Page 27 of Heart of a Witch
“It is a pleasure to meet you both.”
Her eyes reminded me of honey and cinnamon, like the tea my mother would make me when I was a kid. “What brings you to town?”
“Business,” she answered quickly. “My brother is opening an apothecary shop.”
I turned my attention to the crumbling black building. “I had no idea they were selling.”
“They’re not. We will be opening another, farther uptown. This is a terrible location for one.”
I leaned against the wall of the shop, my eyebrows flicking upward. “And why is that?”
“Because all the necessary shops are farther uptown, such as grocery shops and postal services. Medicine is a necessity.” She glanced at the tailor’s, then the dressmaker’s. “This is the more luxurious part of town. The shops are sparser and for those with more… eloquent taste.” She looked me up and down.
“Perhaps, but then one would think opening a business close to where the wealthy peruse would be most beneficial.”
“The rich can afford to have doctors come to their homes. Why would they go to an establishment like this?”
The corner of my lip tugged upward. “It seems you have an answer for everything, Mrs?”
“It’s Miss.”
I smiled. “Miss?”
“Weathermore.” She pouted her painted-red lips enough for me to notice them. Whether it was on purpose or not, it had the desired effect.
“Well, Miss Weathermore, welcome to Redforest. I hope you get a chance to visit my club sometime. It’s not far from here.”
“You mean The Black Horse?”
“You’ve visited?”
“Maybe.” A smirk played on her lips. I honestly forgot someone else was there for a minute. I glanced at her sister and cleared my throat.
“Perhaps you’d like to come tonight? Of course, twenty-one and over only, I’m afraid,” I said when I saw her sister’s grin.
Victoria paused, placing her finger against her chin. “I’ll have to see what I’m doing this evening.”
“I hope you come,” I said, knowing she would. I looked from her to Eva. “Good day, Miss Weathermore.” I looked back at Victoria, my voice turning sultry. “You too, Victoria.”
I felt her eyes gloss over me before she turned and left, her sister in tow. I stole a glance back at her and smiled to myself.
The sound of laughter from a passerby snapped me back to why I was there. Inhaling sharply, I slipped down the narrow alleyway between the apothecary and the draper’s. I supposed Victoria was right. It was a terrible location for the shop. No wonder they were always behind with their rent.
I shimmied down the narrowest part of the alley, grimacing when a rat squeaked and ran between my legs. Falling out the other side, I pinched my nose. A pungent, herbal smell mixed with sewage water and smoke filled the air. I eyed the garbage thrown out the back of the shop, then turned toward the open concrete area that stopped at a tall, grey-bricked wall.
Stepping carefully over bits of broken bottles, broken ceramics, crumpled paper, and the occasional rat skull, I slipped down another narrow alleyway connecting the apothecary to a hidden alcove where two benches stood. “Corbin.”
The two guys were still with him, both a couple of years older than him, whom he called friends.
“Br-brother?” His eyes rolled back.
“What did he take?” I stared at the one I recognized as Kapps. “Answer me!”
He passed me a brown bottle of opium. “Fuck’s sake, Corbin.” I rubbed my forehead. How was I going to get him out of there without being seen?
“He insisted,” the other said.
“Leave, now,” I barked. “If you whisper one word of this to anyone, I’ll kill you.”
