Agony of the Leaves: Tea Shop Mystery #13 (14 page)

Aunt Libby, being Aunt Libby, kept popping up from her chair and offering to help.

“Sit,” Theodosia told her. “Enjoy your guests and your event.”

“But you’re working so hard,” she protested.

“Nonsense,” said Theodosia. “This is what we do. This is what we love.”

And, of course, it was.

In between the
quiche and the tea sandwiches, with everything humming like clockwork, Theodosia found time to take a breather. She poured herself a cup of Earl Grey and ambled over to the table where Delaine was seated.

“Thanks for coming,” Theodosia said, sliding into the chair across from her. “It means a lot to Aunt Libby that you’re here.” She paused. “It means a lot to me, too.” Hopefully, last night’s somewhat heated exchange had been forgotten and forgiven.

“What are friends for?” Delaine chirped. She was resplendent in ahot-pink bouclé suit and matchinggarden-party hat. As she spoke, Delaine was carefullyhigh-grading the egg mixture from the quiche crust, obviously mindful of carbs. “Besides, this is your aunt’s charity event. And you know I’m a huge believer in supporting charities. Especially one that helps poor little kitties and dogs.”

“Yes, you are very supportive,” said Theodosia. Delaine could be maddening, gossipy, and even a touch vulgar, but she was socially conscious and had a terrifically huge heart. Particularly when it came to animals.

“Besides,” said Delaine, “I know I can count on you when I have my Clothes Horse Race.”

“What is that exactly?” asked Theodosia. Delaine had been chattering about this upcoming event, but Theodosia was still unclear on the details.

“I’m doing afund-raiser at my boutique to help buy suitable business attire for women who are trying to reenter the job market,” said Delaine. “Most of them have endured some sort ofhard-luckstruggle—drug rehab, a nasty divorce, domestic violence. Well, you get the picture.”

“That sounds like a very worthwhile cause,” said Theodosia.

Delaine nodded. “Oh, it is. Not everyone was born with a silver spoon in their mouth like…um…we were.”

“Delaine,” said Theodosia, deciding to take a small shot in the dark, “how well do you know Peaches Pafford?”

Delaine wrinkled her nose as she flicked away a wayward crumb and said, “Fairly well.” Then she seemed to reconsider her words and said, “Well, Peaches has certainly been a good customer in my shop. In fact, she’s developed quite a penchant for designer suits and casual silks. And, of course, I’ve dined at her various restaurants many, many times.”

“Let me phrase it differently,” said Theodosia. “What do you know about her?”

Delaine narrowed her eyes. “You mean like…personal information?”

Theodosia lifted a shoulder.
Yes. That might be of help.

Delaine fiddled with her enormous moonstone ring as she considered this for a few moments, then said, “She’s actually a little guarded about her personal life. But what I
can
tell you isthis—Peaches is an extremely good businesswoman. Very smart, very tough.”

“Tough,” said Theodosia, “in what way?”

“Brutal when it comes to negotiating,” said Delaine. “The lease for her newest restaurant, Ariel?” Delaine gave a sharp laugh that was almost a bark. “Peaches pounded Bell Management into the ground. She basically pulverized their leasing agent and got her lease agreement down to something like sixteen dollars a square foot. And I’m talking gross, not net!” Delaine was clearly impressed. “Yup, Peaches goes for the jugular.”

Ten minutes later
, the tea trays set out on the tables, Haley headed back to Charleston and Theodosia regrouped with Drayton.

“The hard part’s over now,” Drayton told her. “From here on we can pretty much coast to the finish line.”

“So no problems at all?” said Theodosia.

“Delaine was a little demanding, but when isn’t she?”

Theodosia chuckled. “She’s like one of those rock stars with aten-page rider on her contract. You know, with demands for white flowers or aromatherapy candles in their dressing room. Or bowls full of Skittles.”

“Or Oxycontin,” said Drayton.

Aunt Libby noticed them chatting and scurried over.

“How do you think it’s going?” Aunt Libby asked.

“A huge success,” Drayton proclaimed. “Very well re-ceived.”

“What was the charge per person?” Theodosia asked, mindful that the event was afund-raiser.

“We sold tickets fortwenty-eight dollars,” said Aunt Libby.

“And you’ve pulled…what?Thirty-four, maybethirty-five guests?” said Theodosia. She ran a quick computation in her head. “That’s almost a thousand dollars that will go into the coffers of your animal rescue group.”

“Less food costs,” said Aunt Libby.

Theodosia waved a hand. “Consider the food my contribution.”

“Oh, you dear girl!” said Libby, clutching her arm.

“But let’s not rest on our laurels,” said Drayton, still anxious to please their guests.

“Refills, then,” agreed Theodosia.

“Theo!” called Delaine. She raised an arm and snapped her fingers to gain Theodosia’s attention. “Over here!”

Theodosia hurried to Delaine’s table with afresh-brewed pot of tea. “More strawberry Darjeeling?” she asked.

“Refills would be lovely,” said Delaine. “But I really called you over so I could introduce you to Majel Carter.”

“Ah,” said Theodosia, instantly recognizing the name and offering a quick smile to the woman who was now seated
across from Delaine. “You’re the executive director of Tuesday’s Child.”

“Guilty as charged,” said Majel, holding up her teacup. She was in her early forties, with luminous brown eyes, brown hair curled into a soft bob, and a very kind face. Basically, Majel looked like someone who would probably head a charity devoted to children.

Delaine nodded excitedly. “That’s right. Majel founded Tuesday’s Child, the charity you so graciously agreed to do the scavenger hunt for.” She threw Theodosia a cagey look. “You
are
still participating in the scavenger hunt, aren’t you?”

Is there a way to worm my way out of this?
Theodosia wondered.
Hmm. Doesn’t seem likely.

“Yes, of course I am,” said Theodosia.

“That’s so kind of you,” said Majel. She had a slightly distracted air about her and a slow, measured way of speaking. Theodosia figured it was probably because Majel dealt primarily with children. Or maybe she had a degree in psychology and was just very deliberate about choosing her words.

“And I want to apologize for not making it to your tea shop yesterday,” said Majel.

“Not a problem,” said Theodosia.

Majel continued to focus her gaze on Theodosia. “Anyway, when Delaine told me what was going on here today, I decided to drop by and thank you. I appreciate so much that you’ve agreed to be our sponsor in the scavenger hunt. We’re a newer charity and not all that well known yet in the community.” Her eyes crinkled. “But after all the kindness of late, I pretty much feel like Tuesday’s Child has won the lottery.”

“You have,” Delaine said with relish.

“How so?” asked Theodosia.

“First the Gibbes Museum offered us the proceeds from this month’s fishbowl,” said Majel, “and now your tea shop is
sponsoring us in the scavenger hunt.” She reached out and clutched Theodosia’s hand. “In a way you’ve…you’ve become a kind of guardian angel.”

Majel’s words and gesture touched Theodosia’s heart. And she made up her mind, then and there, to throw herself into the scavenger hunt one hundred percent. She realized she’d been a little grudging about participating. But…enough of that.

“There are a lot of at-risk kids who are going to benefit from this,” Majel assured her.

“And that’s what it’s all about,” said Theodosia, still feeling guilty for trying to wiggle her way out.

“Oh, look,” said Delaine, gesturing and giving an excited little squeal, “I think Drayton is going to do one of his recitations.”

“He does so love center stage,” said Theodosia. Fact was, Drayton delighted in reciting bits and pieces of tea poetry. And it would appear that one of today’s guests had asked him to perform.

The chatter at the tables suddenly dropped off by several decibels and a hush spread across the crowd as all eyes focused on Drayton.

“This,” Drayton said, posturing with a rose medallion teapot cupped in the crook of his arm, “is from a Chinese poem penned by Tso Ssu back in the second century.” He gave a quick smile. “And I think it’s rather appropriate considering our lovely locale.”

Then Drayton began to recite in his best oratorical voice:

Applause broke out and Drayton bowed deeply. “Thank you, thank you so much.” He spread his arms out and said, “Some of you also had questions? About tea, that is.”

A woman in a bright yellow suit raised her hand.

“Yes,” said Drayton, pleased.

“A friend told me that the teatime ritual was invented by the Chinese,” said the woman. “But I thought the Queen of England came up with it. Which of us is right?”

“Actually,” said Drayton, “teatime was invented by the Duchess of Bedford around 1841, to help counteract her afternoon slump.” He paused, a twinkle in his eye. “Of course, we don’t know what the
Duke
of Bedford was up to.”

Laughter ensued.

“Another question?” said Drayton, enjoying himself.

There
was
another question. A woman asked, “When was the first tea brought over from China?”

“The clipper ships first brought their tea cargo to England in the early sixteen hundreds,” said Drayton.

“So it took a while,” the woman mused.

“Oolong time,” Drayton laughed. Then he glanced around, found Aunt Libby in the crowd, and waved for her to come up.

Aunt Libby shook her head, reluctant to be front and center.

But Drayton wasn’t having it. “No,” he called out to Aunt Libby, “you have to do this. After all, you’re the one all these delightful ladies came to support. You and your charity.”

“Madison’s Home,” said Aunt Libby. Now she stood up and made her way to the front of the group. With each step her confidence seemed to grow by leaps and bounds. She let
Drayton give her a kiss, then turned to face her audience. “Thank you all so much for coming,” said Aunt Libby. “I guess it’s no secret that I’m a huge animal lover. You can pretty much tell by all the birdhouses and feeding stations I have here at Cane Ridge.”

There was laughter and nods among the ladies.

Aunt Libby grinned. “I’m also keenly committed to helping stray dogs and cats find a safe, loving home. And that’s why the proceeds from today’s tea will be going to a wonderful shelter called Madison’s Home. It’s a no-kill shelter here in Colleton County that’s run by a group of very dedicated volunteers. But they can’t go it alone, and that’s where all of you come in.” She hesitated. “The support you’ve given us here today will make it possible to feed and house many more lovely little creatures for several months.”

Applause rang out and Drayton, who’d moved over to stand next to Theodosia, remarked, “Not a dry eye in the house.”

“Charity must run
in the family,” said Majel, smiling at Theodosia.

Slightly embarrassed, Theodosia said, “I like to help out where I can.”

“I so appreciate that,” said Majel, “especially since the City Charities scavenger hunt starts tomorrow night.”

“That’s right,” said Theodosia.

“And Delaine explained to you how this particular scavenger hunt works?”

Theodosia glanced at Delaine, who was now wandering from table to table, glad-handing people like crazy. Delaine hadstrong-armed her into participating in the scavenger hunt, but Theodosia had no clue about her actual role. Was she supposed to hunt things down? Was she supposed to field a team?

“Delaine gave me some rudimentary information,” Theodosia said, hedging, “but if you could run the basic rules and regulations past me, I’d really appreciate it.”

“Well, this scavenger hunt is very fun and techy,” said Majel. “Instead of going out and actually
collecting
items, you locate the items or places, take a photo, then send it back to our website.”

“Right,” said Theodosia. She was greatly relieved she didn’t have to drive to hell and gone, then load up her Jeep with a ton of useless, bizarre junk.

“You’ll receive your official list tomorrow,” said Majel. “Then, after you’ve hunted down your items, and if the judges deem your list to be complete, you’ll move into the finals.”

“That’s it?” said Theodosia, sounding relieved. She’d thought it’d be more complicated than that.

“That’s it,” said Majel. She smiled as Aunt Libby came up to their table. “Hello there. I’m the party crasher.”

Theodosia made quick introductions between Aunt Libby and Majel, then said, “You think it was a success?”