“Did you make a house call?” Hannah asked, realizing she hadn’t talked to Norman in a few days.

“Of course. Mr. Whiskers is fine now. I got the seed out.”

“How did you do that?”

“Very carefully. And very quickly, too.” Norman glanced at the cookies Hannah placed in front of him. “They look like little white bombs with a red fuse.”

“The fuse is a cherry stem. That’s a little square of dough wrapped around the cherry and then baked. And the reason they’re so white is because they’re dipped in powdered sugar. You’re supposed to pick them up by the stem and eat the bottom part.”

“Okay,” Norman said popping the white part into his mouth and chewing. “They’re good! The cherry sort of explodes when you bit into it, so Cherry Bomb is a good name.”

Once Norman had tasted the second Cherry Bomb and pronounced it as good as the first, he set the Granny’s Attic bag on the counter. Your mother sent this over for you.”

“What is it?”

“Her antique cake knife. She asked me to bring it to you for safekeeping.”

Hannah opened the bag and drew out an elaborately carved wooden case. “Have you seen it?”

“Yes, it’s beautiful. Take a look.”

The carvings were lovely, and Hannah admired the box for a moment. the she lifted the lid and gasped as she saw the knife. “It’s gorgeous! And it’s not what I expected at all.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s narrower than the combination cake knife and server I’m used to seeing and it looks a whole lot sharper.”

“Your mother said it was especially crafted for the court by a well-known sword maker of the period.”

“No wonder it looks so sharp! The Christmas tree on the handle is beautiful and I just love the colored stones they used to decorate it.”

“Those colored stones are small blue and yellow sapphires, rubies, and emeralds. And the star at the top is a perfect diamond. I think you’d better put it away in a nice safe place.”

“I will,” Hannah said, closing the lid of the box reverently. “I suppose it’s very valuable?”

Norman glanced around, but no one at the counter was paying any attention to them. “Yes, if it’s genuine. And everyone at Granny’s Attic, including Luanne, thinks it is.”

“Thanks for telling me.” Hannah slipped the box back in the bag and secreted it behind the counter. “I’d better keep it under wraps until it’s time to cut the cake, or someone might use it to carve the turkey.”

“I don’t think that’ll be a problem. I’m bringing the turkey, and it’s Rose’s recipe. She swear it’s so tender it practically falls off the bones.”

“Rose’s turkey is great,” Hannah said, glancing out the window. Her eyes narrowed and she gave a deep sigh. “You might know it! It’s starting to snow. It’s a good thing that Minnesotans aren’t afraid of a little winter weather. Unless it turns into a full-scale blizzard, they’ll still show up for the dinner and stay for the dancing.”