The Dream Thief, Kari Kilgore [reading well TXT] 📗

was enjoying the movement of her voluminous black skirts. Bess was unrecognizable in a surprisingly appropriate and fashionable dark green gown of her own.

Loretta's absence only made the desire for her services grow stronger. She had the longest Build list she'd ever had to keep up with stored away in her mind, and her payments reflected gratitude for her return. Bess’s lifetime in Waldron’s Gate, and her resulting knowledge of gossip and intrigue even Loretta hadn’t suspected, had Loretta wondering if she should make this arrangement permanent.

Bess came out of her kitchen with one last black leather bag and a raised eyebrow.

"Who's left for deliveries, Bess?"

"I see how this got put off until last," she said. "This little item was made especially for Mrs. Klia Gilmore."

Loretta took a deep breath and sat on the sofa.

"You're right," she said. "I've been dreading that one for a while now."

"Besides the obvious problem of her son, doesn't she work at the Ministry of Decorum?"

"She does," Loretta said. "High up the ranks. She was after me for quite a while before I agreed to work with her."

Bess sat beside Loretta, her arms crossed.

"You know your own business," she said. "And I appreciate you trusting me to meet so many of your clients. But isn't there a risk of her being a spy? Or just turning you in because she feels like it?"

"That's why it took her so long to convince me." Loretta stared at the floor. "I still wouldn't agree to see her until several of my other clients vouched for her. Seems she's been traveling in these circles almost as long as I have, but she was afraid to approach me too. Mrs. Gilmore has been a reliable and discrete buyer for a few years now."

Bess scowled. "Even if you can trust the woman, how can you possibly trust her not to tell her son? He made it pretty clear he wanted you to leave his family out of it, didn't he?"

"He did, from the first night." Loretta rubbed her shoulders, tired from carrying so many of those bags. "The thing is if I just never go back to Mrs. Gilmore's house with this, that might be what gets her to turn me in. She'll know all of her friends finally got their long-delayed curios. You don't know that crowd as well as I do. They're already planning their rounds of showoff parties. Mrs. Gilmore would certainly wonder why she was the only one left out."

"What are you going to do about Karl?"

"I can't do a thing about Karl, much as I want to sometimes. I have to trust his mother to be as circumspect with him as she must be at the Ministry. And I'll tell you my little secret rationalization, but you have to promise never to tell him."

Bess smiled, and her pale cheeks flushed in the sweet way Loretta knew so well.

"You know where my loyalties lie," she said. "I'm fond of him, and I'm grateful he's doing so much to keep you and Gemma safe. I'm glad to see you so happy with him. But I'm not about to give him a damned thing to use against you."

Loretta squeezed Bess's hand, trying her best to keep tears from showing in her eyes.

"I never should have asked for your promise, Bess. What I told Karl is I'd never use his family for Building again, though that's a real shame with all of them being so strong. And, I was telling him the truth that his sister was never a client of mine. He never asked whether his mother was."

"Works for me if you can live with it." Bess got to her feet, nodding once. "If we can get this visit wrapped up quickly, we might still be able to swing by and make your last stop before you head back to Joffrey Columns. I'm quite eager to meet this Mr. Norwood."

Loretta smiled her unkind smile. "I'm eager for him to meet you. He needs to understand that he'll never know who's with me or when one of you will show up or be watching him from around the corner."

Loretta reset all of the security devices on the door and joined Bess on the sidewalk.

"Speaking of someone showing up," Bess said. "What have you heard of Rullin?"

"That's a much harder situation than Karl or Mr. Norwood. Bill sent me a note saying the boy is basically working as slave labor, often chained, with guards on him at all times. His attitude isn't much improved. He doubts it will be. I'm afraid he's right."

"Why doesn't Bill just turn him in?" Bess said. "Constable Law and even Stensue have plenty of practice dealing with his sort. Or you could send him to Karl."

"I agree with you, Bess. From what Karl's said, Joffrey Columns would at least be able to make use of him, even if he was never quite the same afterward. I think Bill is reluctant to do something like that while his parents still live. They sent him to Bill as a last resort, but they're not ready to give up on Rullin just yet."

"Will he have to murder someone before they understand what a monster he is?"

Bess again had a flush in her face, but this was darker and decidedly more threatening. No one would take this for desire, except for violence.

"Possibly," Loretta said. "Bill says his brother and sisters understand, so once the parents are gone he'll be free to do as he will. Thankfully they're both well advanced in years and not in the best of health."

"Thank The Crown for small favors."

Loretta slowed as they approached the Gilmore house. With such a large and well-connected family, arranging time for a private meeting with Klia was not easy. The woman's correspondence room that Karl remembered so clearly, though more than a little obsessive to Loretta's eyes, provided the perfect hideaway.

Bess touched her shoulder before they started up the stairs.

"Listen, this may be the furthest thing from your mind, but