Coat of Scarlet: A Clockpunk Tale, Part 1

by Siri Paulson

Marius glanced up from the airshipman’s breeches he was mending as the front window of his shop darkened. Someone had passed close by and was now standing in the doorway, blocking the light. A tall, bulky someone.

Marius bit back his annoyance. “Come in, good sir, and tell me what Marius the Tailor can do for you.”

A deep voice rumbled, “I’m told you have the finest eye in town.” Marius stared at the long justacorps coat his visitor carried, dyed in the richest red Marius had ever seen, outside of royalty. He strode to the table where Marius was sitting near the window and dumped the coat on top of the trousers. “Can you mend this?”

The coat was a fine velvet. He resisted the urge to stroke it. “Is this…cochineal dye?”

“That’s not your concern. Can you do it or not?”

Marius flipped the coat over. A long slash ran through the right front, cutting through intricate gold braid detailing that matched the wide cuffs and pockets. The frayed edges of the braid made his heart ache. But the velvet fabric had been cut cleanly. If he patched the lining together from the inside, mended the tear with his tiniest stitches, and then covered it over by matching the braided pattern on the left front…

“Yes,” he said, and looked up.

His customer wore an ivory brocade jacket, a beautifully cut white linen blouse, and a tricorn hat. The only thing that ruined the effect were the goggles slung around the neck, disturbing the crisp folds of his neckerchief. Between neckerchief and hat, the face arrested his gaze at last. High cheekbones, full lips, a sculpted jaw with a hint of stubble, skin the colour of ochre pigment… He couldn’t have chosen a better colour for the coat, Marius thought, absurdly.

The other man sighed and gestured at his outfit. “Yes, I’m an airship pirate. My name is Niko. As I said, that’s not your concern.”

Marius blinked. That did explain how he had managed to afford – or, more likely, “acquire” – the cochineal dye. This “Niko” was a very successful pirate, clearly. “My apologies, good sir. I can have it done in a few days. But I will require payment in full before I begin.”

Niko’s eyes narrowed. “Half now, half when you finish the work to my satisfaction.”

Marius’s hands had begun to sweat. He lowered them to wipe them on his own breeches so as not to stain the coat. “You do realize that gentlemen of the air such as yourself are not well known for their reliability and trustworthiness?”

Niko let out a guffaw that made Marius jump. “I like you, tailor. You have balls of brass. In that case…” He planted his hands on the table and leaned forward until he was looming over Marius.

Then his knees buckled and he collapsed over the table.

#

Ten minutes later, Niko was still unconscious. Marius had made him comfortable on several bolts of fabric at the back of the shop. He had discovered the problem – the slash in the coat had also gone through the skin. Niko had obviously bandaged it and changed his clothes, but the wound was too deep for that to suffice. Hat and neckerchief were set aside, jacket and shirt laid open, and Marius had cleaned the wound and sewed it up with his neatest stitches, while trying not to faint himself. He was hovering nearby, trying to decide whether he dared rifle through a pirate’s pockets to look for the name of his airship, when Niko woke up.

He jerked upright with a little clockwork pistol in his hand faster than Marius would have believed. In another instant, he was shoving Marius up against the wall.

“Where’s my coat?” he demanded, pointing the pistol at Marius’s neck.

Marius froze. “Still on the table by the front window,” he said through stiff lips.

Niko lunged across the shop, found the coat, and extracted an ornately decorated box from one of the pockets. It disappeared into his brocade jacket. His tricorn hat and neckerchief lay on the coat; he donned the one and slung the other haphazardly around his neck. Then he staggered and clutched the edge of the table.

“Careful, good sir,” said Marius, taking his own advice and approaching with caution. “You were out cold a moment ago.”

Niko let out a groan. He kept the pistol pointed at the floor, so Marius said, “Let me help you sit down,” and tentatively slid his arm around the other man, giving him plenty of time to decline.

Niko’s muscles were like steel. He turned his head, and Marius saw the moment when Niko registered the way Marius was looking at him. And he saw the way the pirate’s gaze heated, then flicked up and down his body. Marius was shorter and leaner, and he knew he lacked Niko’s impressive build, but at least his clothes hung well on him…

“Be careful what you wish for, tailor,” Niko said softly.

Marius eased him around the table and into the chair, trying to decide how to respond to that. He cleared his throat. “I, ah, noticed that you were injured, so I took the liberty of treating your wound. You may wish to put a poultice on it, though.”

Niko touched his bared chest and looked down, inspecting the stitches with interest and no apparent queasiness. “You have…nimble fingers.” He glanced up, held Marius’s gaze until his cheeks warmed from the attention, then gave him a knowing half-smile and added in a lighter tone, “It seems I am in your debt. You shall have your payment in full. Name your price.”

Was he flirting, or just enjoying the effect he was having? Marius dared not ask. Nor was he about to ask why the pirate had brought his coat for mending before he bothered to treat his wound properly.

Marius stammered, “Thank you, good sir. One silver coin for the fine work that is required. Give me three days to do it justice, and the coat shall be as good as new upon your return.”

“I will hold you to that vow, tailor,” Niko said. He produced a silver coin and presented it with a flourish upon his open palm.

Marius tried to take it without touching skin to skin, but despite his best efforts, his fingertips brushed the other man’s hand as he lifted the coin. A jolt ran through him, and his gaze flew to Niko’s face. That half-smile was back.

Niko rose, lacing up his shirt. Marius hovered nearby, but to his mingled relief and disappointment, the other man seemed steady on his feet.

“Until then,” the pirate said. He stepped back, towards the door, and was gone.

Only then did Marius realize that he had never asked the name of Niko’s airship.

Part 2