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The little girl, a black child with large brown eyes and a wealth of pigtails tied with tiny lavender bows, thought it over. "I dunno - "
"I don't know," Marguerite corrected kindly.
"I
don't know," she repeated. "She says it's pretty, though. "
"Well, another lesson, then. One person's weed is another's flower. " She lifted the teapot, glanced at the older girl. "This may be a weed to one person. That's up to you to decide. But for another, it may be a rare blossom. "
"Or a weed you like, like a flower. "
Marguerite's lips curved, a soft glow in her face that Tyler felt even in his far corner.
He thought that rare smile could be the sunshine in any man's meadow, keeping all the flowers cultivated there blooming year long.
"Precisely. The philosophy of one's life is never a straight line. And sometimes, you can overthink things. When that happens there's only one thing to do. Do you know what that is?"
She winked at Chloe and the hostess went to the private tearoom. Drawing back the curtain, she revealed two open chests overflowing with oversized hats, fat, serpentine boas, faux pearls, costume jewelry and high-heeled shoes, all draped artfully over the chests like a pirate's treasure.
"Shopping. "
There was a clamor of cheers and agreement and the girls scrambled toward the chests. Chloe supervised them as Gen began pouring out small portions of tea into the cups on the tables and putting tiny cakes on each pretty plate.
When Debra hesitated, Marguerite beckoned her forward, lifting a hat from the wall near her Victorian-period display. The hat was red felt with black chantilly lace and red roses on the brim, the lace forming a veil down the back. "I think you would look lovely in this. It's an original, as you can see by some of the fading. The lady who first bought it was married young, had three children and died at the age of nineteen, complications to the third birth. Whenever I hold it, I wonder what she might or might not have done if she'd known she was going to die so young. What things would have been the most important to her. "
"You sound like you're lecturing. "
"No, I'm not. I'm telling you something I've learned. What you do with it is entirely up to you. "
She arranged the girl's hair for the hat, using a couple of pins from her own hair, which dropped her braid, pinned in a coil on her neck, down her back. When she was done, from the neck up Debra had gone from a slovenly looking teenager to a lovely young lady, although she seemed a bit baffled.
Marguerite turned her toward the other girls, clustered around the chest. "Now, if you can wade in there, there's a pair of ruby ear clips that look perfect with this hat. But that's just a suggestion. You choose what you like best. I suspect you're a very special young woman, Debra. I hope you'll consider coming to my tearoom again, because I'm glad you're here today. "
Tyler watched his angel encourage her forward with a nod. The little girls, many now under the floppy brims of the large reproduction hats piled high with flowers, feathers and other trim work, admired the beautiful hat she was wearing. They teetered around her on high-heeled shoes, surrounding her with the heroine-worship preadolescents had for girls who had achieved double-digits in age.
"She's got a gift, doesn't she?" Tina was sitting within speaking distance at the other table. Tyler courteously came and sat at the adjacent table so he was facing her, since at the moment the proprietress and her staff had everything well in hand, occupied in the small confines of the private tearoom.
"She appears to have so many gifts, I don't believe I'll ever discover them all. " Tina cocked her head, studied him. "If you're the real deal, she needs someone like you. "
"And if I'm not?"
"She'll get you out of her life easily enough. But she has friends who will help. She only needs to ask. "
The blunt response took him by surprise. He took a second look at Tina Moorefield, seeing a different woman from the one who had blushed at his regard. The set of her mouth also made him notice something else, something that caused his eyes to narrow.
He leaned forward, touched Tina's chin, startling her. "Who broke your jaw?" At her sudden discomfiture, he shook his head. "I apologize. Let me ask it another way. Is he gone? He's not part of your and Natalie's life anymore, correct?" As Tina looked at his resolute expression, she realized that this man would take steps to rectify that situation if her answer was no. Though she'd seen it too rarely in her life, she recognized the signs of a man who felt it was a male's responsibility to protect women and children, any woman or child who needed it, regardless of whether or not he knew her personally.
"He isn't. And I didn't think it showed so much anymore. " Her hand almost rose self-consciously to her cheek, then she made herself put it down, meet his questioning gaze.
"It doesn't. You're a lovely woman but I'm familiar with how facial bones mend. I apologize if I upset you. "
"No. " She shook her head. "At the Helen Center, where I'm a volunteer board member, we do all sorts of outreach programs to teach people that they have to get involved if they think a person is being abused. We tell them that they might be that person's only hope for a decent life, a life without fear. "
"That's how you met Marguerite, then. "
Tina nodded, assuming from the question that he knew of Marguerite's involvement in the Center. "I don't know what we'd do without her. She's a life sponsor, practically pays most of the utility bills from month to month, renovations, supply needs. If we ever run short on donations to keep the shelter going, we can depend on her to make up the shortfall. She was already involved there when Natalie and I checked in, as victims. " Her chin tightened. "I hate that word but that's what we were at that point. Marguerite, the Center, they helped us remember we were more than that. " She blinked, waved when he reached for his handkerchief. "No, I'm fine. I keep telling Marguerite I'm going to learn to be as strong as she is. She always tells me it's healthy to cry but I never see her do it. Whatever happened to her to make this such an important cause to her, she must have shed her tears years ago. " The mother's gaze went to her child, who was trying on a hat with a deep purple and blue flower arrangement on top of the black felt. A crescent of netting formed a veil over her eyes, which shone through the gauzy fabric like brown jewels. "When something evil is done to your child, you think the whole world must be evil. Those first nights, when Natalie was in pain and my injuries were too severe for me to hold her, Marguerite would put her in her lap, rock her to sleep, sing to her, tell her she and her Mommy were going to be all right. And she has this voice, when you hear it, you just know you can believe it. "
"What did he do to Natalie?" Tyler's eyes shifted to Marguerite as she straightened from arranging Natalie's hat properly. She looked at him, her chin lifted, the cool reserve in place.
