“Good afternoon, Hannah.” Hannah could tell that Judith was surprised to see her, but good breeding didn’t allow her to turn a gift-bearing visitor away. “Del and Benton are still at work, but you’re welcome to come in and take tea with me.”

“Thank you. I’d love to have tea with you,” Hannah said quickly and she gave a triumphant smile as Judith led the way down the hall. Judith had sounded very reluctant. A truly polite guest would have made some excuse to decline. But Hannah was only masquerading as a guest and she figured that a halfhearted invitation to stay for tea was better than no invitation at all.

As they passed the den, Hannah glanced in at the table by the couch. The rental car folder was gone. She frowned and decided to skip the bit about her mother’s lost handkerchief. It wouldn’t serve any purpose now.

“This is my little sitting room,” Judith announced as she paused at an open door. “Please go in and make yourself at home. I have a phone call to return, but my housekeeper will bring in the tea tray, and I’ll be with you in just a few moments.”

Hannah nodded and kept the smile on her face until Judith had left. There was nothing “little” about Judith’s little sitting room. Hannah’s whole condo could have been plunked down in the center, with plenty of room to spare.

As she gazed around her, Hannah conceded that it was a lovely room. It was tastefully decorated in silks and satin and it had an incredible view of the garden. While most gardens looked brown and dead this time of year, Judith’s was lush and green. Her gardener had planted rows of small ornamental spruces in an intricate design that zigzagged around the beautiful statuary and nestled up against pretty little wrought-iron benches.

“Excuse me, ma’am.” A housekeeper in a black silk dress with a white lace collar came into the room. She was carrying a tray containing an antique tea set that Delores would have killed for. Hannah had learned a bit about fine china and porcelain on her forays to estate sales and auctions with her mother and she recognized the pattern. It was a rare and beautifully rendered set that Wedgwood had offered for a limited time in the eighteen hundreds.

The housekeeper walked over to the antique piecrust table at the far end of the room and arranged the tea set carefully on its polished surface. She also set out a platter of dainty finger sandwiches. “Mrs. Woodley asks that you begin without her, ma’am. Shall I pour?”

“Yes, please.” Hannah took a seat in one of the two chairs that flanked the table. Both chairs had a lovely view of the garden, but Hannah was much more interested in watching how the housekeeper poured the tea. It was done efficiently and very carefully, golden tea streaming from the spout to fill the lovely china cup without a splash. As the housekeeper blotted the lip of the teapot with an impeccably clean white linen napkin, Hannah couldn’t help wondering whether knowledge of correct tea-pouring etiquette was one of the prerequisites for employment at the Woodley estate.