[ Getting called out like that earns Shadowheart and awkward smile. He's used to Harold, who never comments when he shares things like that, just listens and surely commits them to memory. Harold would never miss a chance to learn something new about him.

To avoid the subject John turns to the recipe and gives it a quick read before looking at the dough. If he's going to get his hands dirty he should be dressed appropriately. His coat comes off and gets folded over a chair and he rolls up his sleeves almost to his elbows, and then he returns to the dough. It gets a critical examination, tugged this way and that, before he decides what's wrong. ]

I think your fat was too warm and now the dough is too wet. You want flakes of fat mixed into the flour rather than have them fully incorporated. If you have enough ingredients we can start over. Do you have a food processor? It's a cylinder with a blade that spins in the middle. If not, I have one at my apartment and enough ingredients.

[ He may be faking living there, but he's good at faking it. A well stocked pantry is part of his cover. ]