7

River felt quite giddy at the prospect of viewing the estate, or, as she begrudgingly admitted the Brandons had called it, farm. As they waited for their guide to give them the tour, she looked out across the fields, impatient to begin the visit. She could smell the different plants that the farm grew and it made her mouth water at the prospect.

Celeste took a more sedate view of the farm, using her mobile phone to take pictures. Over her shoulder, she carried a satchel briefcase which seemed at odds with the tour, as far as River felt concerned. It had never occurred to her to bring a notebook and pen, expecting to remember everything she needed, but, as Celeste had prepared her briefcase, River had seen notebooks, files and a tablet stored within. A row of pens were also available to her. It seemed very efficient for a day out sightseeing.

The day had turned out almost perfect. Wisps of clouds drifted above, that occasionally covered the Sun, causing patches of shadows to slide across the fields. River felt glad she had decided to wear the little denim jacket as a little shiver passed through her when a cloud wafted above them. She turned away from the fields in time to see their guide appear, holding out her hand for Celeste to shake and then River.

"Good morning! I'm Olivia Brandon, my father started this farm." The woman, in her early thirties, wearing a tweed jacket, riding pants and large, green Wellington boots, had a handshake that could crush walnuts. "I'm told you own a tea shop and wanted to see tea production first hand. Marvellous idea!"

"It seemed like a good idea. You know, understanding the product and all that." Shaking her hand, trying to get feeling back into it after Olivia's greeting, River gave a broad smile. "It looks amazing! I never thought I'd ever see a plantation, I mean a farm. I just order it all online and hope."

Olivia furrowed her brow at River's nervous laugh and gave a glance towards the more relaxed Celeste. With a wave of her hand, she invited them onwards, heading towards the first field that held row upon row of tall plants. River skipped forward and then held back. She had almost run ahead like an excitable child, forgetting Celeste for a second.

"We have a range of products, from the usual black tea varieties, to green tea." As they walked, Olivia pointed towards other fields. "Along with a few other plants, like mint and nettle, and some herbal varieties that we're working on in the greenhouses. They tend to be less hardy in the changeable British climate."

"I see fallow fields, over there. Are they yours?" Celeste took a few long range photographs. "Room for expansion, perhaps?"

"Yes! Spot on!" Olivia stopped as she pointed far into the distance. "We're always trying to expand our customer base, so we bought a large acreage in anticipation of the prospect. We hire it out for grazing, for the moment."

Celeste nodded, putting her phone back into her pocket, before taking out one of her notebooks and beginning to scribble into it. River felt as though Celeste took this all far more serious than she did. To her, she had only imagined it as a fun day out. It never occurred to her to make notes. Although, she doubted, even if she started an order with the farm, that it would help them along towards their expansion.

Olivia led them through the first field, telling them about the varieties they farmed, the dates for their harvests, the yield of each crop. It did fascinate River and she listened with glee to everything. When Olivia picked a few leaves from a nearby plant, she rubbed them between her palms and sniffed the cupped hands, urging River and Celeste to do the same.

The smell was unmistakeable, but almost muted to the smell of the tea when infused in water. The scent drifted up her nose, a delicate, yet bitter smell that fast became one of River's favourite scents. Olivia continued to talk about the farm as she led them from one field to another, giving them the histories of each variety and allowing them to test the smell of each leaf they encountered.

After a good hour of walking, they found themselves back at the main production buildings. They passed through a number of different sheds and blockhouses, where they saw the entire production line. From initial storage, to drying, to cutting, to packing. Not one single part of the tour failed to excite River, though it seemed Celeste had the edge when it came to asking questions.

River felt more interested in the sensations of the place, whereas Celeste seemed fascinated by the business side, talking numbers and weights and production costs. They each had their own area that interested them. It didn't seem odd at all that Celeste would find the hard facts more fascinating than the emotional content. It fitted her and River found it quite endearing.

By the end of the tour, they had come to the final stop, where Olivia took them into the fine details of testing each of the teas. Several cups sat in lines where a white-coated, hair-net wearing man offered them a new spoon for each cup. River would prefer to drink from the cup, itself, but, apparently, the done thing was to sip from the spoon instead.

It almost made River feel posh, drinking tiny dribbles of tea this way, mouth cleansed by a swish of water between each taste. The white-coated man and Olivia made deliberate slurps with every taste. Something that River felt far too self-conscious to replicate. She had to admit, however, that all the teas from Brandon's farm were exquisite.

As they passed through the farm shop, she made certain to get a kilogram of each separate variety of tea. Something that did not come cheap. Though, as Celeste had said the night they had talked about the trip, she could put them on the shop's books as expenses. She made certain to fold the receipts and place them within her purse, zipped into the coin pocket, for safekeeping.

The time had flown by, and the day had grown long. As they returned to Celeste's car, Olivia waving them farewell, River began to realise how hungry she had become. Gripping her stomach as it grumbled at her, she waited for Celeste to close the boot of the car, prized bags of tea safely stowed away.

"Hungry?" Leaning on the roof of the car, Celeste fidgeted with the keys, then pointed down the long driveway, towards the road. "We passed a pub a few miles away, we can stop there for a bite, if you like?"

"Oh, god, yeah. I could eat a whole cow!" That sounded a little greedy, even to River. "Or a salad. A small salad. Are you a vegetarian? A vegan? Is meat like a big insult to you? But, yes. Hungry. I am hungry. Eating is good. It's so good I could eat for a career."

The sound of her head hitting the roof of Celeste's car almost reverberated through her skull and then she worried that she had damaged the car. Left a big, greasy smudge from her big, greasy forehead upon the beautiful shining paint of an incredibly expensive vehicle. She tried to scramble into her seat, fast, to avoid continuing her embarrassing monologue.

"I'm not vegetarian. Or vegan." Dropping into the driver's seat, Celeste clicked her seat belt into place, waited for River to do the same and started the car. "I think a whole cow would be a little too much, though."

Celeste had a way of saying something completely normal that could derail almost any of River's nervous vocal twitches. Every time River felt she spoke too much, Celeste would counter with something plain and simple. Neither calling attention to River's over-long sentences, nor ignoring them. Almost every time, Celeste would add a little smile that could calm River in an instant. It didn't stop River talking too much, but it pacified her, if only for a short while.

In the pub, they both ordered the 'Special'. Locally caught fish and thick, crispy chips, with salad and fresh, succulent peas. Celeste added a little salt, while River smothered hers with pickling vinegar and lashings of tomato ketchup. Even in this, they differed so much.

"That was really interesting, wasn't it? I thought so. All those plants! All those leaves that will one day stew in someone's pot, or mug, or whatever, and give them the satisfaction of a beautiful, homegrown cup of tea." She shovelled a large chunk of fish into her mouth, the batter almost melting upon her tongue. The mixture of tastes, fish, vinegar and ketchup, causing a lusty groan to emerge from her lips. "It felt like ... I don't know. It felt like I could really understand the tea I brew, now. I've become more ... symbiotic with the tea."

"It was fun. They're overproducing, though." With a single chip on her fork, Celeste took a dainty bite as her other hand dug into her briefcase, pulling out her notebook. She flipped back a couple of pages as she chewed her small bite of the chip. "For instance, the green tea yield is fifty percent, roughly, more than they're selling. I mean, yes, keeping an overstock is one thing, but this is too much. If any of their customers knew, they could force the farm into selling at far lower prices than they are at the moment."

River stabbed two chips onto her fork, dipped them into a pool of ketchup and chomped her mouth over them both. With chips filling her cheeks, she watched as Celeste frowned, scratching her forehead under the short fringe of hair. A pen had appeared in her hand and she scribbled numbers into the notebook, scratching the numbers out and starting again.

They were two very different people, with different interests, personalities and desires, but the more River got to know Celeste, the more she found her attractive. Even now, as River wolfed down her food, Celeste had laid down her fork, the chip unfinished, and began to concentrate upon the figures for the farm, even though it wasn't her business.

No matter how River looked at it, everything Celeste did was adorable to her. If she wasn't careful, she could end up falling for this woman in a big way and, if those feelings weren't reciprocated, that could break River's heart.