Hannah arrived at Mrs. Berg's home the next afternoon. It was grand and classic. She loved plants and flowers. They were all over the inside of her house as well as the outside. Her atrium was truly resplendent. It was a half greenhouse. Meaning that two sides were brick and mortar and two sides were glass, floor to ceiling with a glass roof that was pitched like the roof of a silo. All in glass. The atrium was large filled with plants and birds and butterflies that flew freely. There were very tall trees, for the roof accommodated them splendidly. The roof seemed to reach up to the sun it was so high. In the center of the atrium was an area that had table and chairs and a settee. It was as though they sat in a forest with the sun streaming through the delicate leaves of the trees high above them. There were orchids of every kind and colour. Roses, and azaleas, rhododendron and hyacinth, also hibiscus and freesia. Hannah tried remembering the names of them all. There was a small pond with fish in it and a waterfall that trickled quietly. The water arrangement actually cooled the inside of the atrium. The little birds chirped and jumped from branch to branch and flew at the tree tops, all the while talking to each other. The butterflies fluttered all around, even landing on their heads. No one harmed them therefore both birds and butterflies felt no threat. It was like an enchanted forest. What a pleasure to spend time there. Hannah enjoyed it immensely. She was so engaged in this experience that she forgot herself.
"Mrs. Berg this is so exquisite. Thank you so much for sharing it with me."
Mrs. Berg was pleased. The butler arrived with a luncheon trolley and announced that luncheon is served. Along with the butler came two young women to play the harpsichord quietly.
"These are my nieces, Mrs. Talbot, they love to practice on my harpsichord, therefore I thought it appropriate to enlist them to play for us while we enjoy our lunch."
The harpsichord was behind the trees at the far-end of the atrium, therefore the ladies felt quite alone but could hear the music without feeling intruded upon.
"How lovely!" Hannah was beaming.
They enjoyed their lunch of puff pastry with creamed chicken and green peas, water crest salad with mandarines and sugared almond slivers. Then dessert arrived on another trolley. Several cakes under glass domes of various heights and sizes. Along with very strong coffee, with a lovely flavor that Hannah adored but couldn't quite put her finger on what the flavor was.
"Vanilla essence and orange rind brewed with the coffee." Mrs. Berg explained. She was stout and jolly. Without a care in the world. "And you must have cream for the coffee and then whipping cream on the top. Let's be indulgent, shall we?"
They both laughed. There could be nothing more indulgent than this dessert and coffee experience.
Hannah enjoyed Mrs. Berg's company exceedingly. It was so easy to be with her. They came from old money therefore they were not ostentatious or prideful. What they had and worked with and worked for was so normal for them. They were comfortable and confident. Hannah trusted her more and more as time went on.
By their third visit Hannah wanted to confide in her and ask her advise and opinion about what went wrong between her and Talbot. A woman as mature as Mrs. Berg surely knew the workings of a man's heart.
"What do you think Mrs. Berg?"
"Please my Darlink, call me Hilde."
Shyly Hannah corrected herself and tried out how it sounded to call this respectable and admired lady by her first name.
"What do you think..... Hilde? What did I do wrong?"
"Child, you did nothing wrong. I can't explain why he would disappear without a trace and without a word. It is very mysterious to me. But what I do know and I have seen it with my own eyes is that he loves you like no other. My, the admiration and respect he has for you is so obvious even for a complete stranger to see it easily. I think that you will just have to be patient and wait. I am sure that there is a perfectly logical explanation for why he left you. You are so beautiful and lovely, he would not just abandon you without cause or reason. He would be a fool if he did and I can tell you for a certainty that he is not a fool. He will be back soon. That is what I think and what my heart tells me. It is very seldom wrong." She smiled after she said the last sentence.
