Chapter 4

APRIL 9TH IN TRELLECH, WALES

V itus paid the carter, dropping a couple of extra coins in his hand once the man had helped him unload the two trunks. The carter brushed his thumb across the coins, then nodded, pleased. “Thank you, sir. Let me know if there’s somewhat else.”

“I will. Not today, though.” Vitus waited until the man had turned the pony cart around and back through the alley onto the street. Then he knocked three times on the door, good steady thumps. It opened before he could knock a fourth time.

“Don’t be silly. Of course you’re still on the wards. Here, pick that up, I’ll take the other end. I can’t possibly greet you properly with them in the way.” Niobe was right there, shawl pinned around her shoulders, her hair up. She looked extremely well, and as if she’d barely aged at all. They didn’t speak again until they got both trunks back to the workshop at the other end of the ground floor. It hadn’t changed, with the long workbenches and grinding stones, with the windows that let in as much daylight as possible. Once they’d set the two down, she turned her hands on his arms. “Let’s have a proper look at you.”

Vitus waited, knowing she’d take in what he was wearing, as well as the rest of it. He had made all the talismanic accoutrements he was wearing, cufflinks, tie pin, and, of course, the watch fob. He’d been lucky enough to do a favour for someone who had some pieces of citrine from one of the Bavarian mines.

Amethyst would have been a lot easier to get, especially in Austria, but he’d not wanted to suggest he was of Fox House. The golden yellow matched his own Salmon House, even though the citrine had been nearly as costly as a good topaz, due to rarity. And, he was vain enough to think the flash of bright gold drew the eye to his hands, where a fair bit of his skill lay. She considered him, head cocked, then grinned. “Buttons, too? That’s clever. Come, tell me all about it.”

Vitus smiled, giving her a proper bow. “It’s good to see you, too. Talking before you look at the treasures I brought back, then?”

“Oh, yes. Stones are patient. I am not always. Tea’s ready. Sit, sit. You look well. The trip back wasn’t too bad, then?” She bustled about to fetch the teapot from the small room off the stairs. It didn’t sit out in the workroom, of course. Too much stone dust and such could get into it. “I’m not expecting any clients today. We can take our time, properly.”

Given that cue, he began with the trip, and the various minor delays and the current state of getting stones through customs. Then Vitus looped back to the beginning of his travels, pulling out his notebook to keep track of the dates. As he went, he undid the cuff links, then pulled out the tie pin, then finally the watch fob, in the order he’d made them. They were, of course, designed to work together.

The cufflinks were a fairly standard protective design, averting the ordinary sort of ill fortune or minor harm that could sometimes come anyone’s way. The tie pin was a much more delicate piece. He’d had to learn three new design techniques to make it properly. It helped him present himself as someone worth listening to. It wouldn’t make up for gaffes, but it would incline someone to hear him out if he didn’t put his foot in his mouth. He’d explained both, with Niobe pulling out her jeweller’s loupe to look at them, asking questions about the design along the way.

“And the watch?” That had been three solid months of work, the last three, before the stop in Geneva to get the watch to complete the piece. “Designed to help me understand what’s truly needed, so I can best judge whether I am the person to provide that.” It came out stilted. Vitus tried not to flinch at that.

Niobe reached out a hand, a finger tapping on the back of his before she picked up the watch and fob to look at it closely. “You’re nervous about it.”

The usual sort of thing was a piece that let you shine in the best light, that was thought the optimal way to bring in business and build your reputation. Niobe had laid it out before he left. She’d had him do all the research reading in the library and from her own collection. And then she had left it up to him what to do. The more he’d thought about it, though, the less comfortable he’d been with it.

Now Vitus looked at his hands, not at her. “Not what I’d originally researched, no.” He cleared his throat. “I came to the conclusion that I found the usual sort of thing uncomfortably manipulative. Not in all cases, of course, but in some. Enough that I wanted to invest in making a signature piece that did something different. Went about it in a way I wanted to use day in and day out.”

“Also,” Niobe said, “A much more difficult problem, as you’re working on multiple layers. Presenting yourself well is simple enough, in terms of construction. This?” She kept looking at the watch, which at least meant she wasn’t peering at him. “This is four layers, isn’t it? Not three.”

Vitus nodded once. “A net around the edge, to bring in the information that’s needed.” He let out a little hitch, a half-breath. “Then clarity, to understand what’s there. Followed by refinement, to understand what is needed. Finishing with self-awareness, to decide if I am a suitable person to provide that.”

Niobe put down the loupe, then slid the watch back into his hand. “Look at me, will you?”

He looked up, meeting her eyes, and then was startled to realise she was smiling. The watch was in his hand, so was the fob. He knew how that felt now. He’d had enough time with them both, even if there were still nuances to learn. “I am exceedingly proud of you. Not many would make that sort of decision, not when you know how custom usually runs, what you were sure I’d expect.”

The last few words made him blink, suddenly uncertain, but at least reassured he had not disappointed her. Then she was pulling something out of her bodice, a long chain with an oval locket on the end. He’d seen it once or twice before, but never for long or up close, and he’d thought she always wore it. Now she pulled the chain over her head, holding out the locket to him. “Get your loupe out. Have a look at that. Take your time.”

They were, in fact, orders, and she was his apprentice mistress. Even if he weren’t utterly curious, he’d have obeyed. He twisted a bit, to get better light, then worked his way through what he could see. Three tiny gemstones, suspended from the locket proper, set one above the other, shading from pale green through emerald, then the engraving on the locket itself. “Drawing from the Etruscan revival?” Vitus glanced up. “But not your work, the goldsmithing.”

She laughed at that. “No. I traded with Mercurius Hazel, it’s his journeyman piece.” She didn’t have the delicacy of touch for that, and there were plenty of reasons goldsmithing was its own mastery. “But the design was all mine, and all the gem work. You can open it, too.”

Vitus went back to looking at it, then started making notes with one hand, while looking at it. It took him at least five minutes. That was long enough that Niobe had refilled both their cups of tea. Finally, Vitus offered it back, closing it gently and making sure it latched. “The bottom stone, the chalcedony, is the warding, here, the anchor for it. One of them.” He corrected himself quickly.

“One of them. No sense in having a single point of failure, even if this one is quite secure.” Niobe was definitely amused. He’d started with the easiest.

“And then, the middle one, the chrysoprase, that is something about drawing people whose custom you want and averting ill fortune. The smallest stone, the diamond, is a layer of that discernment. Who would make your reputation, to put it bluntly.”

She beamed at him. “I want to work with interesting people, who I can actually help. I also want to make a good living at it, thank you. When you came in, I was sure I wanted to keep you around. It was just a question of how.” Niobe gestured. “And the locket?”

“The interior looks like enamel, but it’s stone, isn’t it? Lapis on the left, citrine on the right. True citrine, yes?” The feel of it was echoing what he wore. “From Brazil?” She nodded once, and he went on. “Amplifying appropriately.” He then gestured with the end of his pencil. There had been no pictures in the locket, which was curious, actually, but he would not ask about that.

“Just so. And the outside?” Niobe slipped it back around her neck, though she left it visible.

“Near enough what I chose. About the discernment, and giving you information to discern with. Trusting that people will see your skill. The ones you want to, anyway.”

The last part of it made her laugh. “Exactly. And it works well for me. Yours is a distinct style - we can discuss in detail at some point. Was the back of yours based on Petrus Minor or Elezar Three?”

“The second, more. But Petrus Minor has that really interesting comment in one of his letters about the applications with intent work. How to get what the actual intent was, not the projected intent.” Vitus raised a hand. “Later, yes. More to the point, when I have all my notes - they’re in the trunks - and can give you the citations and quotes.”

“See, there are reasons I chose you. More than a few of them. Before we get to the trunks, though, now you know I approve. What are your plans?” Niobe had settled to look at him square on. Not that Vitus wanted to duck this. This was what mattered.

“I need to build my reputation. Related to yours, and independent from you. And figure out, erm.”

“How to build a clientele without taking from me.” Niobe raised a finger, gesturing at the fob. “That won’t be a problem. You and I are different people. We can now delineate who suits best. And it’s not as if I’m unwilling to consult after you leave the nest. I certainly hope you’ll be willing.” Before he could say anything, her chin lifted, warning him she had more. “Not as an obligation. Your obligation to me is done when we finish your apprenticeship. But I hope, very much, we will be collaborating for many years to come, and be friends, as well as colleagues.”

“That’s your end game.” Then he blinked. “Oh, the pattern on the back, with the drops of gold.”

“Exactly. Easy to add more, as appropriate. Well, for Mercurius or someone of his skill.” She turned her hands palm up. “Acceptable to you?”

Vitus was nodding before she finished speaking. It was far more generous than he’d expected, and she no doubt already had ideas about how to ease the way. “Where do we start?”

“Ideally, we’d find someone with a visible need. An engagement that requires a new ring or a wedding gift. A Council challenge, from someone with the resources to commission a work and time enough to make one, but of course we can’t count on that. The weddings and betrothals are rather more frequent.”

“One of the heads of school or perhaps one of the notable professors retiring, someone else beginning,” Vitus agreed. “I gather I missed quite the betrothal party for the Fortiers, but of course they’d use their own family pieces.” He hadn’t yet hunted down the coverage of the engagement ring, but it would be in one of the papers, and he was curious. “I don’t suppose you have the latest gossip about that?”

“And if they do commission a wedding piece, it’d probably go to Gallagher.” Ambrose Gallagher was highly skilled. But Vitus was now absolutely sure he ran to the conventional piece to draw in custom. He did solid work, but not imaginative designs. However, he had far more of the custom of the best of the Great Families, if they didn’t keep someone on retainer privately. “I do not position myself to get more than the most public gossip about the Fortiers, but I can think of a few people who might know more. Or you have your own society connections. But no, I can’t imagine you’ll get the offer of any pieces for Miss Lytton-Powell. Maybe for a gift or two, but nothing that would make your name.”

“Even with Father’s connections. I’m not established yet, and the wedding’s set for, what, next March, I heard?”

“Once Miss Lytton-Powell finishes her own apprenticeship, yes. And winter’s such a rush, you know that. You might pick up some commissions for that, though, especially if we could get some pieces made up to show the range of your skill by, oh, June.”

Vitus considered. “The thing I haven’t figured out how to show is the distinction between my artistic ability and my magical. It’d be possible to make plenty of pieces that aren’t expensive but are quite effective, but of course convincing people of that is the trick.”

“Just so. Perhaps we should look through the stones and see what you might work with?” Niobe pushed back from the table. “I intend for you to start out with a reasonable stock. That’s why the amethysts and a number of other less expensive stones. Not that I didn’t want to rebuild my own stock, and honestly, it’s so much better when someone has a look at them.”

“The emeralds from the Alps were surprisingly good quality for the price.” Vitus offered. They wouldn’t make stunning jewellery necessarily, but they’d be effective in talismanic work. “And there’s quite a lot of excellent amber, and that’s always good for magical pieces of varying kinds.”

“What did you find in the way of agate?” Niobe waited for Vitus to join her, and then they lifted the first of the trunks up onto a bench so they could better unpack it.

“Some interesting colouration, absolutely. And I found some unusually well-proportioned peridot, too, on the way back. Here, let’s start with that.” He lifted out the tray, rummaging for the compartment that had those. It was good to be back, and it was even better to know he’d made the right choice in Niobe’s eyes.