In the Eye of the Storm (Storm and Silence 2)

I thought for a moment, memories flashing in front of my inner eye. ‘Like a jump for a high wall, a fistfight, or a ride in a mine cart.’

The shop assistant blinked at me, taken aback. ‘Um… what profession did you say again you worked in, Sir?’

‘I’m a secretary,’ I told her proudly. ‘To one of the city’s leading financiers.’

‘Err… I see. The financial world must be an interesting workplace.’

‘Indeed it is.’

‘How about this watch, Sir? Sturdy, simple, and elegant.’

‘Yes! That’s exactly what I’m looking for!’

Snatching the item from the assistant, I let it snap open and shut. Walking to the nearest mirror, I put on a stony face, drew myself up to my full height, and let the watch snap open again.

‘Knowledge is power is time is money, Mr Linton! Hurry up, Mr Linton! Bring me file XX322YZ4, Mr Linton! Right away, Mr Linton!’

Seeing the shopkeeper stare at me, I cleared my throat and closed the watch again. ‘I’ll take it.’

‘Y-yes, Sir.’

‘And there’s another thing,’ I added abruptly, glancing down at my clothes. ‘I don’t look particularly fashionable, do I?’

This time it was the assistant who cleared her throat - very diplomatically. ‘Not as such, Sir.’

‘Well, can you show me something better than what I’m wearing? Something appropriate for the city, but tough?’

‘Certainly. Please follow me, Sir.’

Part of me was wondering why I was doing this, wondering why I didn’t leave the shop but followed the assistant into the men’s clothing department. I had never cared about how I looked. Not one bit.

Ah, said a tiny voice in my head, but that was when you were dressed as a lady. A prim and proper lady only dresses well to impress men.

But wasn’t that still what I was doing? I remembered the contemptuous look on the faces of some passers-by and a few higher-ranking employees at Empire House. I wanted to wipe the sneers off their faces! I wanted to impress them!

Yes, you do. Think about the reasons why, though. When a lady dresses well it screams, ‘Look at how pretty I am! I’m from a respectable family, so marry me, please!’ When a man dresses well, it says, ‘Look at me. I have money. I am strong and independent - so get out of my way, you bastards!’

A smile spread over my face. Yes, considered in that light, I had nothing at all against dressing well.

Half an hour later, I was standing in front of a mirror, dressed in a sleek black tailcoat and hat. And that wasn’t all. Grinning, I regarded the waistcoat I had fallen in love with at first sight and demanded to have on the spot.

‘What do you think of it?’ I asked the assistant.

‘Um… certainly very luxuriant, Sir. But… are you sure you wouldn’t like something a tiny bit more restrained?’

‘Whyever would I?’

‘Well, excellent workmanship though your waistcoat undoubtedly is, it nevertheless has something about it that to some people might seem a tiny bit… ostentatious? The purple peacock pattern, for instance-’

‘Exactly!’ I gloated, turning from right to left to watch the peacocks dance. ‘When he sees this, he’ll go ballistic!’

‘He, Sir?’

‘I’ll take it! I’ll take the waistcoat.’

‘Yes, Sir,’ the assistant sighed, resigning herself to her fate. ‘I’ll wrap it up for you with the other items. Anything else?’

I hesitated. There was still quite a lot of money left. Amazing how far even a niggardly salary would go if you didn’t have to pay things like rent, servants’ wages and groceries.