“Absolutely not!” Monika snapped. “Dinner and a copper I can do, but I’m not about to house him. It’s like putting a fox in a godsdamned chicken coop.”
Garrett’s face burned. Monika had hired him to be a beast, so he wasn’t sure why it hurt to know she thought of him as one.
Above them, Bridgette rolled her eyes, as if the whole conversation was exhausting. “Augh, fine, then help him find lodging! Gods know you have the connections. Ask Arthur. After all I did for him last night, he damn well better be feeling grateful.”
Garrett shook his head. “The innkeeper? No. He wouldn’t even let me through his door a few nights ago.”
Bridgette tsked. “Suchan insufferable prick.”
Monika threw up her arms as she snapped, “Get inside! The whole godsdamned neighborhood doesn’t need to hear this conversation.”
Garrett let out a breath of relief and hurried in before the Madam could change her mind. She slammed the door behind him, and as Garrett passed the stairs, Bridgette nearly ran into him in her quick descent.
He flushed hot, deftly sidestepping so his shoulder didn’t so much as brush her. Bridgette’s eyes widened, and for a moment, their faces were so close that Garrett could smell the hint of apple blossoms and cloves from her perfume. Even as an accident, touching Bridgette was a surefire way to piss off Monika even more, but he mouthed a quick “thank you” before quickly stepping away.
Bridgette offered him a small smile before she seemed to steel herself. She stepped off the stairs as Monika stormed towards her. Her back was straight, shoulders tense as she met Monika’s open-handed slap, unflinching. The force of it made her head snap to the side.
“If Ieverhear you talking that way about a client again, I will give you far worse, girl,” Monika warned.
Bridgette lifted a hand to her reddened cheek, her face carefully blank. “Sorry, Monika.”
Monika let out a huff before nodding towards the bar. “Get some ice on that. And get breakfast set out. And as foryou,” she said, turning to Garrett. “If you bare those fangs at me again, I’ll toss you out and right to the constable.”
Garrett quickly schooled his face to neutrality. It had been such an automatic response to seeing Bri get hit that he hadn’t even realized he’d done it. He unclenched his fists as he let out a huff of a breath. “Apologies, ma’am.”
Monika’s glare didn’t soften. She grabbed a purse from the countertop before tossing it to him. “If you’re here, you’re working. Go take that basket of dirty sheets to the laundry and pick up our fresh ones. It’s just a few doors down.”
Garrett caught the purse deftly. “Yes, ma’am.”
Fortunately, the laundress didn’t give him any trouble, though she did count the coins he gave her twice. When he returned with the fresh sheets, the girls were all seated around the long table in the main room, eating a breakfast of hot oats. The conversation was already subdued, but it went silent as soon as he came into the room.
Garrett’s stomach sank at the sudden quiet. Behind Monika’s back, Bridgette offered him a small smile, but it did little to calm his rapidly beating heart. The mark on her cheek had faded, and he couldn’t help but wonder if the Madam knew just how much force she could use without leaving a mark.
Monika leaned back in her chair as she looked him over, sucking in a mouthful of smoke from her clay pipe. “I know of a couple folks who might take you in,” she said at last. “But until we find you a place, I’ll let you stay in the cellar so long as you help with all of the usual daily chores.”
Garrett was nodding before she’d even finished speaking. Relief made him feel lightheaded. “Yes, of course, ma’am. Thank you.”
Monika frowned around the stem of her pipe. “I don’t think I need to tell you what’ll happen if I find anything missing from my stores, do I?”
Garrett quickly shook his head. “No, ma’am.”
“Good. Then stash those sheets in the closet under the stairs. There’s a tub behind that curtain by the back door. The girls have already had their bath, so the water is yours to use before you dump it at the mouth of the alley.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” he said and quickly hurried to the washroom, tugging the curtain closed behind him. Relief made his hands shake. He let out a shuddering sigh as he leaned against the wall, pressing his palms against his eyes until he saw stars.
It felt like a second mark against him, and he’d be damned if he was going to get a third. So, for the rest of the day, he kept his head down, answered every one of Monika’s demands with a “Yes, ma’am,” and kept his eyes anywhere but on Bridgette.
News spread quickly about Madam Monika’s new hire. During the first few days of his new position, Garrett was visited by some of the worst of his old colleagues at the mine. They’d been the ones to hassle him in the barracks, trip him as he carried his haul out, and now, they seemed to come with the sole intent of starting trouble.
The only difference was that now, Garrett could fight back.
He dodged a fist with ease before bringing his own against the miner’s round gut. It knocked the wind out of the man, but after that first night with Calvin, Garrett had started tempering his strikes. These scraps had made him acutely aware of his own strength, and this was the fourth in just as many days.
Garrett grabbed the man’s arm to lock it behind his back. He didn’t let him get his breath back before he hauled him to the door and kicked him out with a boot to his ass. Behind him, there was a quiet eruption of groans, but they were quickly drowned out by the girl’s cheers. Bridgette’s delighted laugh rang out above the others.
“Pay up, Thomas,” she said. “Told you that Garrett was the smart bet. Now, I believe that’s seven coppers you owe me.”
Garrett spun just in time to see the man Bridgette was sitting next to scowl and drop the coins into her hand. She caught his eye with a grin as she closed her fingers around them, and Garrett was a little pleased that she’d placed her bet on him.
