Tea, Lycanthropy and Other Virtues

Chapter Nineteen

The sign over the brick fronted shop read "Books and Tea" in scrolling white letters.

"I've heard so much about this place," Hannah said, clasping her hands together.

Constance squirmed uncomfortably. She'd never been in a bookshop, couldn't afford them and she'd never had the time to read much more than days old newspapers anyway, falling asleep as soon as her weary head hit her pillow each night.

"They say it's delightfully disruptive and liable to get Ladies thinking in unorthodox ways," Hannah continued with a mischievous smile.

Constance smiled too, despite the voice whispering caution to her.

"Shall we go in? I'd like to buy you something to read in the evenings."

Warning bells went off inside her.

"Of course you can borrow anything from our library, but it's nice to have a tome of one's own, is it not?"

Constance looked down at her taffeta skirt, bought with Mary's money. Irritation tinted with shame needled her. Maybe all rich people thought they could buy you with gifts.

Hannah pulled the door open, a bell announcing their arrival. A dusty vanilla smell tickled her nose as her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. Wooden shelves crowded with books rose up to greet her from every angle.

"Good afternoon, ladies. Can I help you find anything?" Constance blinked at a black and white cat sitting on the counter. The cat blinked back.

"There's some lovely new fiction in, plus I always keep the most current National Academy of Sciences pamphlets and papers." A woman materialized from behind a stack of books.

Hannah laughed weakly. "I thought the cat was talking."

"Colonel?" The woman said, scratching his head. "He communicates, but not with the English language, yet anyway."

"Is he French then?" Constance asked with a smile.

The cat stuck his nose in the air and then leapt off the counter and sauntered away.

"Oh dear, now you've gone and offended him," the proprietress said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry," Constance called after the cat, feeling that she truly had spoken out of turn.

"His fur is easily riled these days. No matter, you're here for books and tea." She nodded toward the back of the store where several ladies sat drinking tea at small round tables. A young maid in a black-and-white uniform bustled back and forth with teapots and trays of scones.

"How delightful," Hannah said with a wide smile.

It was delightful, despite Constance's hesitations. The little tea annex had long windows looking out at a patio garden covered in pots of flowers, herbs, and mint. She wanted to sit down and enjoy a steaming cup of fine tea herself, but she couldn't help feeling that it would end up being another chain around her neck. Constance rubbed her wrists and then wondered absently if she could get a job here, if it would be enough to support her family. She worried her lip between her teeth.

She felt eyes on her. A lone woman sat in the back corner, sipping out of a delicate floral teacup. She was ghostly pale and gorgeous and she should have been completely disruptive wearing men's trousers and a flowing blouse, but no one else seemed to notice her at all.

The lady held up her cup and nodded to Constance as if in toast.

"Come on," Hannah said, linking their arms and pulling her toward a towering book shelf titled Fiction-The Good Stuff.