White Moon

Chapter 2

The week following my arrival was a whirlwind of activity and I hardly had the time to breathe. Setting up my supplies in the shop and reviving the garden took up the most time. Tilden had delivered the furniture as well – high-backed chairs with soft cream-colored padding on the bottom and backrest made from honey brown wood. The small circular tables with ornately carved legs matched the seats, being made from the same wood. While the pieces looked delicate, he assured me that they were stronger than they looked.

Phylis had been by every day, sometimes with Anya, to help with cleaning and setting up everything. She was overjoyed the next day when I assured her that she was indeed needed and even more so when I told her what her wages would be. Fane had also been by twice that week to deliver water for my home. We worked out a schedule for his deliveries once the place was open, offering him some steady work.

We were setting up the workroom in the back one sunny morning when she told me the story of her family and how they had fallen on hard times. Her husband, Garren, was wolf-marked and worked as a city guard. The pay was decent but only enough to keep a roof over their heads and provide the occasional meal.

Her eldest son, Callen, worked as a blacksmith apprentice and was due to complete his apprenticeship by late summer, allowing him to earn a living, especially with a child due in the fall. Fane was apprenticed to a baker up until the middle of last winter when he abruptly decided to pack up and move further south, which left him with no work as he tried to find another apprenticeship. Anya was too young to be apprenticed, being only sixteen years of age, but they were hoping to get her an apprenticeship with a local seamstress.

Phylis herself had been a barmaid but had been out of work due to the establishment burning down two summers ago when the owner tried to get out of paying his debts. It wouldn't have been an issue if he hadn't pointed a finger at her, calling her a witch and being the cause of the fire. By the time the issue was resolved, the damage had been done. The few places that could hire her had no open employment and the rest took the cautious approach and chose not to – just in case her old employer was right.

"If I could ask ma'am what is this shop to be?"

I was wondering when she would drum up the courage to do so. All week she had been spotting this curious look that she tried to hide whenever I was in her presence.

"A tea shop," I replied simply.

"It's a bit fancy for a tea shop, don't you think?"

"That's because my teas are different. Special." I couldn't hide the pride in my voice, not that I tried very much. "The leaves are sourced from all over the South and some places in the North."

"That had to be quite pricey," she said, looking at me with new eyes. "But there's already a teashop on Silverow Street catering to the nobles. Not that this side of the city is bad, but why would they come all the way over here?"

"Because my teas offer a unique benefit. I'll explain," I said, moving to sit on one of the new chairs and patting the seat net to me for her to do the same. She looked at the chair with mild panic before reluctantly sitting down.

"The nobles here are just like anywhere else. When they get sick or have a recurring ailment, they send out a servant to pick up their herbs and cures because sickness is somehow beneath them." She nodded in agreement and I continued.

"Now at some point, people start to notice that Lady Esthers' personal maid always goes to town physician every Friday morning and then heads back smelling like Mugwort and Silsaproot. People start to talk and she can't have that, so now even more money is spent getting her remedy from the next town – if she is lucky – but most likely the next major city," I explained as I poured us both a cup of Walden Bark tea, the spicy scent rising to tickle my nose.

She nodded again. "No one hordes money quite like those blue-bloods."

"Exactly!" I exclaimed, getting excited. "But imagine if she could get her treatment over an afternoon tea with her dear friend Lady Marion and, better still, can both share tea from the same pot but there is no smell or taste to indicate that she is getting an extra benefit."

"They would all be over the moon and thanking the Goddess for the ability to save face," she laughed.

"And that is what makes my teas so special." she looked at me in wonder, now understanding the draw this little place could have. The wonder quickly gives way to a frown, however.

"How would you let them know?"

"The name of the shop - The Ladys' Tea - I've opened two others like it, one in Faleux and one in Remtide under the same name. Trust me when I tell you, nobles can gossip far better than any maid at a washing line."

She laughed in agreement, then fell silent as she contemplated the cup of tea in her hand.

"My back pain?" she frowned.

I nodded confirming her suspicions.

She looked up at me then, gratitude and sheer panic warring for dominance on her face.

"Thank you. I really am grateful but I can't," she said as she pushed the cup away. "The cost alone…"

I waved off the rest of her protests.

"Consider it a side benefit of working here." I smiled and she reluctantly nodded, then smiled once more.

"It's wonderful. I couldn't tell, not at all."