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“BOY, am I sorry. I can’t believe I got our appointment wrong by half a day. Did I surprise you by arriving early?”
“It isn’t a problem. If I may interrupt, I want that item over here and the other one placed on top of the sideboard…”
Harij handled their sudden visitor with nonchalance. The attendants Tien brought with him bustled in and out of the room carrying large packages behind them.
An unexpected guest had arrived at the usually serene entrance to the Azm mansion. It was none other than the merchant Rose often did business with—Tien Công. He had taken up the mantle of acting like Rose’s older brother—and, at times, her guardian.
Tien had to be the guest Harij had mentioned would be coming that evening. Only Rose was surprised by his sudden visit, as Harij seemed ready to welcome him. But because he chose to intrude so early in the morning, Rose was forced to send a servant to her hermitage in her stead.
For a merchant to come before the sun had even finished its ascent into the sky could only mean one thing—he did it on purpose, to surprise Rose. She glared at him, for he had indeed succeeded at that.
Just recalling what she had been about to do when Tien interrupted them plunged Rose into an awkward, inexpressible mood. She had never experienced it for herself, but she assumed this must be how teenagers felt when they were caught making out by their parents. To distract from her antsiness, she directed her attention and annoyance at the luggage being brought inside.
“You aren’t going to claim this is the remainder of my dowry, are you?” she remarked in the sour voice of a pouting child.
“While I have a great deal of interest in you and love you like family, neither of those reasons is enough for me to be giving this much away for free. Besides, I told you last time that I prepared the majority of your dowry with the money entrusted to me by the Great Witch while she was still alive.”
Tien had definitely mentioned that before, but she thought he was exaggerating. The witches’ secret potions sold for exorbitant amounts, but the ingredients also cost an arm and a leg. Witches profited big and lost big.
Rose never wanted for anything, but her life with her grandmother was a far cry from anything that could be called luxurious.
She wholly doubted her grandmother was capable of preparing such a large dowry.
Or could it be that her grandmother lived so frugally because she knew Rose would end up alone in the not-so-distant future? To support Rose even after she was gone?
Thinking about her grandmother sank Rose into melancholy. Every time she realized how much her grandmother sacrificed for her, she was overjoyed, but it also filled her with regret, as she was forced to acknowledge how poorly she treated her in return, in the way all teenagers rebel against their elders. Now, as a more mature adult, she could never make it up to her.
“Someone’s in a pouty mood… What? Did I possibly intrude just as things were getting good between you two? But you need to save your chastity for your wedding night, you know?” Tien whispered in her ear, dragging her out of her pensive thoughts and earning a hard stomp on the foot in return for his crass remark.
“…Are you ready to head into the parlor?”
Tien stopped clutching his foot in a deliberate show of being in pain and followed Harij to the parlor. Rose trailed behind Tien. They had apparently finished carrying in the large stacks of items from the wagons. Now dresses, fabrics, and shoes hanging from partitions and hangers were being brought into the Azm mansion parlor.
“Oh, I’m sorry, but can you move that fabric somewhere out of direct sunlight? Those accessories, too.”
“Do as he says.”
Harij immediately deferred to Tien’s wishes. As of this morning, Rose thought Harij’s attitude toward Tien had softened considerably since last time. They seemed to have been communicating without her knowledge. Harij had once even said he wouldn’t accept a single present from Tien, but somewhere along the line, he seemed to have come to acknowledge the other man as a part of Rose’s family.
“I carefully selected every piece with you both in mind but ended up bringing a lot of variety because I want you to be absolutely satisfied.”
The two men confidently wove their way through the room cluttered with so many goods there was barely an open place to step.
“Variety is good… Rose, come over here, too.”
Beckoned by Harij, Rose hopped from spot to spot as she worked her way through the limited openings in the items begging to be picked, and finally settled on top of the couch. Tien opened a catalog in front of her, the exotic accessories on his sleeves glittering under the lights as he did.
As a merchant who traveled the world hawking his wares, Tien often dressed in clothes so gaudy they stung the eyes. At times he looked younger than Rose, while at others, he looked much older than her, which she attributed to his ethnicity, which was rare in these parts.
“This particular design popular in the western nations would look stunning on Rose.”
The design catalogs piled up like a mountain as he laid them out on the table.
“She should pick whichever design she likes best.”
“Brides always care about their groom’s tastes. What are yours, Harij?”
She thought this might be the case, but it appeared they really were here to discuss tailoring clothes for Rose. But she had already received more dresses than could fit in her closet from Harij and Tien. She gulped and began preparing her escape when Harij plopped down on the couch beside her.
“Do you have any preferences?”
“Me…?”
Realizing her escape plan was botched, Rose glanced around the room. What in the world should she choose from the sea of dresses and endless waves of fabric? The stress of the situation, coupled with Harij’s close proximity, caused her to break into a sweat.
“I have no idea…how to answer that…”
Rose still didn’t even know why Tien had suddenly visited on this day.
Harij and Tien had her stand, since she would only glare down at the design catalogs, and they commenced holding different fabrics up to her as if she were a living mannequin.
Her only job: to be perfectly still. Today has been filled with nothing but exhausting ordeals from the wee hours of the morning, she thought, her gaze drifting out the window where she noticed blue had painted over the formerly purple sky. Quite a lot of time had passed since Tien’s arrival.