5 Charlotte’s Consultation

Charlotte was thoroughly disgusted by the sack of squid innards that Eva brought home, so Eva had to do the work alone. After giving two marks to Charlotte for her treatment and other 'necessities' that she insisted on. Eva was left with 2 marks of her own.

Eva had purchased five bunches of white roses from Granny May for 3 shills each after she sold the lace on Grundle street, leaving her with 75 shills and 1 mark.

The work of carefully splitting open the thumb-sized ink sacks and dripping it's contents into a barrel took two long hours since she didn't have a sharp knife. By the end of which, Eva's fingers were stained black and squid entrails were splattered on her clothing.

From the jug sized amount of squid ink, Eva poured half of it out into a different barrel and diluted it with just enough water so that the liquid retained it's pitch black colour. Eva also dragged over a third barrel which she filled with plain water.

As Mrs Quim's pigeons cooed outside, Eva took the first bunch of roses and gently dunked the flower heads into the pure squid ink mixture. She held the petals in the ink for a few minutes before easing them out and letting the excess ink drip back into the barrel. Then she dunked the flower heads into the pure water to wash off the excess ink. Finally she placed the flower stems into the barrel with the inky water where she would leave the bunch for a few hours, allowing the stems to soak up the stained water and further dye the petals.

She repeated the process with the other four bunches and looked in satisfaction at what she had done. Although the process wasn't complete, and the light outside was still dim, the petals were already sufficiently black.

Eva walked back down the stairs to the communal well to draw more water which she used to wash off the squid ink and the fishy smell from her body. Her fingers were definitely still a bit stained, but unless someone was paying close attention they wouldn't notice. Exhausted, mentally and physically, Eva crawled into bed.

She was greeted by Charlotte's foot poking into her back. "You reek, go sleep in the corner." Charlotte ruthlessly kicked her off the bed.

She landed on the hard floor with a thud but she didn't even have the energy to argue with her sister, so she pulled one of the blankets off the bed and curled into a ball in the corner of the room, where a pillow she used on occasions where Charlotte was being moody was already waiting. With the pillow under her head and the thin blanket covering her body, she quickly fell asleep.

In the next moment she was back in the library.

Miraculously her tiredness disappeared as well. She glanced around the desolate library, suddenly there was a warm atmosphere to the place. It no longer felt so frightful. She rushed to the desk with the open book and read the new lines.

"Feeling far more comfortable than her first two trips, Eva returned to The Archive for the third time."

It was right, she was getting the hang of this place.

Eva quickly made her way to the desk with the wall of clocks behind it, she pressed the bell and waited eagerly for the owl. After a while the majestic owl swooped over her head and landed on the top of the chair behind the desk neatly. It stared at Eva blankly, waiting for her request.

She thought about what to ask it for a moment and then said, "Take me to the Earth books about pearls."

She had been inspired by what she heard from the fisherman at the pub. A single pearl was worth five gold marks. Of course pearls were extremely rare, even more so than jewels and precious cores, after all, most of the fisherman had been working for decades and never came across one. However, Eva had a hunch that Katherine's world that was so technologically advanced would definitely have a better way to find pearls.

She held this hope in her heart as she chased after the owl.

She was stunned to find that there was a shelf filled with books about not only finding pearls, but growing them. Even though Katherine's world didn't have magic, Earth was simply incredible.

She greedily flipped through the pages, filling her head with as much knowledge about pearl cultivation as possible. She memorised the layout of saltwater and freshwater oysters and mussels, particularly the nucleus and the mantle where the pearls were created. Even more miraculous was that there was a way to extract the pearls without killing the oysters or mussels. It meant, if she got the process right she could use the same oysters or mussels to grow as many pearls as she liked.

Eva pinched herself, she needed to stay realistic. According the books she read, growing pearls was time intensive. It would take at least six months, but most likely one to six years to grow pearls. And that was only if she managed to get it right on the first try.

Knowing that she didn't have much time left because Charlotte would soon wake Eva up to find a doctor, Eva picked up all the books she read. After requesting the owl lead her back to the desks, she carried the precious pearl cultivation books and placed them next to the book. Hopefully they would still be here when she returned to The Archive.

In her remaining time in The Archive, Eva hurriedly memorised the shapes of the tools and other materials she would need to begin growing pearls.

"Eva, wake up," Charlotte nudged her awake as she was re-reading the specifics of nucleus implantation.

Eva stilled as she scanned over her sister, whose appearance had drastically changed.

Her skin looked much more nourished, her hair had been brushed and was styled into a pretty updo. Charlotte was wearing a light green linen dress with a high collar and puffy white sleeves, paired with a knitted shawl, and dainty bead earrings. Eva's heart ached realising that the money she gave Charlotte went into buying new clothes.

"Charlotte..." Eva began, even though it would make her sister angry she had to say something.

Her sister shot her a fierce look, "Don't start with me."

Charlotte straightened her collar and tucked a loose blonde curl behind her ear as she examined herself in the dusty glass of the window, "If I don't look presentable, no doctor will want to treat me."

Eva felt those words were insincere but stayed quiet. Since her sister was so sick, giving in to her sometimes couldn't be bad.

Eva sighed internally and got up from her makeshift bed in the corner. She tried not to notice the pair of cream-coloured heeled slippers on Charlotte's feet as she made her way to the closet to get dressed. They were just going to find a doctor, so there was no use in pretending to be a boy today. Eva slipped on her dowdy dress, apron, and worn leather shoes before leaving with Charlotte.

Now that Charlotte had tidied herself up, her beauty stood out on the streets like a diamond in a field of coals. Where she walked, men and women would turn their heads. One unfortunate boy walked straight into a barrel of fish while ogling Charlotte. As they walked past him, a shouting match with the fisherman whose barrel it was ensued.

As they reached the edge of Saltspindle, Charlotte lead them down a Cosy Street which was mainly filled with apartments and only one or two shops. In front of a varnished wooden door halfway down the street there was a painted wooden sign that read:

• Doctor Miles Merwood •

Consultation fee 1 Mark

~ First prescription included

Follow up consultation fee 15 shills

~ Prescription not included

"He's a young doctor who recently completed his apprenticeship with an imperial college educated mentor," Charlotte said proudly as she retrieved a small pot of red lip wax from her shawl pocket.

She sparingly spread some of the ointment onto her lips, making them pink and pouty.

Eva couldn't hold back her frustration any longer, "And how much did that cost?" She pointed at the offensive pot of makeup.

Charlotte tucked the lip wax back into her shawl pocket and eyed Eva coldly, "It's such a small amount... don't be petty, little sister."

Eva was only called little sister when Charlotte was angry with her, but Eva didn't care. All the new clothes and makeup Charlotte bought while Eva was asleep definitely amounted to 1 mark. Meaning that Charlotte only had 1 mark left for the doctor. After which, she would have no money left.

The 2 marks were gone just like that... Eva felt a headache coming on.

"And if anyone asks, you're my servant," Charlotte added as she walked up to the door with her chin held high.

Before Eva could protest, Charlotte had pushed through the door and went inside. Eva followed behind thoroughly annoyed.

The door led to an open courtyard with lush green moss growing in between the pale stone paving. Overhead hung a canopy made of strips of sheer yellow fabric that drenched the courtyard in a warm light.

Writing a prescription for an elderly man who was severely hunched over, on the other side of the table, the young doctor was acutely focused on his patient. He had thick neat eyebrows and a full head of neatly combed chestnut hair. He was tall and handsome, wearing the long dark purple vest that doctor's traditionally wore.

At the entrance of the courtyard an old steward stood with a lacquered box. As Charlotte approached he opened the lid, "Your consultation fee, Madam."

Charlotte elegantly placed a silver mark into the box, and then wrapped her hand in a white handkerchief that Eva had never seen before. She quietened her displeasure, but couldn't help but grit her teeth. Just how many things did Charlotte buy!

The act of wrapping her hand in a white handkerchief was an old tradition from the time of Queen Delphine when it was considered unbecoming of a woman to personally handle money. If she had no choice but to, in a show to preserve her modesty, a well cultured woman would wrap her hand in a pure white handkerchief. It was firstly to conceal the hand that betrayed the modesty of the woman. Secondly, the idea of a pure white handkerchief was meant to symbolise purity and virtue.

Eva remembered this lesson from her etiquette training because she thought it was particularly absurd.

Although the custom was still alive in a few conservative houses, among commoners this rule had never existed because lowly people had to work for a living. As a merchant family, it made even less sense... However Charlotte always had the ambition to marry into nobility, hence she was devoted to studying all such ridiculous practices.

"Remember to take long walks in the evening, and have your wife massage your lower back with this oil," Mr Merwood handed the elderly man a small pot of amber coloured oil. "Three drops at a time will last you two months."

The old man shakily gave the young doctor a handshake, "Thank you, Doctor."

He hobbled his way out of the courtyard while tipping his head in greeting to Charlotte and Eva.

"Doctor, you have a new patient." The stern-looking steward said.

The doctor looked up as Charlotte walked to his desk. That wide-eyed, stiffened shoulders, bated breath reaction that Charlotte elicited from men repeated itself on the young doctor. However, unlike the others who blatantly ogled her, Dr Merwood caught himself and straightened up.

"Please take a seat, Madam," he said in a low voice, gesturing to the cushioned chair in front of the desk.