Tea, Lycanthropy and Other Virtues

Chapter Seventeen

Simon's face pressed against the carriage window as they drove through London.

They were tired and disheveled from traveling, but Constance couldn't stop looking at the city. The streets teemed with people, buildings crowded into one another, the air grey and sooty.

"There are a lot of people out there," Simon said. "It's very loud."

"It's just noise, Simon," Constance said, but her palms were clammy.

It would be easy to get lost here, to disappear. She was so tense her muscles creaked. The people in the streets were hungry and angry. She didn't know how she knew, but she did. She could almost feel it.

This is a terrible idea, she thought. But as they traveled west, the neighborhoods became cleaner, the buildings more stately. Eventually they pulled onto a tree-lined avenue where homes sat tall and proud, flowers lining walkways. A nanny strolled by pushing a gleaming pram. Maids hurried by in clean uniforms while gentlemen and ladies made their way toward a park with green sloping lawns and Greek inspired gazebos.

Constance could breathe again.

The coach rolled to a stop outside a brick townhouse. It was tall and august but it wasn't as obnoxious as some of its neighbors.

A tidy little butler and a smart-looking maid stood on the stoop waiting with a lovely young woman. Nerves raced through Constance's stomach, and her mouth felt dry.

She joined her mother and grandmother, putting on her hat, grateful that it would at least cover her hair.

"Welcome to London," the young woman said as they climbed out. Her auburn curls shone in the grey sun and her green eyes sparkled, but there was a long scar running from her jaw disappearing under her collar.

"A werewolf did that," Mother whispered loudly.

Gran hushed her.

"Lady Connor," Constance said, hoping she hadn't heard her mother, wondering how on earth she could know such a thing.

"Please, call me Hannah," she said warmly, her Scottish brogue barely noticeable.

"I'm Constance. This is my grandmother Pricilla, my mother Beatrice, and my brother Simon."

"I've heard so much about you all," Hannah said, smiling.

Mary smiled at you too, Constance reminded herself.

"All of us?" Simon asked.

"Well, Constance mostly." Hannah said with a laugh. "My brother spoke most highly of you, Miss Allen."

"Call me Constance, please," she said cautiously.

"Come inside for tea," Hannah said. "You must be exhausted. Mr. Samuel will have your things brought in."

"Tea is sure to be nice here. We haven't had an elegant tea in so long," Mother said with an appreciative look at the house.

"When do you think I can go look for mushrooms?" Simon asked softly.

Constance felt as if she were walking on eggshells. This young woman was going to realize they were all more trouble than they were worth.

"Soon," Gran said. "But you need to be your best self during tea."

They followed Hannah up the stairs and into a warm foyer. The maid took their hats and then ushered them into a parlor.

Tea things were laid out on a table set between a lovely settee and matching chairs. It was a beautiful room, paintings of roses and peonies adorned the walls, and there was a small pianoforte in the corner. There was something decidedly less pretentious about it than the drawing rooms in Bunsall Abbey.

"I'm so pleased you're here," Hannah said, pouring tea as they arranged themselves around the room. "I rarely have visitors and it gets lonely."

"Surely your brother visits?" Gran asked.

"Not as much as I'd like," Hannah said. "Though he will join us for dinner tonight. I believe he wants to be sure you've settled in before he heads back to Scotland."

"How could you be lonely?" Simon asked, pulling out his watch. "There are so many people here." The lid clicked open.

"That is true," Hannah said. "But you can still feel lonely amid a crowd. I've yet to grow accustomed to how duplicitous people can be."

Simon looked at her seriously. "Our cousins hurt my sister. They pretended to care about us. They were duplicitous."

Constance's cheeks grew hot and the weight of everything she'd caused crushed her chest. She wanted to crawl into her bed and stay there forever.

"I heard," Hannah said. She met Constance's eye, then looked back at Simon. "I am very sorry that happened."

"Me too," he said, eyebrows pulled together. "Why would they pretend to care about us? Why would they do that?" The watch face clicked shut, then open again.

"I don't know," Hannah said kindly.

"It's hard to know what the rules are with people."

Constance's tea sat untouched as she watched their exchange.

"That is difficult. Perhaps the best thing to do is act like yourself," Hannah said.

"People don't like that," he said. "I'm too odd for them."

Constance's heart squeezed.

"Small-minded people often turn away from things that are different, but different isn't bad, is it?" Hannah said.

Simon smiled at her.

"How about this?" Hannah said, adding a bit of cream to Simon's tea. "When you are under this roof, you can be exactly who you are."

Simon's shoulders relaxed. "Are you sure?" He asked, his watch still in his hand.

"I'd much prefer it."

He drank his tea down in a single gulp and then looked at Constance. "That's good, isn't it Constance?"

"Very good," she said, her throat tight.

"May I go to my room? I don't actually like tea." He looked at Hannah and then Gran.

Hannah laughed. "If it's fine with Pricilla, it's fine with me. Mr. Samuel can show you the way."

Constance watched her brother leave and then looked at Hugh's sister. "Thank you," she said, her throat tight.

Hannah reached over and squeezed her hand.

"Now tell me," she said, looking at Pricilla and Beatrice, "How was your trip? I understand the roads are much improved."