea. So, what do I do first?" She clapped her hands together and climbed up onto the chair as Elsie read aloud the directions once again, this time for Sybbie's benefit.
"You're in charge of getting four eggs and putting them off to the side. Be careful not to break them, at least not yet. We will crack them into a large bowl as soon as Mrs. Patmore gets one for us to use."
"You're sure you want to try this at home on Christmas, Mrs. Hughes? You know I could make a batch and send them with you so you're not fussed with it all. It's no trouble."
Sybbie shook her head before Elsie could reply. "Some surprises are best if they're made with love and flop than if we had someone else do it for us. Isn't that right, Mrs. Hughes? Better to try and give a gift with love than to never try at all. And I think Mr. Carson would love anything Mrs. Hughes gives him. He's very nice like that. He even loves my pictures that I draw and hangs them up in his office or the cottage."
"I know, and I'm quite jealous about that, Miss Sybbie. Your housekeeper and butler always get pretty pictures but the poor cook who bakes all those biscuits and cakes … she doesn't get anything at all other than a quick thank you."
Her eyes grew wide as she realized the truth behind the cook's words. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Patmore. I didn't think you'd want one of my paintings or pictures. I can do you one for Christmas, if you'd like. I think I have an idea for one you'll love, but it will take me a day or two to draw it and then color it. Will that be all right with you?"
She hugged the girl to her side and kissed the top of her head. "I'd wait a full year for a drawing from you so you take as long as you'd like. I'll not complain. So, right, let's get these eggs cracked and into this bowl or we'll be in the middle of it all when Mr. Carson returns from his errands."
"What if he sees us, Mrs. Hughes? He'll want to know what we're baking, and it won't be biscuits and it's not nice to fell a fib." The idea of being caught by Mr. Carson was causing a little bit of panic, and it made the cook and housekeeper smile just a little bit more.
"I'm sure we'll think of something, even if we have to start peeling carrots or chopping up onions …"
"Or nibbling on a biscuit! He'd never think we were up to something if we had a plate of shortbreads or ginger cookies on the table. That would be a great cover story. Don't you think, Mrs. Hughes?"
"It's a miracle you and Mr. Carson aren't as big as this house with all the sweets you two consume," she said with laughter laced into every word. "But, I cannot argue with your logic. We'll put a plate of ginger biscuits on the table but we won't touch them, just in case he happens to surprise us all by coming back early."
"You mean we'll have to sit and stare at them the whole time we're working on your baking?" Sybbie couldn't believe the torture that awaited her as she stared wide-eyed at the housekeeper and then up at the cook.
"I didn't say we wouldn't eat them, just not until after we've finished our baking. If we're good at it, we can even sample the Yorkshire pudding. After all, a good cook always tastes what she's baking or cooking so she'll know if it's delicious."
"You two keep prattling on and not working and we'll still be standing here at Easter," Mrs. Patmore quipped as she placed the flour on the table beside Elsie. "Now, read your directions carefully and ask for help if you need more directions. I'll be over here working on the preparations for dinner tonight or none of us in this household will get a hot meal."
As Elsie and Sybbie worked together to read the instructions from the recipe card and followed the directions down to the letter, Mrs. Patmore observed them with a careful eye. To anyone else in the outside world, it looked like a scene in a normal kitchen where a grandmother and granddaughter worked together to teach and learn a family recipe. She couldn't help but be happy for her friend at having been gifted the precious attentions of the sweet girl who so very clearly adored her and her husband. She was broken from her musings when Elsie announced that they were ready to put the mixture into the oven.
"Right, be very careful and don't slosh it around in the muffin tins. That'll make a mess for certain. Gently … gently … and close the door … don't slam it. Good. And now we wait on them to bake."
"But what do we do in the meantime? How long do they have to cook before we can eat one?"
"We don't have time to waste. We have to make the gravy to pour over them while they're cooking, and we have to keep an eye on them in the oven to make sure they don't overcook. We want them to be a pretty golden brown when we pull them from the oven."
"I didn't know it was so much work. I hope Mr. Carson appreciates all your hard work, Mrs. Hughes. I'm sure he will but if he doesn't, I'll be sure to tell him how hard we worked to learn this recipe and to test it," she said sternly.
"You just leave Mr. Carson to me. I have not a doubt in my mind that he'll be grateful for the attempt, even if they don't turn out as well as Mrs. Patmore's. Remember what I'm always telling you … it's the thought behind the deed that counts. I'll be sure to tell him about our practice batch, too, so he'll know you helped me perfect my cooking skills."
"I wish I could be at your house when you cook them for him at Christmas, but I suppose I'll have to stay here at my own house."
"You'll be busy playing with your new toys from Father Christmas. But, you want to know something?" Elsie leaned in and whispered to Sybbie causing Mrs. Patmore to strain to hear what was being said. "You'll get to sample my very first ones. It'll be our special secret, and one day, when you're old enough, you can teach your own children how to make them."
Sybbie reached out and grasped Mrs. Hughes's face in her tiny hands, drawing her face closer until they were almost nose to nose. "We can teach them together because by then, you'll know all there is to know about making them, and I want to learn from the best." She stretched up and rubbed her nose against Elsie's causing them both to giggle.
Neither of them noticed the cook wiping away a tear of happiness from her eyes or the sneaky butler who'd watched the whole scene from the kitchen window. He'd never spoil their surprise or the precious moment between his two favorite girls. Instead, he'd sneak into the house and make a louder entrance much later, when he was certain their little experiment in the kitchen was complete. And, regardless of how the Yorkshire pudding came out on Christmas Day, he would be certain to praise his wife for her efforts. Not for the first time, he thanked his lucky stars for giving him such a wonderful wife and sending Miss Sybbie into their lives to add that little bit of extra magic.
A/N: A little nod to Sybil and her learning from Mrs. Patmore how to bake a cake for her Mama … so now we have Elsie and Sybbie in the kitchen learning about Yorkshire puddings and making stronger family bonds.
One more chapter to go and then we will bid this trio goodbye … for now. Thank you for sticking with me through this holiday season and showing this story so much love. You've certainly brightened my holiday, and I hope I've added some happiness to yours, too! Much love, Ang.