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04:50 PM

The attentive silence of the crowd around Axel and Rayner finally penetrated the corner of the room where Genna and Raf held sway. The music faltered to a stop, and soon the whole room was staring at the opposing heirs. The veteran musician leaned close and whispered in Genna's ear, "Best to pocket the take, lass, and slip out the back door. When a fight breaks out there's usually some enterprising types who'll go after the minstrel's hat. Sometimes they go for the barkeep's till, but barkeeps tend to be big and well-armed, while we tend to be on the scrawny and helpless side."

Genna nodded thoughtfully as she processed the friendly advice. It seemed like very good advice, too. As quietly as possible, she scooped coins from the bowl into her handkerchief. The scrap of linen got heavy very quickly, and a brilliant inspiration came to the heir of Brass. Judging that about half the coins from the bowl were now in the handkerchief, she tied it up into a bundle and handed it to the fiddler with a charming smile. "You deserve at least half of the money we made."

While Raf blinked in surprise at the generous gesture-- and the extremely fine quality of the linen handkerchief-- Genna transferred the rest of the coins to the scarf she'd worn around her neck. Even working in tense haste to get the money out of sight quietly and quickly, she had a pleasant thrill upon recognizing the first coin that had gone into the bowl. Appropriately enough, it seemed to be made of brass, although it was so worn it held only the vaguest hint of some ruler's profile on one side. I'll keep that, and maybe have a locket made around it. The first money I ever earned.

Mentally planning what to tell the jeweler, Genna followed the fiddler out the back door and assured him she could get home safely without an escort. Once she'd seen him fade into the darkness, though, she slipped around the building until she found a spot to watch for Rayner. He had escorted her here, and she felt guilty about Axel offering to fight him. Not that she had any control over Gold's heir, but still she felt responsible because of social status. An heir really shouldn't pick fights with another heir in public, and it wasn't as if Mischief had done anything wrong.

***

Della had also noted the growing silence and tension in the bar. Several of the inebriated jeweler's friends had come to the table when the music limped to a halt, and had displaced her with glares and grumbles. With her prospect of an easy mark removed, and the definite chance that the City Watch would be showing up soon, it was definitely time to be moving on to another venue. Especially since any number of people had seen her come in with Mischief, and were likely to share that fact with all sorts of inconvenient people.

Seeing the musicians heading for the back of the room, Della followed them as inconspicuously as possible. Musicians, in her mind, were like rats on a ship. They always knew the quickest exit when the whole thing started to go under. Once out the back door, she picked up her pace, choosing the most direct route to familiar parts of town. Some of the alleys she went down were narrow, but she wasn't worried. Silver district was one of the posh parts of town. Crime here didn't happen in the streets, only in the homes of the wealthy.