The banging on the door to the tavern caused them to spring apart. Violet let out a small cry of surprise.
“Vi! It’s Peggy. Open up.”
Violet took a breath, looked at King, and then smoothed her hair. He could have told her that all the hair smoothing in the world wouldn’t change the color in her cheeks or the swollen look of her lips.
“I’ll open it,” he said, and strode across the room before she could argue. He lifted the bar and cracked the door. The maid looked at him in surprise but pushed her way inside quickly enough. The air outside was cool and damp, and beyond the doorway, a thick fog lay low to the ground. It was the sort of day a witch might roam the world, and King wished he didn’t believe in witches.
“Close the door, then, my lord,” Peggy said. “We don’t want to let the chill inside.”
King closed the door and barred it, feeling an icy finger skittering down his back.
“What do we have to break our fast?” Peggy asked, looking about.
King heard Violet sigh. “I haven’t any food or any coin to buy it. Everything I have, I need to give to Ferryman when he comes to collect the taxes. I can’t even pay you, Peggy. You should go home—”
“I’ll sell a coat,” King said. He’d decided last night that was the best course of action. He might have preferred to sell a waistcoat or a pair of breeches, but the coat would bring in the most coin.
“But you love your clothing,” she said.
“I love staying alive even more. Just point me to the nearest pawnbroker, and I’ll be on my way.”
“Oh, no.” Violet shook her head. “If you really want to do this”—she waited until he nodded—“youcannot go to the pawnbroker. We’ll send Joshua. He is the best negotiator.”
King put his hands on his hips. “I can negotiate.”
Violet put her hands on her hips, mirroring him. “And how much is one of your coats worth?”
He named what he paid for it, and Violet’s jaw dropped. Peggy whistled. “Holy Mother of God, but that’s a fortune.” Violet shook her head. “But you won’t get that from the pawnbroker.”
“I’ll allow a few pounds for wear,” he said, “but to take less would be an insult.”
Violet and Peggy exchanged a look. “That’s precisely why you can’t go,” Violet said. “Joshua knows what the brokers will pay and where to get the best deals. Plus, he’s not emotionally involved.”
“I’m not emotionally involved. It’s a coat.”
“I see. Then you won’t be upset at the price Joshua is likely to get?”
“What’s that?” She named a number so low that King uttered a curse. “That’s practically theft!”
“Not in Seven Dials. Here that’s a small fortune.”
“I’ll not sell for pennies.”
“You don’t have to sell at all,” Violet said. “We’ll figure out something.”
King could imagine what that something would be—begging or stealing. “Wake Joshua,” he said. “I’ll get my coat.”
He pawed through his clothes. He had three coats left, including the one he wore. He lifted a blue one and a black one, trying to decide. If it hadn’t been for this Ferryman, he wouldn’t have to sell at all. They had money from the night before. Violet could do well for herself if she wasn’t bled dry by the likes of this gang leader. Obviously, Ferryman had to be dealt with.
Joshua came down, and King handed the black coat to the boy, resisting the urge to caress it with one last goodbye. Henry’s luck had better change soon, or King would be walking about permanently in shirt sleeves.
Violet entered the back room and gave Peggy the mop and Joshua instructions for selling the coat, what food to buy, and how much to spend. He admired her ability to determine the cost of everything down to the smallest penny. He’d watched her count their profits from the night before, and count again. She knew how much they had, how much they needed, and what they could spare without even touching a pencil and paper.
King had never paid much attention to the cost of anything. If he wanted something, he bought it. If he didn’t have any money, he had the merchant send the bill to his father or give it to him on credit, to be paid at a later date. But no one would give Violet or her brothers credit. Her world didn’t work that way.
“Should I have given you a moment alone with your coat?” she asked when Joshua had left and it was only the two of them in the back room.
“You had to ruin it,” he said. “I was just thinking how clever you were.”
