“A nice little operation you have here,” he said, his tone on the verge of condescending. “Your uncle tells me you learned the craft from your mother.”
“She did.” Gerhard answered before she could. “Although I think you’ll find that Jessa’s skill has even exceeded Mira’s in certain areas.”
Rage rushed through her system, but she forced herself to breathe slowly. Her uncle had never praised her mother while she was alive, and he usually sneered at her work as well.Something else was going on here. He was using her as a pawn in a game she didn’t understand.
“A little operation, perhaps, but mine nonetheless,” she said quietly. “A business my parents built from nothing and one which has supported me and my sister since they passed. Now, is there something you wanted? As I mentioned before, I have work to do.”
Gerhard shot her a hard look that promised a lecture later, but the trader just smiled. “Very direct. I like that. It saves us all a great deal of wasted breath.” He gestured at the bolts of fabric and looked at Gerhard. “Where is it?”
Before she could stop him, Gerhard stepped forward and picked up a small bundle of cloth, carefully unwrapping the coarse wool to reveal a shimmering square of fabric inside. “Here. Isn’t it magnificent?”
Trader Halwick took the cloth, running it through his fingers with a look of stunned disbelief. “It is indeed.”
Her stomach knotted. So that’s why her uncle was here. That small swatch was all she had left of the miracle yarn she’d found a few months ago. After a storm toppled an ancient tree, she’d gone into the forest to gather wood. Instead she found the remnants of a strange, vine-like plant with long, golden fibers she’d never seen before. She’d gathered what she could, brought it home, and experimented.
The resulting thread spun like a dream, shimmering with an internal light, stronger than steel yet softer than silk. She’d woven a small length of cloth from the thread, then hidden it away, wondering what such a treasure was worth and how bestto use it. Since then, she’d tried several times to find more of the plant, but she’d never been able to locate the strange vine again.
Her uncle had seen itoncewhen he stopped by unexpectedly. She’d done her best to divert his attention and she’d thought she’d succeeded, but he was a merchant through and through. He’d recognized its value.
“As you can see, my niece is exceptionally talented,” Gerhard said, puffing out his chest. “And she can produce much more of this fabric.”
Halwick’s eyes gleamed with avarice. “Is that so? If this is genuine, then a new trade route to this village would be extremely profitable. The merchants in Port Cantor would pay a fortune for this.”
Mr. Petras, who’d been silent until now, bobbed his head. “The village would certainly benefit from new trade opportunities. Times have been difficult since the harvest shortfalls.”
Her mind whirled. A trade route directly to the spaceport would change everything—more opportunities, more income, and most of all, access to the medicine Dani needed. But she couldn’t make more of the fabric. The plant, whatever it was, was gone.
“I can’t,” she said, the words tasting like ash in her mouth.
Gerhard’s face hardened. “Of course you can,” he said, his voice dangerously low. “You’re being modest.”
“Jessa, dear. You must see how this would help your… situation,” Mrs. Webb said, casting a quick glance at Dani, still huddled in her chair and watching everything with wide solemn eyes.
“But—”
Her uncle didn’t give her a chance to finish. “Halwick, please, give my niece a moment to collect her thoughts. We can discuss terms at the council meeting this afternoon.” He guided the trader towards the door, the councilors trailing in his wake like ducklings after their mother.
As soon as the door closed behind them, she was moving, crossing the room in three quick strides to snatch the fabric from her uncle’s hands.
“You can’t do this,” she whispered, her heart pounding against her ribs. “I told you I can’t make more. I don’t know how.”
“You will find a way,” her uncle said, his voice cold as a winter wind. “This is my chance to bring increased prosperity to this village. You will not ruin it.”
“Ruin it? I’m saving you from making a fool of yourself! I have nothing more to give him.”
“Then you had best find a way. Because if you don’t take this opportunity to provide for your sister, perhaps she would be better off living with me.”
“You can’t do that!”
“I can and I will.” He laughed contemptuously. “Who do you think is going to stop me?”
No one.The bitter truth made her stomach churn. Her uncle had too much control over their small village, too much wealth and too many people who owed him.
The benevolent mask returned to his face.
“I’ll make this easy for you. Halwick will be in this area for another week. Produce one more sample before he leaves. Inreturn, I will arrange for him to leave a supply of medicine with me.”
The implication was quite clear. Gerhard would control the medicine and through it, he would control her.
