Emerahl chuckled and sidled past the beds to a line of long, feminine tunics hanging from hooks on the back wall of the room. She took down a new green tunic, made of a cloth invented some time in the last century that shone like polished metal but was luxuriously soft to touch.

“Panilo’s back?” Tide asked.

“Yes.”

Brand made a face and flopped back onto the bed, her bright yellow hair spreading over the pillow. “I’ve heard he’s nice, but he visits too early for my liking.”

Emerahl took off her bathing robe and slipped into the tunic. “I’m not used to sleeping all day and staying up all night, so it suits me fine.”

Tide stepped forward to pluck a piece of thread from the tunic. “You keep him as long as you can,” she advised. “He’s nice and rich.”

“I’ll do my best.” She moved to the door, then paused to look back at them. “How is my hair?”

“Magnificent,” Brand replied. “Get going, Jade, before some other new girl catches his eye.”

Emerahl grinned, then hurried down the corridor. A few turns, stairways and doors later she entered a large, richly decorated communal room. The high ceiling and tasteful decorations on the walls and columns gave the room a feeling of formal respectability. The roof aperture allowed a view of blue sky, also reflected in the pool below. Paintings on the walls depicted men and women engaged in lovemaking. She rarely had time to examine them, but during each visit had glimpsed intriguing scenes, including some that looked quite improbable.

Panilo looked up at her as soon as she entered, and was instantly on his feet, smiling.

“Emmea.”

“Jade,” she corrected, putting a finger to his lips.

“Jade, then,” he said. “I preferred Emmea.”

She glanced at the other two men in the room. One lounged on a bench with the air of someone waiting expectantly. A crowd of girls surrounded the other, flirting expertly. Both men had paused to stare at her.

Their unconcealed admiration sent a shiver of both pleasure and anxiety up her spine. Perhaps I should make myself look a little dowdy, she thought. I must not draw too much attention…

“Don’t let them frighten you,” Panilo murmured. “Galero over there couldn’t afford you, and Yarro wants only the house’s best, which, fortunately for me, is a position you haven’t yet attained.”

She smiled at him, appreciating the compliment and wondering how much Rozea was charging him. “Let’s get out of here, so I can have you all to myself.”

She drew him through a door into a complex of rooms. Leaf had told her to use one of the luxurious suites whenever she was with Panilo, and a smaller, humbler room when with other customers. It made Emerahl wonder just how highly placed in Toren society Panilo was.

“Bath?” she asked. Each of the luxurious rooms had a large tub.