Screen Captures Courtesy of Swoopes For personal use and select distribution only © April 2002 by Amber Stockton To Catch a Mongoose - tagalogueWritten by ?? (excerpts from the episode belong to ?)
"Look, Amanda, you have all afternoon before your flight, what are you gonna do?" She smiled, a little embarrassed. "This may sound silly, but I always promised myself if I ever got to England, I would have a formal, very proper afternoon British tea." "That's a good idea. There's some very famous, very posh places, you know." "Oh, well, no, I think you have to know someone to get into those places." "Well, I, uh ... I think I could help out there. I do have a little influence, you know, even here," he said with pride. "Oh, Lee! Would you really do that?" Lee stepped closer, placed his hands on her arms and spoke softly. "Anywhere you want, you just name the place, and I'll take you there." She turned and looked at Buckingham Palace and extended her arm to point. "I'd like to have tea, there, at the palace, where I belong." After a brief moment, she turned back to look at Lee and saw the very nervous expression on his face. As much as she would have loved to really stick it to him, she couldn't, so she laughed, showing him that she was only joking. Lee chuckled in good humor and shook his head. "Oh, you!" he said and smiled. "You didn't think I was serious, did you?" "No!" he answered a little too quickly, but was quick to recover. "Then again, I never know what to expect with you!" He grinned. "Good! Let's keep it that way." She stepped aside and walked past him, and heard rather than saw him immediately turn to join her. "So, did you really mean it? About taking me wherever I wanted to go for tea?" "I wouldn't have offered if I didn't." "Lee..." She stopped walking, causing him to do the same. He turned towards her, and she placed a hand on his arm. "I don't know of any place." Lee smiled down at her, then took her hand from his arm and loosely tucked it into the crook of his elbow as he started them both walking again. "Well, it's only one o'clock, why don't we head on over to Piccadilly and see what we find?" Amanda detected a hint of mystery in his tone and glanced up at him with narrowed eyes. "All right, spill it!" He kept his eyes forward. "Spill what?" "Whatever it is you're keeping from me." "What makes you think I'm keeping something from you?" "Weren't you ever taught that it's impolite to answer a question with a question?" He grinned. "Do you realize you just did the same thing?" Amanda released a loud sigh and waved her free hand in the air. "Forget I said anything. Let's just get a cab and head over to Piccadilly, like you suggested." He placed his right hand over hers on his arm. "Sounds good to me." As they walked towards the street to hail a cab, Amanda couldn't help but be a little distracted by Lee's touch on her hand. It was oddly comforting and left her feeling very secure, which disconcerted her more than she wanted to admit. She thought back to when she and Lee had said good-bye as the double-decker bus had pulled up to the stop. They had clasped hands to bid each other farewell, but as they had talked, their hands remained clasped, and Amanda had a feeling that she didn't want to let go. It's just London and the atmosphere. That's why I'm so confused by everything. They even drive on the wrong side of the road and sit on the wrong side of the car to drive!" It wasn't anything more than that. She wouldn't let it be, and in an effort to get her mind off of the line of thinking, she decided to discuss the case that had brought her here. Hopefully, engaging Lee in some talk of work would help get her mind off of thoughts she knew she shouldn't be thinking. "Lee?" "Hmm?" "How did you know it was safe to approach us when Conrad held me at gunpoint yesterday?" "When he held up the gun, I saw that there was no cartridge in it, so I knew there was no way he could shoot you or me, for that matter." "So, you wouldn't have done anything if you hadn't seen that, right?" "Amanda!" he gently scolded. "Have I ever done anything to jeopardize your safely?" Amanda turned her head and met his eyes. If she let herself, she could get lost in the hazel depths, but she maintained control and a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "No." Her voice was a mix of embarrassment at having doubted him and gratitude that he was always looking out for her well-being. "Well, now that that's settled, here's a cab." A cab pulled to the curb where they had stopped. He reached out and opened the door for her then assisted her into the cab, immediately following and sitting next to her as he pulled the door closed after him. "One-twenty Piccadilly," he announced to the cab driver. Amanda turned to him with suspicion in her eyes again. "You already have a place picked out, don't you?" "Well..." "Let's just head on over to Piccadilly and see what we can find," she mimicked, repeating his words back to him. She lightly smacked his arm and smiled. "Why all the secrets?" He shrugged his shoulders. "No reason. I actually just wanted to make it a surprise." "Did you already make reservations?" "No, their first sitting is open to anyone. Since you hadn't made up your mind earlier about this, I figured it would be our best bet." "Well, am I dressed all right for wherever we're going?" Amanda looked down at her simple dress suit and tweed jacket, self-consciously smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt and picked off an imaginary piece of lint. "I don't know. Maybe you should have kept Trixie's things after all." He grinned. "That may be better." She playfully smacked him again and laughed, and he chuckled. "Amanda, you look fine. Believe me. They do require a jacket and tie for men, but this first sitting is much less formal than the other two that require reservations, so just relax, huh?" "You're right, Lee. I know I've already said this, but thank you for taking me shopping the other day to purchase some new clothes." "No problem." "You really didn't have to use your money for the two outfits, you know." "Amanda, it was a business expense. I'll be reimbursed through the Agency." The cab came to a stop outside their destination on the South side of Piccadilly. Lee paid the fare, opened the door and got out, then reached his hand down to help Amanda from the cab. Shutting the door after her, he placed her hand in the crook of his elbow again and turned her to face the imposing building in front of them. "That was business. This is on me." He made a sweeping motion with his right hand. She looked up at the Ritz Hotel. "Oh my gosh! Lee! We can't possibly have tea here. This is far too expensive!" "Amanda, it's not every day that you're in London, and you want something to remember from your trip, right?" She nodded, still in awe at the sight. "Well, this is it. Don't worry, it's a lot more decadent than it seems. The service is topnotch and the food is flawless." She knew he was trying to reassure her, but she couldn't get past the fact that this hotel seemed to be way out of her class. He may be used to dining and traveling in the social circles that obviously frequented an establishment such as this, but it certainly wasn't her. She shook her head in amazement. If nothing else, working with the Agency certainly was educational and culturally stimulating. "But, Lee..." she tried again, but he interrupted her. "Amanda, trust me, all right? The atmosphere is very relaxed and welcoming. It may seem lavish, but it's not intimidating in the least." He paused and turned to look at her. "Are you coming or not?" She felt him tug a little on her arm, and reluctantly, she took a step forward as they approached the doors, which were immediately held open by the doorman. "Thank you." She nodded at the gentleman, dressed in a crisp and pressed uniform adorned with gold rope and tassels at the shoulders, then preceded Lee inside, where they were met by another gentleman, only he was dressed to the nines in a formal tuxedo. "Good afternoon, sir...madam. May I show you to a table?" He gestured towards the Palm Court where the tea would be served, and Amanda tried to quell the butterflies in her stomach. She could feel Lee's warm gaze on her as they walked, so she turned to look up at him and received a reassuring smile in return. Unconsciously, she reached up and straightened his tie. "Fix your tie, Lee. It's crooked." At Lee's penetrating gaze, she suddenly realized what she had just done and immediately became very flustered. They completed their walk to their table in silence and were seated with the promise that they would be served momentarily. The tables were not very large, so Lee had to turn his legs out to the side. Even then, they still grazed hers, and her breath caught in her throat at the contact. She concealed her reaction and turned her own legs in the other direction, crossing her ankles and tucking her legs beneath her chair as she assumed very proper posture. Searching for anything to get her mind off of her embarrassment and thoughts of Lee, she turned and panned the room with a practiced eye. She wasn't exactly a connoisseur of such decadence, but she knew genuine antiques when she saw them. Wasn't it only last week that she and her mother had seen pieces such as these at Princess Valosky's home? She took in the Louis XV chandeliers and the little tables with their curlicues and cabriolet legs, evidence of the finely crafted furniture from this era. When their tea was served, it came in a bone China service, and Amanda remembered her mother mentioning something about a service just like this by Royal Worcester. Never in a thousand years would she have believed she'd be drinking Earl Grey tea from a tea cup such as this. Almost completely lost in the opulence of her surroundings, she almost didn't hear Lee when he cleared his throat to get her attention. Turning her eyes to meet his across the table, she again had to remind herself he was just a business associate, nothing more. As tempting as it was to think there was more to their relationship, she knew how dangerous that would be and the complications involved, so she brushed aside her feelings and forced herself to remain impartial. Together, they raised their tea cups towards each other and smiled. "Cheers!" They both took sips. "Thank you, Lee." Her voice wasn't much above a whisper. They weren't sitting far apart, so she knew he had no trouble hearing her. Those words hardly seemed adequate, but they were all that came to mind at the moment, and she was confident he would understand what she meant. He smiled. "What are friends for?" "Friends, yes." She nodded. Friends. That's exactly what they were. As they shared their tea and a wide selection of scones, cakes and little pastries, Amanda knew she wouldn't want to share this moment with anyone else. (THE END) |
