Sea Change by Jessica Marting

Author:Jessica Marting [Marting, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-989780-08-4
Publisher: Shadow Press

Chapter 8

Sunlight filtered through the bedroom’s curtains, waking Calla.

She had slept better than she ever had since Lucien took her in. But it remained a mystery whether her improved rest was due to her very comfortable human bed or feeling safe at last.

Perhaps it was because she felt like she belonged somewhere for the first time since she was exiled.

It was Lucien, too. His offer of moving to London was a temptation; the only things that kept her from accepting were his warning of filthy rivers and the prospect of staying in a rented room without him.

She had no idea how to care for herself on dry land, and seeing the globe the day before was a stark reminder of how little she truly knew. Swimming to a remote part of Scotland, staying underwater, was the safest thing for her to do. It was for Lucien, too. She didn’t want to attract Isadore to him.

She reluctantly got out of bed, already missing the warmth of the blankets. And then stared down a new enemy, waiting for her in the wardrobe against the wall.

Her new clothing.

As much as she preferred to keep wearing men’s attire for the sake of convenience and comfort, she knew Lucien needed his clothes back. And if Mr. Hammond or Mrs. Claxton or any of the other sour-faced citizens of Gull’s End stopped by the house and saw her, she needed to remain as inconspicuous as possible. So, ladies’ clothes it meant.

She quickly washed her face and dragged the brush he’d given her through her hair, wincing as it pulled on the knots there. She opened the wardrobe door and removed plain, bright white undergarments and a corset. She hadn’t bothered with a corset during her jaunt with the sailor, and the women she saw around the tavern and inn they’d stayed in didn’t appear fussed about them. But outside of taverns, they were expected. It was vitally important that she blend in.

She stripped off Lucien’s shirt, the same one she wore the day before and to bed. She’d done it for his sake more than hers; she was used to being naked. Just as she was doing this for his sake now.

She put on the undergarments, then held up the corset to herself. “Here goes,” she whispered.

She unhooked the front and put it around herself and re-hooked it, fingers occasionally stumbling over the tiny metal eyes. Doing so was far more tedious than she expected it to be.

The corset sagged around her, defeating its purpose. Lucien had explained the day before how it was supposed to fit, that the laces on the back needed to be tightened.

She’d forgotten that part. She sighed, unhooked it, set the garment on the bed, and studied it. She pulled the laces tighter and tied their ends in a bow, then tried to put it on again.

Now it was too small.

“Fuck!” she snapped and threw it on the bed.

A gentle rapping at the door startled her. “Calla?” said Lucien from the other side.

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