Henrietta, Marigold's employer, is a lady in her early twenties and a daughter of a merchant. She is a vivacious young woman with a sharp intuition and a shrewdness characteristic of entrepreneurial people. She immediately took a liking to Marigold once Steven made the introduction, and she was more than willing to take the girl under her wing.

"Just a bookkeeper?" She asks with incredulity at Marigold's application. "Nay," she exclaims, "that will not do. You must assist me with shop keeping as well, and more importantly," she pauses emphatically.

Marigold waits for her employer's words with bated breath.

"...With modeling my clothes!" 

Henrietta places her hands firmly on the young lady's now-tensed up shoulders. "Worry not, for you will be richly rewarded."

That last word alone is enough to stop any form of refusal from Marigold.

On the same night, Henrietta invited Marigold over for dinner. For Marigold, that means coming down to the shop and going to the house beyond the store's backdoor. As she enters, the  smell of roast chicken wafts through her nose.

"You are just in time!" comes Henrietta's hearty greeting as she emerges from the kitchen, hastily removing her apron while she does so. "Come, have a seat!" She grabs hold of Marigold's hands and leads the girl to the dining table.

"This is a feast, Miss Henrietta!" Marigold cries in delight. Her eyes take in the sumptuous sight of roast chicken, salad of spring vegetables, and freshly squeezed lemonade.

"Consider this as my way of welcoming you, my dear," Henrietta replies. "And please, 'Etta' will do. We are not far apart in years."

The girl thanks Etta profusely, and eats to her heart's content.

As they finish off the meal with lemonade, Etta asks Marigold various questions about her life and her background, which the girl answers graciously. Once the older woman's queries have almost run out, Marigold seizes her chance with the one she has been itching to ask.

"It seems Steven is acquainted with a lot of people in town," she remarks as if in passing.

"For a good reason," Etta declares  as a matter of fact. 

"He told me he works at the Merchants' Guild," Marigold adds, hoping that what the older woman says next will be the answer she wants.

"How much did he tell you?"

Marigold shrugs. "Nothing much. He told me the job was 'nothing too special'."

Etta raises her brows. "That was all?"

"Did he lie?" The girl's lavender eyes glimmer despite the accusation in her words.

Etta looks straight at the young lady. "He did. After all, why should being an Executive Guild Member be anything but special?"

Marigold almost spit out her lemonade. 'So that was why! If it were not so, how could he have managed to take care of everything for me here?'

"How...at such a young age," is all the girl could say. 

"That kid is smart, and he knew how to put his gifts to work. It didn't take long for those guys at the guild to take notice of him."

The girl nods and takes her time in sipping the juice. She feels a familiar warm feeling in her chest once more. 'There it is again. Is there something wrong with me?' Her troubled mind has been mulling over the strange feeling since she left the tavern, to no avail.

"Etta, did you add wine to anything here?" Marigold finally asks.

"Not at all!" Etta answers, adding more to Marigold's bewilderment.

Henrietta's boutique is open all the days of the week, and many customers frequent the shop no matter what hour it is. Even on her first day, Marigold cannot contain her amazement and wonder at everything about the shop. Henrietta has rows upon rows of clothes that are already pre-made. Each piece of clothing comes in three sizes. No other tailoring shops did this. Just before they opened up shop, Etta explained to her that she sells two kinds of clothing: cheap clothes that are already made and sized into three general sizes and are easily adjustable (these are designed for buyers who don't have the luxury of having tailored clothes), and the expensive clothes that Etta tailors exclusively for the wealthy patrons. She has a team of seamstresses who sew the pre-made clothes and make adjustments should customers need them. However, all the designs come from Henrietta.

"Your talent as a merchant is remarkable," gushes Marigold in wide-eyed admiration.

Etta maintains her cool, aloof air, seemingly used to compliments of this nature. "It took almost twenty years of practice and helping out with my father's business. Only the clothes designing involved talent." She flashes the girl a confident smile. "I don't mind you learning the same way I did and opening your own shop someday."

Marigold had not really thought that far, but nevertheless she thanks Etta for the encouragement.

It is also on her first day at her job that Marigold models Henrietta's new dress. The dress is to be one of the affordable ready-made dresses. The skirt ends midway of her calves, has shorter sleeves, and is made of light and flexible fabric. It is colored a vivid spring green to suit the season. More importantly, Marigold notices that the corset she wore along with it is more comfortable than usual. She thought the corset must be of Etta's invention, but her employer says it is a new technology brought to her by merchants from neighboring kingdoms. 

The first customer for the day is a top servant from the House of Greer, the closest kin of the Royal Family of Illustri. Word has spread throughout town that its heiress, Lady Cecilia Greer, is currently standing in for the duties of Crown Princess Margaret, who is still nowhere to be found. Right now, the people fear that the princess may have died during the siege.

Henrietta herself accommodates Lady Cecilia's servant, while Marigold deals with the other regular customers along with the other shopkeepers. But the girl is able to make out bits and pieces of Etta and the servant's conversation, just to satisfy her curiosity. From what she can hear from them, the servant has come to claim the dress Lady Cecilia has asked Etta to make (Etta cheerfully obliges). According to the servant, Lady Cecilia wished to claim the dress personally, but is rather indisposed at the moment. Etta nods knowingly and expresses her wishes for the Lady's good health.

'Taking over the duties of the Crown Princess must be a lot to handle for a sickly Lady Cecilia,' Marigold surmises, taking full liberty in forming such judgments of the Lady she has never even met or seen.