The Diva Serves High Tea (12 page)

“Is that true?”

“Absolutely.”

I showed him the scones in progress. “So now we need to—”

“I know what to do.” The island was a little bit tall for him, so he took the scone dough to the kitchen table. “Can I work here?”

“That's fine.”

He whipped off the tablecloth, folded it neatly, and stashed it on the seat of the banquette. Why on earth would his mother want him to live with Alex? He was a wonder child! I had stupidly assumed that he was a troubled teen.

“Do you think it's wrong for boys to bake?” he asked.

“Not at all,” I said.

“That's what I think. But my mom is very stubborn and says I have to be a lawyer.”

“You could do both.”

“I guess so.”

He set to work without instructions and even checked to make sure the oven had been preheated. “Are you in love with Uncle Alex?”

He took me by surprise. I had to be careful. Anything I said would surely be repeated to his mother. “We're friends.”

“That's good. I think my mother is in love with him. I wish she would go back to my dad. Do you know my dad?”

“I've never met him,” I said.

“He's great. I like Uncle Alex okay, but I'd rather live with my dad.”

Oh? “Maybe you can someday.”

“Not if my mom has anything to say about it. She thinks my dad is a bad influence on me because his girlfriend is living with him. I already know that. It's not like I'll be surprised. And my dad says my mom is a bad influence because she's nuts.”

“Sounds like quite a problem. How do you know all this?”

“I'm ten—I'm not deaf. They yell a lot.” After a moment of silence, he asked, “What's an affair?”

Yikes! Alex was going to have his hands full with this little guy. “Well, one meaning is a party, like an event.” Maybe that would satisfy him.

“I don't think so. Does it mean anything else?”

I chose my words carefully. “Sometimes it's used when a married person is in love with someone else.”

“That's it!” He didn't even sound upset. “My dad said my mom was having an affair, and I know she didn't have a party. He must have meant she was in love with Uncle Alex.”

So I hadn't been wrong about Alex and Elise. If that was the case, I was better off without him.

I watched the little guy with all kinds of thoughts running through my mind. “Kevin? How did you know where I live?”

He turned his face up to me, his eyes big. “I followed my mom.”

Dear Sophie,

My sister-in-law insists that you have to take the seeds out of the cucumbers for a cucumber sandwich or they'll get too soggy. I like the part with the seeds. Which is the right way? Tea at a very fancy place in Beckley is riding on this.

—Tea for Two in Cucumber, West Virginia

Dear Tea for Two,

Personally, I like to leave the seeds and the center part intact. Otherwise, the sandwiches can become too dry. The trick to reducing the amount of liquid is to salt them first and let them drain.

—Sophie

Now I was confused. “But your mom isn't here.”

“Last night. I pretended to sleep and when she left, I followed her.”

“By yourself? Alone? In the dark of night?”

“She was with me, kinda. She just didn't know it,” Kevin said.

“And she came here?”

“Uh-huh.”

“How did you know
I
lived here and not someone else?”

“Cause I saw you at your front door.”

“But we've never met before.”

“I knew it was you. Uncle Alex has a picture of you on his desk and my mom turns it facedown every time we go into his office.”

I wasn't sure if I was more shocked by the fact that Elise had spied on me during the night or that Kevin had followed her. They must have been the shadowy figures I thought I saw. Did Elise think Alex was staying with me since he wasn't with her last night? “Why did you think Alex would be here today?”

“'Cause she said he spends too much time at your house and it would be good for him if I moved in with him.”

My, my. Elise talked quite a bit in front of a certain impressionable young fellow. “Where
is
your mother?”

He shrugged. “Taking law classes, I guess. She got some lady to stay with me but it was boring so I left to find Alex.” He wandered over to the counter. “What's that going to be?”

“Petit fours.”

“Oh cool! I've never made those. Can I help?”

For the next half hour, Kevin and I iced the little cakes. He flipped out over the sugared violets that we placed on top.

He was licking his fingers when Alex showed up.

Kevin rushed to the kitchen door and opened it. “We're baking!”

“What happened to Mrs. Murphy? She was supposed to be watching you.”

Kevin shrugged. “She fell asleep, and I was bored.”

While Kevin answered Alex's questions about how he came to be at my house, I wrapped a package of scones and petit fours for Kevin to take with him.

“Kevin, could you do me a big favor and take Daisy out back for a few minutes? She needs a little exercise.”

“Sure! Come on, Daisy.”

I waited until the door closed.

Alex grinned at me and leaned in for a kiss.

I was blown away. The nerve of him! I placed my palm squarely on his chest and took a step back. “What is going on?”

“Elise is in continuing legal education classes, and I guess his sitter isn't used to taking care of a lively little boy.”

“Did you know that Elise tried to pawn him off on the tour guide I hired?”

Alex's head jerked back in surprise. “I'm sure it's not true. Where did you hear that?”

My tone was droll when I said, “From the tour guide.”

“There must have been some misunderstanding. You know, Elise is very pretty. She's always complaining that other women don't like her because of that.”

I snorted. “Oh, Alex! You've been suckered by Elise.”

He laughed. “Sophie Winston, I believe you're jealous.”

Maybe a little bit. But I sure wasn't going to admit it!

“Don't you remember how upset you were with me when I complained about Wolf and Mars hanging around here all the time? You said they were friends. This is exactly the same. Elise is an old friend.”

It wasn't the same at all. Mars and Wolf weren't trying to lure me into a relationship. “Apparently your old friend was prowling around outside my house last night.”

“Sophie! Don't be silly.”

“You can ask Kevin. He followed her. How do you think he found his way here? He didn't just knock on any old door.”

Alex wasn't laughing any longer. “I don't get it. Why would she do that?”

“She also told him that you're spending too much time with me. Is it getting more clear for you?”

“That doesn't sound like Elise at all. Listen, she's having a really rough time with the divorce. Her husband is already
shacking up with someone else, and she's taking it hard. It's always like that in divorces. The person who leaves has usually been thinking about it for two years, so in this case, her husband was ready to move on. But she got blindsided. You must remember how hard it was for you when Mars went right on with Natasha and you were all alone.”

“In the first place, Mars and I agreed to an amicable divorce.”

“Yeah, right,” Alex said.

“Excuse me. You were not here then. And in the second place, this is not about
me
. It's about a crazy woman who wants you!” I pointed at him with my forefinger.

Alex smiled and laughed. “Oh, Sophie. Elise isn't interested in me. She just needs an old friend to listen to her and care a little bit.”

“Ohh, men are so dense. Trust me on this.”

“That's really not fair. You don't even know her.”

“Look, Alex, I don't know why we're arguing about Elise. I know that she was with you her first night in town. If you want to date her, that's okay. I understand. No problem.”

Alex appeared puzzled. “Did Kevin tell you that, too?”

“No. It seems he woke up in the hotel and was afraid, so other people had to take care of him.” I stopped short of saying she was a lousy mother, but that's what I was thinking.

“No wonder you're so testy about her.” Alex studied the floor for a moment. “Something must have been lost in translation. Someone must have relayed the situation incorrectly. Elise hasn't spent any nights with me, and she dotes on Kevin. She would never leave him alone.”

Oh no? I could see Kevin on the stoop. No time to ask why she was leaving Kevin in Old Town. “Just be careful.”

Alex shot me a look of incredulity as Kevin stepped into the kitchen. “Thanks for taking care of him. We're lucky nothing happened to him on the way here.”

“Kevin is welcome anytime,” I said. “I think we are in the presence of a future master pastry chef.”

Kevin high-fived me. “Yeah!” He glanced at Alex, and
as they walked out the door I heard Kevin say, “But don't tell my mom that, okay?”

I checked the time. With Kevin's help, I was actually ahead of schedule. I was still thinking about Elise as I walked into my dining room and shifted my thoughts to the tea.

It was a rare occasion when I was able to use the fine bone china that I had lucked into at an auction. I threw a white tablecloth over my dining table and set it with the delicate pink-rimmed dishes and matching pink-and-gold teacups.

Mars's Aunt Faye had left us an antique silver server with three tiers and a handle on top. Each tier decreased in size and the edges had been worked with decorative piercings. We had received a similar server as a wedding gift, except it was very modern, with shiny unadorned square tiers. I planned to use them both and set them on the buffet.

Faye had collected Reed and Barton's Tiger Lily silver flatware. Every time I used it I felt like Faye was there with us in spirit. The wind howled outside as I placed forks and spoons at each table setting.

The phone interrupted me. I had rarely been so relieved to hear Mars's voice.

“Just wanted you to know that they're running tests. I'll call you when I have the results. And, Sophie? I'd prefer that you didn't mention this to anyone just yet. It's kind of embarrassing.”

“No problem. I hope it's nothing.” I hung up, glad that he'd seen a doctor.

I showered and changed into a periwinkle blue sheath and faux pearls. It wasn't a typical tea dress, but it was ladylike. Keeping a careful watch on the time, I peeled a cucumber and began slicing it as thin as I could.

Nina arrived wearing a turquoise dress with large white polka dots. The waist was cinched with a belt and the skirt flared. Very 1950s. When Nina entered my house, I always felt like a rush of energy had blown in the door. “Is that vintage?”

“Can you believe my mother used to dress this way? I thought the white gloves she wore with it were too much.” She set a small grocery bag on the counter. “No peeking. This is my contribution. It will put those crummy little cucumber sandwiches to shame.”

“But you don't cook.” I could not imagine what it might be. I salted the cucumber slices lightly so they could drain.

“Mmm. But I shop.”

She pinched a slice of cucumber. “I helped Francie and Velma at Robert's place all morning. Ugh. It's so sad going through a person's things and packing them up. Makes me want to clean out all my drawers and get rid of the junk I don't need.”

“Did you find any more notes?”

“Nope. But he had a bad habit of stashing cash in weird places. Francie found two hundred bucks in a book! That slowed us down a lot. We had to look through every single item carefully. We're still working upstairs!”

“Sounds tedious.”

“It was. But Francie is very excited about her tea today. Hey, did you know that Velma is going to inherit Robert's antiques business?”

“I hadn't given it any thought, but if she's his only living relative, I guess that's not too surprising,” I said.

“Umm.” Nina gazed out the window.

“What does that mean?”

“Robert moves to town, gets his business set up, has ladies chasing him every which way, and then boom. He dies.”

“So?” I asked.

A tapping at the door made her shriek and jump.

Wolf opened it, his voice reassuring. “Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.”

Nina staggered toward him and collapsed into a comfy chair. She did her best imitation of Scarlett O'Hara. “We Southern damsels are delicate and easily spooked. I was looking out the front window. What are you doin' coming through the backyard?”

“Don't mind her,” I said. “Everyone's jumpy because of Robert.”

“Actually, that's why I'm here. Do you have a list of the people who were at The Parlour for the auction?”

“He was murdered! I knew it!” Nina exclaimed.

Wolf asked, “Why do you think that?”

“You wouldn't be here otherwise. Unless—” She glanced from Wolf to me and back again. “How's your wife?”

Thoroughly embarrassed, I rushed to say, “It's business, Nina.”

“You see? I knew it was murder,” Nina said. “How did he really die? Rumor says it was botulism poisoning but that would be an accident.”

I started assembling the cucumber sandwiches and arranged them on the tiered stands.

“I hate to disappoint you, but I'm just doing the health department a favor by getting a list of names from Sophie. Were you at the auction, Nina?”

Nina groaned. “It really was botulism? Ick. I was there. I ate like a little piggy, but so far I feel fine.”

“Glad to hear that.”

“Wolf, I don't have the list of attendees,” I said. “It was Natasha's gig. Would you like me to call her?”

“I can go over there.”

“I'll call to let her know you're coming. Her mom is here, but she might still be a little skittish after being attacked.”

“I heard about that. Can't blame
her
for being nervous.” Wolf frowned at Nina.

“Are there any leads on her intruder yet?” asked Nina.

“Not that I know about,” Wolf said. “Unless someone saw the perpetrator, that kind of crime is tough to solve.”

I phoned Natasha, who said she would bring the list over.

Nina perked up. “First Natasha had an intruder who bashed her over the head, then Natasha hosted the auction at The Parlour. Robert was part of the auction, providing the pre-auction viewing, and now he's dead!”

“Come on, Nina. There's no connection. Right, Wolf?” I asked.

He didn't respond.

“I see Velma and Callie,” Nina said. She rose and went to the front door.

I rushed to put the kettle on and spooned loose Lady Grey tea into a strainer.

“Uh-oh. Am I interrupting some kind of ladies' party?” asked Wolf.

“We're throwing a little tea for Francie's birthday.”

“That's nice of you. If you don't mind, I believe I'll sneak out the kitchen door and intercept Natasha on her way over here.”

“Chicken,” I laughed.

In minutes, my dining room filled with a gaggle of ladies. I lit the fire in the fireplace, and they all took seats while Natasha explained in great detail that a proper hostess would have made place cards for a tea, but that I was to be excused as I obviously did not know any better.

I was tempted to spill tea on her dress. Gray at the top, it faded into cream on the bottom. Cream must be the in color this year. I was very ashamed when the thought that cream would stain well crossed my mind.

Nina excused herself for a moment and returned with a plate and a bowl. “Ladies, for your enjoyment, I offer you the ultimate Southern snack, warm pimento cheese dip with crackers.”

“You don't serve pimento cheese at a tea!” Natasha clasped her hand against her chest as though she could barely contain her horror.

“Aw, darlin' git off your high horse. I haven't had delicious pimento cheese in forever. Did you make it yourself, Nina?” asked Wanda.

Nina shot me a sly glance when she said, “You might say I cooked it.”

I suspected Nina's “cooking” had been limited to popping it into the microwave, but there was no question that it was a hit. In fact, I feared that our delicate cucumber
sandwiches would taste bland after the tangy cheese dip. If the others thought that, they were kind enough to refrain from saying so. I noticed that Natasha refrained from eating the dip altogether.