Vice

"No, nothing, thank you."

"Long ways to travel with not so much as a cloak bag," the man remarked curiously.

Juliana merely nodded and set off to the i

She entered the dark paneled taproom, where a scullery maid was slopping a bucket of water over the grubby flagstones. Juliana skipped over a dirty stream that threatened to swamp her feet, caught her foot on the edge of the bucket, and grabbed at the counter to save herself. Stable again, she nodded cheerfully to the girl.

"I give you good morning."

The girl sniffed and looked as if it was far from a good morning. She was scrawny and pale, her hair almost painfully scraped back from her forehead into a lank and greasy pigtail. "Ye want summat t'eat?"

"If you please," Juliana responded with undiluted cheerfulness. She perched on a high stool at the counter and looked around. The comparison with the country i

The i

"Eggs and toast and tea, if you please, sir. I've just come off the York stage." Juliana essayed a smile.

The man peered at her suspiciously in the gloom, and she drew the cloak tighter about her.

"I'll see yer coin first," he said.

Juliana reached into her pocket and drew out a shilling. She slapped it onto the counter and glared at him. her jade-green eyes suddenly ablaze.

The i

The maid dumped her mop into the bucket with a rough impatience that sent water slurping over the rim and, sighing heavily, marched behind the counter into the kitchen.

The i

"No, just tea, thank you."

His crafty glance ran over her swathed figure. "Tea’ll maudle yer belly, lad. It's a drink fit only fer women. Didn't nobody teach ye to take ale with yer breakfast?"

Juliana accepted that her disguise was not convincing, but it had served its purpose thus far. She was certain no one had thought twice about her at the Rose and Crown in Winchester, and as far as the i

"I'm looking for lodging and work," she said casually, confirming his suspicions by default. "D'you know of anything around here?"

The man stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Well, now, I just might be able to think of summat. Let's see what ye've got under that cap."

Juliana shrugged and pulled off her cap. "I fail to see what my hair has to do with getting a job."

Ellie came back with the breakfast at this point and gawped as the fiery mass, released from the confines of the cap, tumbled loose from its pins.

" 'Ere, what ye doin' dressed like a lad?" She thumped the plate in front of Juliana.

"It makes traveling easier," Juliana responded, dipping her toast into her egg. "And could I have my tea, please?"

"Oh, 'oity-toity, an't we?" Ellie said. "I'll bet yer no better than ye ought t' be."

" 'Old yer tongue and fetch the tea, girl," the i

Ellie ducked, sniffed, and ran off to the kitchen.

"So jest what's a lady doin', then, wanderin' the streets dressed like a lad?" he inquired with a careless air, polishing a dingy pewter tankard on his sleeve.

Juliana hungrily wiped up the last of her egg yolk with her toast and put down her fork. "I'm looking for work, as I told you."

"Ye speaks like a lady," he persisted. "Ladies don't look fer work 'ereabouts."

"Ladies down on their luck might." She poured tea from the pot Ellie had plumped down at her elbow, put the pot down again, and, as she moved her arm, caught the fold of her cloak on the spout. The pot rocked and clattered on the counter, but she managed to extricate her garment without too much spillage.

"Aye. I suppose they might," the i

"So do you know of anything?"

"Reckon I might. Just bide 'ere a while an' I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you." She smiled radiantly, and he blinked his little eyes, then stomped off into the nether regions, leaving Juliana alone with her tea.

In the kitchen he summoned a potboy, scrubbing greasy pans in a wooden tub beside the door. "Eh, you, lad. Take yerself to Russell Street in Covent Garden. Mr. De

"Aye, sir, Mr. Bute," the boy said, tugging a forelock with a wet and greasy hand. "Right away, sir." He scampered off, and Mr. Bute stood for a minute rubbing his hands together. The De

Nodding to himself, he returned to the taproom. "I reckon I can do summat fer ye, miss," he said with a smile that he considered jovial but that reminded Juliana of a toothless, rabid dog.

"What kind of work?" she asked.

"Oh, good, clean work, miss," he assured her. "Jest as long as ye can please Mistress De

"Is it live-in work?"

"Oh, aye, miss, that it is," he returned, drawing a tankard of ale for himself. "Genteel, live-in work. Jest the thing fer a young lady on 'er own. Mistress De

Juliana frowned. It all seemed remarkably convenient, quick and easy. Too much so. Then she shrugged. She had nothing to lose by waiting to meet this Mistress De

"Should I go to her?"

"Bless you, no. Mistress De

"Then I'll sit in the inglenook." Juliana yawned deeply. "I'll take a nap while I'm waiting."

"Right y'are," Mr. Bute said indifferently, but his eyes remained on her until she'd curled up on the wooden settle in the deep inglenook, her cheek pillowed on her hand. Her eyes closed almost immediately.

Mr. Bute sucked at his toothless gums with a slurp of satisfaction. She'd be no trouble until Mistress De

He hastened from behind his counter and greeted his visitor with a deep bow.

"So what have you for me, Bute?" the lady demanded, tapping a high-heeled shoe of pink silk edged with silver lace. "It's devilish early in the morning for making calls, so I trust I'm not on a fool's errand."

"I trust not, madam," the i

"Well, where is she?" Elizabeth plied her fan, her nose wrinkling slightly at the stale, unsavory air now embellished with the scent of boiling cabbage.