Chapter 17
Serah left Graham in the forest with a second promise—one she was determined to keep, no matter the cost.
The pawnshop was a bungalow set up across the bridge from her parents’ house. By the time she passed the house, dawn had already begun to break, and she noticed the wells she’d dug to collect groundwater had all dried up.
Serah’s thoughts returned to the swell of her mother’s stomach. She would have a new brother or sister soon. And she wasn’t sure whether that would be good or bad.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts, and opened the pawnshop door.
A bell rang, and a young man looked up from a book that lay open on a counter.
“May I help you?” His eyes were clear and blue, and fringed with golden lashes.
Serah’s heart sank momentarily, then sped up. “Grady?”
“Yes, I’m Mister Grady. Have we met? Miss…”
“Kettel. Serah Kettel.” She waited for him to recognize her, but his smile was nothing more than courteous. She twisted her fingers in the folds of her skirt. “I don’t believe we have met, now that I think of it. But you remind me of someone I knew, once. Grady is a more common name than I thought.”
“It seems so. I’m happy to meet you, Miss Kettel.”
Blushing, she nodded. “A friend told me you are interested in trinkets.” She slipped the moonstone ring from her finger and placed it on the counter. “How much coin is this worth?”
He pulled a chest from behind the counter and set it on top. After unlocking the chest, he removed a glass lens, which he pressed to his eye.
“This appears to be genuine moonstone, set in silver,” he said, studying the ring. “A fine piece. I could give you eight months’ wages for this.”
Serah’s shoulders rounded forward. “I was hoping for more. What if I include this cloak? It’s made of wool.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Kettel, but I’m unable to pay more than eight and one half months’ wages, for both items.”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s all the coin I have to trade at the moment—until I can sell more of what I have now.”
She frowned. “I’ll keep the cloak. But I want eight and one half months’ wages for the ring.”
Mister Grady shot her a wry grin and dropped a larger, heavier chest on the counter. “We have a deal, Miss Kettel.”
Serah smiled as she watched him pile stacks of silver coin, keeping track of each one. When the jingle of money counting ended, he scratched at the book with a sharpened writing tool and closed his hand on the ring.
“There you are, eight and one half months’ wages.”
She shook her head. “That’s only enough for seven months and three quarters.”
“It seems someone has learned her figures,” he laughed. After scratching out what he had written, he stacked two more rows of coin, then resumed writing.
“Thank you,” said Serah. “Might I also have a written receipt as proof of our agreement?”
His eyes glowed with astonishment. “Yes, of course.”
He scribbled something on a smaller piece of paper and pressed it across the counter. He kept his eyes on her, intently focused, as she read the document aloud.
“This day, on the eleventh month of the year, Miss Serah Kettel has traded one moonstone ring, set in silver, for the price of eight and one half months’ wages, paid in coin by Mister Chaucer Grady.” The corners of her lips lifted into a smile. “This will do. Thank you.”
“Who are you, Miss Kettel?”
“I’m a farmer’s daughter—from here in Havenbrim.”
“And yet you’ve learned to read?”
Her shoulders stiffened. “My mother was born of a finer class and passed on the skill. I also apprenticed under a mechanic and glazier, Master Machin. I expect you’ve heard of him.”
Mister Grady tilted his head toward her. “Indeed I have. But I’ve never met one of his apprentices. From what I understand, none of them has ever returned to Havenbrim.”
“Yet, here I am.”
He creased a brow. “I see that. But what will you do now, Miss Kettel? Now that you’ve returned, I mean.”
Some part of Serah hoped she could return to Machin’s cottage, that her apprenticeship could be revived. But if what Graham had said was true, then there was nowhere to return to. The cottage was closed.
She lowered her eyes. “I must find work before the money runs out.” For now, this might be enough for my parents to let me stay with them—temporarily. But he’s right. Then what?
“I’m happy to hear it,” he said.
“Happy?”
“I could use a record keeper with your skills—someone to keep track of funds and inventory. That would allow me more time to go out and sell the pieces I collect. With more time, I could travel farther and bargain for higher prices.”
“That would seem a sensible solution.”
“You don’t have to decide right away. Take the coin home with you and think about it.”
“But what if you change your mind?”
“I need a partner, Miss Kettel. One for business—” A red tinge reached his cheeks. “And one for life.”
“Oh, I see.” She broke his gaze, unsure where to look. “I will think about it, and I will let you know what I decide.”
She turned to leave at the same time the door opened, and a bell rang.
“I have the next batch of globes you ordered, Chaucer,” trilled a familiar voice.
Serah froze as she came face to face with a woman holding a crate built from wooden planks.
“Gelsey,” she breathed.
The woman’s blue eyes widened. “Goodness.”
Mister Grady caught the crate before it dropped.
Gelsey wrapped her arms around Serah and squeezed before stepping back and looking her over.
“My, you’ve grown into a beautiful young woman! How have you been?”
Serah’s eyes watered. She wanted to tell Gelsey everything, but more than that she wanted answers to the questions blazing through her mind.
“What happened to the cottage?” she blurted. “My friend told me it had been abandoned.”
Gelsey raised her brows. “The structure above ground is under repair, but we’re still there.” She led with her chin. “And there are other ways in and out,” she whispered.
Serah understood immediately. They still have the tunnel and rooms underground. If there’s another exit, then it’s no wonder they’re not answering the door.
She threw her arms around Gelsey’s neck, and whispered in her ear. “I have a message for Machin. Could you tell him that my friend, Graham, has the torch Machin gifted him, and that he got his note? I promised I would put in a good word for Graham when I was an apprentice, but I forgot. I feel horrible.”
“Of course I’ll give him your message,” Gelsey replied, her voice low. “And you must promise to visit us.”
“I will!”
“And don’t worry about your friend. He’ll be an apprentice if that’s what’s meant to be. But only when Machin is ready, and the timing is right.”
A throat cleared loudly behind them. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’ve finished counting the globes. Everything is in order.”
“I’ll leave you two to your business,” said Serah, smiling.
She pictured Mister Grady taking the globes into fine houses to present them for sale, and noble ladies praising the workmanship of her master, Machin.
Beyond that, she couldn’t help seeing herself, standing at the counter of the pawnshop with her head bent over a book, scratching away at figures.
She wasn’t one hundred percent sure she’d made her decision to become part of Chaucer Grady’s life. But by the time the bell rang again and she closed the door behind her, she was at least ninety-nine and three quarters percent sure she’d found home.