Collateral

"So you're here on business?" the old woman asked Jenna, placing down the tiny teacup she held close to her lips.

Jenna was still mesmerized by the room she'd entered. The ground itself felt like a warm bed, the fluffiness and tingling feeling were nothing compared to the cold marbles Jenna was used to.

Not that Jenna had never seen a rug, she had, but it was always a tiny piece under a table and the texture of the one on her feet was just a kiss of luxury around the mansion. The plush chair she sat on was lulling her to sleep.

"Lady Jenna?" the old woman called her attention.

Jenna nodded, breaking her eyes from the fountain gushing from a naked woman inside a room.

"Yes, Madam," Jenna replied, holding her hand to her chest because she wanted to look as elegant as the ladies in the room.

"For business or pleasure... or something else?" the woman repeated.

Jenna cleared her throat. "Well, I—"

"Have tea, it's the best around here," she offered, pointing at the jug. "Keemun, they call it."

Jenna grabbed the cup, blowing off the steam before taking a sip. Smacking her tongue, the burst of fruity flavor and sweetness hit Jenna's taste buds and she inhaled.

"Same reaction, you like it, don't you?" the woman asked with a smile.

Jenna couldn't deny it, so she nodded. "It's fruity and... I can't quite say—"

"Smoky," the woman winked, taking a sip from her own. Then gestured for Jenna to continue.

Jenna snapped her fingers when she realized the woman was asking her to state her visit's intent.

"Ah... well um. I actually came to ask about the Hendrick family."

A frown crossed the woman's face but was quickly replaced with a bare expression. "Hendrick?" she repeated after Jenna.

"Yes... well you see, I found this young man and he lost his memory. So I'm trying to find his family," Jenna continued, holding her teacup with two hands.

"This young man you speak of," the old woman began, picking up her teacup and this time with a napkin. "Why do you seek out his family?"

Jenna paused, trying to understand the question. "Well... they might be looking for him, right? What if his loved ones are looking for him?"

"Loved ones," the woman chuckled dryly, dabbing the napkin she picked on her lips. "Not a lot of persons have that in their lives. And what if the man you speak of has none?"

Perplexed by the woman's words, Jenna pressed her lips together. Her eyes darted from the table to her feet. She didn't consider this at all, the man not having a family. Regardless, she needed to send him away as her heart was being swayed.

"Except there's more you're not telling me." The woman smiled, snapping her fingers. A gesture that alerted one of the girl servants in the room.

"Bring the list for me," she ordered, then returned her attention to Jenna.

"If this man isn't trouble and has no loved ones waiting for him, will you be willing to keep him? If not, leave him here... a lot of persons come to this place from different kingdoms. I'm sure he didn't fall from the sky, he's supposed to have a family."

The idea didn't seem bad, and also it would give Jenna the time for introspection she needed to understand her feelings.

"But just know staying here isn't for free. Everyone has to earn their keep," the woman revealed with a half-smile. "I'll have to assess him to know what he's good at, and I'll place him under my custody."

The idea itself didn't sit well with Jenna. She knew the allure Rhane had on women, and in a place like this, he would make the brothel really famous. In hindsight, it was good for business, but Jenna had her stupid conscience that would taunt her until the day she dies.

"Give me some time to think about it," Jenna replied after giving it a thought.

"You're welcome to stay under my protection then," the older woman gestured with a nod of approval. When she saw the girl she had sent to bring something returning with a large parchment, she nodded for her to come closer.

Jenna, on the other side, touched her pocket, taking out a hairpin. She placed it on the table. "I wanted to know if you have any idea about a kingdom that has this crest."

It was the hairpin Jenna found on her hair since after the maidens' festival. No man had come to claim her, and also the hairpin itself was something that would only come from a royal family. The quality, attention and intricate design used in making it. Jenna's merchant instinct kicked in and she became too curious.

The woman raised the hairpin from the table, moving it towards the place the sun shone the most.

"Where did you get this?" the woman asked, rubbing her fingers around the object. She turned it around then brought it closer to her face.

"I found it on my hair one morning and I don't know how it got there." Jenna had only finished talking when she realized her words didn't make sense.

"I'm sorry, it's confusing but..."

The woman laughed, this time more genuinely than the few times she gave a half-smile.

"No need, I've met interesting people like you, Jenna." Her tone became even more casual.

"Few... rare even. People whose lives have so many interesting events." Her laughter died down, and she dropped the hairpin back.

"If you want me to look into it, I can. I have a little idea but can't say for sure since I don't work on assumptions but real facts."

Jenna's gaze stilled on the hairpin, her curiosity getting the best of her. "Then keep it, I'll come back for it when you're sure."

"Very well then," the woman picked up the hairpin and also the parchment the girl had brought earlier.

"Are you still with Gerald?" the woman scrolled through the names on the list.

Surprised that the woman knew her former husband, Jenna shook her head. "Um... no."

"Hm," the woman hummed. "That might be a little troublesome...." she stopped her finger on a name and sighed.

Jenna widened her eyes, trying to look closer at the parchment the woman was looking at with deep interest. "Did he cause any trouble?"

"You know the bastard too well," the woman chuckled, then pointed at Jenna's name on the list.

"He's owing his stepbrother and your name is written here as a collateral."

Jenna pushed her chair back and stood up. "W-what? Why? What stepbrother?"

The woman's frown deepened. "You didn't know? Your husband's father married—"

"I know! But Gerald doesn't talk about them. He said they weren't even close."

The woman smiled, the same half-smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Well, to think he borrowed not just money but lands too. Means they're close."

"But... why... and how—" Jenna rubbed her forehead where a headache was rising. She'd thought she escaped her wild animal of a husband long ago. "How do you know that? Why that list?"

The woman sucked her teeth. "Well, the stepbrother is my Master. The owner of Scourge."