Vaasa controlled each breath she took, but she memorized every detail of the woman. Sachia was sharper around the edges than most other nobles. Though she was dressed as richly as any of the other women in the room, there was a harshness about her. A strange air that spoke of a life beyond a rich merchant’s daughter.
“My family owns the shop in the market square,” Sachia said, gesturing to the fabric. “My father is abroad.”
Vaasa plastered on a smile. “It’s lovely to meet you. The dress is beautiful.”
“It suits you. At least that’s what he said when he picked it out,” Sachia said, her words seeming to carry some undertone that Vaasa didn’t understand. When Vaasa furrowed her brow, Sachia gestured to Lord Karev. “The lord, that is.”
Lord Karev smiled down at her. “And wasn’t I correct? The dress is made far more beautiful by the wearer.”
Vaasa snapped back into the version of herself she needed to sell. “You’re too kind,” she said with just enough sugared sweetness that it sounded casual, like she heard such compliments all the time. “You’ll have to come visit the fortress,” Vaasa added. “Since coming home, I’m in need of a new wardrobe.”
“I would be honored,” Sachia said. “I’ve just come back from a journey myself. I’m in need of a new friend.”
Lord Karev chuckled, turning his attention to Sachia and moving his body so he blocked most people’s view of her. “I would love to discuss the wares you’ve returned home with.”
The woman moved an inch, putting herself entirely in the shadow of Lord Karev, like she was hiding. “Silk, velvet, the likes,” she confirmed. “And a few other things.”
Lord Karev raised his brow. This held his interest, as if he already knew the answer to his question and was just seeking confirmation. “Other things?”
“I was lucky enough to come upon some resources that are… rare,” she said.
Vaasa tilted her head.
The woman looked around them to ensure they weren’t being listened to, then leaned in closely. Her eyes held Vaasa’s as she whispered, “Salt.”
Vaasa’s heart leapt into her throat.
“You don’t say?” Karev smoothly leaned forward, his interest apparent. Trepidation seeped from him, though, especially as he flicked his eyes to Vaasa. “From the men I met earlier today?”
The men?Who had Lord Karev met?
Sachia nodded. “I’m also here to follow up on my brother’s deal.”
He gave a carnal grin. “Well, perhaps we do have something to speak about, then.”
“Perhaps,” the woman replied in a less concealed tone, no longer keeping a secret between them. “I thought we could meet tomorrow night at the Lady.”
The Lady Fortune, the brothel in the city that Lord Karev had accused Lord Vlacik of frequenting. If they intended to meet at that establishment, then whatever business they were doing was not the kind that should be so openly discussed in a room such as this, surrounded by nobles.
The woman was no regular merchant’s daughter. Vaasa was beginning to wonder if she was a merchant at all, if instead she was like the other people who masqueraded about, wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Lord Karev glanced at Vaasa, seeming to gauge her reaction. She didn’t dare give one. Instead, she looked out at the crowd and to the stage as if this entire interaction bored her. Like his entrepreneurial interests weren’t anything that could keep her fickle attention.
“Send word in the afternoon,” Lord Karev said.
The woman nodded, then dipped her head once more. “Heiress, it was lovely to meet you.”
Vaasa looked once more at the woman, taking the full picture of her in. Memorizing every single detail she could. “I hope to see you again,” Vaasa said.
“I’ll be in touch about a wardrobe,” the woman said with a smile.
And then she walked off without another word, her gait strong and commanding. She crossed the room and immediately ducked out the door. Vaasa went still.
Had that woman sewn the leather tie into Vaasa’s dress? She said she had gone on a journey, that she had returned with salt.
If Vaasa hadn’t known better, she’d have thought Lord Karev was doing business with a pirate.
A pirate who knew something about Reid.
