Second-Hand Dresses

Chapter 37: Penir da Kasin

Even years later, a mentor still has his knife against his student's throat. A single word or turn of phrase can destroy more than one life.

—Tears of Child

It was a bright and sunny morning. A morning breeze brought the faintest whiff of the ocean streaming between buildings and along the cobblestone streets. Not even the acrid smell of steam cars and horses could erase it completely.

Lily hummed to herself as she stepped back on the boardwalk and headed toward her store. She carried her sewing bag with both hands, spreading the strain of the heavy material on both shoulders.

In the back of her mind, she worried about not bringing a meal but Kendrick had promised he or Mindil would feed her. She wanted to disagree, but he insisted with a kiss. He even offered to get a carriage for her but that was a bit too much for her.

She waited for the traffic before crossing the next street. When she stepped back up on the walk, she noticed there was two carriages standing in front of her store. The nearest one, a black carriage with gold and silver trim, had Djulian's personal driver standing next to the door.

The joy of the morning crumbled almost instantly.

Lily hesitated, one foot on the boardwalk and the other on the street. A sick feel twisted in her gut. She shook her head, closing her eyes and then opening them in hopes that the carriage was for another store.

A horn blared behind her.

She jumped off the street and on the boardwalk. Turning around, she saw a pair of women wearing goggles sitting in a car. The seat was almost hanging off the front with a large cage of iron dominating almost two thirds of the vehicle. Bright yellow paint covered the inner coils of the metal but the outside was painted block. She spotted a pair of Kasin crests mounted along the side.

"Sorry!" Lily said loudly and then hurried away from the street.

She made it a few yards before she realized she was heading into a trap.

Djulian's driver was looking at her curiously, his arms held stiffly behind his back and his head cocked at an angle.

Gulping, she stopped again just long enough to take a deep breath and then headed past him and into her store.

The bell on the door ran out, filling the store with the cheerful ringing.

The first thing Lily saw was Djulian's back. The older woman was standing with both hands on the back of the chair, rocking it back and forth with sharp strokes. The legs of the chair smacked against the ground in a steady beat. "—is she?"

Djulian spun around, her face twisting in a mask of rage. "Where, in the Couple's Favor, have you been!? You're late!"

Lily started to flinch but then realized she had to stand up to Djulian. Taking Mindil's advice from earlier, she stood up straighter and faced her. "My store hours are half past the seventh hour."

"You are still late!"

It took all of her effort not to snap back. To stall, Lily set down the bag by the door. "By a few minutes only. I apologize for the delay."

"You should be! I'm not going to have my daughter's dress made by an incompetent—"

From the door leading into the workshop, Mindil came in carrying a tray of fruits. "She is not... Lily."

Djulian glared at Mindil and then turned back to Lily. "For the amount of money I'm paying you, you should be waiting in your store the second the bell rings!"