Whenever Elliot Norther’s wife was nervous she baked. With the murder of Harriet Mason, her husband’s close colleague at the Faculty, she had been unable to resist a couple of Victoria sponges. During the frenzied press speculation about the identity of the murderer, a Dundee cake had appeared, followed swiftly by a Battenberg and a Lemon Drizzle. Since news of the Wildencrust murder broke, the kitchen, dining room and study had come to resemble the storerooms of an industrial bakery, every surface heaving with the weight of sponge and cream. Yesterday, having at last been overwhelmed by the fear and rumour that swept the town, she had taken herself off to her mother’s house in Hampstead, leaving her husband to soldier on alone. When he had last seen his wife, Elliot Norther noticed that she had been putting the finishing touches to an impressive, triple-tiered wedding cake, beating a batch of royal icing into a sickly paste. Robert Clear
About This Quote

In the case of Harriet Mason's murder, Elliot Norther's wife was so nervous that she baked. She knew her husband was innocent, but she was still nervous because she didn't know who the killer was and who was next on the list. She had to bake and bake and bake, just in case one of her friends or neighbors got killed. When it came time to serve the cake at the murder trial, she used what she had made in order to put on a show for everyone.

By doing this, she put on a show for herself as well as everyone else. In doing this, Elliot's wife disguised her nerves by baking a cake for everyone to see.

Source: The Cambridge List

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  1. Whenever Elliot Norther’s wife was nervous she baked. With the murder of Harriet Mason, her husband’s close colleague at the Faculty, she had been unable to resist a couple of Victoria sponges. During the frenzied press speculation about the identity of the murderer, a Dundee...

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