Beyond Sangatte

Emma followed the young girl, Bonita, to where a carriage was waiting on the main road.  They traveled for about two hours to Sangatte, where they stopped to refresh themselves.  Bonita explained that they were going on about another two miles beyond Sangatte, but that they should eat here, since the chaos of the court would likely result in no food for any of them until the following day.

They did indeed have a chaotic arrival, with the Lady NPC scanning the coach at first for the older woman, then looking disappointed at the young replacement.  After a few days, however, it was established that Emma could indeed work with fine fabrics, and she fit right in with the quickly arranged group of cloth-women, teaching a stitch to one, learning a stitch from another.

She enjoyed the work, and almost three weeks passed quickly.  With fifteen women working with every bit of sunlight every day and a few candles beyond, all of the dresses of the main court had been finished; bows and hair arrangements and shoes had been decorated, stitched, and glamorized.  As the days passed, Emma would say goodbye to one visiting seamstress after another, until finally only she and the Lady's own cloth-woman and her two helpers remained.  Notorious guests were beginning to arrive, and Emma's own clothing was becoming less presentable by the day.  A week before the wedding, the Lady called her in and offered her a full-time position as an apprentice to her own seamstress; the Lady would be losing the cloth-woman's first apprentice to her sister when she married, and she had been impressed by Emma's attitude, if not by her appearance or clothing.

The Lady offered Emma a custom-made court dress if she stayed, and the opportunity for a nice wardrobe as new events were planned.  In wages, the Lady offered her more than Emma had expected: 7 pence a day!  Emma knew that many guilds paid master workers 8 and up, so the amount offered showed her that her work would be considered of the highest value for her station.

Emma however wanted to return to Lightbridge; her mother had been proud of her work here, but wanted the young girl away from court until she was older.  The generous Lady then paid Emma 6 pence a day for her 15 full days of work, and she as well bestowed upon Emma one of her own dresses from her youth.  Although she pointed out that its design was outdated, she was sure that Emma could work it up into something more contemporary.  The Lady's seamstress cried at Emma's leaving, and she also packed up several spools of threads and scraps into Emma's bag that she knew would not be missed.

The Lady then put Emma onto a carriage and sent her back to Lightbridge.