Outfoxed (The Fox Witch #1) - R.J. Blain Page 0,105

for a contract.

I assumed the auction house received special requests like that all of the time, as they had a huge assortment of men’s and women’s clothing available, including pajamas.

“She’ll be billed for everything on the list and any extras you’re given,” Dick informed me. “Her specifications are for you to be comfortable, so take several pairs. Most families want to give their courtesans a chance to settle before subjecting them to any shopping and other mandatory outings.”

I could work with that, and as I was far more into flannel than satin or silk, I grabbed three sets of flannel, one set pale, one in shades of gray with some black tossed in for good measure, and one set in red and white. After a moment of second thought, and an embarrassing amount of cloth fondling, I grabbed a silk pair in red.

The silk wasn’t the glossy kind, sinful in its softness rather than slick and shiny.

“Do I change out of the business hussy outfit now?”

“Yes. There is a bathroom over there. I’ll leave a pair of slippers out for you.”

I changed into the darker pajamas, taking a few minutes to check my bandages, which seemed okay. I didn’t want to think about how the next few days would look, as they needed to be changed daily while a witch checked for signs of infection. With my track record, I expected a multi-week battle. On the other hand, I bet the woman who’d bought me would be extra careful with her investment.

A pair of dark, fuzzy slippers waited for me right outside the bathroom door, and I wasted no time stuffing my feet into them. Dick set several boxes onto one of the tables, one of them covered in pictures of a rather expensive laptop. “The auction house keeps random laptops around?”

In the Alley, a laptop still in its box begged to be stolen, and those with them guarded them. Some, like my poor landlord, had ancient desktop computers. They did little good beyond tracking the weather, alleviating boredom, and dealing with the damned government.

Few bothered to import technology into a dying city with unreliable electricity.

Damn it, I’d only met him once, but I regretted I wouldn’t be able to have those coffee dates with Carl.

“No, we don’t. We have a rather excellent relationship with many retail stores nearby, and a laptop was on the request list. As soon as we received the request, one of our staff went to the store and purchased it. They stayed open a little later than normal for us, as they often do on auction nights. Some items we couldn’t fulfill, but we found acceptable alternatives. For example, the buyer wanted us to acquire some books for you, but as the nearest bookstore closed before the auction’s conclusion, we acquired a tablet for you, opened an account on your behalf with an online bookstore, and set it up so you have access to reading material. Your buyer does not wish for you to become bored, and she wants to make certain you’re able to adapt to your new environment.”

“Is that because foxes are destructive and she thinks I’m going to tear up her house if I become bored?”

“While this may come as a shock to you, most of our clients, especially on the high-end auctions such as yours, want their courtesans to be content. There’s an adaptation period, as most men and women don’t adjust quickly to the idea of losing certain freedoms, but you’ll find your situation to be much improved from your recent past.”

“Well, that’s not all that hard. I’ve been living in the Alley.”

“While dodging bounty hunters for several years. Your record is quite interesting.”

“Why wasn’t that mentioned at the auction, anyway? That seems like an oversight to me.”

“The tablets they used to submit bids had most of your record available for them to peruse at their leisure. It included all bounty attempts, your bounty values, and any notations from bounty hunters after sightings. The specifics of the bounty hunters were masked, although they were rated by their general competency.”

“You mask who the bounty hunters are?”

“Yes. That’s for your protection as much as theirs, although your buyer does have the fully disclosed list. We do not want to encourage the other buyers into attempting to make off with someone else’s purchase, and they might attempt to contact the bounty hunters should they know their identities.”

Huh. The auction house had put a lot of thought into keeping their acquisitions safe. “I don’t