He seemed alone, in a way the others did not.
She noticed something on the next man along, a stocky fellow in his fifties. “This one has a tattoo. ‘Bonnie.’”
It was unlikely that Bonnie would approve of tonight’s activities, and reality struck, harder than this imagined woman’s slap. Angelika began defending herself out loud. “Surely a second chance is better than being tossed into a hole in the dirt?”
She wasn’t talking to Victor, but he answered anyway. “If it’s not us, it’s them.” He nodded to the doorway. “The difference is, we have a chance to reverse this. A few years too late, I suppose.” He meant for their parents, and they both swallowed a lump of sadness. With forced humor, he continued. “Here, you’ll like this one over here. Rippling all over with muscles, and a cock like a hog’s hind leg. I think you’ve got a few options to work with here.”
The shroud was pulled down to the knees, and she assessed the body part in question. The anatomy manuals had not prepared her. “Is it . . . too big?”
“Sister, I cannot advise you on such things,” Victor replied. “Just get spares where you can.”
It was good advice. Their laboratory smelled of burning hair.
This person’s biceps did not give under her prodding finger, and his hands were black from coal, or metal. The body belonging to her handsome man had been refined and clean; this one was a brute. She faltered, looking back again. “I still like mine as he is.”
“I think this was the blacksmith. Athena threw a shoe in the village last year. Shame.” Victor slapped the man’s shoulder heartily. “He put up with her biting very well. Don’t look so worried, Jelly. We will make somebody who is ideal to you in every way.”
Helsaw was leaning through the doorway. “What’s taking so long? Heads are now an extra sixpence.”
Victor ignored him. “I think this time’s the charm, don’t you, Jelly? We learned from the last three attempts. When I present my rebuilt man at the next Cerulean Order meeting, Schneider will cry himself to sleep.” A cruel expression spread across his face. “I’ll bring Lizzie along, to remind him of all the ways he has lost to me.”
“’Urry up,” a second voice said from the doorway, putting true fear in the siblings. It was their elderly servant Mary, tired of waiting with the pony cart. “What the bloomin’ heck is the holdup? How hard is it to pick a couple of dead lads? You,” she threatened Angelika with just a word. “You.”
“I’m finished,” Angelika defended herself. “Why does everyone think I am slow?”
“I’ve told ’em,” Helsaw gossiped to Mary. “There’s twenty waiting. Any minute, the night watch might come around. Pick, pay, and get out.” Against the wall, the queue of young men huffed in unison. “But there ain’t no rushing these two.”
“You don’t know how hard my life is,” Mary replied bitterly.
“We’re done,” Victor reassured her with a smile. “I bought you a fruit bun at market today, my dear Mary, and here is an extra shilling for your time, Helsaw.”
Overcome by sudden adoration, both beamed at him.
Turning back to his sister, and instantly devoid of charm, Victor began to move the blacksmith. “Come on, Jelly. Get his ankles.”
“I will pay you to carry for me.” Angelika tried to bribe Helsaw, but he turned away with a sniff. “What is the difference between my brother and me? We both pay well, just the same.”
“Does our heart good to see you lift a finger,” Mary said. “Get a little sweat on that pretty brow, my lady.” It seemed to be true for the entire waiting queue. They laughed and heckled, egged on by Mary, as Angelika helped to lug their first pick outside. She wouldn’t lower herself to respond and kept her eyes trained skyward. It was a full moon tonight, and there was something different in her favorite constellation.
“See, I’m telling you. There’s a new star.”
Victor didn’t even look up. “Scientifically unlikely.”
“I’ve been looking at that constellation since I was a child. I know what it is supposed to look like.”
Her brother shook his head. “Not now. One, two, three—” They hoisted the man into the cart. “Let’s go back for your dream man. We can’t forget him.”
Angelika wished again on the new star for luck. “I couldn’t forget this one if I tried.”