Chapter 7
Liana
The villa stood on a quiet street surrounded by a blooming garden and a high wall. Liana knocked on the back door, tucked away in a narrow alley. She’d hidden her hair under a scarf, cast her eyes down.
“Mistress Sariza sends me. She said you’re short of girls for tonight.”
The woman at the door—short, gaunt, middle-aged—scrutinized Liana. “If all you do is pour wine for the high and mighty with that face, you’re wasting your life, girl.”
A genuine blush warmed Liana’s cheeks. She could hardly escape her looks. “That’s all I do, ma’am.”
“Well, come in, then. What are you waiting for?”
She followed the woman through a cool whitewashed corridor, walking past a pantry and a bustling kitchen. The scent of hazelnuts and caramelized sugar made her breathe in deeply, imagining bittersweet brittle crunching between her teeth.
“Hurry up.”
She followed the woman up the polished wooden stairs to the first floor.
The house was decorated with superb taste in soft shades of mint and aquamarine, with glazed tiles on the floor, soft gauze curtains, and frescoed walls.
The room at the end of the corridor was shaded, the wooden shutters letting in only a handful of slanting rays. Dust danced in the rose-scented air.
“My lady, a new girl from the palace arrived.”
“Why are you bringing her to me? She should be in the kitchen.” The woman lounging on a low sofa removed a cold compress from her eyes and looked at Liana. “Oh, I see. Come closer, please.”
The woman was in her late thirties and pretty in a fragile way, with dark hair, pale skin, and large gray eyes which took in every detail of Liana’s appearance. “Could you let your hair down for me?”
Liana removed the scarf, unbraided her hair, and let the honey-colored waves tumble down to her waist.
“She says she’s just a server, my lady.”
The pretty woman stood up and touched Liana’s chin, urging her to lift her face. “Oh no, that’s a complete waste.”
“That’s what I said, my lady.”
Liana kept her mouth shut. She’d begged and bribed the maids at the palace to tell her where Amril would have his thing, as Amron had called it, that evening.
A few girls mentioned an additional source of income, but only as servers.
Lady Celandina had her own girls who entertained the visitors, she only needed the maids to bring food and wine and clean up afterwards.
“Show me your teeth.”
Liana stretched her lips into a weak semblance of a smile.
“Perfect. Would you mind taking your clothes off for me?”
Liana kept her face as neutral as possible.
She wanted a chance to get close to Amron without drawing attention to herself, not an audition for the most expensive brothel in the city.
But refusing now would get her kicked out immediately, and anyway, it wasn’t like she planned to stay here after tonight. She might as well play along.
“Oh, wonderful,” the woman said when Liana let her chemise slip down to the tiles. “How old are you?”
“Nineteen.”
“And you work in the palace as a maid?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“And it never occurred to you to use your looks to get a better job?”
“I never thought I’d be any good at it.” It was the truth. She’d done a fair share of hard, physically demanding jobs in her life, but none were as difficult as being groped by some horny animal reeking of sour wine and sweat.
“I can teach you to be good at it, it’s a skill. What’s your name?”
“Liana.”
“Liana, have you ever been with a man?”
“Yes.” She tried to remember how her nineteen-year-old self had felt about men.
Tired of their relentless advances, wary of their possessiveness, bemused by their fumbling.
That didn’t stop her looking for the one that’d suit her, though.
She’d always known that if she waded deep enough into the muck, she’d find the pearl.
Now it was time for more muck, and she was old enough to handle it.
She wanted the job. “I know how to make them happy, my lady. If that’s what you want me to do. ”
“Hm.” The lady lifted one eyebrow. “You’re a rough diamond indeed, but that face of yours.…I wish I had the time to teach you, but there’ll be a crowd of restless young men here tonight, thirsting for a novelty. All you have to do is smile and be pliable. Can you do that?”
“Yes.” Liana shot the lady her sweetest smile.
“Mera will give you something to wear and introduce you to the girls. I don’t expect you to perform tonight, you don’t have to sing or dance or even talk, just hover in the background and look pretty. If you catch someone’s eye, I’ll handle it. Do you understand?”
Liana nodded, and thus she was promoted from a maid to one of Lady Celandina’s girls.
She had seen a fair share of brothels in her life—they were ubiquitous with both the army and the nobility.
And she’d seen the whole palette of women who sold their bodies, from the most desperate camp-followers and half-starved waifs—selling a quick upright for two coppers—to pampered courtesans, singers, and actresses who could choose between the men who threw themselves at their feet.
She knew she’d been lucky, in those early years of her life, to have had a grandfather who protected her, surrounded her with a close-knit group of people.
If Lord Echton’s hunters hadn’t taken her as one of their own, she might have easily ended up in one of the inns along the northern road, sold like chattel, too young to set herself free.
Lady Celandina’s girls didn’t look like anybody sold them.
When she joined them, dressed in a flowing, gauzy teal gown, her hair pulled away from her face and secured with pearl hairpins, she drew a few curious looks and quick nods, nothing else.
She was pretty, yes, but so were they, as well as polished and businesslike.
“This is Liana,” Mera introduced her. “She’ll be joining you tonight.”
A dozen cold, disinterested smiles.
“Show us what you can do,” a blonde holding a harp said when Mera left. “What makes you special? Can you sing? Dance?”
“I can keep my mouth shut,” Liana said.