Page 6 of Enchanted Net
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.
Chapter5
