Page 42 of Courting the Tiger King

Despite the fact that she’d been expecting it, the knock at the door to her chambers still made Neah tense.

Zennon and Sonnet had come back to Neah’s rooms in the morning at her request, both looking much more healthy than when Neah had seen them last night. Colour had returned to their cheeks and Zennon seemed to have nearly her normal amount of energy, but she didn’t protest when Neah glared at her sister to remain seated and instead answered the door herself.

The woman waiting on the other side was full-figured with creamy white skin and red hair that gleamed brightly in the early morning light. She’d come highly recommended, despite that Neah had never really heard of her before, and Neah stepped back to invite her and her three assistants into the parlour.

“Who is it?” Zennon, apparently done with Neah’s heightened caution, strolled around the corner with a swish of her skirts before halting, eyes widening. “What’s all this?” she said, pulling her eyes away from the woman at Neah’s side.

“This is Romi. She’s a dressmaker.”

The woman smiled, shrewd blue eyes running over Zennon’s form with a keen eye, no doubt already conjuring up designs. “Just the two of you?”

“Actually,” Neah said, glancing at Sonnet who had approached with something like curiosity and resignation on her face. “Three. If that’s okay?”

“Of course!”

Neah winced at the perky tone but the surprise on Sonnet’s face made up for it.

“For me, too?” she murmured as Neah led Romi and the assistants into the adjacent bed chamber. “Are you sure? I don’t have much in the way of money?—”

“Sonnet.” Neah rolled her eyes. “Shut up.” The witch still looked unsure and Neah sighed. “It’s a gift. Okay?”

The soft smile that hesitantly bloomed made Neah’s heart clench. “Okay,” Sonnet said, the words quiet.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Romi said as she helped a barely-clothed Neah up and onto a box to take her measurements. “Where did you hear about me?”

Neah shrugged and received a stink-eye for moving. “Your name was floated about at a few parties and…” She hesitated before clearing her throat and continuing, “My mother.”

Romi leaned back, her cornflower blue eyes narrowing before they widened. “That’s why you look so familiar. You’re Winny’s daughter. You know, she’s the one who encouraged me to leave my job to design.”

Neah nodded. “I know.” In truth, she’d been a little hesitant about Romi’s inexperience. While it was true she’d heard Romi’s name at the gatherings the ladies frequently held, it had mostly been with a tone of derision for a keeper trying to rise above their station. But when she’d answered the door and seen the, clearly custom, dress Romi was wearing, her worries had dissipated. She had been right to trust her mother, who’d got toknow many of the serving girls while she’d spent some time in their quarters.

Romi’s dress was tailored beautifully, even if the all-over floral print wasn’t to Neah’s taste, with a sage-green corset falling over the wide skirt and off-the shoulder straps that perfectly accentuated the woman’s curves. The real selling point had been when Romi had taken a tape measure out of the side of the dress and Neah had realised it hadpockets. The possibility for hidden weapons alone was enough to excite her.

Neah stepped down from the box after Romi made her notes and Zennon stepped up clad in her thin nightdress. She looked uncomfortable, which was surprising given how many times Zennon’s attendants had seen her in states of undress for measurements and then like. What was different now? Neah’s brow furrowed as she watched Zennon swallow hard when Romi drew closer to measure around her bust.

“You’re an idiot,” Sonnet muttered and Neah snorted, glad the witch had recovered from her bout of sentimental mushiness. “I can see you watching them like you’re faced with a particularly difficult puzzle. When in reality, it’s very simple.”

Neah glanced at Sonnet and huffed a breath at the smirk on her face. She looked back to Zennon who was doing her best to avoid eye contact with Romi, something that appeared to be irritating the seamstress.

“Lady,” the other woman said, none so gently despite the respectful term, “if you object to my presence so strongly, I can leave.”

Zennon’s head jerked toward Romi, her eyes flying wide. “No! That is, not at all. I just—” Her cheeks pinked and Neah chuckled as it all fell into place in her mind. “I, ah, can see down your corset and, well, I just–I mean, I wanted to?—”

“Is it my turn now?” Sonnet asked, apparently taking mercy on Zennon who was now quite red in the face whileRomi watched with dawning realisation and more than a little smugness. Zennon stepped down from the box with enough haste that her feet tangled in her long nightdress and Romi caught her, steadying her by the shoulders, and Zennon turned impossibly redder.

Romi took Sonnet’s measurements without comment but the small smile on her face made Neah smirk. Zennon had excused herself to the bathroom and emerged looking nearly normal again, elbowing Neah in the side when she laughed under her breath.

The seamstress helped Sonnet down and then began to sort through the reams of fabric she’d brought with her, muttering to herself about complimentary colours and silhouettes.

“Are you sure you’ll have time to get these done before tonight?” Sonnet had wandered closer and fingered a bolt of shimmery silver fabric with interest.

“I mean, it’s not my preferred timeline,” Romi said dryly. “But we’ll get it done,” she added, nodding to her assistants. “You’ll have them back by tonight.”

“That’s it? We don’t get to see the designs?”

Romi smirked and reached out to pat Sonnet’s hand. “That’s not how I work, sweetie. Especially on this kind of timeline.”

Neah ignored Sonnet’s needling and instead strode to the locked chest at the end of her bed, opening it easily and pulling a purple velvet bag of coin out. She handed it to Romi who frowned.

---