Secrets of the Tea Room Ch. 10

"Excuse me, Mr. Emerly," Vonne walked through the pocket doors into the dining room, "A telephone call for you."

"Excuse me, Dana. This must be very important ... Vonne wouldn't have interrupted us if it were not."

Vonne lingered by the table, "Are you and Mr. Emerly making progress?"

"Oh yes!" I laughed. "He's a shockingly remarkable man. Listening to his stores has been ..." I struggled for the right word since Vonne had never given me any indication that she knew of his checkered past and I didn't want to betray a confidence. Finally I just ended my thought with one word, "educational."

Those green eyes of hers twinkled and she smiled at me, "Oh, I know what you mean. I've never had a dull day since coming to work for him ... there's always something in the works ..."

"Have you worked for him long", as I grabbled an extra cup and poured coffee. She took my wordless invitation and sat down.

"No long, really, just a few years. I graduated from Tulane with my MBA. I really didn't have any interest in going into my mother's business. It wasn't a problem, she understood. She'd been wanting to divest herself of business demands, so she began doing just that. Luckily, Mr. Emerly needed an assistant, so here I am.

Jackson returned, "Dana, I'm afraid I have to go out of town for a few days to take care of some business. Perhaps this will give you and Vonne a better chance to get acquainted and a few days off would probably do you good."

Vonne beamed at me, "What do you say? How about we go into Savannah tomorrow and make a girl's day of it?

I noticed once again her startling greens eyes filled with fun and I decided that it would be fun to get away ... even though Tanglewood had at least offered me the illusion of seclusion for a while ... I could use a day of diversion, so I promptly agreed. After croissants and coffee, we jumped in her car and headed toward town.

Mid-week, mid-morning the traffic had thinned out and it took no time at all for us to get to the shops lined up along the Savannah River. It's usually a place that attracts tourists with funky little shops and boutiques ... but that's what made it fun, too. We wandered and picked up tacky souvenirs, discretely laughed at the snowbirds down from the north ... but they were laughing at us as well ... maybe not at us, maybe with us.

As we were chatting and paying for one of our purchases, a woman standing next to us interjected, "Say something ... please, just say something." Vonne's head shook a little at the odd request, "What do you want me to say?"

"It doesn't matter ... I just love hearing that accent! Just say anything!"

Without hesitation Vonne pressed the back of her hand to her forehead and with an exaggerated thickness to her accent sighed, "Ta-maw-raw is ano-tha day ..." The three of us laughed and continued on our way.

We drifted into a little shop and I was immediately drawn by the music playing, when I inquired of the shop owner, she told me it was a traditional Celtic album offering the compositions of the last great Irish baird, Turlough O'Carolyn. I picked up the disc and turned the cover to find this music was over three hundred years old, yet soothed my heart with a timeless refrain. Even though there were three discs in this series of music, I decided to only buy one until I found out if the rest of the music was as mesmerizing.

Vonne and I continued our rounds, chatting as if we had been friends for years. We tried on silly hats and just wandered from one shop to another. At the perfume emporium I sampled a new scent, "Sung" and its fragrance made me feel a bit naughty with its hint of sensuality, so I added to my purchases.

A window mannequin caught Vonne's eye, "Look Dana ... you were made to wear that dress!" As she pointed it out I had to agree that it was exquisite ... perfect for holiday parties ... burgundy velvet. The dress cinched at the waist and fell to a graceful tea-length skirt. The bodice was daring ...fashioned like a bustier and low cut. The right woman wearing that dress could turn every head in any room ... but not a woman such as I ... ordinary and typical. I usually simply blended into the wall paper at any gathering.

Vonne was already walking toward the boutique and I had no choice but to follow, "Vonne, it is beautiful but not exactly my style ..."

"Nonsense! Come on ... let's go in and see if they have your size!" They did and before I knew it she was ushering me into a changing room. She handed me the dress, "While you trying it on I'll go see if they have any shoes ..." The door closed and I stood there holding the dress ... why not? So I began to undress. I looked at the dress hanging there ... it was beautiful and sexy and classy and simply wonderful. I removed it from the hanger and stepped into it. After adjusting the waist and my bra so that the straps would not show I zipped it up. When I turned to the mirror I was shocked!

The dress fit me like it was custom made ... my waist looked small and the bustier bodice pushed my breasts high and proud. The modest tea-length skirt countered the daring neckline so that the over all effect was one of sophistication.

There was a tap on the door before Vonne entered, "God, Dana! Look at you! That dress brings out all your best features ... look, the burgundy even pulls out more color in your cheeks." She spun me around to face the mirror while the loosely took my hair and pulled it to the top of my head ... the result being more skin revealed above the bodice.

"Here, try on these shoes ... I'm going back to look at jewelry ..." and she was out the door again. I sat on the little bench and slipped on the 3" black patent shoes she had picked out for me ... they, too, fit like a glove. As I stood to face the mirror I noticed how the height of the heels subtly altered my posture ... I turned from one side to the other inspecting myself ... not damned bad! Why hadn't I seen myself like this before?

Vonne came charging back in with a hair clip and earrings. Once again she gathered my hair to the top of my head and clipped it loosely in place. "Here, these earrings are perfect! Just enough sparkle to draw attention to your face ... I don't think with that neckline you need a necklace to draw more attention to your bosom! There! Come into the shop so I can see how the dress moves when you walk!"

I walked into the shop and the "oh my" from the sales woman prompted every face to turn toward me. I noticed the smile of approval on the face of a customer's husband right before she hurried him out the door. I hadn't seen that look on a man's face in a very long time ... I liked the way it made me feel.

"Dana! You must have this! I'm not sure if you were made for the outfit or if the outfit was made for you ... but in either case, no one else could wear it like you do!"

She really didn't have to say anything ... the expression on that man's face had convinced me that I couldn't live without the dress and everything that went along with it. After I changed back into my street clothes, the sales lady packed everything very carefully, handing it to me she said, "Enjoy it ..."

The day was over far too quickly and we inched and lumbered our way out of the city through rush hour traffic back toward our sanctuary at Tanglewood.

Before going up to my room, Vonne and I decided we'd share a bottle of wine and listen to the CD. We didn't talk ... we sipped and appreciated the lilting music sometimes joyous and sometimes full of despair. The ancient strains fed my soul and I made a promise to myself that I'd go back to that little shop and buy the other CD's in the set. When the music finished, I bade Vonne good night, gathered my packages and made my way up the stairs. I thought that when I got to my room I'd like to once again listen ... the music was so new to me and filled a place I hadn't previously been aware was empty.

I dumped my bags inside the door and made my way to the stereo in the armoire to insert the disc. My heart leapt to my throat effectively cutting off my breath. There on top of the stereo were the other two albums along with a written note, "I was sure you'd love them ... Think of me when you hear the haunting refrains."

I picked up the phone and rang the servants' quarters, "Did I have any visitors this afternoon?"

"No mam, but there was a delivery for you and the messenger expressly asked that the package be placed on the top of your stereo so'd you sure to see it. Is there something wrong, miss?"

"No, nothing's wrong. Thank you." I was relieved to at least determine that no outsider had been in my room ... at least my room provided some kind of sanctuary.

I wondered should I be worried ... was I being stalked. Something deep within told me 'no'. A little voice deep within me was whispering, in fact, that perhaps something extraordinary was coming my way.

I opened one of the new discs and inserted it in to the stereo and once again the dulcimers and harps spun around me. Who was I supposed to be thinking of? Who could have known me ... known me better than myself ... known I would love this music.

I settled into the fainting couch and wrapped the mohair throw about me even though there wasn't the slightest chill in the air, I needed the security ... no it wasn't security ... I just hungered to be wrapped up in someone's arms and the mohair throw was as close as I could come. I closed my eyes and let the music take me toward a handsome man who radiated sexuality ... a man I knew who would reveal himself to me when the time was right. So I was content ... content for the first time in a long while ... to just be there and listen and wait.

I wandered around Tanglewood for the next few days until Jackson returned. He invited me to have cocktails in his study that afternoon. "Dana ... did you enjoy your few days off? Were you and Vonne able to get to Savannah?"

I took the glass of wine he offered, "Yes. We had a wonderful time. I found the most wonderful music and a new perfume ..."

Jackson interrupted, "I understand you were concerned about a delivery you received? One of the staff told me about it? Should we be concerned?"

I sipped from the top of the graceful tulip stem and thought for a minute, "No. Somehow I don't think so. I believe it was from the same person who sent me that card ... I've tried to figure it out, but I can't. I haven't been approached by a man in months, I can't imagine who it might be."

"Ah," Jackson smiled one of those enigmatic smiles, "whoever the young man is, he seems to be quite taken with you. And, in these days of disposable affairs, he seems to have a romantic streak ... if I were you, I think I'd be curious about what might be coming next."

"Pssht!" I tried to dismiss his observation but I'm sure he saw my blush betray me, "it's probably a case of mistaken identify or something! I'll probably never hear from him again."

"Well, we'll see my dear ... now then, back to business. Can we continue with our meetings in the morning? I'm looking forward to working with you again."

"Of course, see you for brunch about 10:00 ... all right?"

"Certainly ... see you then. Now, if you'll excuse me once again, I'm afraid I have an important telephone call to make."

"Of course ... I'll see you in the morning." I carried my glass of wine up the stairs to my room ... suddenly overcome with a wistful sadness ... was this mysterious admirer for real? Could it be mistaken identify and I never hear from him again? Suddenly that thought escalated a wistful sadness into a very real blue funk. There was a sudden rush of desire bubbling up out of nowhere and I felt a long forgotten contraction below my belly ...I wished more than anything at that moment that I would hear from him again.

Sleep didn't come easily that night. My thoughts were whirling in my head and wouldn't be still. When I finally was able to drift off, sleep was fitful and questions nagged at me just below the surface of my conscious.