14. An Easy Steal

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We left at about three to go wander the streets for a clothing shop. Luckily there were many to pick from, but deciding if it was in our budget range was a whole new issue. 

They all had enchanting, expensive names like, "Deliciae" and "Honna Noel's" all in bright pastel colors displayed in cursive above the building. These stores even had men's clothing but were usually paired up with even more elaborate women's clothing in the display window. 

"Why couldn't we just go to that tailor like we did last time we were here?" I asked. 

"Because the man before tried to pull a gun on us because we looked suspicious. I'm sure he'd call for the police if we tried that trick again."

"I thought you said that people don't care?"

He was silent before saying, "Yeah, well, even Gods have flaws. My flaw just happens to be forgetfulness."

Or hypocrisy, I wanted to say but refrained. It was best to let him sit with his own mistake. 

"Ah, here we go," Christopher said, stopping at a store. I looked up. Yet another endearing name. This one said, "Louise." 

"What makes this one any different from all the others?" I asked. Christopher smirked and pointed thru the window at the girl standing behind the counter looking bored out of her mind. She was pretty, though, in a soft and cute way.

"This shop has no one else in it and just look at that girl. Do you honestly think she would want to be there working? Poor thing needs excitement! She needs me!" 

Oh no.

He opened the door and sauntered inside, a bright smile on his face. I came in after him, though more plainly and slightly distressed looking. The girl though didn't seem to notice as her attention was perked up at the sight of Christopher. 

"Why, hello there. How can I help you today?" She said in the most feminine voice I have ever heard. 

"Good afternoon to you, love. I was just wondering if you could help us with this little trouble of ours," Christopher said, leaning against the counter and smiling, getting closer to her face. His eyes never left hers and it made her uneasy. She was blushing a dark pink.

"Of course, sir. How can I help?"

Christopher gave a deep sigh. "I'm afraid my sister and I had our luggage lost after just coming back from vacation in Australia. All we have right now are the clothes on our backs and we've had a hard day, so I was wondering if a pretty little thing like you could show us some of your best clothing."

Sister? We looked nothing alike!

For the first time since I walked in, the girl glanced at me, thinking that I must be a step-sister or half-sister of some kind before turning back to Christopher. "Yes! Of course! All of our clothes are quite fine but I do say that over here." she came up from behind the counter and scurried to a rack that held a collection of both women's dresses and tailcoats. "This is where we keep our finest selection."

"What a doll you are!" Christopher exclaimed, walking over. He picked up a tailcoat from a rack and said, "Why, this is some fine material. You weren't the one who happen to have made it have you? My, with such delicate hands, I wouldn't be surprised."

If possible, the young girl blushed harder. "Oh, no. I just sell them," she said.

"What a shame, truly. I would have been honored to wear such attire."

"I want to design a line one day. A-a clothing line, I mean. For men and women."

"What a dream! Anne, doesn't she have a fine dream?" He glanced over at me and I walked over smiling with my hands folding in front of me, nodding. 

"Yes, quite a dream," I said. Let's go, pirate. Pick a tailcoat and dress for us and let's get out of here. I'm sick of seeing you take advantage of a poor girl.

I stared daggers at him, mentally rushing him, but all he did was ignore me. I couldn't tell anymore if he was trying to get us discounted attire or just flat-out flirting. Regardless, it was taking forever.

"Anne, why don't you go ahead and look around? Find something you like, alright?" He said and shooed me away with his hand. Without giving it too much thought, I kept looking around. It was a relatively small store, a shop, really, so I was finished in less than ten minutes. I glanced over my shoulder and found Christopher still talking to the girl. How could she not be tired of him yet?

I turned back to the dresses. I skimmed the racks, tugging at one and then another, admiring the frilliness of some and the silkiness of others. All were beautiful, but one caught my eye. It looked to be in our budget range. It was a deep orange dress that was long sleeves and flowers decorated at the hem. It was matching the season, at least, and in my size.

The worry came when I looked at the price tag. It was more, way more than what we hoped for. I grabbed at another dress only to find the same result. I looked through another rack only to come up with the same result. Bloody hell.

I searched the entire store, just in case I might find something, anything that we could possibly afford. It was just my luck that it all turned up empty. I looked at Christopher. This time, he was trying on a tailcoat, asking the girl what she thought of it.

"It's a lovely color on you," she said sweetly.

"You think so?"

"Oh, yes."

I gave a small smile and walked over to them. "Cousin, can I please have a word, please? I would like your opinion on something." Christopher and the girl looked over at me. Christopher smiled and told the girl that I was probably asking from a male perspective and that he'd be just a moment. I pulled him over to the dress I was looking at. "Look at this price. We can't afford this, any of this," I whispered.

"Just relax, darling. I've got this."

"Weren't you the one concerned about saving money? I doubt your godlike charm can possibly get this anywhere near our price range."

He smiled and said loudly, "Yes, that is a beautiful dress, Anne. A beautiful color." He then said quietly. "You deeply underestimate my charm. It's quite a shame after so long. I would have thought you knew me better."

"I don't believe in you that much," I whisper-shouted. 

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," he said and walked back over to the girl, leaving me dumbfoundingly confused about what to do next. Did he not understand? Had he gone mad? I could have considered every possibility in the world to explain his lack of reasoning, but I was interrupted by him saying to the girl, "I do quite like this tailcoat I have on. This one should do. Anne, grab that dress, would you? I think we're done here."

"Oh, alright. Would you like to look at neckties or maybe shoes for the lady?"

"I believe those boots she has on will do fine. It is getting quite cold."

"Yes, that's quite right," the girl said, covering her hand over her mouth, embarrassed. "Well, is there anything else I can get for you, sir? Maybe a hat or-"

"No thank you, you've been most helpful, but we are in a little bit of a rush. You see, we're meeting our father for dinner, and I'd hate for him to see us not only with inappropriate attire but also being late!"

"Of course, I understand," she said, helping him get the tailcoat off him and taking the dress from my hand to bring it over to the counter to ring us up. For a girl so easily swayed by the charms of a miscreant pirate, she was quick and efficient in her work. She already had the total brought up before Christopher could finish finding his purse.

"Ah, here it is," he said, pulling it out. He opened it up and grabbed almost all that was inside, tossing it out on the counter. The girl was startled by the informality of it but said nothing. She took the money and swiftly counted it up. She slowed down when she realized it wasn't enough.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I must have left the rest of my cash in my other purse," said Christopher, touching every pocket on his person for any sort of cash. 

"I'm very sorry, sir, but I can't let you have these clothes," the girl said shyly. She held a strong resemblance to a mouse, I thought at that moment.

"Sister, you don't happen to have any cash on you, do you? This is quite embarrassing, dear sister, but I promise to pay you back every shingle when we get home."

I came closer to the counter, pretending to be fidgeting with my hands. I said, "No, brother, I'm afraid not. I'm sure father wouldn't mind if we-"

"He would. Remember when he scolded me about losing that pocket of his when in fact he was the one that had it? Can you imagine what he'd say now?"

"Oh, uh, it's alright. You're only short by a little anyway. I can pay for it."

"I can't let you do that, really."

"Please, let me. You both are in a rush, and you've been so kind. Allow me to."

"You truly are a doll, a saint."

The girl neatly folded our things and placed them in a paper bag, scooting it across the counter. Christopher took it and with a sincere look, said, "I will make sure to take you out one of these days. You've been most kind, darling, most kind."

"Really?" She said with a small gleeful smile. A little shimmering fire of hope only for it to be stomped on and put out.

"But of course! How can one lose such an angel? Well, we must be going now. Good evening, my dear." We were out of the shop before the girl could even return the gesture. It was already dark outside, but I made sure we were far enough away before I turned to look at Christopher. He was glowing under the hue of the street lights, a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Aren't you the least bit guilty? She's wasted her paycheck on a couple of thieves for outfits needed to rob people."

"I see it this way, darling," he said. "She could have called for the police, maybe even try to fight us from leaving with these clothes, but she didn't. She chose to pay the rest for us."

"Only because you manipulated her to do it, and that was a lot for her to pay. We weren't exactly a 'little' short."

"I didn't manipulate her. I flirted with her. Isn't that the same thing?"

I argued in a much louder voice, "Well we lied to her. We aren't meeting 'our' father tomorrow and you most certainly aren't going to take her out in any way when we are busy."

"Now, that's just not true. We are meeting a man that you and I might as well call a father to the both of us with how generous he is," he said, "and after this is all over I just might take her out. I meant what I said, she is a saint. Girls like that are hard to find nowadays."

I gritted my teeth and wanted to say the foulest thing that came to mind but Christopher interrupted, announcing that he was hungry. 


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