She waved a hand, a part of her still marveling silently at the quiet beauty of those flickering crystals. "No no, that's not the important bit. Let's say you make these metal flowers, and I sell them from my basket, and then folks are curious, right? Oh, where'd the simple flower girl find these pieces, these should be adorning crowns! And then I tell them, well, you see, a friend of mine is deeply talented, but his master won't make him partner, so he's stuck on an apprentice's pay, y'see. So I offered to help him out making a bit of extra coin with these pieces he makes in his spare time and yes aren't they lovely? He made me this bracelet too, see?"
She grinned, holding up her hand and turning her wrist back and forth. "And then look at that! You've got all these happy customers so confused as to why someone with your talent and skill is stuck an apprentice, and surely his master must be giving him a seal soon, and there you are! If he doesn't make you a master, his whole customer base knows he's a cheap, shady jerk. And--" She held up a finger. "The best bit: if Herald starts blaming you about it, you tell him you had no idea! My friend just asked for a few little pieces to decorate her basket, I didn't know what she was planning, blah blah blah."
She planted her hand on her hip and looked at him expectantly. "So? Thoughts?"