Once Upon a Dark October

Chapter Sixteen

T hough she’d accepted my apology with an assurance that everything was all right between us, it wasn’t until the following day that Morrigan was able to coax Gwen into getting excited about ballgown fabrics. Early that morning, we had managed to get Josephine out of her laboratory to join us, but only because Clarabella insisted. Morrigan had scheduled appointments with the coven’s usual dressmaker and tailor before all of the harbor awoke and rushed the shops. We were allowed to browse at our own leisure, the doors locked and the curtains closed to other customers who might have been roused with the veil of predawn fog.

The young dressmaker and her seamstresses were bleary-eyed with sore fingers, having been overwhelmed with orders from all across the harbor since Sonia’s invitations arrived. I saw Morrigan slip an extra handful of gold coin to her while Gwen and Jo were being indecisive about color palettes. She had approached me wearing a smirk as I considered endless bolts of iridescent silks and solid, velvety colors. It was customary to wear autumn shades to a Blood Moon celebration, but it had been a few years since I’d worn a formal evening gown .

“What do you think, darling?” She’d skirted the raw edge of a burnt orange satin, making it billow. “Silk or satin?”