22nd April 1564

For today, Amaranta was going to meet with her guardian, Renata. Renata was a woman with fairly decent taste by Amaranta’s standards, dressed in a dark yellow dress, coming to join her. This was in a new location, since she knew she might come clean with her with no issue.

Renata took a seat without taking a second look at the office, or even the cloth arranged or the mannequins. Perhaps knowing her character far too well, much like her brother. “I know for a moment that if you returned home, without negotiating for your job, it meant that this wasn’t your only plan.”

She took a chance to look at all the fabrics laid out. “Yes, this is part of my plan and the surprise that I wanted to unveil to you.”

Renata looked at the clothes, the samples on the table. As an investor, she already picked out the most important detail. The woman had agreed to the payments; she knew something was in the works, judging by the amounts Amaranta asked for. But she let her make the choices too.

She took a seat down. There wasn’t any coffee. Amaranta got up to make it in the back, since she never really needed to entertain anyone here, and Scholastique always said that her coffee was far too sweet.

“I was wondering why is the office is far from anywhere.” Renata took a sip of the coffee. “But I guess I can test how ready you are just as a businesswoman who understands logistics but little else, when’s the launch date.”

“June, we should be ready by then. I’m looking for a good day, maybe in the middle of summer, or at the start. The former should there be any delays, the latter should it go well.”

“What about production of the clothing line?” Renata asked.

“These are the current samples, we have around fifty shops agreeing to carry our stock. So that would put our first run to be around a hundred pieces each for each outfit, so total five hundred,” Amaranta explained. “That is actually around the state that we would expect for something as new as this.”

“I see, I’m not aware of the many intricacies of fashion, so I can’t comment. But have you hit at least half of the goal?”

“Yes, I have around half of them complete. I’m mostly being careful and trying to find a good place to keep them since they already handed it over to us. And Scholastique has paid for them.”

This was why Amaranta had asked her for some help.

“And because it’s the same as storing produce, with it lasting longer but still needing to keep it from being ruined,” Renata said. “Well, I know quite a few who also do only for clothes only. So I could give you a few of them to check their availability.”

Before the woman stopped and turned to face Amaranta. “Would you prefer one that charge differently from day to day, or a more fixed account?”

She thought about it, realising that she would need to accommodate her changes. “It charges differently from day to day, since I also need to adjust from when my stock comes it.”

Renata took a business card from her large purse. One that she carried around with her in which had lists of business cards that she kept for recommendations. Passing it to Amaranta, who counted around three different companies. Each of whom would at least have space for her at this point.

“Thank you.” Amaranta slid it into her purse before smiling at her. This was one less issue for her.

“It isn’t much of a problem,” Renata said, with a smile. “Besides, you’re allowing me to mine into a new field of investment. And that is something that one always needs to explore.”

“Did my brother provide enough interest?” She asked, knowing that it was her who took an interest in her brother first. Since he started with what he did long before she secretly planned this.

“Just as it is very different for furniture as it is for fashion. Since they are products with entirely different ways to sell yours is both a necessity and a luxury. Every person needs to cover themselves with cloth, but, they can easily make do with their own.”

“Isn’t that the case for everything?” Amaranta asked. “People can feed themselves, but some can easily hire others. They can make their own furniture, but also buy it from someone else. It’s just that we’re selling to their needs and their wants. It’s just whether they think they need it.”

“That is true, and I’ll like to see how you much you sell with that mindset,” she said. “I guess I didn’t misjudge you. Restituta would never allow you to have your head filled with only ideas about frivolity, or how your wealth is just a number that you use to gain all that you can.”

“I mean, if I was, then I would have already worn it on my being,” she said, putting her hand on her skirts. Renata says nothing about her, since Amaranta unlike most made her own clothes.

“Tell me if you need anything, and also once this year passes, you’re on your own,” Renata said. The woman delighted in the thought of no longer being the one who pestered them. Overjoyed when her brother reached his majority, no longer being much of her problem but always eager if they needed anything.

Perhaps this was what made this woman the perfect guardian in her mother’s eyes.

Renata had her own fortune, enough to never hunger for someone else’s. She was brutally honest but one of the best persons to seek advice for actual help.

This was what made her mother pick her over the multitude of people, all of whom were excellent choices. Once the woman left, Amaranta stood up, knowing what she had to do. She adjusted her hat, not wearing a coat in the spring. The weather in Itoro was too warm for it.

She needed to just have Scholastique join her, writing the location on a piece of note that she would place on a noticeboard. Amaranta sketched some, Scholastique wrote reminders on them about their ideas and their plans. If it was impossible for her to join, Amaranta would carry on alone.

She easily caught the tram, taking a short few stops. To a new building built during the restoration of the old capital, a relatively short building of a few floors, painted in vivid yellow. She opened the door and then came to see the receptionist counter. A young woman who stood there.

“I have business to deal with at the third floor,” She asked, knowing that offices liked to be partitioned these days. Her brother liked to find separate levels for different companies and found many takers for a reasonable price. There was no need for a large building unless you ran an enormous company that needed the space for hundreds of people.

Amaranta walked past the counter, up the staircase, reaching the third level. The office that she was looking for, she knocked upon the door before entering.

Before she did, she took a moment to adjust everything in the mirror. It was too easy for everything to become loose, and she did it without reaction. Once, she had a friend kindly tell her that things were a little off. Ever since then, she never left without checking in the mirror.

Amaranta glance over the sign of the company. Matching what she found.

“Signora, may I understand what is it you seek to store with us?” The man asked, standing right in front of her, being straightforward with her.

“Clothes, I have five hundred pieces that I would need to store in total. But as of two-hundred and fifty. I understand your system goes by volume and the day?” She asked, remembering the words of Renata with inquiry.

“Yes, we do,” he said. “That would be fine with us. We have no issue adjusting the price once there is more stock to come.”

She knew it was a tad more expensive, but it was acceptable for her to do. Cheaper than finding a separate place or adding it on once she had the rest of the clothes in order. She understood they needed this.

“When do you need to see it?” He asked, taking everything down with a smile. She needed to ask Scholastique where it was.

Amaranta wanted to answer, except she couldn’t come up with anything. There was still one thing that she didn’t know. “Can I check a little?”

“It’s not an issue,” he said, putting his pen down. “You can come back later to finish.”

Amaranta went out, knowing that she needed to borrow a telephone. Biting her lip, while trying to think. She went out, perhaps thinking she needed to go down.

“Here, you can borrow our telephone. You need to call someone, is that right?”

A telegram was perhaps not the right method for this matter, calling was a far better alternative if Amaranta needed an immediate answer.

“Thank you.” Adjusting the phone for her head as she rolled the numbers.

“Who is this?” It wasn’t Scholastique, but Cosetta. But she would have to do. “Can I get the address where Scholastique had stored the clothes?”

She didn’t know where she was.

“Well, most of it is at our office. But I’ll get started on the packing if there is someone that.” And this was very much needed for her to admit and remember.

“Alright,” her secretary answered. Then reciting the address to her, she held the phone out, getting a small notebook that she could use.

Amaranta hung the telephone after thanking Cosetta. Before she walked back to the same room. She had written the note in a hurry, and the writing looked somewhat legible. She closed the door.

“This would be the address,” she said, placing down the piece of paper. The man took it from her to see.

“Thank you, we’ll be there to get it from the storage around the late afternoon,” the man told Amaranta.

She could easily hail a carriage for it, it was a lot faster than trying to guess the timing for the tram. She only took it if she wasn’t in a hurry, or had the time to plan for a larger amount of time. It was quite reliable, but slow.

“Thank you, I have to get going,” she said. The man stood up to leave.

She left the room, knowing that she would first go to her office. Excited since she had settled their storage issues, but there was more. She kind of didn’t look too hard, but then again, they had the entire level to themselves and she never asked just what they used the other space for. Now she knew.

She got out of the carriage after the arrival at the office. Seeing Cosetta kneeling on the ground packing a package of them into the single package, already putting them into the package. There were around two hundred and fifty, and one of them could handle maybe around twenty-five. That was after they packed them.

This weren’t clothes that were fragile, when stored and moved. These fabrics hardier, less delicate than the expensive clothes where it seemed the more fragile, the more expensive it got.

She could just put them inside without ruining the fabrics. She trusted Cosetta, being her representative for all business here for quite a while. Helping her to send messages between them.

Just as they were halfway through packing everything, Amaranta helping to check, align and then to seal the box. While Cosetta did all the work. Scholastique walked into the room with them there. She looked down into their work, interested in perhaps just what they were doing.

“You already found a location?” Scholastique asked, with her eyebrow raised at how hurried she was.

“Yes, I called in a connection that would be helpful for this.” Scholastique stood down, taking a deeper look at clothes. Amaranta had packed them according to the style, since there would not be any over fifty. So five boxes, with different styles, folded and packed.

“Are they coming?”

“I think you should wait for them,” Amaranta told Scholastique, who nodded and then stood at the front. She was much poorer to package and often left it to her partner. Amaranta and Cosetta to complete it.

She didn’t stack them all up. Once they were done, Amaranta joined Scholastique downstairs. With Cosetta remaining, ready to help them.

“Thank you,” she said.

“It’s not an issue, it was something that I could help with. We should have done so in the beginning.”

There wasn’t anyone just yet, leaving just them remaining here to stand.

“I found about the theatre. So far, I don’t see a lot of coverage for them. They have done excellent reviews, plenty of interest. But despite their impressive pedigree, at least given the many pieces telling their history, the royal family had mostly avoided them.”

“They showed me a picture, a gift from the Grand Duchy, I assume, not the Kingdom of Itoro.” There was a difference in them, as they learned it in school. There was something for her, but she was thinking too much.

“So, did you enjoy your work?” Scholastique asked.

“Well, it’s been going well.” She didn’t wish to tell her many things, such as the swift termination of another customer. She could tell with ease that she had been halfway through her own work. This was something that she didn’t think much about right now.

Scholastique said, “So, I’ll just continue looking into that theatre.”

She didn’t need to nod, but thanked her for this. Besides, they had come. She gave a smile, looking at the men before them who were to come and handle the clothes. Getting ten boxes, it being far from heavy.

“You got the company that would adjust depending on the time.” Scholastique stood beside her.

“Yes, I know that this isn’t everything. And this is still cheaper than having to pay for an additional space all over again once we have the rest of the stock,” Amaranta said. Scholastique gave a smile, knowing that they cared a great deal in this too.

“So, what should I do now?” Cosetta asked, seeing them pack it all up.

“Collect when the next shipments come and start looking for potential customers. I’ll call upon all of my friends. Besides, you helped me a lot for the practicality,” Amaranta said to Cosetta, who nodded.

She had paid her well, mostly because of her willingness to try out her various ideas. And someone willing to listen and give her honest thoughts.

Amaranta would never need to labor as hard as Cosetta did, but she worked harder than most girls her age. But Cosetta was the best way to see how useful it would be.

It had been really important for her to learn and then to improve. Though, before the laborers would leave, they handed Amaranta a form that she had to sign. And a receipt for their work. In exchange, she wrote a check.

“I think I have a couple of friends, some of them who would try to grab one. They were rather envious of you, the same way that their interest made you willing to try this out,” Cosetta said.

“And I’ll be helping to get the word out,” she said. “So, make sure that you can tell me when you’re ready, because most of them would need an immediate answer.”

She nodded, then bringing them up to tell Scholastique her own schedule.