Rose stained the girl’s cheeks. I stuffed the rest of my bread in my mouth.
“What do you need today, Master Noble?”
“A few garments for Lady Winters. One for the gambit.”
Vivienne bobbed her head. “Shopgirl gear, and what else?”
“Magister’s assistant. Maybe something that shows a bit of skin around the collar. Midtown tavern dress. East End as well.”
“Will do. If the lady will allow?” She looked at me, all guileless eyes.
We left Noble in the kitchen.
Vivienne got to work as soon as we entered my room. So did I.
“You work with Master Noble often?”
She nodded and fastened a pin. “Is this your first time? I haven’t seen you before.”
“It is.”
Vivienne nodded easily again, as if there was nothing unusual about any of this. “Well, these garments should work for any later tasks, too, so long as you don’t gain weight that magic can’t hide. Not that you couldn’t stand to add a stone or two.” She looked at me critically and I bit my tongue. “But you are tall. More places for the weight to be distributed when you do,” she finished in a cheerful manner.
“Master Noble likes his victims with a little more flesh, I gather.”
A belligerent expression descended, like Rosaire’s, but then smoothed. “This is your first task. You’ll change your tune as soon as Master Noble has solved your problem. Everyone does, whether they want to or not.”
I narrowed my eyes. “That is not what I am taken to understand. I have been told there is some uncertainty about his intentions. That he is not to be crossed.”
“He isn’t.” The girl gave me a serious look. “You’d do well to heed what he tells you to do. He can be difficult, but he is infinitely fair. He will do right by you.”
Right by me. As if any other man had done so, I was supposed to trust completely that this one would. A man who had twenty different smiles, one to entice each woman—who exuded sex and desire and knew exactly how to use it to his advantage.
And yet, here I was.
“How many women have you dressed like this, Vivienne?”
“A fair few,” she said, a bit cagily.
Wonderful. A stream of women had probably trailed through his bedroom doors like an unending Solstice procession.
“And the men?” I assumed there were a few on his client list since I had been referred by one. “Do they also get costumed?”
“Oh, yes. My brother is an excellent tailor. Family business. Master Noble helped us a few years back. And he pays extremely well, of course.”
That answered two of my questions.
Vivienne talked more about the family business and Noble’s wonderful, magnificent, perfect presence as she pinned, sewed, and bound with a magical ease I envied. I watched her carefully, committing her movements to memory. It was getting on noon before she finished, but I had two perfectly serviceable servant’s garments, a shopgirl’s outfit, and two dresses that would provoke a society matron to fits. All either fit perfectly or were magically pinned in a crafty way to look tailored already. Smart girl, Vivienne.
I followed her back to the kitchen.
“All done?” Noble was still sitting at the table, papers spread around him, a small sea of ink-stained linen and parchment. Three enchanted quills furiously scribbled notes. I marveled at the simultaneous charms.
“Yes, Master Noble. I’ll be back later with the garments that need building or refitting.”
He nodded and returned to the documents. Vivienne seemed to think this perfectly normal as she waved to me and let herself out the door.
I waited a moment, but Noble didn’t look up.
