Sherry Chapmanby Sherry Chapman
First published in Spring, 2011, Volume 7, Issue 1, The Hatchet: Journal of Lizzie Borden Studies.
Well, I just got orders from Mrs. Borrden to wash the windows today – both inside and out. ‘Tis too hot to be doin’ them. I says, “Today, Mrs. Borrden? It’s awfully hot out.” And she says, “I’m sorrry Bridget. But Miss Lizzie told me to get you out of the house today. She wants to show me something that she says is ‘simply smashing’.” I says, “Well, I won’t interfear. Just pleez don’t send me out in that hot sun. I’m feelin’ poorly.” And she says, “There’s nothing I can do, Bridget. You know how Miss Lizzie is if she don’t get her own way.” There’s more than a grain of truth in that.
Well, Mrs. Borrden took her feather duster upstairrs. And Miss Lizzie, she don’t get up till sometimes ten o’clock. So I figure I’d stay in the kitchen until I for sure have to go.
Mr. Morse, that’s the blood uncle of Miss Lizzie and Miss Emma, showed up without lettin’ any of us know yesterday about half past one. I supposed he was hungry. He always is when he first gets here. I told Mrs. Borrden I wasn’t gonna fix him nothin’. When I get paid for fixin’ extra meals, I’ll be fixin’ ‘em. So Mrs. Borrden put on her welcome face and got some leftovers together for him.
He ended up sleepin’ over, which means double washin’ the sheets from his room. He’s an odd one, that one is. Wears the same clothes every day. Won’t even wash his shirt. He says he just takes it off ‘n throws it away when it’s dirty. Well, what I’d like to know is, what is dirty enough? He was wearin’ a black shirt yesterday and today that I got a feelin’ used to be white.
I was so bothered by it this mornin’, I had to go outside and “fertilize the grass” as Mr. Borrden calls it. It ain’t funny when it’s you who’s doin’ the fertilizin’. When I was out there, Mr. Borrden calls out, “Try to aim for unduh the bahn!” I dunno why he throws rotten pears and such under the barn, but I couldna made it there in thyme ennyway.
‘Twould be a good time to show you today how to make lemonade. Miss Lizzie got the recipe from a magazine. She claims Queen Victoria gets served lemonade like this and asks me to make it like this when company (her company) comes. Other times she says I can just make it plain.
QUEEN
VICTORIA’S
LEMONADE
Yer gonna need:
2 ¼ cups of lemon juice 5 cups of water
A dozen fresh lavender stems A cup and a half of sugar
First, boil half of the water and sugar together. Then put in the lavender and take it off the stove burner. Put a lid on it and let it set to cool. After it’s cooled off, add the other half of the water and lemon juice. Here’s the tricky part: Strain out the lavender. If ya don’t, it’s gonna taste too strong and your guests are gonna get scared, not knowin’ what’s floatin’ around in their cups. Serve it with crushed ice, and put a few lavender blossoms on top to make it extra pretty.
I wish I had me a cup of that now.
Oh, I gotta go. I hear Mrs. Borrden callin’ “Bridget! Bridget!” and some scufflin’ noise. She musta fell and can’t get up. I’m supposed to be outdoorrs washin’ the windows. I dunno if I should run upstairrs real quick to see if she needs help gettin up, or if I should go outside like she first told me to.
Enjoy the lemonade. And as my dear muther used to say, “Take the thyme to enjoy the beauty of somethin’.” Oh, my. She is really strugglin’ to get up. I told her not to go for that last piece of cake last night.
