posts in front of the building. The sign, which appeared to be pointing toward Lillie’s door, read, “A very inoffensive man, except in the offense of importation.”
A second sign, this one bearing effigies of four noncomplying merchants, including Lillie, had been erected nearby.
The signboards were annoyances; the tar on the windows could be removed eventually, although probably not until the air turned warmer.
Ethan was far more alarmed by the presence in the street of several dozen young men. They stood together a short distance from the shop, their hands in their pockets, their shoulders hunched against the cold. A few of them glanced toward the shop and Lillie, but mostly they talked among themselves, punctuating their conversations with occasional bursts of laughter. Ethan feared, however, that they would not be content for long to mind their own affairs.
Ethan halted a few feet from the merchant, his eyes on the mob.
“I suppose I should be flattered that they think me otherwise inoffensive,” Lillie said, frowning at the damage done to his windows. He leaned in closer, peering at the besmeared glass over the rims of his spectacles. “That tar won’t come off easily.”
“No, sir, at least not today with it being so cold. For now, I think you should go back inside.”
Lillie glanced at Ethan and then toward the crowd of young men. “Yes, you’re probably right.” He heaved a breath. “Could you have prevented this?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
“I hired you to protect my shop, my family, and me. And yet, they managed to do this despite the money I’m paying you.”
“If you remember, you hired me to watch your shop by day. I told you what it would cost to hire me at night; you balked at the amount.”
“You were asking for a lot of money,” Lillie said, facing him.
“Be that as it may.”
Lillie scowled and surveyed the windows once more. “It might well have been worth the expense.”
Ethan held his tongue, hoping the merchant wouldn’t change his mind and ask him to work past sundown. As bad as it was working for Lillie at all, it would be worse by far spending his evenings here instead of at the Dowsing Rod.
Boys and young men continued to stream from all directions onto Middle Street. Watching them greet one another, it occurred to Ethan that this was no chance gathering. The same rabble who in recent weeks had tried to intimidate other importers with loud demonstrations, acts of mischief like the dirtying of Lillie’s windows, and even wanton destruction of property, had chosen on this day to direct their ire at Mr. Lillie.
“Sir, I do think we need to get you inside.”
The merchant eyed the mob once more. “Yes, very well.”
He stepped into the shop, and Ethan followed close behind, shutting the door and securing the lock.
Lillie turned at the sound of the bolt. “I’m open for business, Mister Kaille. My purpose in hiring you was to remain open despite these threats.”
“I understand, sir. And as soon as a customer approaches, I’ll unlock the door. I’ll even hold it open. But until then, I intend to keep it locked.”
Lillie didn’t look pleased, but neither did he argue the point further. He removed his cloak, revealing a deep green coat and matching breeches and waistcoat—a ditto suit, as such sets were called. He wore as well a powdered wig that made him look a good deal older than his years; Ethan guessed that Lillie was actually a few years younger than he. He had a round, pleasant face, dark eyes, and a weak chin. He didn’t look to Ethan like a man who could so inflame the passions of the mob that lingered out in the street.
The young clerk who worked in the shop knelt before a shallow hearth and stirred the fire burning there. It was still chilly within but it wasn’t nearly as cold as it had been outside.
Ethan removed his greatcoat, and, with his back turned to the merchant, pulled a few leaves of mullein from the pouch hidden in his pocket.
He had planned to cast a warding spell on the shop door, but now, holding the leaves in the curl of his fingers, he reconsidered. Lillie had gone behind the counter and was readying the shop for a day’s business. Ethan wasn’t sure a warding that allowed patrons to come and go as they pleased would have any effect on those with darker intentions.
Staring out through the filthy windows, he could see that the crowd continued to