She frowned.“I don’t want you to spend your evenings helping me clean fish.No, I’ll get it done while you’re at work.”
“Just remember, I’m always willing to help.It’s a big task you’ve taken on.”
“And I plan to do it to the best of my ability.”
Instead of going inside when they arrived home, Agnes walked straight to the nets.As she pulled in the first, she remembered she was still in her best dress.“I’d better change.I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner.”Jasper nodded.“I’ll do some of it while you’re inside.We want to get them out while we can.”
She changed quickly, pulling on an apron that completely covered the front of her dress.She wanted to get as little fish smell on herself as possible.She carefully chose the fish to throw back and the ones to keep, which went into a basket she’d found for just that purpose.“Oh, that one’s not a salmon,” she said, pulling a fish out of the basket.
“I know.But we had two of them, and I thought they’d make a nice supper.”
“Good idea!I’ll fry them up for us.”
They went to each net, putting the fish they wanted to keep into the basket, which was much too heavy for Agnes to carry when they were done.“I think I’ll need to make two trips,” she said, laughing, while Jasper carried the basket inside.
“At least at first.I don’t think it will be long before you can carry a full basket.”
She hurried ahead and opened the door for him, and he put the basket on the table.Finding the huge pot she’d set aside for this task, she carefully went to work cleaning the fish.“We need to save all the heads and guts for Sally’s pigs.”
Jasper nodded, throwing the parts that would be wasted otherwise into the pot.“I can carry this over to their home while you cook supper if you’d like.”
“That would be wonderful,” Agnes said.“Thank you for your help.”
They worked mostly in silence, needing to focus on the task that wasn’t quite familiar.It took hours to finish, and Jasper looked at her.“This is going to take up a great deal of your time.”
“Only in the beginning,” she said.“I’ll get faster as I become more familiar with the task.It will become second nature.”
“I’m sure it will.I just worry you’ll be doing too much.”
“By the time the goats arrive, I’ll have a rhythm down.Don’t worry so much.”
Jasper grinned.“I suppose I do worry too much.”
“I’m stronger than I look,” she said confidently.All her life, people had underestimated her because she looked delicate.But she was strong, and she’d get the job done.It wouldn’t be easy at first, but she’d get to the point where it would be.
As soon as they were done, with the whitefish set aside for their supper.Now she would go to her smoker, start the fire that would smolder for days, and hang the fish.She and Sally had done it together, so it was a little difficult for her to do on her own, but she insisted Jasper let her do it.She didn’t want him to feel like he needed to do a full day’s work and then come home to help her with her work.
Once the fish were successfully hanging, she felt as if she’d accomplished something great.“We did it!”
He chuckled.“We sure did!”They went back to the house and he picked up the pot of guts and heads.“I’ll take this now.”
“And I’ll start supper.”What she really wanted was to sit down and rest, but she also didn’t want him to think she was too weak for the job she’d agreed to do, so she moved to the stove and started their supper.She made a large batch of fried potatoes, fried the fish, and made a salad with fresh ingredients from Sally’s garden.She still wanted to make several gingerbread cakes after supper, but she’d worry about that when the time came.
Soon, supper was ready, and Jasper was back from his errand, bringing the pot with him.“Sally said to thank you for the guts.”
Agnes grinned.“And I’m sure she phrased it just like that.”
He nodded.“She’s something else.”
“She’s my dearest friend,” Agnes said.“Well, sit!Supper’s ready.”She’d made enough for him to take for lunch the following day.
She put their plates on the table, and he smiled.“This looks delicious.”
“You said it was what you’d want for your lunch tomorrow, so I made enough for you to take it.It’s not smoked salmon, but there should be more than enough whitefish for you to take with you.”Knowing that their diet would be a great deal of smoked salmon through the long winter months, she planned to cook something else the next day.She’d have to raid Belle’s cold house.
As soon as the supper dishes were done, she whipped up the batter for several gingerbread cakes, wanting to see as soon as possible how they would sell.If they went well, she’d be able to make them all winter to keep their income up.
While she baked, she daydreamed about what it would be like to spend the long nights with Jasper.He was a good man, and she was happy that she’d answered his ad.Life would be better from this moment on.
