‘I’m not sure.. .’she began as she faced her companions.
‘Not SURE!’ Rosa was indignant. ‘Why, that deep blue shows up your lovely skin and your eyes . . . they are blue, aren’t they, or is it the dress makes them so? And it fits like it was made for YOU!’
Tenna looked down at the low-cut front of the bodice. Whoever it had been made for had had a lot more breast. She didn’t fill it out properly. Silvina was rummaging through another box.
‘Here,’ she said, and stuffed two pads in the front, settling them with such a practised hand that the adjustment was done before Tenna could protest.
‘There! That’s much better,’ Spacia said and then giggled. ‘I have to pad, too. But it’d be worse for us as runners to be heavy, bumping around all the time.’
Tenna tentatively felt her newly improved form but, as she looked at herself in the mirror, she could see that the fit of the top was vastly improved and she looked more . . . more . . . well, it fitted better. The fabric was so smooth to the touch, it was a pleasure just to feel the dress on her. And this shade of blue . . .
‘This is Harper Blue,’ she said with surprise.
‘Of course it is,’ Silvina said with a laugh. ‘Not that it matters. You’ll be wearing runner cords . . . though right now,’ and Silvina’s appreciative grin broadened, ‘you don’t look runnerish . . . if you’ll forgive my frankness.’
Tenna couldn’t help admiring how much better her figure looked with that little alteration. She had a slim waist and the dress hugged it before flaring out over hips which she knew to be too bony and best covered.
‘The pads won’t . . . pop out . . . will they, when I’m dancing?’
‘If you’ll take off the dress, I’ll put a few stitches to secure them where they should stay,’ Silvina said.
That was done so quickly that Silvina was folding the lovely dress over Tenna’s arm before she realized it.
‘Now, shoes?’ Spacia asked. ‘She can’t wear spikes.’
‘She might better wear them,’ Rosa said dourly, ‘with some of those louts who come to a Fort Gather. Haligon’s not the only one who’ll home in on her, looking that way.’
Silvina had cast a measuring glance at Tenna’s long narrow feet and now took a long box down from one of the many shelves in this huge storeroom.
‘Should have something to fit even narrow runner feet . . .’ she murmured and came up with a pair of soft, anklehigh, black suede boots. ‘Try these.’
They did not fit. But the fourth pair – in dark red – were only slightly too long.
‘Wear thick anklets and they’ll fit fine,’ Spacia suggested.
And the three girls left, Tenna carefully transporting the dress to the station. Rose and Spacia insisted on sharing the burden of the shoes and the underskirt which Silvina offered to complete the costume.
The last sliver of sticklebush was on the pad the next morning and Beveny added it to the others, handing the evidence packet over to Torlo who grinned in satisfaction.
‘This’ll make Lord Groghe see that we’ve a legitimate complaint,’ he said and nodded emphatically at Tenna. She was about to protest when he added, ‘But not until after the Gather for he’s too busy to be approached right now. And he’ll be in a much better mood after a good Gather.’ He turned to Tenna. ‘So you have to stay till after and that’s that.’
‘But I could run short distances now, couldn’t I?’
‘Mmm,’ Torlo said, nodding. ‘Iffen a run comes up. Don’t like to be idle, do you, girl?’ She shook her head. ‘Wal, Healer, is she fit?’
‘Short run and no hills,’ Beveny said, ‘and nowhere Haligon might ride.’ He grinned mischievously at her and took his leave.
Just before midday, Torlo called her from the front bench where she’d been watching the Gather stalls being erected.
‘Run down to the Port for me, will you? A ship just was drummed in and has cargo for the Gather. We’re to get its manifests.’ He took her by the arm and showed the route to her on the big map of Fort Hold that displayed local traces and roads. ‘Straight run . . . downhill all the way to the Port. And not too steep on the way back.’