Inside, Elizabeth made a show of gathering armfuls of books, asking the shopkeeper endless questions about what books and authors he carried. After what must’ve been thirty minutes of watching her peer at every single spine, Maud began tapping her foot impatiently. From the corner of her eye, Elizabeth saw Maud exchange an impatient glance with her sister.
“Oh, sorry, you must be bored,” Elizabeth said, giving them a sheepish smile.
“Not at all, miss,” Fiza said, covering a yawn with her hand.
“Ooh! I didn’t see these,” Elizabeth exclaimed, crouching at the lowest shelf. “Look at that, an encyclopedia of the different types of pine trees in Arboras. That soundsfascinating.”
Maud shot her sister a pleading expression.
“You can go if you like,” Elizabeth murmured, not looking up from her book. “I’ll probably be a while. I think I’m safe here.”
The two demons exchanged a glance.
Elizabeth propped open a book and began to read, feigning interest. “I’d love to make sure I have enough books to keep my interest for the next few weeks. I’ve only found two so far, I’d like to find at least six.”
Fiza looked concerned, but Maud intercepted, already heading for the door. “Right. Two hours. We will meet you back here.” Fiza chewed her lip and darted between them, and Maud rolled her eyes. “It’s abookstore. Every other customer is old and frail-looking. The girl is not in any danger.”
Elizabeth made sure to keep her nose buried in her book for a few extra minutes until the two demons had long passed out of sight.
Reading, not dangerous? She snorted. A well-read woman was the most dangerous creature there was. An independent thinker with well-formed opinions was much more difficult to control.
Priding herself on her own cunning, Elizabeth quickly made her purchases and slipped out into the city.
Elizabeth walked along the city’s main streets, hunting for a particular type of shop.
She spotted a group of commoners with expensive-looking cloaks and followed them, hoping they would lead her into the wealthier part of the city.
Perhaps Caspian wouldn’t have cared if he knew she was trying to sell her belongings. However, he seemed to crave control and fear in his servants and enjoy the idea of having her in his power. His expression of victory as she had signed the contract flashed in her mind, and she had a feeling it was best to keep her attempts at selling her possessions a secret.
She kept her hood up, walking briskly. At any moment, she could run into Fiza or Maud, and her excursion would be over.
Finding a shop with jewels and necklaces displayed in the window, she took a deep breath and thought of her mother haggling briskly with merchants. She was naturally quiet and soft spoken, but that girl would not do here. Her mother had firmly told her that a woman trying to bargain had to be curt and firm, or she wouldn’t be dealt with fairly. So, she tried to embody her mother and went into the jewelry store, tapping long, manicured fingers on the display case, waiting.
“Hello! Hello and welcome!” crowed a portly man from behind the counter, displaying a necklace on the counter for her to admire. “Care to have a look?”
“Hello.” Elizabeth gave him a winning smile and lifted her sleeve to showcase a heavily jewelled bracelet. “I have several pieces like this I would love to sell. Do you know where in Veridas I could do that?” She added in a gentler voice, “I’m new here. Buying and selling jewellery is my hobby.”
The jeweller’s eyes sharpened and settled on her wrist. “May I?”
She held out her wrist to showcase the pink sparkling gems hanging off the gold chain. “You can harvest the gems and melt down the gold, if you like. Or sell them as is.” She spoke as if the bracelet with pink gems was a bit of junk, a dress worn once and discarded, and not one of her favourites that she had worn for years.
“Reason for selling?” His question was directed at her wrist, his gaze transfixed by the sparkling gems.
“I’m about to be married. I don’t need them anymore,” she said offhandedly. The lies fell smoothly from her tongue. “I have riches enough where I’m going and would like to have more of my own gold.”
He nodded and examined the bracelet, lost in thought. After a moment, he brought out a small tool, tapped the surface, and whistled. As he should. The bracelet was made of extremely rare pink sapphires.
“How much do you think this would sell for?”
Flustered, the portly jeweller examined the jewelry with a critical eye. “Twenty gold nobles.”
“It cost over eighty gold nobles and was a gift to me from my father,” she replied, smiling brightly.
“Twenty is fair. It is used,” the jeweller countered, offering her an oily smile. “Anything over fifty is far too much for a bracelet. I fear your father was robbed.”
“Oh. I had really thought these would fetch more. I’ll have to ask another jeweller to make sure that’s all it’s worth.” She turned to leave.
He turned a bit green. “Fifty.”
