Devonshire Scream by Laura Childs

Author:Laura Childs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-02-11T15:03:10+00:00

18

Midmorning on Thursday and the Indigo Tea Shop was filled with customers. Teakettles chirped and burped as Theodosia and Drayton worked at top speed. Drayton pumped out freshly brewed pots of Nilgiri, orchid plum, and English breakfast tea. Theodosia hastily delivered these pots of tea, along with Haley’s cranberry bread and orange scones, to all their customers who were seated at tables.

Just as they’d reached their maximum tipping point, just when they couldn’t seat one more person or accept one additional take-out order, a colorful horse-drawn jitney rumbled to a stop outside their front door and disgorged a load of passengers.

“Uh-oh,” Drayton murmured. “Overload.”

Eight people spilled into the tea shop, chattering and laughing and shrieking for tea.

Except for one.

A solid-looking woman in a bright purple dress put her hands on her hips and said, “I don’t drink tea.”

That brought the raucous group up short. They stood there, glancing about, shifting their feet.

Never wanting to turn away potential business, and seeing that a large table was about to become available, Theodosia stepped in to smooth things over.

“It’s not a problem,” she told the group. “We have a Tea Totalers menu.”

Purple dress was not convinced. “What’s that?” she asked, suspicion evident in her voice.

So Theodosia gave a quick explanation of teas and tisanes. How tea was brewed from the leaves of tea plants, but a tisane was basically a fruit or herbal infusion. She told her that a tisane might look like a tea and be served in a lovely china teacup, but it was really a brew made from plums or raspberries, peppermint or chamomile.

Once purple dress was satisfied that she could partake of a fruit tea, things settled down to a dull roar.

“Now, don’t sneak any real tea into that lady’s brew and make me a liar,” Theodosia warned Drayton.

“Hah,” he said. “After our sneak-and-peek excursion of last night, a little white lie is nothing. I ought to call and report you to Detective Tidwell for suspicious lurking.”

She turned. “You wouldn’t.”

“No,” Drayton said as he measured out scoops of chocolate mint tea. “But you’ve certainly got me thinking the worst about Haley’s boyfriend.”

“I hear you. But why would he be wearing a tux if he wasn’t at the opera?”

Drayton poured a gush of hot water into a teapot, swished it around to warm the interior, and then dumped it out. “Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps his chosen profession demands that manner of dress?”

“You mean he’s either a headwaiter or a vampire?”

“Very funny. But what if we accuse Haley’s boyfriend of being part of that awful gang and it turns out he’s not?” Drayton asked. “If she gets mad at us for thinking the worst, she just might up and quit.” He glanced around at their roomful of customers. “Like right now. When we’ve got a full house.”

Theodosia had to agree. “That would be awful in more ways than one. We both love Haley. She’s part of our tea shop family.”

“I completely agree,” Drayton said. “Plus, we’ve got our Romanov Tea later today.

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