A brothel? Opportunity comes knocking quickly in Toren. Or hammering, as it was.

“Is that so?” Emerahl said.

“Yes.”

Emerahl put a knuckle to her lips. “Panilo is the trader who bought my services the last few nights.”

“That’s right. He’s a regular customer. At least he was until recently. He has an eye for quality so I’m always suspicious if my spies tell me he’s been visiting Main Street.”

“So you’re here to tell me to move on, then?”

Rozea smiled, but her eyes remained cold. “That depends. Take off your tawl. And your shift.”

Emerahl shrugged out of the garments and tossed them on the bed, then drew her shoulders back and turned to display her naked body. She didn’t have to strain her senses to detect the guards’ interest. The way the woman examined her body was impersonal and calculating. Emerahl turned full circle and tossed her head.

“Skinny,” Rozea said. “Good bones. I can always work with good bones. No scars…What is your natural hair color?”

“Red.”

“Then why dye it?”

“To make it redder. So I stand out.”

“It looks cheap. My establishment isn’t cheap. My girls can strip it back and redye it a natural shade. Were any of your customers diseased?”

“No.”

“You?”

“No.”

“Good. Get dressed.”

Emerahl moved to her chair, where she had draped her green tunic after washing and drying it last night. “What makes you think I want to work in your establishment?” she asked as she donned it.

“Safety. A clean room. Better clients. Better money.”

“I have Gifts. I can protect myself,” she stated. She gave Rozea a sidelong look. “What kind of money are we talking about?”

Rozea chuckled. “You’ll earn no more than fifty ren to start with.”

Emerahl shrugged. “Panilo paid me that. I want a hundred.”

“Sixty, with new clothes and some jewelry.”

“Eighty.”

“Sixty,” Rozea said firmly. “No more.”

Emerahl sat on the edge of the bed and pretended to consider. “No rough customers. I hear people like you let rich men get nasty with their girls if they offer enough money. Not with me. I have Gifts. If they try anything, I’ll kill them.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed, then she shrugged. “No rough types, then. Are we agreed?”

“And no diseased ones. No money’s worth sickness.”

Rozea smiled. “I do my best to keep my girls safe,” she said proudly. “Customers are encouraged to bathe beforehand, which gives us the opportunity to examine them. Any customers known to be diseased are banned from the house. All girls are given cleansing herbals. If you are Gifted enough, there are other methods you can be taught.” She gave Emerahl a lofty look. “We have a reputation to uphold as the cleanest brothel in Porin.”

Emerahl nodded, impressed. “Sounds reasonable. I’ll give it a try.”

“Fetch your things, then. I have a platten waiting.”