Lechance

The tavern had been fully stocked when Marta had arrived, so getting started hadn't been difficult and she was already open for business. She may have to hire extra help at some point, but to start with things were quiet enough she could manage alone.

She was hoping Jonas would come by for that drink they'd talked about at the party, and when she looked up from cleaning glasses to see him walk in the door she greeted him with a bright, beautiful smile. "Good afternoon, Sheriff. What can I get you?"

Effie had lifted the gloves from her pillow the night before, and carefully pressed them between clean handkerchiefs inside her bible. This morning, she packaged them up, wrote the destination address in neat script on the outside of the parcel, and requested the services of one of the chaperones to accompany her to the post office.

It was a fine morning, and a treat to be outside in precious daylight rather than using it to continue work on her next commission, but bobbins could be wound by lamp light and she was hardly overwhelmed with work. Her mind was still on the possible stitches she could use in the panels of the fan when they reached the post office and she stopped abruptly, clutching her parcel securely to her chest and stepping back when she saw someone on their way out. "Oh! Excuse me, please, I didn't...please, after you."

Like many of the Ascendents who were new in town, Santiago had gone to search for a suitable house. He'd chosen one further out from town, closer to the beach, with a bit of land for farming. He could see the ocean from the upper floor and knew that if he left the windows open at night, he would catch the salty smell on the breeze.

He was walking back into town when he saw someone struggling with some packages. "Please, let me assist you," he said as he hurried toward them.