The young woman who oversaw the teahouse said she’d notify her mistress immediately of Amelia’s early arrival. While the woman’s demeanor was less than friendly, she’d at least had tea brought to the table while Amelia waited. The teahouse was like a grand greenhouse without all the plants and flowers on display. The ceilings had to be twenty feet high, the vaulted white beams adding to the delicate way the room was laid out. There were thirty-odd tables, most filled with customers. Everything was white and cream in the decor. The only dash of color was in the orchids placed at the center of each round table and the potted palms at every pillar around the perimeter of the room. The more lively addition of color was the massive red-and-yellow macaw caged near the entrance of the room that joined the teahouse to the department store. He whistled and purred, saying the odd silly thing that made patrons laugh. A wall of windows that faced the street allowed patrons to watch the passers-by if they so wished.
