Cloche and Dagger (5 page)

I did not share my fears with Fee, partly because I didn’t want to freak her out and partly because I didn’t want to be perceived as a lunatic just yet.

I spent the rest of the afternoon familiarizing myself with the shop’s inventory. Viv had obviously been going through a restoring-vintage-hat phase. The workroom had a cupboard full of old hats of all shapes and sizes, and out front one of her floor-to-ceiling display racks boasted everything from narrow-brimmed trilbies to trendy fascinators.

It seemed mandatory that I try a few on, so I spent a good half hour in front of one of the many freestanding mirrors placed about the shop, trying on hats and turning this way and that. My red hair clashed horribly with the magenta hats, but I found a divine olive green number that I was pretty sure was going to find its way into my collection.

When I lived in Florida, I had been a sun hat and visor sort of girl. In fact, I rarely went outside without them because I have the genetic predisposition to being part crustacean. In other words, if I spent a half hour in the tropical sun, I was soon red enough to sport claws and a snappy tail.

I glanced through the floating hat display to the street outside. It was a cozy gray day. Maybe it would even rain. I found myself looking forward to it as a nice change from the land of eternal sunshine.

Fee left the shop early on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She was still a student, slogging through classes in the hope that she would run a shop of her own one day.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” she called on her way out the door.

“I’ll be here,” I said.

The posted hours for the shop meant we were open for one more hour. I figured I could handle anything that came up. Now here’s the thing about me, in case you missed it: when I am wrong, I am so very wrong.

Ten minutes before I would have turned the dead bolt, drawn the shades over the windows and door and called it a day, the door was yanked open with unnecessary force, setting its bells jangling and sounding more like an alarm than a pleasant ringing announcement of a customer arriving.

The woman who strode in was wearing a leopard-print dress that hugged her bodacious curves. She had on matching leopard-print shoes. A Coach bag dangled from her arm and her jewelry was not what one would wear for an everyday errand but rather the stuff of walks down a red carpet somewhere. Unless of course, she considered Mim’s Whims that auspicious an outing but I suspected not. Rather, I think she was what the Brits call a toff, showing off her wealth, well, because she could. We had a lot of those in the hotel industry in Florida as well.

Her black hair was scraped back from her flawless face, a face that left even me staring at her in wonder. It wasn’t a face that had been manufactured by nips and tucks and injections of toxins. No, it was a perfectly oval face with arching brows over luminous aqua-colored eyes, a narrow nose and perfect full pink lips.

“May I help you?” I asked.

The woman looked me up and down. “You’re not Vivian.”

“She’s on vacation,” I prevaricated. That sounds so much better than saying ‘I lied,’ doesn’t it?

The woman turned and handed her purse to the man behind her. He was handsome but not overly so. In fact, he was of medium height, medium build, with pale skin, brown hair and hazel eyes and made an impression about as exciting as a glob of mayonnaise as he stood in the shadow of the beauty beside him.

“Vacation?” the woman asked.

I gathered from her tone that this was unacceptable. I wondered if Viv had a special order for the woman and I hoped like heck that there was a paper trail for it.

“When will she be back?” the woman asked. Her voice was curt and it was easy to see that she was irritated.

“Any day now,” I said. Not a total lie because for all I knew it could be any day.

“You obviously don’t know who I am,” the woman said.

I wasn’t sure if she was slamming me for being a foreigner or for being ignorant shop help, but I didn’t want Viv to lose an account because of me.

“Of course, I know who you are,” I bluffed.

One of her thin eyebrows rose higher than the other and I knew I had messed up somehow.

“Of course she knows you, Lady Ellis, or should I say The Right Honorable Countess of Waltham, adored wife of Earl Ellis of Waltham and beloved by all,” the man beside her said. He put his hand over his chest and gave a mock bow.

He rose and stared at me in amusement. He licked his overly large lips as if I were a tasty morsel about to be devoured. Ew. I assumed from his mocking tone that he was Earl Ellis and he knew quite well that I had no idea who they were.

Nuts! The first customers I have to help all by myself and they are members of the peerage. I knew from my training at Mim’s side that the proper address for Lord and Lady Ellis would be to address them first as “Lady Ellis” and “Lord Ellis” and then as “my lady” and “my lord.” I scanned my brain trying to think of a way to save myself.

A quick glance at the woman, who was a beauty but also immaculately groomed, led me to believe that she logged a lot of time in front of her mirror. Anyone who spent that much time gazing at her reflection was definitely vain. It was easy for me to deduce that the best way to manage this woman was to appeal to her narcissism.

I inclined my head and said, “Lady Ellis, it is a pleasure to have you in our shop. My cousin mentioned you particularly when we discussed the business during her absence.”

“Did she?” Lady Ellis’s eyebrow lowered and she looked intrigued.

Vivian is a wild card, but like Mim, her hats have always been sought after by those who can afford them, because she is a gifted milliner. To have a favored designer like Viv talk about her would do more for Lady Ellis’s vanity than any hollow praise I could offer her.

“She did,” I said. “She was quite effusive in her praise of how beautifully shaped your head is.”

I glanced at her through my lashes to see if she was looking mollified by my words. I saw her raise a hand to her head and pat the hair that was scraped back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. Then she smiled.

“Vivian said that? How interesting.” Her eyes met mine and she said, “My garden party is in four days. I’d like to pick up my hat now.”

“Certainly,” I said. There was no need to ask if it was a special order. Lady Ellis was not the type to buy off-the-rack. Whatever she had requested, I was quite sure it was one of a kind.

We kept a computer out front that was networked to the computer in the workroom. I opened the file on the desktop where Viv kept all of her accounts. It was a straightforward system that had a special-order file. Within the file the clients were listed alphabetically, then the hat they ordered and the price and whether they had paid or not.

I scanned the list, looking for Lady Ellis. I checked under the “L’s” and the “E’s” and the “V’s.” There was nothing. I could feel Lady Ellis watching me, and my heart began to pound. There was no help for it, without Fee or Viv to consult, Lady Ellis was just going to have to come back.

“I am so sorry, my lady,” I said. “But there is no listing for any hat on order for you.”

She stared at me as if my words were incomprehensible to her. Then her eyes narrowed and she said, “I’m afraid that is completely unacceptable.”

Lord Ellis leaned on the counter and smiled. It wasn’t a knee-slapping-that’s-a-funny-joke smile. It was a closed-lipped, wicked smile as if he was taking a twisted delight in her disappointment or my dilemma or both. Either way, it gave me the creeps.

I turned my attention to Lady Ellis. “I’m sure my assistant will be able to locate your hat for you. If you’d like, I can deliver it to your home personally.”

“No, I don’t like,” she said. “I want my hat, for which I paid an outrageous sum, and I want it now.”

“Do you know what it looked like?” I asked. I could feel myself getting flustered. I had assumed having her hat delivered to her home would calm her, but no.

“No, I don’t,” she said. “Vivian promised me a one-of-a-kind creation, something that would be the envy of all of my guests. As for me, I sincerely hope it was created to bring attention to my eyes.”

I met her gaze. Her eyes were spectacular, and I could imagine that Vivian would have been quite inspired to match their unusual hue. They were a light teal or a dark aqua depending upon how the light shone into them. I glanced around the shop to see if perhaps Viv had put the hat she had created for Lady Ellis on display.

“It won’t be out here. I told you it was to be kept a secret,” she said. She sighed. I knew it was to let me know that she was finding the entire situation tedious.

I felt a prick of irritation with her but an even deeper stab with Vivian. How could she take off and not leave decent records? It was completely irresponsible. I didn’t care how brilliant Viv was with her designs: if she annoyed a client with the stature of Lady Ellis, the business was going to go belly-up before her clever fingers could save it.

“Let me just go check in back,” I said. “Can I offer you refreshments while you wait?”

“No, thank you,” Lady Ellis said. “We are in a hurry, after all.”

“Yes, my lady,” I said. Suddenly, I felt as if I were in an episode of
Downton Abbey
, playing the part of a clumsy American.

I hurried into the workroom, thinking that if Vivian didn’t get back soon, we were going to have some issues, namely, me throttling her.

Although Fee had given me a quick tour of the studio portion of the shop, I hadn’t really paid much attention because this was not my area of expertise. Oh, I knew a lot of hat terminology, such as crown, brim and blocking. I’d have to have been in a coma all these years not to have picked up on most of it.

Still, although I admired pretty ribbons and cool hat shapes and what could be created by putting these things together, my brain was more geared toward appreciating the finished result. The few hats I had attempted in my youth always ended up looking like chowder pots and not very attractive ones at that.

I opened all of the cupboards and drawers and I checked all of the shelves. I saw loads of supplies and lots of half-done projects but there was nothing that I thought Viv would have concocted to accentuate Lady Ellis’s eyes.

Going out front empty-handed was going to be like facing a firing squad without a blindfold. I straightened my shoulders. There was nothing to be done for it. I could almost hear the low tones of a dirge playing in my head as I dragged my feet toward the front.

Lady and Lord Ellis were browsing the shop when I returned. Lord Ellis was trying on a trilby hat in front of one of the mirrors while Lady Ellis tipped it to sit jauntily over one of his eyes. They were laughing together and for a moment I thought the bad news might not be received as poorly as I feared. Again, I was so wrong.

“I apologize, Lady Ellis,” I said. “But I didn’t locate any special projects in Vivian’s studio.”

The smile vanished from Lady Ellis’s face as if I’d slapped her. I got the feeling she did not often hear the word “no.” The man with her gave a low whistle like a teapot that was about to reach optimum boil.

Frantically, I glanced around the storefront. There had to be something here that would appease her. Again, I knew I should focus on her vanity.

“It could be that your hat is such a special creation that Viv didn’t want to leave it where anyone could see it,” I said. “I’m sure that must be it. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Vivian was hoping to have you model it for the shop.”

“Model?” Lady Ellis asked.

She looked interested, so I ran with it.

“Oh, yes,” I said. “We do put out a catalog and our Web site features Viv’s exclusive designs.”

Lady Ellis studied me as if trying to figure me out. “Do you really think Vivian would want me to model one of her hats?”

“I think she’d be honored,” I said.

Lady Ellis gave me a smile that reminded me of the one Lord Ellis had worn a few minutes ago. It was a smile devoid of warmth but rather seemed to take its delight in something sinister. No wonder they were a couple.

I tried to figure out why my words amused her but before I could latch on to an answer, Lord Ellis called to us from Aunt Mim’s raven-topped wardrobe.

“Excuse me, but what’s in here?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I said. At least, Mim never used to keep anything in there. I supposed things could have changed.

Suddenly, it all made sense. I wanted to smack my hand to my forehead but I refrained. Of course, Vivian had probably kept Lady Ellis’s hat in there. That was the only explanation.

“But let’s check just in case,” I said.

I crossed over to the wardrobe and turned the old-fashioned iron handle on the cupboard door. It opened with an ominous creak.

The scent of lavender wafted out into the room. Viv had obviously filled the wardrobe with the calming sachets. I sincerely hoped they worked if we found the wardrobe empty.

There was no need to worry, however, as I swung the other door open, there it was. Perched on a pedestal was a gorgeous, teal-colored cloche trimmed with a wide satin ribbon in a matching teal and finished with a brilliant cluster of Swarovski crystals set into the satin ribbon in an art deco diamond pattern. Viv had outdone herself.

“That—” Lady Ellis paused and glanced at her husband as if seeking his approval. He nodded, which of course he should have because it was a fabulous hat. I shifted from foot to foot, wondering if I was going to get reamed if she didn’t like it. Of course, she was crazy if she didn’t like it, and I had a good mind to tell her that.

“—is it,” Lady Ellis continued. Then she smiled at me. “Well done.”

I felt myself relax just the slightest bit. The Ellises exchanged delighted smiles, and I was so relieved it was all I could do not to jump up and kiss the raven on the beak in gratitude.

“Let me just box it up for you,” I said.

“Yes, and while you do that, we can talk about my photo shoot,” Lady Ellis said. Her eyes gleamed, but I couldn’t tell if it was with delight or malice.