Lost in Lavender by Patricia Kiyono

Author:Patricia Kiyono [Kiyono, Patricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dingbat Publishing
Published: 2018-12-12T18:00:00+00:00

Lady Greenly’s maid came to pick up her mistress’ hat, a monstrous construction covered with so many flowers that Selina had no idea how she’d manage to wear it without getting a headache. But the hat had been made according to the lady’s specifications. The most recent issue of Ackerman’s Repository had included pictures of the latest headwear, and most of them featured crowns higher than she’d ever seen on women. One resembled a man’s top hat in shape, with large flowers on top of that.

It was teatime, so the shop was empty. Rather than pause for her own tea, Selina went into her workroom. Gathering a swatch of white silk, she cut several small petal shaped pieces and gathered them together. The previous day, she’d knotted several pieces of silk braiding and stiffened them with starch. These pieces served as the stamen. Threading her needle, she bound them all together to make a holly blossom. Satisfied with the result, she repeated the process several times until she had a bunch. Wire was pushed through each blossom for the stems, and then the stems were connected.

She compared her flowers to the drawings in her book. Satisfied that her new creations closely resembled holly, she set the bunch down and started again. She’d need to create a supply of them in order to be prepared for the upcoming holiday season. Holly blossoms would of course need the greenery, as well as the red berries. Red beads would work for the berries, but she’d need to look for a supply of dark green silk.

A slight breeze wafted into her workroom and she heard the front door close. She stood and walked into the showroom to greet her customer, but her polite smile broadened as she recognized her guest.

“Mr. Benton, what a pleasant surprise.”

The spacious room shrank. The large man should have seemed out of place among the lacy headwear, but his discomfort didn’t seem to stem from his surroundings.

“Mrs. Davison. I— er, appear to once again need your assistance.”

She tilted her head. “Of course. Where are you going now?”

“Going? Oh, I’m on my way home. I-I wanted to tell you about my appointment with Lady Stormont. She requested an adjustment to the plan for the garden. But, er—” A reddish hue made its way up his neck and over his face, and Selina wondered what outlandish demand the viscountess had made.

He cleared his throat. “You recall the central structure I mentioned during the Garden Club meeting?” He glanced at her, and she nodded. “Lady Stormont requested a pavilion, which I agreed to, but then she insisted the structure be shaped like a cat.”

“In the shape of a cat? How would you build such a thing?” She shuddered as another thought occurred to her. “And who would want to go inside something like that?”

He sighed. “That’s what I tried to tell her. At first she wanted the structure to represent the cat lying down, with two openings — one at the cat’s mouth, and the other at… the other end.

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