It hadn’t helped that Rosie had taken it upon herself that very afternoon to inform Katherine of the mystery surrounding Captain Braddock’s return to the Harborside.
“Oh, yes, there was quite a scandal about it. You see, his sister used to run the shop. Her name was Serena Braddock. Anyway, they both grew up there, but the Captain had gone away when still quite young, and hadn’t come to visit as long as I’ve been here.
“Well, she was very nice, and everyone simply adored her, but then a year or so ago, or maybe two—I don’t quite remember how long… Anyway, whenever it happened to be, Serena suddenly disappeared. Gone! Left without a word, so it appeared, and the shop stayed closed on a weekday for the first time in who knows how long. For the first time in living memory, I suppose. But then,” Rosie leaned in and dropped her voice dramatically, “all of a sudden, the Harborside reopened, and instead of Serena, there was that horrid man! So different from his sister—quite a shock to all of us!
“And you know, his sister did so mysteriously disappear… you can’t help but wonder if he had something to do with it. You never know about people. I mean, I read about a man once who…” and then Rosie dove off onto a lurid tale she had heard of some gory homicide. Apart from scandal, murder was Rosie’s favorite topic of conversation.
Katherine knew better than to take Rosie’s morbid speculations seriously. But it did seem strange that no one, not even Miss Harriet, knew what had happened to Serena Braddock. Miss Harriet always looked sad and became strangely quiet whenever anyone mentioned Serena.
Katherine gripped the list of teas tighter and quickened her pace. She reminded herself that Miss Harriet seemed to be a very good judge of character, and certainly wouldn’t have sent Katherine over to pick up the tea order by herself if she had thought Captain Braddock unscrupulous in any way.
She crossed the street and spotted the faded sign swinging above a dark green door. Through the large window to the right of the door, she saw shelves full of jars. As she opened the door, a silvery jingle rang out from a little bell overhead, and Katherine stepped into the Harborside for the first time.
The rich, perfumed air felt refreshingly cool after the heat of the sunny June afternoon. Katherine carefully pushed the door closed behind her. A man stood up from a desk in the next room and walked hurriedly towards Katherine, limping as he went. His brows were knit in what seemed to be a frown of habit, rather than emotion, so Katherine put on a cheerful smile.
“You must be Captain Braddock. I’m Katherine. Miss Harriet sent me for her order.”
At this, the habitual frown grew into a real one, and the captain roughly took the list of teas Katherine held out to him and looked it over, still frowning. He grunted disapprovingly. “I can see yer’ employer’s tastes haven’t improved since last Friday.”
Katherine, unsure of how to answer such a comment, held her peace. She had already determined she would be just as calm and cheerful towards this grumpy man as she felt sure Miss Harriet would have been in her place.
The Captain walked over to a large old sea chest standing against the wall and opened the lid. He began taking boxes of tea out of the chest and loading them into a sturdy paper bag, lecturing sternly about the “inferiority” of the teabag. With his back turned to Katherine, he continued to rant until he had finished packing the order.
She tried to listen politely, but as she gazed around the shop, she was soon lost in wonder, drinking in its every detail with sheer delight, feeling as if she had entered into another world, as if the pages of history had been turned back and she had been permitted to step into their midst.
She surveyed the dark wooden shelves with their glass jars and models of ships; she drank in the fragrance which filled the air and the way that one shabby chair stood so invitingly in a corner by an old cast-iron stove; her eye traced the spirals of the beautiful wooden staircase and filled with curiosity when she saw the door at the top with the heavy old lock hanging so mysteriously upon its latch. In short, she took in the Harborside at a glance, a glance which struck wonder to the very depths of her being.
That moment, Katherine fell in love with the Harborside. And at that moment, the Captain startled her by setting the bag down on the counter with a thud.
She looked around quickly, and he caught her gaze, returning her look of wonder with an almost imperceptible softening of his frown and the slightest twinkle in his eye as he asked, “Is this yer’ first time in a real tea shop?”
Katherine laughed in spite of herself, and so began her unlikely friendship with the cantankerous Captain Braddock.
4 Katherine at the Harborside
After that first visit to the Harborside, Katherine volunteered to fetch the tea order every week. The time it took to fetch the orders grew longer and longer with each visit, and Miss Harriet gave Katherine an odd little smile whenever she betrayed her eagerness to run any errand near there. Katherine couldn’t conceal how much she enjoyed visiting the old shop, for she had been smitten with its dusty charm the moment she laid eyes on it.
“It’s an odd thing that you never stepped foot inside the Harborside before that day I sent you over, since you grew up here in town.” Miss Harriet said as they were cleaning after hours one day.
“I know, it is strange.” Katherine replied. “But I lived up on top of the cliffs, not far from the park. We came downtown sometimes—my parents and I liked to go to the ice cream shop when I was little, and then we moved away when I was nine.”
Katherine shrugged and continued loading dishes and silverware from the tables onto a small cart. It was the first time she had spoken of her childhood since that first day at Miss Harriet’s, and the memories brought back even by those few sentences reawakened the longing in her heart she had been trying so hard to suppress.
Miss Harriet opened her mouth to ask another question but, catching a glimpse of the tears which had begun to gather in Katherine’s eyes, went instead to clear the tables on the other side of the room. After a while, she brought her stacks of dishes over and set them on the cart.
Katherine looked up. “Miss Harriet,” she said in a thoughtful tone, setting another cup on the cart. “Did you know that the Harborside is the oldest shop in the town?”
“Yes, I think I did know that. Did you learn it from the Captain today?”
Katherine smiled shyly. “Yes. He told me that people used to come from all over the country to buy tea there, but the shop never seems at all busy when I go in. In fact, I’ve never seen a single customer in there. Most people just walk past without even glancing in. Why do you think that is?”
“Well, I’d imagine it might be because of how the Captain behaved when he first came.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, when he got here and opened up the shop again, the townspeople were naturally quite curious what had happened, but he was so startlingly abrupt with anyone who asked, it got to where people didn’t like to go into the shop anymore. His manners made people uncomfortable, as did his persistence in refusing to tell anyone anything about his sister, or even himself. I honestly think he felt it simply wasn’t anyone’s business but his own, but it lost him much of the town’s support.” Chuckling, she added, “It didn’t help that Rosie took it into her head that he had some sinister hand in his sister’s disappearance.”
Katherine’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “What do you think happened to her?”
“I don’t know. It was quite a shock to everyone, but I’m certain it was at least as much a shock to Captain Braddock. Otherwise, I think he would have handled things better and not run his customers off like that. Now he’s got a reputation for rudeness, and you know a small town like this naturally has a habit of viewing outsiders with suspicion from the outset. Treating people the way he did only made it worse.”
“Did they think you suspicious when you first came?”
“I think they did, at least a bit. But I kept to myself until the renovations were finished and the shop ready to open. People seemed to like the shop, and I think that helped them accept me as part of the town. They certainly haven’t made me feel unwelcome.”
The two began to push the full cart to the kitchen when Katherine stopped mid-step and turned to look searchingly into her friend’s face. “Do they think me suspicious?”
Miss Harriet laughed her silvery laugh and replied, “Of course not. You’re a local—even if our downtown locals didn’t know you back then. In fact, you’re more of a local than they are, because you lived here before they did. Besides,” she said with a wink, “I wouldn’t have hired anyone suspicious!”
Katherine grinned, then took her end of the cart and carefully pulled it into the kitchen. Miss Harriet filled the sink while Katherine got out a fresh dish towel.
“It was different when his sister was there.” Miss Harriet said with a sigh. “Serena Braddock was so gentle and kind, but smart and witty, and could give back as good as she got, I’m sure. It was remarkable to watch her when a customer would come into the shop: she’d cock her head on one side, rest her chin on her hand, and study them for a moment. Then a little smile would spread across her face, and she’d say in that quaint little way of hers, ‘follow me, if you please’, then lead them over to the jars.
“People instinctively trusted her recommendations, and I never heard even the faintest rumor of a disgruntled customer. —Not that I’ve necessarily heard of any with a specific grievance since the Captain sailed into port, but I can’t help but think it’s due more to lack of customers than anything else.” Then Miss Harriet sighed again, and plunged a plate into the hot soapy water.
