Page 6 of Skinwalker's Bane
Bishan held still for a moment. Then he smiled at her. It was one of his nice smiles, the genuine one, not the dazzling one he reserved for power players he didn’t know very well. “Of course you do,” he told her gently. “You’re only the most exciting prospect for Captain in two generations. You’re beautiful and you’re gusty and you’re clever.”
“Thank you.” She knew he was giving her his daily pep talk, but she let herself feel a warm glow of appreciation, anyway.
Bishan relaxed all at once, the tension evaporating from his shoulders and his feet. He pushed his hands into his pockets. “What did I interrupt?” he asked. “Why were you looking so annoyed?”
“Oh, it was nothing,” Devin said quickly. “A personal matter.” Then a horrid thought occurred to her. “Bishan, may I ask a silly question, now you have enlightened me on the degree to which appearance is so important?”
Bishan nodded.
“Would it be very bad if I appear at the soiree in a dress that another woman is wearing?”
Bishan didn’t laugh at her, as another man might, about something as trivial as an evening gown. He looked thoughtful. “I might have said it was a survivable disaster,” he said slowly. “Only, now, you are working from a disadvantage. This Royal Connor thing has put you behind the other two Dreamhawks candidates.”
“Dirks and Vinci can print a simple suit and look identical to every other man and not suffer for it,” Devin added.
“Exactly. Is there a chance that you might wear a dress someone else has?” he asked.
“A good chance, yes,” Devin told him. “That’s what I was annoyed about when you came in.” She reached up and tugged the coat laying over the back of the sofa and then patted her dress. “These clothes you just admired are the exact same outfit another woman was wearing at the dinner I attended tonight. Not only was I embarrassed, other women were laughing about it, too.”
Bishan frowned. “Of all the clothes a woman can print, how could you end up with the same? The odds are too great for it to be simple coincidence. Who is the woman? Does she know you? Does she have any connections to political opponents?”
Bishan tended to see conspiracies in every shadow. It was his job to do that. Devin held up her hand. “It wasn’t a plot to undermine me,” she said gently. “The chances are far greater than you think, these days, that identical garments are worn. You’ve heard of Liya Cassel?”
Bishan sighed. “The dress designer? Who hasn’t? Captain Owens uses her. Beyond that, I don’t give a damn. As long as you look neat and attractive and appropriately dressed for your social standing and your aspirations, you could wear plasteel shields if you want to.”
She pointed at him. “Exactly. That’s the problem. Everyone who matters wears Liya Cassel designs. We’re all pulling from the same files.” She put her hand on her knee, over the silky floral fabric. “What happened today could very easily happen at the soiree because there are only so many of Liya Cassel’s evening designs to go around.”
Bishan shrugged. “Hire the woman to design a unique dress, then.”
“I can’t afford to hire her. You said it yourself, Bishan. She designs for Captain Owens and the Captain’s friends and influential partners and associates. Only the best get to hire her.”
Bishan raised his brow. “Perhaps the Dreamhawks could pick up the tab,” he said slowly. “It would be in their best interests for you to look fabulous at the soiree.” Then he frowned. “Ifyou are to sit at the Chairman’s table, that is.” He pulled his hands out of his pockets, suddenly crackling with energy again. “I’ll fix that.Youtake care of the dress. Talk to Liya Cassel.”
“That’s the other problem,” Devin told him. “She’s not taking my calls.”
“You called her already?”
“After the disaster tonight, I thought the soiree important enough to at least talk to her about prices and see if there was a way to squeeze it into the budget.” Devin shrugged.
Bishan nodded. “If you only tried tonight, then of course you wouldn’t reach her. It’s the memorial gathering for that skinwalker who died last week.”
Devin held still for a moment, as her heart thudded unhappily. She let out her breath slowly so Bishan wouldn’t notice her reaction. “Liya Cassel would be at a skinwalker’s memorial?”
Bishan smiled. “Her partner is a skinwalker.”
Devin shook her head.
“What?” he demanded.
“You have no idea about dress design beyond whether it looks pretty, yet you know everything about the designer’s relationships.”
“Relationships—”
“—drive politics,” Devin finished.
Bishan looked pleased. “Shecanbe taught.”
Devin laughed and got to her feet. “I’ll keep trying to reach Liya Cassel. You sort out the Royal Connor misunderstanding. Should I mention Mina Rask to Liya if she is reluctant to take on the work?”
