Starting at the beginning, Nell told her about their departure from Fenley Hall.

“Goodness! I knew that all wasn’t well between Lady Gwendoline and Sir Strickland, but this! And how is she getting along with Audrey? They were always at odds.”

“They’re getting on very well,” Nell replied. “Gwendoline was very comforting at Matthew’s memorial service, which made a good start. Now she’s positively turned over a new leaf, being terribly useful, especially with the business. New orders have already come in from the British Restaurant in Middleton and a few local cafés from nearby towns. The WVS run the Pie Scheme, bringing pies to harvest workers so that they don’t have to stop for long, so that’s a big order. Gwendoline’s ever so good at selling things. Oh, and she asked us to stop calling her ‘lady.’ She says she doesn’t want to be a lady anymore.”

“Well, that’s a change of tune.”

“The other news is that Zelda has been living with Audrey since the beginning of the contest. No one was supposed to know because”—she lowered her voice—“Zelda is the pregnant evacuee that Audrey had to take a few months ago.”

“Zelda’s pregnant?”

“You can imagine our surprise when, fresh as a daisy, the morning after we arrived, she bounced into the kitchen and began making breakfast for the boys. She jumped out of her socks when she saw that we were there.

“?‘What are you doing here?’ we asked, and she reluctantly told us that she’s now seven months pregnant, swearing us to secrecy.”

Mrs. Quince shook her head in disbelief. “Doesn’t it show? I wonder what the BBC will have to say about that!”

Nell grinned. “That’s why we’re all sworn to secrecy. She’s managed to get away with it so far, but I can’t imagine even the most draped dresses will be able to hide it by the next round. She plans to tell Ambrose that she’s giving the child up for adoption so it won’t scupper her chances of winning.”

    “I wonder how that will work out.”

Nell also told her that Paolo had been moved to a more secure German POW camp near Canterbury. “I don’t know how I’m going to get to see him again. It’s too far for a day trip, even if I had the time. I’ve written him a letter. I hope it gets there.”

Patting her hand, Mrs. Quince said, “Don’t despair, dear. I have a feeling everything is going to turn out all right. You mark my words, all you need to do is focus on the contest.”

“Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, my cacciatore won the last round!” she declared, clapping her hands together. “Ambrose gave it nine points.”

“You see, that’s wonderful news! What are the running scores?”

“I’m in the lead now, with eighteen points, then it’s Audrey with seventeen and Zelda with fifteen, and last is Gwendoline with only twelve.”

A grin came over Mrs. Quince’s face. “All you need is one more top recipe and you’ll win.”

They began to talk through the recipes. Desserts and puddings were among Mrs. Quince’s fortes, and she had plenty of suggestions.

“It’s the sugar that’s going to be difficult, and you’ll get extra marks if you can come up with a clever way to get around it.”

“Everyone’s talking about sweeteners these days, like saccharin.”

The old lady’s mouth turned downward. “It gives a bitter taste. In any case, sugar provides a texture and consistency that you’ll miss if you just add a sweetener. No, we’ll have to think of something else.”

“What about using ripe fruit?” Nell said, warming to the subject. “That’ll provide some extra sweetness, and it’s the right time of year. I wish we could get our hands on a banana.”

Mrs. Quince chortled. “The nurse told me that a single banana was auctioned at a fair in London last week for a fortune. You could buy a television set with that kind of money, apparently. It wasn’t even very big.” Her laughter turned into a cough.

Nell patted her on the back. “There are other fruits. What about dried fruits? Chopped prunes stand in very well for currants and sultanas.”

    “Too common. Everyone dries every scrap of fruit left over—even the subpar bits. You need something more unique, more special. Ripe fruits could work well. Some have more sweetness than others. Cherries and apricots are good, and then there are the berries—raspberries and blackberries are best—but you could also add some strawberries. Some of the sweeter apples can be delicious, especially when stewed and pureed.”

“What about some kind of pie?” Nell yelped. “We could do a fruit tart, using our homemade jam to add some extra sweetness.”

Mrs. Quince nodded, still thinking. “No, it has to be something more…spectacular.”

They sat in thought for a while.

“What about your summer pudding? That’s a Ministry of Food favorite as it doesn’t use any butter at all. We can layer the berries and add some of the elderberry wine I made for the starter, just to give it an extra special flavor.”

Mrs. Quince’s eyes brightened. “Oh yes, it would be delicious. You could add bicarbonate of soda to reduce the amount of sugar you need—it makes the fruit less acidic, which means you need less sweetness to balance it.”

“And what about using sugar beets instead of rationed sugar? Audrey grows some in her garden. It’s quite a lot of work boiling and straining them, but you end up with a lovely sweet syrup.”

“Perfect! And then you should add a dish of mock custard. My recipe comes up a treat.”

“I’ll bake the bread specially, so we don’t need to use that dreadful National Loaf. It’ll be perfect.”

They sat discussing the details until visiting time was over.

But as Nell bade her old friend and mentor goodbye and left the ward, she couldn’t help but worry about her. She could see that the old cook was more seriously ill than she was letting on. Her pallor, that cough—they all told a different story.

Her body was gently collapsing.

Nell’s Summer Pudding

Serves 6 to 8

For the elderberry wine

? pound elderberries 1 tablespoon sugar

For the pudding filling

? cup sugar, or the equivalent of sugar beet syrup 1 cup elderberry wine 2 pounds berries

14 slices bread, or more depending on the size of the loaf

For the mock cream

1 tablespoon cornstarch ? cup milk

2 tablespoons butter or margarine 2 tablespoons sugar Caramelized black currants, using 1 cup black currants and 1 tablespoon sugar

First, make the elderberry wine. Put the elderberries into a saucepan with water to just cover. Boil until the fruit is soft and mushy, 20 to 30 minutes. Sieve, pushing through as much of the cooked flesh as possible. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil, then put it into a sealable jar or bottle. It is good for both drinking and cooking, but it won’t last longer than a week or two.

For the summer pudding filling, dissolve the sugar in the elderberry wine. Bring to a boil for about 5 minutes to create a rich syrup. Add the berries and cook for 1 minute, then strain, reserving the juices.

     Use butter, margarine, or oil to grease a pudding basin or cake pan. Remove and discard the crusts from the bread slices, and then cut the slices into wide fingers, shaping them so that together they fit around the inside of the pudding basin. Dip each bread finger into the reserved cooking juices for a few seconds, then use them to line the inside of the basin or pan. Continue until the basin is completely lined.

Pour in the stewed berries, and then close the top with more bread dipped in the reserved juices. Take a plate that fits well over the top of the basin or pan and grease it with butter or margarine. Put it on the top of the pudding, weighting it down with a few scale weights or some cans from the pantry. Leave in a cool pantry or refrigerator for at least 6 hours before serving.

Just before serving, make the mock cream. Put the cornstarch and milk in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring continuously until it forms a paste. Set aside and allow to cool. Blend the butter or margarine with the sugar to make a fluffy mass, then gradually add the milk and cornstarch mixture, whisking continuously. The result will be a thick cream. To vary the thickness, use more or less cornstarch.

To serve, turn the pudding basin or pan upside down and lift off the bowl or pan. Beneath should be a purply-red bowl-shaped pudding. Garnish with black currants caramelized in a small pan with a little water and sugar. Serve cold with mock cream.

Zelda

Zelda had not been altogether happy about the arrival of Nell and Gwendoline into the household. Even after their initial shock that Zelda was the pregnant evacuee, and their agreement not to share the news of this, she was still put out.