“How so?” I asked, a flutter of nervousness going through my stomach.
“Do you remember me telling you, last time we met, that I believe there is the perfect hat out there for everyone? It is my mission to make sure that every customer who leaves my shop does so in possession of their perfect hat.”
“These are all lovely hats,” I said.
“Lovely, yes,” Raven replied, turning to face the shelves and looking up at the highest shelves. “Perfect, no. That is the problem.”
I swallowed and looked at my feet. I wasn’t as beautiful as my sister; I knew that. Now, the knowledge that Raven didn’t believe I suited any of his beautiful hats hurt me.
I shook my head. The man was a vampire. An alluring but dangerous man. More than that, young women like myself didn’t have friendships with vampires—let alone any more intimate relationship.
Still, I couldn’t deny the flare of joy in my stomach when he came near, nor my easy smiles when we talked. I knew I should fear him—I did fear him—but not enough to keep my distance.
Raven put a finger under my chin, lifting my face to stare at him again. This time, he wasn’t holding a hat. “Don’t worry, Miss. Rowntree, I have many more hats in my workshop.”
I gave him a small smile. “I didn’t intend to be such a problem. I only came for a hat for my sister.”
“It’s no problem at all,” Raven tilted his head to the side, considering me. When he next spoke, he lowered his voice so that only I could hear him. “I don’t mean you’re not deserving of those hats if that is what you’re thinking. Rather, those hats are not worthy of you. You are a beautiful woman. Very striking.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks. I couldn’t tear my gaze from his face. His warm eyes sparkled, and he held my gaze. Then he dropped his hand from my chin and turned towards the back of the store.
“Miss. Lapin?” he called out.
The shop assistant appeared from the back.
“Watch the shop. I’ll be upstairs.”
Miss. Lapin nodded. I felt a stab of disappointment that he would be leaving. I’d enjoyed his attention.
He’s a shop owner, trying to do business, that’s all, I told myself. I gathered my bag and the hat I’d selected for Pearl.
Raven turned to me and gestured towards a staircase in the back corner. “Please accompany me upstairs.”
I blinked, glancing over at where Miss. Lapin was dusting the shelves.
“Upstairs?” I asked, my voice quavering.
The side of Raven’s mouth curled up in a half-smile. “My workshop is above the shop. I might have a hat in my workshop that would suit you better.”
“Of course,” I said, blushing again.
Raven smiled, though I noticed he took care to avoid showing his teeth, and he put his hand on my elbow as we started up the steps.
“Will you take tea with me, Miss. Rowntree?” Raven asked as he held open the door. I stepped into his workshop and looked around.
If there had been a lot of hats downstairs, there were at least as many in Raven’s workshop. The hats were in varying stages of completion—some looked almost finished, others were only half-made and missing decoration, or brims, or crowns.
In addition, there was a huge desk pushed against one wall, overflowing with papers, some pinned to a board, and others that had drifted down to pool on the floor.
An identical armchair stood in one corner, though this one held several folds of cloth over it. Everywhere I looked, there were bolts of material, ribbons, buttons, lace, felt, and pins.
On one side, the curtains were open to the night sky. In the corner stood a small bed. Several suit jackets hung on a rail next to it.
“Do you live here?” I asked, remembering the other building Raven had called “his place’” and the scream that had frightened me away.
Raven looked over at the bed in the corner. “Yes. It suits me to stay here above the shop. I keep a separate residence.” Raven looked down at his hands, an uncomfortable expression coming over his face. I wondered if he was remembering the screaming too. “But I spend little time there at present. Now, I use that for… well, I have put it to better use. How do you take your tea?”
“White, no sugar,” I replied. I was about to ask about the screaming when Raven turned his back and moved over to the corner by his bed. I saw that he had a teapot set above a stove there too. As he made the tea, I wandered around the workshop, looking at the various half-made hats. As I moved closer, I recognized designs drawn on the papers scattered everywhere. Hat designs. I leaned over the desk for a closer inspection. Dozens of detailed drawings of hats were scattered over the table and pinned to the wall. Beautiful designs—some of them, outlandish and with a tendency to defy gravity—and all of them unique. I’d never seen hats like Raven could make.
Raven cleared his throat. When I turned, I saw that he’d cleared away the fabric draped over the armchair and set a tray of tea on a small side table.
“Please,” he motioned for me to sit, before drawing a chair up to sit down across from me.
I sipped at my tea, breathing in the scent.
“Thank you,” I said. “I didn’t mean to trouble you about the hats. I only intended to buy something for my sister.”
“It’s no trouble, at all,” Raven replied. “Finding the right hat for my customers is my job. It’s the reason I established a hat shop.” Raven smiled, catching my eye. “Finding the right hat for you is my pleasure.”
I blushed again, dropping my eyes from his gaze. I took another sip of my tea.
“How is your work coming along?” Raven asked.
“It keeps me busy,” I replied. “With all this business about the clock, we’ve had people not show up for work. I’ve been taking extra shifts to cover for those who won’t leave their homes.”
Raven watched me. “Why did you become an inspector?” he asked. “It’s an unusual occupation for a woman like you.”
“Mother suggested it. She said that if I decided to earn my own money, I should serve the city and work for her.”
“Is your sister an inspector, too?”
“No,” I said, then chuckled at the thought. “My sister can live on her esthetic stipend. She doesn’t need to work.”
Raven frowned. “You don’t? I imagine your stipend would be more than enough for you to live on. Yet, you work as well?”
“I don’t collect the stipend,” I replied, swallowing as my throat threatened to close over. “I work instead.”
“Why do you refuse the stipend?” Raven asked.
I set down the now empty teacup on the side table and clasped my hands in my lap. “I was uncomfortable about being evaluated for the stipend. It’s not always easy to have such a beautiful twin. We’re not identical, and we’re always compared. So, I turned my passion into some income—I make pocket watches,” I shrugged. “But I don’t earn enough selling watches, so I took a job.”
“You are an artisan yourself?” Raven raised his eyebrows in surprise. He pointed to the watch tucked into the pocket of my vest. “Is that your work?”
I pulled the watch out of my pocket and flicked open the lid, then held it out to Raven, who leaned over to examine it.
“Very fine workmanship,” he replied. He sat back in his chair, examining me. I squirmed in my seat under the weight of his gaze. “You’re a surprising woman. Not at all what I expected.”
I tipped my head to the side, frowning. “How so?”
“You are a fine artisan—you shall become a master watchmaker should you follow your talent—and you care for your sister very much. You are intelligent, courageous, and determined—traits rare in your social class.” Raven paused, frowning. “You don’t enjoy being assessed for your looks for the esthetic stipend, yet you work as an esthetic inspector. In doing so, you hold others to an esthetic standard that you dislike being held to yourself. You seem to be a kind woman, yet you put people out of business, making them destitute. No,” Raven said. “I�
�m not sure what to make of you, Miss. Rowntree.”
I stared, wide-eyed, as I absorbed his words. I felt the sharp cut of his criticism, and his observations lay heavy and uncomfortable with me.
“The esthetic laws say that a public place must be esthetically pleasing. Everybody knows the law. I don’t put people out of business without fair warning,” I protested, feeling the need to defend myself. “Nor do I enjoy it—I don’t make the laws, but I have to uphold them.”
“Perhaps everyone knows the law, but not everyone can be beautiful,” Raven replied. “Nor can they all remain young and shapely, nor unmarked by accident or disease. The esthetic laws punish those who do not conform to a long-held ideal of beauty.”
“Even the unbeautiful can make themselves more pleasing to others. As you know, the right hat, or a well-fitted suit, an appealing hairstyle, or well-applied makeup can improve one’s appearance.”
“All of which cost dinah,” Raven replied. He stood and walked over to the window, looking into the night. “Yet those maimed, scarred, crippled, or elderly, have no way of earning an income. They do not qualify for the esthetic stipend. They cannot find work. These people can’t afford food or a roof over their heads, let alone tailored suits or regular hair styling.”
I noticed his well-cut coat and trousers, his polished shoes. Raven might not approve of the stipend, but he wasn’t averse to making himself presentable.
“Is that why you employ Miss. Lapin in your shop?” I asked.
“Miss. Lapin works here because she is good with customers. She had an accident as a child that marked her face. She can’t hide it, so she must live with it. I don’t see why she must remain out of sight because of an old scar.”
“There can’t be many like her, though,” I said. Raven turned to me, his eyes wide with surprise. “My work takes me all over the city, to shops and workplaces,” I explained. “I’ve seen very few people whose physical appearance matches your description.”
Raven looked like he was about to say something. Then he stopped and turned away. He cast an eye around his workshop. “I don’t have the right hat for you here,” he said. “I will need to apply myself to the problem of your hat.” He waved a hand towards the desk, which was overflowing with designs. Raven straightened his coat, avoiding my gaze. He tapped a finger on his leg. Then, as though he’d decided, he gave me a serious look. “Last time we met, you asked me about the note on the card. Do you still want to know why I left it for you?”
I frowned, surprised at the sudden change in the conversation. I gave him a jerky nod, though his fierce demeanor made me reluctant.
“In that case, there’s something I’d like to show you. Before we leave, though, you must promise me you will not breathe a word of this to anyone. Not even your mother, nor your sister. Can you promise me, Miss Rowntree?”
I slipped my hand into my clutch and felt the tip of the card with Raven’s handwritten message. Raven offered a solution to the puzzle—how could I refuse?
The alley smelled like piss and vomit. I wrinkled my nose, wondering when the street cleaner was due. Ahead of me, Raven stepped into a spotlight cast by a mushroom-shaped street-lamp. The warm glow of firelight illuminated a circle of gold, like a crown, on his black hair. He turned, looking over his shoulder to meet my eyes. There was a smirk on his face as though he was amused by the fact that he’d caught me admiring him. My face flushed hot, and I looked down at my feet.
When I looked up, Raven had stepped out of the light and was crouching in the shadows. He turned his head to peer up and down the alleyway, then he pulled up a metal disk to reveal a hole in the street.
I moved closer to see what he was doing.
“I’d like you to see something,” Raven said as he looked up at me.
I hesitated, then leaned forward to peer into the hole. I couldn’t see anything—it was dark, as though it fell into a bottomless pit.
“Is this what you wanted to show me?”
“No.” Raven’s mouth curled up into a smirk. “This is the way.”
I looked at the hole in the ground. “To where?”
Raven wagged a finger at me. “I have to show you.”
“You can’t expect me to go down there!” I said. “It’s just a… hole.”
“This is one of many entrances to a network of underground tunnels that run beneath the city.”
“Underground tunnels?” I exclaimed. I peered down and saw a ladder disappearing into the dark. “Why did I not know about these before?”
“Vampires have not always been… welcome in Melfall. Our presence here has become tolerated, but it was not always so. We kept our tunnels a secret, in case the prevailing attitude towards my people turns to prejudice once more. The tunnels always provided a way for vampires to move around the city unnoticed, or during the day.”
I glanced upwards to see a sliver of the night sky between the roofs of the buildings that towered over the street. There was not even a hint of light on the horizon.
“It’s far from dawn,” I replied.
Raven quirked one eyebrow. “There’s something down there you should see.” He held out a gloved hand. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
My heart raced at the thought of going down into a dark tunnel with a vampire. I remembered
the vampire who had attacked me nearby, but I didn’t get the same feeling when I
was near Raven. My stomach flipped and my heart thundered, but the terror was absent. Rather, I
wanted to be close to him and to know what he had to say. Our conversation at his workshop
had rolled around in my mind as we’d walked together, weaving through the backstreets.
I told myself that Raven could have attacked me during our walk together, yet he hadn’t. That thought didn’t reassure me, but it gave me some comfort.
However, the thought of climbing down a ladder into an unknown darkness, where any manner of vampires could be lurking, gave me pause.
“Will there be other vampires?” I asked.
“You’ll be safe with me,” he replied. “Though it’s not gentlemanly, I’ll go first—if it would give you some comfort?”
I watched Raven step down onto the first rung of the ladder, then the next, and the next until he disappeared into the hole.
I crouched down and peered into the darkness. I saw the faint outline of his white shirt.
“Miss Rowntree?” Raven’s voice rang out as an echo. “You may follow.”
I hesitated a moment longer before my curiosity got the better of me. I knew so much about Melfall, yet there was a whole network of tunnels underneath this city I’d never known about until now. I wondered if Alice knew about them. Chesh did not, or he would have told me about them—if not taken me for a tour.
I inched closer to the hole, then bunched my skirts together and set my foot on the first rung. Carefully, I stepped down to the next rung. As I continued down until my face was level with the street.
“Miss. Rowntree?” Raven called up to me. “Pull the cover of the manhole over the top of you, so no one can follow us.”
“Who would follow?” I called back, looking up at the dim light of the night above. The only light that filtered down into the darkness.
“The cover must be closed. It’s the code of the tunnels,” Raven replied.
I was breathing quickly as I reached up and pulled the cover over my head, plunging myself into darkness. The manhole cover fell into place with a thud that echoed all around. I clung to the ladder as I blinked, over and over, trying to force my eyes to adjust to the dark. My breaths became shallow, and my hands were slick as they gripped onto the metal rung.
“Miss. Rowntree?” Footsteps rang out on the rungs below, coming closer. Suddenly Raven’s body was next to mine, where I was clinging to the ladder. His body pressed against my back; he put his arms around mine and covered my hands with both of his. Raven’s chin hovered just above my shoulder, and he whispered in my ear.
&n
bsp; “I apologize in advance for this inappropriate invasion of your space, but if you will allow me, I will guide you down. You need not be afraid.”
“I’m not afraid,” I said, but my voice wavered as I spoke.
Raven chuckled silently, and I felt the suppressed laughter shudder through his body as it pressed against mine. A bubble of laughter rose to my throat too, and a giggle escaped my lips, the sound amplified by the echo chamber around us.
Suddenly, we were both laughing aloud, pressed together, clinging to the ladder as our only anchor in the darkness. At the moment, I felt as though there was no one else in the world except for myself and Raven. That thought did not frighten me.
Raven leaned closer to my ear again, and his words tickled my ear. “My eyesight is better than yours. I will guide you down. You’ll feel better when your feet touch solid ground.”
Raven guided my hands down each rung of the ladder. His body pressed against mine as we descended deeper into the ground. Unable to see anything except Raven’s pale hands where they gripped my own, I gave myself over to his guidance.
“Take a deep breath,” Raven whispered. “Then, exhale through your nose.”
I did as he said, then the impact of his words hit me, and I stopped climbing as I whispered back. “I didn’t know vampires can read minds. Do you know everything I’m thinking?”
A shudder of suppressed laughter vibrated from Raven again. “I can’t read your mind,” he said. “I can smell your fear.”
When my foot hit something solid, a wave of relief washed over me. When both of my feet were on the floor of the tunnel, Raven gave my hands a quick squeeze before stepping away to put space between us. I was aware of his physical absence, and part of me wished he would embrace me again.
Raven kept hold of one hand and tugged me forward. I took each cautious step, unable to see the path ahead of me.
“Not much further,” Raven said. “Can you hear them already?”
Ivy: Daughter of Alice Page 11