Quoted By:
"Tell her I that I know we both want to keep everything discrete, to do all in our power to avoid any potential embarrassments. And ... please don't, uh, mention what happened here - please?"
Marpessa folds her hands and gives you a reassuring smile. She heads off without another word, and to your surprise the other two follow after her, leaving you by yourself. You know better than to turn around and risk making anymore of a fool of yourself, so you instead studiously inspect the curtains on the storefront windows. For a moment, you wonder if perhaps it would have been better if you had simply walked to the other store ... but then you manage to catch a glimpse of the Inquisitor's carriage sitting parked in the middle of the street through the window you are in front of, and as quick as a flash all doubt slip from your mind. Breathing a little bit easier, you continue to watch the street from your vantage point - though you make a point to not look in the direction of the Cleansers. Meanwhile, you cannot help but overhear conversation on the other side of the room.
" - then it should be the darker of the two for the ... body of the dress? Or whatever the word is. Father was of a mind that I should make my debut at one of the All Saints Day Masqued Balls, but Grandfather thought I should wait at least until the Birth of the Year. So it should be dark colors for either Harvest or Sleep Season."
What a completely different world she comes from. The thought doesn't bear resentment, rather, it is apprehension that you feel. Assuming that you ever actually get your hands on that dress - no, that 'riding habit' - you are going to need to present yourself as belonging to an echelon of society that you barely know anything about. You turn your attention from the street to one of the dresses near the window, an overly frilly affliction in sea-foam green. Hopefully, your dress turns out to be more ... understated.
"Though there is now talk that instead of the Masqued Balls they are going to be holding Mendicant Biddings instead, for the survivors of that unpleasantness in Stickport and for the widows and orphans as well ... so it seems that Grandfather gets his way again. He often does."
Case in point, you don't even know what a fraying 'Mendicant Bidding' even is. It cannot be what it sounds like - those who have Red Threads cannot be taken as slaves. Before you can frustrate yourself over something else however, a new voice chimes in.
"Will it truly take <span class="mu-i">that</span> long to ... get everything safe and proper again?"
"Oh no, it shouldn't take anywhere near that long. They are talking about holding the Biddings then because all of Refiners who were held for observation and then ultimately cleared would be getting out a few days before All Saints Day. "
