Page 34 of Beyond the Faerie Gate

“What colours?” the brownie asks, eyeing me critically. “I’ve got some indigo leathers in if you’re looking to spend.”

“Something plain.” Jaro’s lips twist, as if he hates saying the words. “Green, grey, or brown, if you’ve got them.”

“Of course.” The brownie hops down from her stool and starts pulling out huge rolls of leather from the shelves behind her. “Stand still, miss. I need to measure.”

Something wraps around my thigh, making me jump. Jaro steadies me with a hand on my waist as a length of tape slithers around my body, pausing at random points.

“Any enchantments?” the brownie asks, laying out a soft, sage green roll of a linen-type fabric, followed by a deeper, chestnut brown leather one. She heads back to the wall and pulls out black leather next, followed by a softer grey that looks almost like wool, but is much finer.

Titania cocks her head to one side, then disappears into thin air without warning.

“Something to prevent saddle sore. We’ll be riding,” Jaro explains. “And if you’ve anything you can sew into the cape that will make her uninteresting, that won’t go amiss either.”

The brownie’s eyes snap up, focusing on me properly for the first time. Jaro moves in front of me, commanding her attention once more. “You’ll be compensated handsomely for your discretion.”

“Unusual for a high fae not to want to stand out,” she mutters, almost to herself. “Unusual for a high fae to want to blend in just when Danu’s blessing has returned to the Court…”

“Your silence can be paid for, or it can be ensured in other ways.” Drystan’s voice is arctic as he appears behind me.

He moves so quietly that I never even heard the doorbell ring.

The brownie squeaks, dropping into a bow. “Forgive me. I’ll not speak a word. I swear on the Goddess.”

Her fingers snap together and the reams of fabric behind her begin unrolling and cutting themselves out with a pair of bright silver scissors.

“If you’ll kindly come this way, mi—my lady.” She curtsies. “I’ve got a screen for customers.” She flicks her head up. “I assume you’ll be wearing them out?”

It takes everything I have not to respond. Instead, I turn back to Jaro, faking a look of incomprehension.

“She will,” Drystan confirms.

“Go with her,” Jaro mutters at the same time, using English and giving me a gentle shove.

The brownie’s ears twitch, but she says nothing. She leads me towards the wooden screen in the back corner, then retreats back to her fabrics. As soon as I’m behind it, Titania reappears, lurking behind the panels with me.

“The three of you are too obvious,” she hisses as I start stripping. “She suspects who you are. She has from the second Drystan entered the shop.”

I’ve barely been naked for two seconds when pieces of lace start zooming around the screen and attaching themselves to my body. When the needle and thread appear and begin sewing the fabric around me, I startle. But the needle never pricks my skin as it glides through the fabric.

The brownie starts with undergarments. Tiny scraps of black silk caress my skin, hugging my breasts and butt as the needle sews thin ribbons and lace into place around them. Even the short stockings are patterned with tiny flowers.

My gut clenches in dismay as I realise how expensive this will be for Jaro. I’ve never had such fine clothes, and these aren’t even meant to be seen.

“You’ll thank her for those later.” Titania sighs wistfully. “When I was your age, I had a whole collection. Five drawers filled with lace… Not that any of my favourites stayed on me for long. I was shocked when I realised mortals in your old realm didn’t even have proper breast support yet.”

In the mirror behind me, I catch sight of my breasts, and my face turns tomato red as I do my best to ignore what she’s saying.

I’m spared more lectures on the wonders of fae undergarments as a large piece of white linen falls over my head. In seconds, the floating needle has transformed it into a vest with decorative silver leaves stitched on the neck. Next comes a flowing sage-green shirt and a matching waistcoat. All three have slits in the back for my wings, and the needle diligently avoids the delicate membranes at my back as it works.

Beyond the screen, Jaro and the brownie are talking quietly. He’s feeding her a twisted version of my story, evading her questions by giving her vague, misleading responses. All without ever lying to her directly.

I’m impressed by the skill it takes, but I’m distracted from my eavesdropping when the brown leather zooms in next and wraps around my legs. The trousers the brownie creates are butter-soft and lined with some kind of fleece. They lace closed at the front and cling to my every contour until I’m not sure if this is more scandalous than my discarded dress.

Tall black leather boots come next, lacing their way up my calves and stopping just below my knee. I lift one foot, and then the other, watching as sturdy soles are sewn to the bottom. Before the bows are tied at the top, a small bronze disk is threaded onto the laces of each boot and tucked in.

“Those are the charms,” Titania explains, still hovering beside me. “Enchanted by goblins, probably. They like metal.”

Finally, the soft grey wool wraps around me, forming a long coat with a deep hood that must have been Jaro’s idea. Extra needles appear from nowhere, whirring as they stitch embroidery on the shoulders, around the sleeves and at the hem as silver ribbons lace the coat closed beneath my bust. Just as with my boots, a tiny bronze disk is threaded onto the ribbon, and I fiddle with it in confusion until the needle drops to the ground, discarded.

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