Camellia (3 page)

"You answered incorrectly," Lucy replied unapologetically.

Danny stared at her for a long moment before nodding, her gaze narrowed at Lucy. "Yes."

Lucy's porcelain face softened. "Good. Now you may begin. First, you'd better drink your mistake so that we can use the bowl again."

Danny grimaced down at the lumpy green mixture, but picked it up—"Right hand only"—and drank from the bowl. The tea was bitter and sharp, and Danny was half tempted to put the bowl right back down, but she knew if she did that this interview would be over and she wouldn't get another chance. So she sipped, and sipped again, until finally she got to the bottom of the bowl. She couldn't help the disgusted face she made as the last clumpy bits slid down her throat, and Lucy touched the soft leather tongue of the crop to the apple of Danny's cheek. It wasn't a strike, was barely even a brush, but Danny felt herself flush.

"Do try to maintain an aura of tranquility," Lucy reprimanded lightly. "Now, pretend you are starting from the beginning. Add your first ingredient."

The first ingredient, which was clearly not the water by the look Lucy gave her when she started reaching for it. So it had to be the tea. Danny picked up the bamboo scoop, dipped it into the powdered tea, and tilted the tea into the bowl. She paused, but Lucy didn't say anything, so Danny added another. She went for a third scoop, like last time, but this time the crop lightly tapped the top of her hand. "Two is sufficient. Move on." Lucy removed the crop. "Remember, tranquil."

Tranquil, right. Danny felt like she was going to burst out in shivers every time the smooth leather tongue touched her skin, but she wasn't even tempted to put a stop to things, even though Lucy had made it quite clear that she could whenever she'd had enough. She went to remove the top of the teapot, then realized that she'd never replaced it after the first time. The water was still steaming faintly, but Danny knew by Lucy's expression as she went to it she'd made a faux pas. She dipped the ladle in the water, brought it carefully over to the bowl, and poured slowly, making sure every drop went where it was supposed to go.

 "Good," Lucy said, and Danny felt absurdly accomplished for a moment before she realized what she was doing and snorted inwardly. Proud of pouring water, wonderful. Next thing she knew, she'd be purring like a cat to be told she was good at kneeling.

The crop snapped across the top of her back, and Danny glared at Lucy. "What?" she demanded.

"Focus on the task in front of you, not on whatever thoughts are going through your head," Lucy said. "And by the way, if you speak out of turn again, you'll get another. Now, do continue."

Oh, for fuck's
…
Fine
. Danny turned back to the tea. She went to add another ladleful, then remembered how she hadn't been able to use the whisk during her last attempt, and left the water level as it was. She set the ladle down and replaced the lid, avoiding using the soiled pink cloth—she still wasn't sure what that was for, but she knew she'd used it wrong last time. Then Danny picked up the whisk, set it in the water, and began to stir.

"With a bit more vigor, if you please," Lucy said calmly. Danny stirred harder. "
Rhythmic
vigor, Danielle, this tea will be useless if it is sloshed out of the bowl."

No one has called me that since my mom,
she wanted to say, but Danny bit her lip and whisked a bit more tightly. When a light green froth began to rise on the surface of the water, she called it good and set the whisk aside. That was it, right? Except for the drinking. This looked drinkable.

On a whim, Danny picked up the bowl and extended it to Lucy, who smiled pleasantly. "Do you think that this tea is good enough for me to drink? Consider carefully. Was it made with a sense of harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility?"

Danny thought about it. "I think it's as close as I can manage right now," she said after a minute.

"Again, I do appreciate your honesty," Lucy murmured. "Very well." She knelt gracefully on the floor next to Danny, set the crop on the table beside the tray, and took the bowl. She drank its contents in three smooth swallows, then replaced the bowl on the tray with a nod. "Acceptable."

Danny slumped a bit with relief. "So I have the job, then?"

Lucy tilted her chin to the side in consideration, and Danny couldn't help squirming under her intense focus. She felt less like a bug being dissected than before, more like a puzzle being worked out, but the attention was still a bit unnerving, and it was hard for her to sit still while Lucy was looking at her like that.

"Would it please you if I said yes?" Lucy replied, her voice soft and gentle with just the faintest hint of the accent Danny was starting to enjoy hearing.

Danny nodded, wondering what she was playing at. "Of course. I came for the job, after all. So getting it would be great."

Lucy rose from the floor. "Stand up, please. I wish to get a look at you without your jacket on."

Danny wanted to remind her that she'd been doing little else besides watching her during this whole interview but knew better than to voice that thought as she got to her feet.
Tranquil
, Danny reminded herself as she moved away from the table and stood, ready for Lucy's inspection.

Lucy walked around her, that crop dangling between her fingers, and Danny tried not to fidget. A light smack came down on her left butt cheek, and Danny gasped. It wasn't hard and it didn't hurt, but the action had caught her off guard. "What was that for?" she grumbled. Another smack across her other cheek reminded her not to speak out of turn.

Lucy came around her side and put the tip of the crop under her chin, holding it up and forcing Danny to look at her. "Your posture is atrocious. Young as you are, there's still time to work on such things. I advise you to practice as often as you can. Your ears, your shoulders, and your hips must be in alignment as often as possible. Your chin goes over the floor. Not down, not up. You must be tranquil in all things; this is your strength. Do you agree?"

"I'm sorry, but I honestly have no idea what you're talking about," Danny told her. She didn't move her chin off the tip of the crop, though she wasn't entirely sure why she wasn't fighting it.

Lucy gave her a brief but beautiful smile. "No, I'm sure you don't. But would you like to learn?"

There was something there, something that Danny was sure she was missing between the lines of conversation and information that Lucy was giving her. But as she licked her lips and looked up into Lucy's icy gaze, she wasn't sure if she cared all that much about whatever that thing was yet. What was happening between them was new to Danny and, she was beginning to realize, fascinating. So she nodded and offered Lucy a simple, "Yes," in response.

The crop fell away from her chin, and Danny almost missed the feel of the soft leather against her skin. Its touch made her anxious and nervous, but at the same time she found herself getting excited and even, maybe, a little turned on.

"I'll give you the links for some more videos and send you home with a tea set to work with. You have plenty of studying to do, which I expect you to take your time with until you master this ceremony. I will see you back here the evening before the convention to do another practice run, Danny," Lucy said without turning around as she walked toward the door.

She was gone and out the door a moment later, leaving Danny alone with her racing thoughts and rapidly beating heart.

One week later

Lucy carefully stepped around a man with his legs stretched out in front of him. Though her expression remained placid, she could feel her annoyance for him slowly simmering along in her veins. Friday nights were when she hosted an introductory tea pairing class, and her newest student, Andrea, hadn't thought to inform her that she would be bringing her boyfriend along with her. He was an oaf of a man and completely disrespectful, utterly undeserving of petite, black-haired, pixie-like Andrea, who was one of her favorite people in the little class.

They were in the back room of her shop, the place she held all of her private classes and meetings. As the group of four tried the tea that had been set out in front of them, Lucy couldn't help remembering what had transpired between herself and Danny in this very spot. Tonight was the night before the convention, and Lucy was looking forward to seeing Danny again. Lucy's high-heeled boots clicked on the hardwood as she took her seat in her favorite chair, a bit apart from the others.

"Emmanuel, please tell me what you think of this tea," she asked.

The oaf rolled his eyes even though he wasn't the one being addressed. If he'd possessed a sense of shame, Lucy might have wanted to take him to heel for his behavior, but since she had no interest in fruitlessly engaging with him and knew the effort would be lost on him, she chose to ignore him as she'd been doing for the past hour. Additionally, this was her shop, not a club, and people couldn't be made to behave as easily here as subs did in clubs. As long as his antics stayed silent, no one else needed to be bothered by his behavior. The apologetic look Andrea gave her told Lucy that she'd noticed his attitude as well. That was fortunate. Perhaps she wouldn't decide to bring him along for the next class. Lucy could hope for that much.

Emmanuel took a sip of the tea in his hands and put it down just as quickly as he'd lifted it. "I'm not a fan of white tea," he said honestly.

Lucy nodded and crossed one leg over the other before smoothing the ruffles of her layered skirt down over her knee. "And why is that?" she asked him.

He shrugged and looked down at the tea. Lucy knew that speaking during even the smallest class was hard for him. They'd spoken of his shyness on numerous occasions, and that he'd even chosen to answer her at all had been a surprise. Usually Emmanuel simply lifted his hand, silently signaling that he had no response for her as he'd done so many times before. Lucy was impressed with his progress and made a mental note to give him a package of his favorite loose-leaf tea the next time he came to class.

"It's a bit bland," Emmanuel told her softly before he'd decided to look away from her, ending the exchange with a finality Lucy perfectly understood.

She turned her attention to the three women seated around her. Andrea, Stephani, and Leia all watched her expectantly, like kittens waiting to be told they could have a bit of string after a bowl of cream. "Leia, what flavors did you pick up from the tea?" Lucy asked the closest of the women. She was barely twenty-three, her palate too young to truly appreciate the finest of the teas, but old enough to think a class on pairing tea with food would be an interesting way to spend a few hours on a Friday evening.

"Citrus?" Leia spoke up as she briefly touched the cup, looking to it as if for answers when she should have been consulting her tongue.

The answer was close enough. Lucy didn't expect any of them to be able to pick out the subtle flavors of grapefruit, mint, and pear on their first tries because of their undeveloped palates. "Yes, that's good," Lucy said, giving her a bit of praise.

Stephani leaned forward, her breasts nearly spilling out over the low neckline of the pink sweater she wore. "There's almond in there too, isn't there?"

Lucy took a sip of her own cup of tea before making a slow circle around the group. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, dear, but there is no almond in this tea. Perhaps the nuttiness of the black tea we had first is lingering on your tongue."

Stephani looked a bit disappointed, but Lucy didn't let that get to her. She wouldn't lie to a student in order to save their delicate feelings. Andrea's boyfriend, however, looked more than ready to cheer Stephani up as he leered at her exposed cleavage. Lucy sent up a silent little prayer that Andrea would come to her senses before he broke her heart as surely as her last boyfriend had.

"With a light, citrusy tea such as this one, we must take care to pair it with foods that will not overpower it. Tea is a drink nearly as popular as water, and so it is often taken for granted in the day to day life of its drinkers. But there is a precision, a grace that comes with tea, and its flavor must be respected. Andrea, what would you pair this tea with?" Lucy asked her.

Andrea crossed one leg over the other, mimicking Lucy's own position on the chair. "Little sandwiches with a bit of butter and maybe cucumber?"

The idea had merit and the tastes wouldn't clash, but Lucy wasn't quite satisfied with her answer and, knowing Andrea fairly well from her years as a customer, chose to get her to clarify it. "Are you asking me or telling me what you would do?" she pressed.

Andrea flushed and ducked her head. "Asking, I suppose."

Lucy had thought as much. Her answer had lacked the conviction of someone familiar with these flavors, which didn't surprise Lucy, as they'd only just moved into white teas in this session. "Pity, because you were correct with your flavor choices. Cucumber would be a fine choice with this tea as they are both light, refreshing, and mildly flavored. Another good choice would be rice. Lightly-scented jasmine rice would be a perfect pairing to this tea."