Wrapped in Color and Light

Chapter 12

Joel watched Brom take a seat by the table and pull a pipe from his pocket. He lit it, using a hot twig that had been poked into the fire, and took a deep drag before tossing the stick into the flames.

Master Pippery rummaged through a chest, tossing out garments, a storm of fabric flying behind his back. Joel waited, Constance's stare burning his back.

If I turn, will our eyes lock? His hands were sweating at the idea as his skin pricked.

"Aha! Here you go." Master Pippery handed Joel a beige tunic and green leggings. "They used to be Brom's before he got so big that he was recruited by the lord's guard. Now, the lord provides his dress, which I make, of course." Master Pippery ushered Joel behind a screen. "Change here. Toss your other garments over the top when you're done."

Joel stepped behind the screen, undressed, and hung his own clothes over it before struggling with the leggings. The sensation of tight wool around his legs was uncomfortable. Nonetheless, he pulled them up around his waist, tying the string tight, and then he threw the baggy tunic over his head, thinking it looked very much like a potato sack.

Glancing up, he noticed his jeans and T-shirt were gone. Joel laughed under his breath. He had no doubt that Master Pippery had them in his hands, turned inside out, to examine the stitching.
When Joel stepped out from behind the screen, the family was gathered around a candlelit table, the girls hunched over books and Brom still relaxed in a chair with the pipe in his hand. As expected, Master Pippery had the jeans in his lap and one of Joel's sneakers on the table.

Only Constance looked up when Joel approached. He wanted to pull out a chair and sit, but his muscles froze, everything in his body focused on her. She terrified him, a girl who shouldn't exist, yet he thanked God for her presence. He'd never known anyone so beautiful.

"Take a seat, Joel." Constance's voice broke him out of her spell.

He tapped Master Pippery on the shoulder. The tailor, presumably thinking the touch had come from a fly, swatted Joel away without looking up.

"Master Pippery?" Joel got no answer, so he asked louder, "Master Pippery?"

The tailor peered up from his work, wide-eyed, his hands still fiddling with the jeans. He smiled briefly, giving Joel a quick glance up and down. Looking back at his lap, Master Pippery uttered, "Why, yes, you look great, son. We'll have to get you a belt though, won't we?"

Joel chewed his lip, his fingernails biting into his palms. In the silence of the cottage, he took a deep breath, gathering all the courage he could muster. "What happened to the old lord? And how did Lord Axeforth come to take his place?"

The question struck like a dagger. Everyone stopped what they were doing, gazes darting like a flock of swallows.

Brom pulled the pipe from his mouth, motioning toward Master Pippery. "Hell with it, Pop. You can tell him. He should know, shouldn't he? You don't want him going around and asking questions where he shouldn't."

Constance placed her book upon the table. "Brom, you know it's against the lord's law to talk about the transition. If anyone knew, think of what would happen." Her words were stern.

"You mean, the highjack," Master Pippery mumbled.

"Papa!" Constance fixated her stare on the door, as though fearful someone would walk in at that exact moment.

Brom put both hands into the air. "Everyone, calm down." Then, he studied Joel as the rest of the family sat in silence, anxious. "What you're about to hear, Joel, doesn't get repeated to a single soul. Any mention of Lord Axeforth's mysterious takeover will land you in a cell."