It didn’t bend or pull; it snapped with a clean, musical crack —the sound of perfection. He tucked the jagged, buttery shards into a tin lined with wax paper, tied it with a simple twine, and set it on the counter. Outside, the rain began to drum against the window, but inside, the toffee held the warmth of the fire, ready for the first customer to walk through the door.

The copper pot sat on the stove like a hunk of ancient treasure, humming with the heat of a low flame. Arthur didn’t use a thermometer; he didn’t need one. He watched for the exact moment the butter and sugar transformed from a pale blonde to the deep, dangerous gold of a sunset over the Thames.

This was the "Hard Crack" stage—the soul of true English toffee.

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