Page 17 of Bloody Business

Gal rolled her eyes.“Every woman likes nice clothes.Don't worry, we'll get you clothes that you can do real things in.You just need some things that you can be charming in.You know, when Uncle Artur needs to go out for business.”

“When you're ready,” Artur hastily assured her.“Take all the time you need to recover.That's the important thing.”He glanced at his pocket watch.“Speaking of which, the city doctor will come over and examine you.I want to make sure we're doing everything right, and Goblin City doctors are the best.”

Zac grunted, but held his peace.Maybe he didn't like doctors.

Artur sent him a knowing smile.

Zac abruptly stood.“Well, I'm off.You coming sis?”

Gal looked surprised and glanced at Artur.“Er...yes.It was nice meeting you.We'll talk soon.”

Julep decided she'd missed a signal.She'd have to pay more attention.

Artur noted her trepidation.He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, familiar book.He handed it to her.“Now's a good time to tell you that I found your notebooks in the cart.I read them, of course.”

At her wary look, he added, “Wouldn't you have?”

Probably, but she didn't have to like it.

She rubbed her thumb over the scuffed leather cover.She'd chronicled the creation of her special pain medicine and her final days with her father.That was personal, and she didn't appreciate him knowing about it.“So you read it.Now what?”

“Now I think that your relatives were even stupider than I realized.They had the creator of Spill It and sold her.Morons!Even if you didn't have a penny to your name, you would become wealthy again.They threw that away on a stupid marriage scheme.”

She looked at him suspiciously.All this flattery wasn't necessarily soothing.If he wanted her to work for him...

"I should add that we reverse engineered your formula three months ago.We use tangle root instead of leeky mushroom,” he said somewhat apologetically.

“Tangle root?”She was surprised.“That's bad for your liver.”

“Our customers weren't using it for pain relief.It was an alternative to interrogation.Not your intended use, but in a way it does prevent pain.”

She exhaled deeply.

She'd come to peace with the fact that people were using it in ways she had not intended.A man could use a log to heat his home or turn it into a club and murder his wife.The log was not the problem.

“Of course, now that we know what goes into the formula, I'm sure we can use your more benign ingredients.The cost is the same, I believe.”

She grunted.She didn't know how to feel about that.Mostly annoyed.She didn't like people copying her work.

“I will be setting aside the earnings from that formula and investing it for you.After all, it wouldn't exist without you and you've certainly earned it.”

Her head whipped up.She stared at him, shocked.“You're going topayme?”She'd assumed he was just going to profit like everyone else.

He was watching her closely.“I'm not going to force you to work for me.I already employ several brilliant herbalists.”

He smiled.“If you want to make herbal remedies, that's your business.I expect that your new life will take some adjustment.If your work makes you feel more comfortable, by all means, pursue it.

“Today, I feel it will be enough to meet the chef.He will want to know your favorite foods.”

He distracted her so skillfully, she didn't have time to dwell on what he said.It was probably just as well, because she had a lot to think about.

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