Outside the room, away from where the ladies were having a very deep conversation, the men began preparations for the next trade travel. The sales had ended, and it was time most merchants hit the road again, to either exchange the goods they had left or, if not, buy new stocks.
People like Jenna that didn't sell much during the sales would move to another town to get buyers before they continued their main journey. But before this journey for merchants, something more important happens- the result of the previous night.
Young men would have to introduce the ladies they had picked for marriage before they hit the road and, even better, have a wedding and get their wives pregnant; for security reasons, they termed it.
"Will Percy leave with Master this time or will Henri?" Bruno asked, picking up a towel to wipe his face. When he didn't get any response, he turned. Both Percy and Henri were lost in thought.
"Are you both okay?" Bruno stopped cleaning his face and asked, but both men didn't answer immediately.
"Am I the only one here?" the young boy muttered. When he turned away, he noticed Rhane sitting on a rock alone, wiping his boots.
Bruno beamed. He rushed to sit down close to him. "Your jacket was the talk of the previous night, Anne.... I want you to teach me how to dress like that," he said, pointing at Rhane's shirt.
Rhane smiled without looking up. He touched the boy's hair gently and continued with what he was doing.
Harriet rushed inside the place, panting with her two hands on her chest. "Bruno, quick, heat up water for me and bring it to the mistress's room."
"Is everything okay? Is the Lady sick?" Bruno jumped away from Rhane's side and went to stand beside Harriet.
Harriet rubbed her palm on her forehead. "No... not her...um...Mabel," she swallowed, "And um...Anne...I mean...Rhane...The Lady asked that you find out who brought her home last night." The girl turned around and dashed out.
Bruno stood at the doorway watching the girl, his two hands on his waist and his head hung to the side.
"I think something is up," he muttered. "And she just said Rhane..." He turned to look at Percy and Henri.
Percy cleared his throat and nodded. "Ah...yes. He is Rhane. Mistress was mistaken for a moment." Even Percy's tone was shaky, but he didn't dare blink. He could feel someone's gaze on him. And he knew exactly who it was.
"Ah..." Bruno nodded his head slowly. "It's strange a man even had the name Anne in the first place," he smiled and turned to look at Rhane.
"I hope you weren't offended when we said it wrong. Rhane is a good name, and so is Anne." He gave Rhane a thumbs-up and winked.
Rhane raised his brows, his lips curled, but he didn't smile. He dropped the boot he had finished cleaning, then began to remove his shirt.
Percy watched the young man from the corner of his eye. He had become sober from last night and remembered every detail of his conversation with Rhane. He couldn't believe that the same man who had told him beautiful ways to carve his heart out and had threatened to kill him with a voice rumbling like the sky before a heavy thunder was now sitting meekly like he couldn't kill a fly. He had them all fooled from the start.
When Rhane turned, Percy blinked, looking in another direction. He began to wipe the wall seriously with the back of his hand.
"Everyone is really acting strange," Bruno muttered, his fingers on his lips. "If Harriet needs water for Mabel...does that mean she got a hairpin? Mabel is going to get married off soon, right?"
With nobody responding, Bruno nudged Henri, who has been eerily silent, unlike the young man.
"Henri, are you okay? You came back home very late last night. Do you feel sick?"
Henri touched his neck nervously. "No... not at all. I just need to wash up to feel better," he muttered.
Bruno hummed. That was understandable. Everyone who drank to stupor the previous night was still having a hard time waking up properly.
"Did you give any lady a hairpin? I think Mabel got one, and Percy didn't give anyone at all." He pointed at the three hairpins in Percy's pocket.
Henri zoned out again, his eyes staring blankly into space, but his mouth remained slightly open.
"I guess I will talk to myself the rest of today." Bruno exhaled. "I will go heat up water and get the bags ready if the mistress will travel today." Before he turned to leave, he pointed at Percy and Henri.
"You two should get a grip of yourselves. Last night is over, and so is the fun. We have work to do so the ladies can get to have rest for today." When his finger stopped at Rhane, he brought his hand down and smiled.
"And Rhane, remember to make me your student," he winked and left.
Back inside Jenna's room, Harriet and Jenna had helped to wash up a devastated Mabel, trying to clean her up just in case her young man came around.
"My Lady, what happens if nobody comes for me?" Mabel asked, sitting in front of a mirror with her hands on her lap.
Jenna gave Harriet a side-eye. "I'm sure he will come, and I will scold him for not controlling himself first, but I will get the dowry ready for you so the wedding will be done immediately," she reassured, braiding the girl's hair.
Mabel wiped her eyes, stopping tears from falling. "I'm really sorry I had to put you in this position...I didn't mean to act loose last night...It's not like I want to be..." the girl's voice trailed.
Jenna sighed. She let go of the girl's hair and turned her around. Sitting on her heels, Jenna touched the girl's face.
"You weren't acting loose, darling. Should a girl no longer have fun because animals roam in human form? If men can do what they want, why can't we? It's just the ugly world we live in that failed you...you didn't fail yourself." Jenna spoke more to herself than to the girl, and her heart ached.
"Forbid it, that a girl wants to be free for just one night...a red stain on her pants?" Jenna rubbed the girl's hand.
"Even if no man comes to claim you, you know you can always be here with me, and I'm sure a kind man will come along." Jenna rubbed her cheek.
A soft sob was heard from behind; Harriet couldn't stop herself from crying. She leaned closer and hugged her mistress and Mabel.
"Don't ever let your past define your present actions; you will only have regrets," Jenna said to both Harriet and Mabel, also to herself.
Mabel closed her eyes and nodded. She was sold to the brothel by her single mother, and the night before she would serve her first man, she tried to escape and had found Jenna. The girl promised to stay chaste until marriage as an appreciation to Jenna and to the life she left behind, but all that had gone to pieces now...especially if no man comes to claim her.
After consoling the girls, Jenna stood up. "I have a powder I use for special occasions. Let me get it." She walked towards her bed, getting down on her knees. Jenna pulled out her box. When she opened it, she took out a powder, but before she stood up, a strange memory flashed in her mind.
'Just for tonight...I want to be free.'
The powder dropped from Jenna's hand, crashing to irredeemable pieces on the ground.
"No." Jenna held her hand over her mouth, her eyes on her bed, where the memories of kissing Rhane and pulling him to her bed came rushing in.