4 A curious case of fine lace

Charlotte was sitting by the window on a stool, her faint coughing could be heard from the narrow staircase.

When she entered, Eva saw that Charlotte's complexion was a little better, but that hollow look in her eyes never changed.

Eva came in and told Charlotte about her chance encounter with Tess in the alley, and how she received the lace as a thank you. Eva handed the lace square to Charlotte whose eyes widened for a moment at seeing the delicate piece.

"It's embroidered with lilies and mint leaves, so it'll be good for a debutante veil, or even a bonnet." Charlotte said as she gently examined it between her slender fingers. When she needed to cough she turned her head away to protect the lace.

Eva remembered from the 'The Divinity of Flowers' that mint represented virtue and lilies were symbolic for femininity and modesty. Since these were the values a woman would strive to embody, debutante outfits were often riddled with embroidery of mint and lilies. However this piece's design set it apart from the other lace that she had seen. The work was scarily intricate and the lace had a distinct shimmering quality to it.

"Where should we sell it?" Eva inquired, brimming with anticipation.

"You should try the dressmakers on Grundle Street, the shop with yellow curtains," Charlotte folded the lace into a smaller square and reluctantly handed it back to Eva. "They won't give you too low a price and they won't ask questions like others. They'll probably want to sell it for 10 marks, but they'll only buy it from you for less than half price since it's secondhand."

Eva's eyes bulged, "10 marks!"

Charlotte glared at her annoyed, "You didn't pay attention during our lessons at all..."

Seeing as Charlotte wasn't making a move to get up, Eva asked, "Aren't you coming?"

Charlotte shook her head, frowning. "Selling lace to a dressmaker..." Her tone was full of disdain.

It had been over six months since the sisters had been forced out of their home and onto the streets. Perhaps because Eva never fit into that house in the first place, she managed to adapt quickly to the cruel reality of their situation. Charlotte, however, with all her pride never accepted her drop in status. Although she was sick and had a legitimate reason for not working, it was obvious to Eva that even if Charlotte was in good health, she wouldn't be able to bring herself to work for a living.

Eva nodded, "Alright."

"When I get back it'll be time for me to start work at the pub. We should probably go to the doctor tomorrow then."

"Mhmn," Charlotte was back to staring out the window. Eva left quietly.

Grundle Street was a few roads away from the main road, on a relatively quiet street of shops. The glass windows of the storefront were draped with cheerful yellow curtains, the interior was expectedly luxurious. From the dresses on the mannequin, it was clear this place specialized in ballgowns.

"How may I help you?" The man sitting behind the counter was short and stout. He had a full head of neatly combed white hair with a monocle sitting in front of his right eye. He was impeccably dressed in a dark red velvet breasted coat over his dark grey suit. His serious expression made Eva straighten up.

"Hello sir, I'd like to sell this lace." Eva presented the neatly folded lace square to him.

His beady eyes honed in on the delicate piece, "Hmm, very nice." He leaned in close, holding up his monocle to better examine its structure. "I happen to have a debutante gown in need of lace, I'll give you 4 silver marks for it."

Eva nodded, this was within Charlotte's expectations, so she was content with the deal.

The store owner had his assistant take the lace to their workshop, while he opened his purse and produced four shiny silver coins, imprinted with the insignia of the coat of arms of the royal family. Eva immediately secured the coins in her shirt pocket and thanked the shopkeeper.

"If you get your hands on something similar again, come back and sell it to me." The shopkeeper said.

Eva nodded even though she knew the odds of obtaining such valuable lace again was next to nothing. With the weight of silver marks in her breast pocket, Eva raced back home. She could still complete the rest of her plans if she raced back to the main road now.

"Mr Tanthy," The shop assistant walked back to his boss with the lace splayed out over his gloved hands.

"This lace... That person told us to contact him if someone showed up to sell it..."

Mr Tanthy looked solemnly at the lace square, "Yes, go and notify him."

*****

Eva's job at the pub was tiring work. Cleaning up after customers, restocking the cupboards and dodging dodging rowdy patrons were all in a night's work. One perk of the job was listening to the people talk.  It was through them that she remained up to date about the current events of the empire.

"Did you hear about Old Mack?" A sailor who frequented the pub asked with a mouth full of boiled potatoes and fish.

His friend shook his head. "What happened to that old bastard?"

The sailor chuckled, "His boy went diving by the rocks and brought back some oysters for dinner. When Old Mack went to eat the slimy things he near choked to death on them. Apparently his boy fished up a batch of oysters with pearls inside."

"Pearls?" His friends' eyes lit up.

"Yes! Pearls, five of them," Their eyes were alight with astonishment that quickly turned into envy.

"One of the pearls was big and round, good enough to be worn by the queen. Guess how much they sold it for!"

The story of overnight wealth was so captivating to the hardworking men who spent their days labouring under the hot sun that they put down their mugs, keenly listening.

"Five gold marks!"

Of the people who were eavesdropping nearby, some of them spat out their beer, others chocked on their potatoes. Even Eva paused for a moment before she got back to wiping the windows. Most of the men in here had never even seen a gold mark, worth one hundred silver marks, with their jobs as fishermen, they most likely never would.

"When will the angels bless me with such luck," A drunken man bellowed as he stood up, thrusting his mug into the air, spilling its contents onto the floor.

Eva sighed, already walking back to featch the mop.

"When I was a boy I went to the rocks and brought back armsfull of oysters everyday! But never found a single pearl!"

The pub erupted into disgruntled agreement. They dreamt of the glory of finding pearls all their lives, but a brat who couldn't even grow a beard yet had found multiple and made a fortune! Fate was a cruel mistress.

It was a particularly lively night, and the noise would not quieten until early morning. Eva took the opportunity to take out the trash. In the garbage bags placed in the back alley of the pub, Eva carefully sifted through the mess of entrails and leftovers until she found slimy discoloured sacks. The fried squid was a favourite on the pub menu, so there were lots of squid entrails in the garbage, in partifuclar the intact squid ink sacks -- just the resource she needed to dye flower petals.

Eva had already bought two bunches of flowers after selling tha lace on Grundle street. She would attempt to dye the flowers when she got back.

Hollers from inside the pub let her know that her cleaning services were needed. She quickly but carefully placed the squid entrails to one side of the trash heap where she would be able to retrieve them with ease later. Then she dashed back into the pub.