Free Cogling by Jordan Elizabeth Page B

mouth and wiped her dry lips. “Can I have some water?”
    “After you’re clean.”
    “I want a drink… I have to straighten my mind, really think.”
    “Welcome to Austen Valley’s Gin House.” The woman laughed. “Only proper gin outside Moser City. We serve our customers right.”
    Edna gasped. “I’m in a
gin
house?” The underworld dedicated to addicts, where a customer could drink himself dead. Fate couldn’t have thrown her into one of those. “Annie and her father—”
    “That gal with the carpenter pa? They got plenty for you and the boy. Children work best here, since they aren’t already addicted.”
    Annie had only pretended to be her friend. They’d tricked her and Ike. A slave scam. Nausea churned in Edna’s belly.
    “You can’t keep us here.” Edna’s voice wobbled. As soon as the woman understood the confusion, she would escort Edna out. “We aren’t slaves. My parents…” Edna’s voice trailed off. They didn’t know where she was. She would need a different plan. “Where’s Ike? The guy I was with.”
    The woman shook her head. “I’ll be back with a tub of water for you, hon.”
    “I don’t need a bath!” Tears burned Edna’s eyes as the door shut. If the woman wouldn’t listen, she would have to find a way to escape. Edna rubbed her prayer beads. May the seven Saints guide her.

    Two girls dressed in blue silk robes carried a tub of water into the room. Edna stood in the corner, wishing she could step through the walls and flee. Her mother would faint if she knew her only daughter was in a
gin house
.
    The room Edna was in only had the one door, and without a window, she would have to exit that way. Her legs wobbled. Would she be able to run out? The two girls would probably catch her. She would have to wait until she had a clearer path.
    The woman from earlier followed the girls. She swung a basket at her side, her scarlet ringlets bouncing around her bare shoulders.
    “Strip and get in. Destiny likes her workers spotless.” The woman tossed a bar of vanilla soap to Edna from the basket. “It’s healthy to be clean.”
    “I don’t want to bathe,” Edna growled through clenched teeth. “I need to get to my brother. Hags took him.”
    “I can’t have your stench offending my guests.” The woman grabbed a hunk of Edna’s hair and yanked.
    Edna yelped, dropping to her knees. Tears filled her eyes. That
hag
.
    The woman pushed her back. “So. The bath.”
    Edna brushed her hair from her face, the sting fading from her scalp. Cleaning wouldn’t hurt, and the train had left a fine layer of grime on her skin. “Fine.”
    “Then get to it.” The woman towered in front of the door with her fists on her hips.
    “You want me to undress
here
?” Edna’s cheeks flamed. They should leave her alone. Baths were private.
    “Fast, so you don’t bathe in cold water.” The woman folded her arms. “You look too skinny to have much under those clothes.”
    Keeping her eyes on the wall, Edna turned her back and peeled off her clothes. Cold air nipped her skin, raising goose bumps. What would the others think of her dirty body? The girls in the silk robes stood on either side of the door with their hands clasped in their laps, their long hair curled into ringlets to match the woman’s.
    “Take off your chemise. You don’t want it drenched,” the woman snapped.
    Edna gasped. “I bathe in it at home.”
    “Off with it.” The woman grabbed the sleeve and yanked hard enough to tear the shoulder seam.
    They would see her scrawny body, the scars on her knees from falling on the sidewalk as a child, her private parts. Edna untied the drawstring collar and pulled the linen over her head. Pulling off her gloves, she lay them on top of the discarded shift before the woman could rip them. Since the prayer bead bracelet was tied to her wrist, it would have to stay.
    Naked, she stepped into the steaming water. A sigh escaped her lips as she sank in up to her shoulders. Drops