Chapter One
Lilly Tweed pulled back her hair and struggled to clip it up.
"I really must do something with my hair," she said, wincing as she pulled and tried to force an errant curl into the band.
"Are you talking about colouring the grey?" Stacey, her shop manager, asked in all innocence.
Lilly looked at her and burst out laughing.
"Well, I am now! I actually meant just getting it cut."
"Oops. Sorry."
"Don't worry, you're right. There seems to be a lot more grey than brown nowadays. I'm wondering if I should just let it go and grow old gracefully?"
"Grey hair is really cool now," Stacey said. "Loads of celebrities and actresses are doing it. I think it looks great."
"Really? Might be worth thinking about. I honestly can't be faffed with going to the hairdresser every month to sit for hours while it's coloured."
She opened the foot stool and set it in front of the tall stockroom shelves. Her order of spring tea sets had arrived a few weeks ago, and she'd been gradually moving them from the storeroom to the main shop ever since.
One of her favourites, a lovely vintage cabbage rose design, she'd almost forgotten about until Stacey had queried what had happened to the order. Now, they were over halfway through spring and only just adding them to the displays.
"Finding these sets now is good timing when you think about it," Stacey said from where she stood on the floor below Lilly, ready to take the boxes from her. "We've completely sold out of the sunflower sets, so bringing out the rose ones will give me an opportunity to do some online promotional stuff. I'll get them dusted and put on display today, then take some pictures. At the very least, it should remind the locals to come in and restock their tea. Maybe we could even run a sale on one of the rose teas we've got a surplus of to add to the excitement?"
"That's a great idea. I'll look over the inventory tonight and let you know what we can do a promotion on," Lilly said, carefully passing down the boxes of fragile china to the waiting girl, who placed them on a nearby table.
It had been almost a year ago to the day that Lilly had first employed the young American. She'd appeared in the shop in answer to the help wanted sign in the window and immediately started to assist the cleanup of a breakage as though she'd already got the job. She'd known nothing about teas and Lilly had been dubious to start with, but Stacey had been genuinely interested in her desire to learn more.
She'd arrived in Plumpton Mallet to attend the local university while also getting to know her estranged father, a London native, who was a four-hour train journey away. Up until that time, she'd known very little about her English Heritage. Stacey had officially started work at Lilly's Tea Emporium the day after she'd first turned up, and was now not only the manager of the tea shop but The Agony Aunt's cafe which Lilly owned with a friend.
Employing Stacey had turned out to be one of the best decisions Lilly had made for her businesses. She'd taken to the study of teas like the proverbial duck to water. She'd brought Lilly's shop online with an all singing all dancing website, and produced some excellent graphic designs and marketing material. She was also friendly, knowledgeable and highly personable with everyone who came through the door, and as a result, was extremely popular with all the customers. Locals and tourists alike.
Stacey's designs for the take away mugs over the Christmas season had been exceptionally good, so much so that people were asking when the next design would be available, as they wanted to collect them all. Lilly made a mental note to ask Stacey to design a spring version, with a view to having the four seasons each year made as collectibles.
"Right, that's the last box," Lilly said, getting down from the ladder. The two of them then began transferring everything to the main shop.
Earl Grey, the former stray now official shop cat, was asleep in his usual spot in the window, his damaged ear twitching at the sound of them entering. But that was the sum total of his movement. He didn't even open an eye when a small boy walking through the market square with his mother tapped on the glass to get his attention.
Stacey had asked for an antique oak table to be put in the centre of the shop floor to set out the new spring display, and while she began, Lilly went to top up the cat's water and food bowls. That done, she gave him a final scratch behind his ears, which elicited the loudest of purrs although his eyes remained closed, and went to check the post basket.
Prior to opening the shop, Lilly had worked for The Plumpton Mallet Gazette, the local newspaper, as their Agony Aunt. She had been made redundant when a larger concern bought the paper, but the payout she'd been given had let her fund the opening of her Tea Emporium. However, the locals had apparently missed her good advice and had started posting letters at the shop. Eventually, she had fitted a designated letterbox which dropped the mail into a basket inside.
"Any letters today?" Stacey asked, smoothing out a snowy white damask tablecloth and checking the levels on either side were the same.
"Just one," Lilly replied, locking the basket and moving behind the counter to the till and wrapping area.
It was her favourite part in the shop. Plumpton Mallet was one of the oldest towns in the north of the country, steeped in a rich history, and as such many of the shops had started out life as something different from what they were trading as today. The Tea Emporium had once been the town's only apothecary shop, and all subsequent owners had kept as many fixtures and fittings from the original design as possible. Lilly had done the same, and designed the entire vintage scheme around the floor to ceiling cabinet on the wall behind the counter, with shelves in the upper half and dozens of small drawers with brass handles in the lower. The drawers contained all the tea samples, with the shelves used for displaying sale items. The top of the base unit housed different kettles in various designs to boil the water for brewing customer samples. Along the bar-style counter were several tall wooden stools where customers would sit and drink the teas before choosing the ones they wished to purchase.
Lilly sat at the bar near the antique till, taking her time to read the letter. She smiled. It was asking her for her favourite spring dessert recipes. Much more light hearted than some of the letters she received. She absentmindedly chewed the end of her pen while thinking of a suitable response. She chose two: white tea infused chocolate pots with pistachio toffee, and meringue roulade with orange and passion fruit. Luckily, she kept the full recipes on her phone.
She'd just finished her reply when the shop phone rang.
***
"The Tea Emporium," she answered.
"It's Abigail," the voice at the other end boomed.
Lilly grinned. "I'm surprised to get a call from you during the lunch rush. Are you busy over there?"
"Always. It's compete madness and we're running out of the new tea blend… the lemon and lavender."
"Don't worry," Lilly assured her. "I'll bring a couple of boxes down."
"You're a lifesaver. Thank you," Abigail said, hanging up the phone without so much as a proper goodbye. Abigail could be a tad dramatic at times, but Lilly knew if she said she was running out of tea, then it was imminent. The lemon lavender had proved to be immensely popular. It was her own creation, only her second, the first being a peppermint and cranberry she'd made especially for Christmas. That had also sold well.
"Was that the cafe?" Stacey asked. "Is it urgent?"
"They're running out of the new blend. I need to rush some over there."
"Wow, people have been going through that really quickly. You're going to have to make some more tonight because we'll run out here, too, if you take some down to Abigail. Probably by the end of the day."
"Really? Well, that's my evening sorted out then. What an exciting life I lead," Lilly laughed, grabbing a couple of boxes and waving to Stacey as she left the shop for the quick walk down to the cafe.
The Agony Aunt's cafe was her most recent investment. After the former owner put the property up for sale at a low price due to serious personal issues, Lilly and Abigail, another former agony aunt at the paper and Lilly's old nemesis, had gone into business together. The cafe had grown substantially since they'd taken over and completely refurbished the interior. They'd even added a special art déco style tearoom at the back for people to hire for special occasions.
Abigail came running to meet her at the front door and, much to Lilly's delight, already had two take away lunch bags prepared for her and Stacey.
"It looks as though you're on top of things," Lilly said. "How did you know I would order lunch? And how did you know what I'd want?"
"It's a thank you for bringing the tea. And you and Stacey almost always order the same thing," Abigail replied, taking the tea from Lilly's outstretched hand. "Anyway, must dash. I'll call you when things slow down. Don't forget we have a meeting here after we close today."
"Don't worry, I'll be here," Lilly replied, and taking her lunch, returned to her shop.
***
The Tea Emporium's usual rush time was just after lunch, so she and Stacey had time to eat in peace before the crowds arrived. She was quite surprised to find the young girl had almost finished the new spring display and had added a large vase of realistic silk cabbage roses, their best napkins and silver napkin rings, along with other small additions like the battery operated tea-lights they'd just started to stock, to the display of rose and other spring design tea sets. It looked absolutely stunning.
"Stacey, this looks absolutely incredible. It wouldn't look out of place in Country Homes and Garden magazine."
"That's the plan," Stacey said, snapping several pictures for their website and social media pages. "I should have a number of them up online by this afternoon and I'll send a newsletter out to our customers. Then all we have to do is wait for the rush. Ooo what's in the bags?"
"Our favourite lunch each, courtesy of Abigail. We may as well eat out here as the shop is empty. Besides, I want to take time to admire your display. I've got a meeting after we close over at the cafe. Abigail and I need to discuss the final details for the 16th birthday party we're catering. I'm quite excited about it. The parents of the birthday boy are coming over, so we're getting together just before to make sure our presentation is up to scratch."
"Sounds like fun," Stacey said, grabbing her lunch. "So I'm manning the shop and overseeing the cafe that day?"
"If that's all right with you? Basically, it will be up to you to put out any fires while Abigail and me are away, although with Fred in charge at the cafe I doubt there'll be anything too serious."
"It's at the rowing club, the party, is that right?"
"Yes, which is at the reservoir out on the north road. About half an hour from here."
"I've never been rowing. Seems a bit lax of me considering I'm majoring in sports therapy. I'd like to give it a try sometime."
"I'll go with you, if you like? I used to row for my school, although only on the second team. I wasn't quite good enough for the first. But it is great fun. Unless you're in a boat with Archie, that is, then you tend to get drenched."
Lilly was referring to the trip she and Archie had taken a couple of weeks prior. At the hotel where they'd stopped for lunch, there was a large lake with rowing boats for hire. Archie had insisted on being the gentleman and taken the oars. Lilly laughed when she thought about it now. For the first ten minutes, they'd gone round in circles while Archie got used to being back in a boat after many years. After that, it went downhill and they'd both ended up soaking wet.
"You'd take me rowing?" Stacey asked, bringing Lilly back to the present.
"Absolutely. It's been a long time since I've been. We could go at the weekend if you want?"
"I'd love to."
"The rowing club would be the best place to go. Plus, I'll be able to have a walk around and familiarise myself with the place before we set up the event this weekend."
"Great! Is Sunday okay?" Stacey asked, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Perfect. Right, we better get on. Lunch is over and the shoppers are going to be flooding the market square any minute."
Chapter Two
As the day drew to a close, Lilly left Stacey locking up and set off back to the cafe for the meeting. The weather was still beautiful; the sun shining between whisks of white clouds, although there was a slight chill in the air now as the evening began to fall.
"Hi, Lilly," a fellow shop owner called out, as she turned the door sign from open to closed.
"Hello, Sue. How's business with you these days?"
"It's picking up a bit, thankfully. You know how it is. An ice cream shop doesn't ever do a roaring trade during the winter months. Actually, I've been thinking about expanding my offerings a bit during the colder months. Maybe hot cocoa and pasties. What do you think? You're great at that sort of thing. Do you have any suggestions?"
"I think both of those are great ideas," Lilly said. "I'd be happy to drop in one day and have a chat about it. With winter over now, you have months to plan and advertise something new."
"That would be great, Lilly. Thank you."
"How about we sit down for tea one evening this week? I'll have a think about some concepts in the meantime."
"Perfect," Sue said. "I look forward to it."
The cafe closed half an hour later than the tea shop, so there were still a handful of customers just finishing their meals inside when Lilly entered. The head barista was Frederick Warren, Stacey's boyfriend and fellow student. He waved a greeting and gave her a huge grin.
"The Stapletons should be here soon," Abigail said to Lilly, turning the door sign to closed. "I have the menu samples printing now. Fred, would you bring them through when they've finished?"
"Will do," he said, beginning to close the station as the last of the customers paid their bill.
Lilly and Abigail made their way through to the tearoom, which they'd decorated for spring. Along with small and large vases of seasonal silk flowers, they'd also decided to rotate the wall art according to the season, but still in-keeping with the overall art déco design. Lilly's favourite was entitled Spring by Alphonse Mucha, closely followed by Gustav Klimt's Flower Garden.
At the central table where they would speak with the clients, Abigail had placed several spring tea sets. They would be serving various tea samples for them to choose from, which went with the set menus they'd devised for the party. Abigail had also lit a few lemon and mandarin tea lights and placed them in cut glass art déco style holders, which added to the ambiance and gave a sense of peace and happiness.
"You're really on top of things," Lilly said, admiring the display. "It's gorgeous in here."
"Well, other than the Christmas Market, this is the first event I've done with you. And it's the cafe's very first catering event, so I really want it to go well."
"There's no need to impress me, Abigail. The cafe couldn't be in better hands. You've achieved a huge amount since you've been running it and it's improving day by day. I'm absolutely certain the clients will be just as impressed as I am."
"I really appreciate that, Lilly. I so want this cafe to work out. Especially after my career as an agony aunt was such a disaster," Abigail said with a sad smile and a heavy sigh as she laid out the various menu samples Fred had just brought through.
"Actually," Lilly said, handing one of the printed sheets back to her partner. "I think we should scrap this one. This tea blend didn't sell at all well and as the menu is based around it, I don't think it will work."
"Really? That's such a shame. I quite liked that tea."
"Yes, I did too. But it is obviously an acquired taste, and if the public doesn't like it, then there's no point using it. I'm a fan of unusual teas, but we're catering for a 16-year-old boy's birthday party, so it's not a great option. But last night I came up with several non-alcoholic cocktails, which I'm sure will work better."
"That's a great idea. Do you have samples?"
"I do. They are in your fridge. I'll get them after they've sampled everything else. Sorry for the late notice." Abigail waved the comment away. "I've named them after famous rowers. So we have the Redgrave Raspberry Refresher, the Pinsent Pink Punch, Whipple Watermelon Spritzer, Morin's Minty Tea Punch and Searle's Celebration Punch. There are also several smoothies on the menu, which are simple to make."
"Genius!" Abigail said. "I never would have thought of it. But every sixteen-year-old wants to feel like a grown up, even if what they're drinking has no alcohol in it. And what's even better is they are all healthy, and considering we're serving sports people, that's a great selling point. Susanna Stapleton is a very keen tennis player you know, and runs marathons, so I’m sure she’ll appreciate the effort. Well done, Lilly. Hang on, I'd better get cocktail glasses, ice and some of those little umbrellas. Let me just go and ask Fred to find what he can and bring it all through. Gosh, I do love it when everything comes together like this."
A few minutes later, she was back with the tea samples in a carved wooden box, and with Fred in tow carrying cocktail paraphernalia.
"This looks great," he said. "Makes me wish I was sixteen again."
"Really?" Lilly asked.
Fred shook his head, grinning. "No, not really. I'm having more fun now than I ever did when I was sixteen. Give me a shout if you need me for anything else."
"Will do, thanks, Fred," Abigail said.
"Oh, by the way, I've just seen the Stapletons walking across the square. They'll be here any minute. Shall I show them through?"
"Yes, please."
***
Susanna Stapleton was the one who had hired them to cater for the party, so both Lilly and Abigail had met her before. She approached with a smile and held out her hand. "Thank you for meeting us today. I'm looking forward to seeing what you've come up with. This is my husband Edgar. He's a big fan of the cafe."
"Very nice to meet you both," Edgar Stapleton said, also shaking their hands. "My wife is right. I come here every Thursday for lunch. It's become a weekly custom that I look forward to."
"I thought I recognised you," Abigail said. "I believe I served you last week myself?"
"I believe you did."
Lilly indicated the chairs and invited the couple to sit.
"These are the preliminary menus we've worked on. If you want to look them over and let us know if there are any changes you'd like. They have been designed to compliment both the teas and the range of non-alcoholic cocktails we've put together especially for the occasion. And of course, we're going to provide you with samples of everything now. How about we start with the lemon and lavender tea?" Lilly suggested, and with nods of confirmation from the Stapletons, Abigail got to work.
As Lilly had hoped, once they had tried all the samples, they chose the menu based on the lemon lavender blend. They also were thrilled with the idea of all the cocktails and thanked Lilly profusely for going to such an effort.
"Is Peter looking forward to the party?" Lilly asked.
"He really is," Susanna said. "Oh, that reminds me, we've an updated list. A few more attendees. I hope that's all right?" Lilly said, of course it was. Susanna reached into her handbag and withdrew a sheet of paper.
"You've crossed out Victoria's name?" Edgar said, looking at the list over his wife's shoulder. "Why can't she come?"
Susanna gave an exasperated sigh. "Edgar, Peter and Victoria have broken up." It was clear from her tone she thought her husband should know this information.
"Did they? That's a shame. I quite liked that girl. So, what happened?"
"I've honestly no idea, Edgar. You know what teenagers are like. But I agree with you, it is a shame they made a lovely couple."
"I wonder why he didn't tell me?" Edgar mused.
"He doesn't like talking about this sort of thing, you know that. Especially to his parents. It's a teenage thing. I expect he'll share when he's ready."
Lilly and Abigail had been sitting quietly, listening to the couples' conversation. As soon as there was a lull, Abigail spoke.
"So, is this the complete guest list?"
"Yes, that's everybody," Susanna said. "I thought it would be a nice idea to add personalised name cards at the tables if it's not too windy. Would that be acceptable?"
"Yes, of course," Lilly said. "I can devise something that will hang from the cups or the glasses. That way, if it is a little breezy, they won't blow away. I've found they make quite nice little gifts for the guests to remember the occasion."
"Oh, what a very good idea," Susanna said. "Perhaps something in-keeping with the rowing theme? Do you have anything like that?"
Lilly was about to say no but she could do some research when Abigail interrupted her.
"Do you know, I think I may have just the thing. One moment."
She left briefly and returned with a couple of nautical themed luggage tags in blue, red and white. One side where the name of the guest could be written, the other with designs of a yacht or a ship's wheel. The tag tie could be then be threaded through a cup handle, or wrapped round a napkin.
"What about these? They're hand painted wood, light, but very robust. A friend of mine makes them."
"Oh, these would be perfect," Susanna said. "What do you think?" she said, turning to her husband.
"Yes. I like them. Nice idea. Oh, and while I remember, you'd better add Preston to the list," he added, receiving a sharp glance from his wife. "He called today to say he's coming home to see Peter and celebrate his birthday. It's been a while since the boys have been together."
"Your son is coming?" Susanna said in a displeased voice.
Lilly could feel the sudden tension in the room. Susanna looked annoyed, and Edgar looked irritated at his wife's tone.
"Yes, your stepson is coming," he said now, obviously trying not to sound peeved in front of their hosts but failing miserably.
Susanna cleared her throat, catching her husband's mood and realised she needed to buck up a bit. "Wonderful news. What day is he coming? I'll make a big family dinner."
"Tomorrow."
"Oh, so he's coming for the week?"
"That's right. It will be good to spend some time with him."
"Won't it?" Susanna said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "It will be nice for him to have a week with home cooked food. It will make a change from the college food he's used to."
"Thank you," Edgar said, with a smile as tight as his wife's. He turned to Abigail and Lilly, looking flushed and uncomfortable. "Is that all you need?"
"I believe so," Lilly said, adding Preston Stapleton's name to the list. "We'll have the place names made and will be in touch about the seating arrangements soon."
"Actually," Susanna said, as she and her husband stood. "I thought I might come and help you set up. I'll be there early to put up the decorations, anyway. This way, it will save you the job."
"Of course, that's fine," Lilly said. "In that case, I believe all the decisions have been made. If there's anything last minute I need to ask you about, I'll give you a call."
"Thank you both," Susanna said, and with final goodbyes, she and her husband left the premises.
Lilly and Abigail breathed a sigh of relief.
***
"Phew!" Lilly said, raising her eyebrows at Abigail. "That got a bit uncomfortable. I wonder what it was all about?"
"It's the connection between the Stapleton's and Lord and Lady Defoe, I expect."
The Defoe family was Plumpton Mallet's version of royalty, Lords and Ladies going back several generations.
"What connection is that?" Lilly asked.
"Lady Defoe's sister was Preston Stapleton's mother."
"Was?"
Abigail nodded. "Yes. She died. I only heard about it at the book club. You know what a hotbed of gossip it is. The books, as far as I can tell, are just an excuse to get together and dish the dirt. Apparently, she was still a teenager when she met Edgar Stapleton. Unfortunately, she became pregnant. You can imagine the scandal that ensued. They weren't married, obviously. Rumour has it she gave birth to Preston and as soon as they could Lady Defoe's parents gave the child to Edgar, told him to keep quiet and washed their hands of the whole affair. I assume he was given some hush money. Of course, secrets like that get out, eventually."
"Gosh, if that's true, it's awful," Lilly said, wondering if some of the information had been embellished at the source to add to the drama.
Abigail nodded. "As soon as he was able, Edgar shipped Preston off to boarding school, so there aren't many around here now who even know about it."
"Well, now I'm aware of their history, it seems to me that Susanna would prefer to keep it that way. Poor boy. How old is he, do you know?"
"I'm not sure, but he's studying at university so late teens, early twenties, I assume. Mind you, if he's making the effort to come to his brother's birthday party, then they must have a reasonably good relationship? Nothing like the gossips at the book club suggested."
"If it was discussed at Mrs Davenport's book club, then I'd take it all with a pinch of salt," Lilly said. "I'm surprised to hear it's still going after what happened last summer."
"I was surprised as well, actually," Abigail said, then blushed furiously. "Do you remember how I treated you that day?"
Lilly laughed. "It's hard to forget. But it's what you did after that really takes the biscuit."
"Oh, Lilly, I was so dreadful. I am sorry."
"Don't be silly, Abigail. You were going through an awful lot at the time. It's water under the bridge. And look how far we've come in the year since."
"Enemies, to friends and business partners. Who would have thought it?"