Page 68 of Desiring the Highland Laird
Evie rocked back on her heels and smiled, remembering those moments of her life that were now long gone and far in the past. Or was that in the future? It was all so confusing.
She plucked a few more stems, then moved down to an area with lush green plants with flat leaves that she recognized immediately. Parsley. She didn’t have to smell it to know what it was. She added a few stems of parsley to her bouquet. Then it was on to find the mint.
She smelled the aromatic leaves immediately. She grabbed a few of the square stems, smiling and proud of herself as she rose. She placed all of this in her basket along with the eggs and then headed back into the kitchen.
Roslyn was no longer kneading the bread. It was set aside while she worked to place large bits of meat into a pot and cover it with water. When Evie returned, she grinned and took the basket from her.
“Thank ye, lass. This will do verra nicely.”
Evie watched as Roslyn placed the fresh herbs aside and then began to chop them.
“What is pottage anyway?” Evie asked.
Roslyn stopped a moment to gape at her. “Ye never had it?”
She shrugged, unsure how she should answer.
“Och, it’s a meat soup with herbs and spices.” She motioned her to follow her to the other side of the kitchen where she had small containers with pre-measured spices. She lifted one up to Evie’s nose. “Smell.”
She did and immediately coughed. The scent was sharp and peppery and sweet. “What is that?”
“Mace,” she said with a smile. Then she held up a second one. “And this.”
Evie had learned her lesson and took a small intake of breath. This one she recognized as warm and spicy, reminding her of apple cobbler. She closed her eyes and savored it for a moment, smiling.
“Cloves?” she asked.
“Aye,” Roslyn said, as if she were proud of her student. She held up a third one.
Evie took another breath and knew this one, too. Slightly sweet and pungent. “Ginger?”
“Aye! Good. And this?”
This one was dark red in color and had a distinctive smell that was both bittersweet and earthy as well as spicy and leathery. She knew that smell, but couldn’t place it.
“I don’t know this one.”
“Saffron,” Roslyn said with a smile.
Evie blinked in surprise. In her world, saffron was known as the most expensive spice and sometimes referred to as red gold.
It was clear to her that Roslyn was an accomplished cook. Evie had never learned how to cook anything that wasn’t out of a box. She loved watching the woman bustle around the kitchen.Once the pot was boiling, she stirred as it simmered, then turned her attention back to her dough. She proclaimed it ready for the oven.
Something inside Evie came alive and an impulse pounded through her. Her mother had died before she could teach her anything about cooking or baking.
“Roslyn?”
The woman blew a wayward lock of hair off her forehead as she worked to make another loaf of bread. “Aye?”
“Could you teach me to cook?”
She froze for a moment as she looked up at her, their eyes meeting. She had a look of curious wonder as if she didn’t understand why she wanted to learn. But then Roslyn smiled, a glint of joy sparking in her eyes. “Aye, lass. I can.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Callum was upearly the next morning thinking about Evie. Relief swept through him when she refused to take the keystone. Relief that deep down she decided to stay. He wanted her to stay. He wanted her with him. That was why he had given her the stone for safekeeping. Because of the trust that had formed between them.
Guilt washed over him with her as his first thought. He should be thinking about his da and worrying about the continued strife with the MacDonalds. Not thinking about the bonnie lass.
