The Tavern Business

It was the first day of the Academy's week long break (Bar and company had left Academy town just a few hours ago), and Dolly stood in the kitchen of her tavern, looking at the two other occupants that had just arrived.

One, unsurprisingly, was Joan, one of her barmaids, who would normally come around now to help get things ready for the night.

The other was a short woman, her burgundy hair tied into twin braids behind her. Her arms were crossed, and a sly smile on her face.

Am I in trouble!?

“Good to finally meet you, Dolly,” she said.

Dolly, thinking she recognized her from 'that' night, asked, “Err...you're one of his fiances, too, right?”

Claire blushed a bit, keeping her smile. “Of course. That's why I'm here.”

Dolly was a bit confused. “Are you wanting to work here? I can't seem to keep barmaids, so you're more than welcome-”

Claire held up a hand, shaking it. “No. I'm sure I'd be great, but I've come to look at your books.”

Dolly raised an eyebrow. “My...books? Err...I can only read and write a few basics, so I don't have any books...”

Claire's eyebrows went wide, “You're running a business and you can't read and write? What about math?”

Dolly smiled, “Yeah, I can do math, at least. The prior mistress taught me.”

Claire sighed, “That's good, at least. So you don't have anything where you keep your business transactions in?”

Dolly shook her head. “Nope, I just pay when I need to.”

Claire facepalmed. “How much money do you have?”

Dolly walked out of the kitchen, and up some stairs, into a bedroom. Behind the bed, she pulled out a small safe. Unlocking it, there was around twenty gold pieces, a few dozen silver, and a large number of coppers. “The girls get one silver a night, and keep their tips. And then I owe thirty gold for rent at the end of every month. Plus I gotta buy food and drinks to serve.”

Claire raised an eyebrow, “You're renting this building?”

Dolly nodded, confused. “Yeah, how else am I supposed to use it?”

Claire shook her head. “And how long have you been renting it?”

Dolly counted her fingers, “I have for about five years now, before that, the prior mistress had it for about twenty.”

Claire grabbed her temples, “With rent for that long, you could have bought two whole taverns, maybe three!”

Dolly was a bit taken aback.

Claire walked over to Joan, “How much does Bar have in the bank?”

Joan thought for a moment, “With the money we got from his parents when he came, plus his tournament winnings and my earnings...probably a couple hundred gold, give or take.”

Claire nodded, looking down as if deep in thought. After a few moments, she looked at Dolly. “Alright, I've decided. I'm going to teach you some accounting.”

“Uh-countin'? I told you I can do math...”

Joan shook her head. “It's how to run a business.”

Dolly blushed a bit. “Why are you doin' all this?”

Claire jumped up on the bed, so she could wrap an arm around Dolly's shoulders. Leaning in close, she asked, “You like Bar, right?”

Dolly blushed a bit, then nodded.

“And you want everything to work out for our family, right?”

Dolly blushed even further, and nodded again.

“So, we need to make sure this business of yours is profitable. With this, my job, and making sure Bar gets a solid paycheck after he graduates, we should able to support a good sized family. You want to have Bar's children, too, don't you?” Claire asked.

Dolly looked over at her, seeing Claire was blushing a bit too. Smiling, she nodded.

Claire smiled back.

Claire found an unused journal, and started a chart of accounts. At the top, she wrote 'Bar's family ledger', bringing a satisfied smile to her face. Maybe I should put Champagne, but it's possible he gets disowned. Not letting that bring down her good mood, she quickly started inventorying Dolly's safe, writing down the amounts. After she finished with that, she showed Dolly how to fill in nightly income and expenses.

“About how much do you pull in a month?”

Dolly grimaced a bit, “Usually about thirty gold a month.”

Claire did a double-take. “But that's barely even rent, not counting your other expenses!”

Dolly nodded. “I know, sometimes we make a little more, but it's been going down over time, and I've been eating into my savings a lot...”

Claire grabbed her own forehead. “We need to rectify that immediately.” She paused for a few moments, before looking over at Dolly. “Go ahead and do whatever you need to do, I'll keep working on this and see if I can think of anything.”

Dolly went back downstairs to the main tavern area. Joan and several of the other girls were busy with customers, so she went into the kitchen to start cooking.

After a few moments, Joan came in. “Do you need help with anything?”

Dolly shook her head. “No, I think I'm alright, besides the teaching that Claire gave me...”

Joan giggled, “She just wants what's best for all of us.”

Dolly nodded. “We getting a lot of customers?”

Joan smiled nervously. “I...think it's more than normal.”

Dolly groaned. This should be one of their busier weeks. If business wasn't booming, they were in for a rough future...

- Second Day of Break -

Joan was busy cleaning up a table at the tavern. She had gotten a silver as a tip. While not bad, she was on pace to only be making slightly more than a normal night, despite this being a vacation week. Either most people weren't sticking around in Academy town, or they were not coming to Dolly's.

Looking around, she could see the other barmaids were in a dour mood. They must not getting a lot, either.

Upstairs, Claire was trying to teach Dolly more about accounting.

“So your assets always go on this side, and your liabilities over here. You remember what those are, right?” Claire asked.

Dolly slowly nodded. “I think so. Your assets are like...your money. And your liabilities are like...the money you gotta pay...”

Claire smiled and nodded. “Good, good. It's not just money though. Any supplies would also count as an asset. Or if we owned the building or real estate, if we weren't renting.”

Dolly brightened up. “Oh! You asked about the rentin' agreement, so I dug through all my old things and found it. The prior mistress gave it to me when she retired.”

Claire got excited. “Excellent, let's see...” she carefully unrolled the yellow scroll, a small cloud of dust escaping. “Wow, when was the last time anyone looked at this?”

Dolly blushed, “Since I can't read much, I never really did...”

Claire looked at the yellowed paper. The date on it was before she was even born. Sheesh, they have been renting for a long time. “Alright, let me read this for a while.”

Dolly nodded, and went downstairs.

In the kitchen, Joan was stirring some stew, when Mio came in. “Grrr, I haven't even made a silver yet today...”

Joan winced a bit. She looked over at Mio, who was stuffing a roll in her mouth. Dolly usually didn't mind them eating some of the food, as long as they weren't going crazy, although Mio seemed to always be hungry. Actually...she seems a bit thin despite that... “Are you feeling okay?”

Mio blushed a bit. “Yes, I'm fine,” she replied quickly, before heading out the kitchen and back towards the tavern.

Joan grabbed her forehead and shook it. That's the least convincing response I've ever seen.

Later, Claire went downstairs to talk to Dolly while she was busy pouring some drinks. “You said the prior mistress left this to you when she retired, right?” she said, holding the scroll.

Dolly nodded. “Why?”

“Do you have any sort of...agreement? Or did she sign anything?” Claire asked.

Dolly seemed confused. “No...? She said it was mine, so I took it over.”

Claire shook her head. “So technically, this contract is still with her.”

Dolly was still confused. “Do you mean we don't have to pay rent?”

Claire sighed. “If only it were that easy. I do have an idea to no longer pay rent though. But first...does the prior mistress still live nearby?”

Dolly nodded.

Claire smiled, before pulling out a sheet of paper. “I need you to get this signed then, before tomorrow night. It officially transfers control of the business to you. Then we can deal with the renting agreement tomorrow.”

Dolly dried off her hands and took the paper. “Whaddaya mean 'deal' with?”

Claire smiled deviously, “Don't worry about that for now. Just get that signed and I'll take care of the rest.”

After closing, Joan and Mio were cleaning off the last few tables, and Claire walked down the stairs, a pile of papers in hand.

Claire grabbed an untouched roll, tearing off a bite. “Ready to go?”

Joan shook her head. “Need to clean off these last few,” she said, before heading towards the kitchen.

“I'll help then,” Claire responded, stuffing the rest of the roll in her mouth and setting her papers down. She started grabbing up dirty mugs, putting them on a tray.

Mio, who was clearing off a different able, gave her a curious look.

Claire, who noticed, looked over at her. “Something wrong?”

Mio smiled and shook her head. “No, just think you're cute.”

Claire blushed a bit, not sure how to respond. Luckily, she was saved by Joan, who came out of the kitchen and walked towards Mio.

“Mio, I think you accidentally missed this when you were cleaning,” she said, before holding out a hand with a silver and a few coppers in it.

Mio seemed confused. “Are you...sure? Could it have been one of the other girls?”

Joan shook her head. “No, I don't think so, they've been gone for a while.”

Mio blushed a bit, then took the coins. “Thanks.”

Joan smiled. “Come on Claire.”

She helped Claire take the mugs she had grabbed into the kitchen, then they grabbed her papers and left.

Outside, as they began walking, Claire asked, “You didn't just find those, did you?”

Joan blushed a bit. “Was it that obvious?”

Claire nodded, “I'm pretty sure Mio knew too, so she must be hard-pressed for money. You can't just...” she trailed off.

“I know, I know, but I feel bad for Mio. She doesn't earn as much as I do, and I'm worried she isn't eating enough.”

Claire sighed, “Fine, fine. I'd rather Dolly not lose any more barmaids right when I'm trying to help her turn the ship around, anyways.”

- Third Day of Break -

Claire and Dolly walked down the afternoon street, stack of papers in hand.

“So...what exactly are we doing again?” Dolly asked.

“We're going to buy the tavern,” Claire said. “Your contract has a buyout clause of three-hundred gold.”

Dolly shifted her shoulders a bit. “That's all well and good, but I don't have that much gold. Not even close. I barely have enough for next rent.”

Claire smiled and nodded. “I know, I'm hoping we can talk them down some.”

Dolly was in awe. “How do you know to do all this?”

Claire sighed, “I do have degree in administration from the royal academy. I don't use it much for my regular job, but it's coming in handy now.”

They made their way to the office of the real estate company that owned the tavern. Inside, Claire got on her tippy-toes, looking over the desk. The lady looked down at Claire, who was wearing her best pantsuit. “May I help you?”

Claire nodded, sliding over the rental contract for the tavern. “My client and I would like to discuss the terms of this rental agreement.”

The lady looked at her, then Dolly, then at the agreement. “Very well, I'll go see if the director in charge of that area can speak with you.”

Claire nodded, and then sat in one of the chairs in the waiting room. Dolly followed suit.

“Just let me do most of the talking,” Claire whispered.

Dolly nodded. “Why did you call me your 'client'? Am I paying you for something?”

Claire giggled. “No, just having a bit of fun.”

After a couple minutes, that lady came back and led them down a hall. Inside a room at the end, an old man with graying hair was inside.

“Welcome, welcome, good to see you,” he said, giving a warming smile.

Claire smiled back, “Good to see you as well. We would like to discuss exercising the purchase option of this rental agreement.”

The man nodded, “Of course, let's...see...” he trailed off as he started reading the old scroll. After a couple minutes, he got to the end. “Well, we are,” he looked at the calendar, “well past the date, so you could exercise anytime you like. I'm assuming your client is the original leaser?”

Stolen story; please report.

Claire shook her head, handing over the statement she had gotten Dolly to sign with the previous mistress.

The man nodded, before looking over his spectacles at Claire, “Very good. Then, do you have the three-hundred gold?” he asked at Dolly.

Dolly clenched her hands, but Claire jumped back in. “Unfortunately, the reason we are coming now is because shortly we will no longer be able to make our rental payments.”

The man frowned. “These things happen, but the agreement would terminate at that point. So are you saying you can't afford three-hundred gold?”

Claire shook her head. “No. I would like to remind you, though, that we have no record of the owners, your company, having made any renovations or improvements on the building in the twenty-five years since the rental agreement was signed. It would require substantial work to update the building or turn it into something usable by someone else.”

The man pursed his lips. “Very well. Our company would be willing to lower the exercise option to one-hundred fifty gold in consideration of the...tenure of the agreement.”

“One-hundred,” Claire responded. “Again, it's been used as a tavern for twenty-five years...”

The man scrunched his face, closing his eyes. “If I sell it for anything less than one-hundred twenty, I'd rather use it for scrap wood.”

Claire nodded. “Excellent,” and pulled out a paper with a bank symbol on it.

Dolly looked over her shoulder as Clair was writing. 'One-hundred twenty...the account of...Claire Savoie!? She's paying for everything herself!? Dolly was too dumbstruck to say anything, silently watching as she passed the signed note to the man.

He took it, before wheeling his chair around and thumbing through a filing cabinet. After a few moments, he pulled out a folder. “Here you are, the deed to the...tavern. Please let me know if you have any other real-estate needs in the future,” he said, the barest hint of disdain on his voice.

Claire jumped off her chair reaching out a hand. “Thank you. We may be purchasing a...large house in the coming years, so we might call on you then.”

The man's expression instantly shifted back to a warm one. “Of course, we'd be happy to assist you then.”

Walking out, Claire gave the deed to Dolly. “Here you go.”

Dolly blushed red. “But...you're the one who paid for it...”

Claire shook her head. “Yes, but...just think of it as an investment.”

Dolly took the deed, holding it to her bosom. “How can I ever repay you...”

Claire smiled, “Well, we turn the business around.”

- Fourth Day of Break -

“We're finished,” Dolly said, sitting in a chair in her tavern and holding her face.

Claire and Joan had just walked into the tavern.

Claire was confused. “What's wrong!? We don't need to pay rent any more!”

Dolly shook her head. “It's not that. Two more of the barmaids quit, so it's just Joan and me tonight...”

Joan frowned. After a moment, she looked down at Claire.

“What!? I...” she said, before a smile came to her face, “...do you have an outfit that fits me?” she asked, looking at Dolly.

Even the smallest outfit was slightly too large for her, so Dolly quickly hemmed the skirt up a bit.

Tying the bandanna over her hair, Claire put her hands to her hips. “How do I look?”

Joan had to look away as she suppressed a laugh.

Claire hit her on the side a couple times.

Dolly smiled, “I think you look...cute...”

Claire gave a thumbs up to Dolly while still hitting Joan with the other hand, “Alright, let's do this!”

Two hours later, and Claire was running around everywhere, her attention split among a dozen different things.

“Hey, where's our ales!?” one table called.

“Sorry, just a minute!” Claire yelled back as she was hurriedly cleaning one table.

“Pipsqueak! I need a refill of bread!”

“Hey, who you calling pipsqueak!?” Claire yelled back, shaking her fist.

“Lady, can I take you upstairs? I like girls I can pick up...”

Claire blushed, “No! I'm taken!” she yelled back angrily.

Another two hours later, and Claire was lying down in the kitchen, panting.

Joan giggled, “We have two hours left, and then cleanup.”

Claire could barely catch her breath, “How do you...do this...every...day...”

Joan shrugged, “It's not much worse than being a servant. Well, normally, at least.”

Claire grimaced a bit, before forcing herself back up. “Sorry.”

Joan shook her head with a smile, “You have nothing to be sorry for,” and they went back out to finish the shift.

A couple more hours later, and they were finishing cleaning up the bar.

Dolly smiled at the two of them. “Thanks for all the help. Mio is scheduled tomorrow, so unless she quits, we should be good...”

Claire smiled, “I don't mind helping until school is back in session.”

Dolly seemed confused. “Aren't you some noble minister?”

Claire shook her head, “No, I'm the Academy's Dorm Mistress.”

Dolly just blinked a few times. “Oh...”

Joan giggled at their exchange.

- Fifth Day of Break -

Between the four of them, Dolly, Joan, Claire, and Mio (who couldn't stop giggling watching Claire bumble around while helping out) were able to take care of all the customers they got. However, part of the reason they were able to was due to lower than normal amount of customers.

Partway through the night, Joan, Dolly, and Mio all looked at each other worryingly. Claire was too busy expanding maximum effort to keep up with her tables, but by the end, even she felt like they were getting too few customers.

After they closed and cleaned up, Claire asked if they could meet for a bit.

Sitting in the tavern area, she stood on a chair while the other three sat down around her looking (slightly) up.

“So...what's the problem? I don't think there's any issue with our food and drink. And I think our service is...good,” she blushed a bit, “...well, everyone else's is. I don't understand why we aren't getting more customers on a holiday week.”

The other three looked down. Eventually, Dolly broke the silence, “I think it's the girls.”

Claire was taken aback, “What do you mean? We're four very pretty girls...”

Dolly blushed a bit, but shook her head. “Tha's not what I mean. A lot of customers have specific girls they liked. When those girls left, some of those customers left. With less customers, the remaining girls make less and are more inclined to leave, too, taking their customers with them...” she trailed off.

Claire nodded, then held her head. “Well, that goes back to what I said earlier, don't customers want to come see us?”

This time Joan jumped in. “The problem is sex. Besides Mio, none of us will take 'special' orders from customers, so the customers that are more interested in that aren't going to come.”

Claire was about to say something, but Mio started crying. “I'm sorry...”

The other three were confused. Joan got up and put an arm around her, “It's not your fault at all, Mio...”

“I'm trywing to bwing in cuthtomers, but I'm so tireb...” she sobbed out, while Joan held her tighter.

Joan looked at the other two. “I'm going to bring her home, if you two want to-”

Claire shook her head. “No, I think we should...just sleep on it. If anyone has any ideas, we can discuss tomorrow.”

Later that night, Claire was drinking tea in Bar's dorm. We need to figure out how to stem the bleeding of customers, she thought as she poked her pen on a book. So far, she hadn't written down any ideas.

As she was sitting there mulling things over, Joan walked in.

“How's Mio?” Claire asked.

Joan sat down across from her. After pausing, she jumped into an explanation, “Not in a good way. I think she's exhausting herself taking on too many customers.”

Claire blushed, “By 'customers', you mean...”

Joan nodded. “She's wrecking her body. And I think she still isn't eating enough, I'm pretty sure everything she does make is going to rent.”

Claire gave a slight 'grr', “Rent again...”

“We need to help her out.”

Claire put her hand to her head, “Joan, we're not running a charity, we can't just...” she bit her lip. “Look, I want to help her too, but...”

Joan nodded. “I was thinking, what if we took her in as a servant? We'd just need to provide her food, and-”

Claire, having guessed what Joan was going to suggest, held up her hand. “Where would she stay though? There's already three of you living in this dorm, four if you count me.”

“She could stay in your room as your servant. Or we could rotate. Just...anything...” Joan said, starting to tear up.

Claire reached over the table and patted her shoulder. “I understand, I know you're fond of her.”

Joan smiled, wiping her tears, “I've gotten to know her well the past few months, and I...I don't want to see another poor girl on the streets.”

Claire nodded. “Okay, let's bring it up with her tomorrow and we'll...work something out.”

Joan smiled, hugging Claire tightly. “Let's sleep together tonight.”

Claire blushed.

Joan giggled at her reaction, “I feel better when I have someone to cuddle with.”

Claire blushed further, but nodded. “I guess I don't mind...”

- Sixth Day of Break -

Mio yawned as she made her way to Dolly's. She hadn't slept well, and she'd gone another day without eating much.

She grabbed her stomach and blushed. Joan had forced some more money on her the night before, and she had no choice but to accept it. It's nice she's so caring, but she can't keep helping me...although I guess...

She shook her head to shake the thought. She had been getting overly jealous of her coworkers lately, and she didn't want to be like that. She was happy for them, and she wanted to find a man for herself at some point.

Unfortunately, men seemed to only see her as a cheap tavern wench. Well...I guess that is all I am right now... She had been taking any 'special' orders she could get, but even with that she was barely scraping by. She had been trying to save money to move away, but she was still young (only nineteen) and hadn't saved up enough yet. She had to rent her own small apartment, so her spare money was either sent to her stash or spent on food, and she had been foregoing food more and more.

She held her stomach as it growled again as she got close. Maybe I can ask Dolly for some extra stew as payment...

Walking into Dolly's, she was surprised when she was greeted by Joan and Claire, who she had been getting to know the past few days.

“Mio, come sit with us for a moment,” Joan smiled at her, motion to a table with some tea made.

Claire smiled and nodded along.

Dolly was behind them, sweeping like normal, but giving her a concerned look.

“Um...am I being fired? I promise I'll-”

Joan shook her hands, “No no no no,” she said, motioning to the chair.

Mio sighed and sat down as instructed.

Joan took a deep breath. “Mio...I'm worried about you.”

Mio winced, looking down. “I'm sorry, I just...”

Joan leaned over and put a hand on her shoulder. “You don't need to be sorry, I know you've been working hard.”

Mio looked up sheepishly and smiled at her.

Joan continued, “You know Claire and our fiance Bar are nobles, right?”

Mio nodded.

“We're going to...” she paused and blushed a bit, “...have a big family, so we need servants we can trust. We want to take you in as one.”

Mio blinked a few times. “You want me to be a...servant? Like a maid?”

Claire jumped in nodded. “You can stay at my room at the academy for now. You'll just need to keep it clean and maybe run a few errands occasionally. Obviously we'll feed you and provide anything else you need.”

Mio was dumbfounded and didn't know what to say.

Joan, thinking she wasn't sure, added, “You can keep working here if you want, too, although...I think you should stop with the 'special' orders. I'm worried about what you're doing to yourself...”

What!? What is this? This is too good to be true... “Is...is there something you're not telling me? This seems way too weighted in my favor...”

Joan shook her head. “Just...just think of it as us paying it forward. We've been really lucky lately with how things are working out, and...I like you, and don't want you left behind.”

Dolly came behind and hugged Mio. “You've been working really hard for me for a while now, so I want you taken care of as well.”

Mio looked down, eyes starting to tear up. “This is too much...I...I can't...” she said, before softly sobbing, unable to stop her tears.

After a couple minutes, Dolly locked the tavern door. “Let's not open today. How about you two help her move?”

Joan and Claire went to Mio's apartment. It was in a back alley, and the furnishings were sparse, just a cot for a bed, a dresser with her clothes, and a small safe.

Mio was a bit embarrassed, “I don't spend much time awake in here...”

Joan shook her head, “It's fine, let's get you packed up.”

After they were done packing her clothes (Mio didn't want the old cot, since it was worn-through and she'd be getting a new bed), Claire went over to the safe. She tried to grab it, picked it up briefly, but almost dropped it due to how heavy it was, setting it back down.

Joan giggled, walking over and picking it up.

They then went to Claire's dorm.

“I'll make some tea,” Claire said. She then took another look at Mio, “and some stew.”

Joan helped Mio clear some space around the servant bed, finding an empty drawer and putting away her clothes.

“Come on,” Joan said, pushing Mio into the bedroom.

Mio seemed confused, “Why are we...”

Joan smiled, pulling out a maid uniform. “You're about the same height as Belle, so I just modified the bust a bit, and it should fit!”

Mio blushed, but nodded and took off her tavern outfit.

Joan gave a concerned look at how thin she was, but didn't say anything as Mio put the maid outfit on. It was a bit loose, but fit her mostly well.

Joan gave another huge smile, walking over and hugging her. “Super cute! Actually, we might have to keep you hidden from Bar...”

Mio giggled, “You're just now thinking that!? You said he likes maids.”

Joan sighed. “I guess whatever happens, happens.”

Claire yelled from the kitchen that the stew was ready, so they opened the door and went back out.

They sat down as Claire was busy ladling the stew. “I just chopped some vegetables quick...”

Mio greedily started downing her stew before Joan and Claire had even started.

Giving her a smile, Joan pushed her bowl over to Mio. “I'll go get myself some more.”

Mio blushed a bit, then took the bowl, eating it more slowly this time.

Claire watched her while sipping on the stew.

Mio noticed, and blushed a bit, averting her eyes.

Claire, trying to think of a way to converse, asked, “So...do you have any questions about being a servant?”

Mio thought for a moment, “Do I gotta have sex with Bar...er, Master Bar?”

Claire sighed, while Joan giggled as she sat back down. “He prefers just Bar.”

“Uh, you don't have to, no,” Claire answered. “He's already got four women to have sex with.”

Mio nodded. “I'm tired of sex.”

Joan and Claire both winced. “Don't worry, Bar isn't that kind of master. He won't force you to do anything you don't want to.”

Mio thought for a moment, then shook her head, “Don't have anything else, then.”

Claire nodded. “I'm usually either at Bar's, or my office, so just eat whenever. I'll let you know if I need any errands run.”

Mio smiled, walking over and giving her a hug, causing Claire to blush. “Thanks.”

Claire slowly hugged her back, smiling.

- Seventh Day of Break -

Claire and Joan waited inside his dorm for Bar and Belle to come back.

“How is Mio?” Joan asked, pouring them some tea.

Claire shrugged, “She woke up, ate some leftover stew, then went back to bed.”

Joan nodded her head. “That's good. Make sure she keeps eating.”

Claire smirked, “I think that's the least of our issues right now...”

They heard a carriage pull up, and Joan went to the door. Outside, Bar was helping Marley unload their luggage, while Belle, Francesca, and Becky got out of the carriage.

Belle ran over, hugging Joan.

Joan whispered, “How was everything?”

Belle blushed a bit, “Well, Bar and I did it a few-”

Joan grabbed her cheeks, “Not how much sex you had! With his parents.”

“Errr...” Belle replied, glancing over at Francesca.

Before Joan could ask, Marley got back up in the carriage. “Take care,” he said, before snapping the reins and carting away.

Bar walked over to say something, but Francesca blushed and quickly bowed in front of Joan, “Please take care of me.”

Ah, so it's like that.

The five of them joined Claire inside, and they caught each other up on what had transpired over their respective weeks.

Claire was grabbing her temples. “Every time I think I get things sorted, you get another fiance...”

Bar was letting her sit on his lap and wrapped his arms around her (her favorite position) as an apology. “Sorry...”

“Wow, that's pretty daring, sneaking in while you're at his parent's estate,” Joan said to Francesca.

Francesca blushed, “I felt like the timing was good.”

Becky was standing behind the table with Belle. “You need a larger dorm...”

Belle giggled. “We could stay at Dolly's.

Claire had an epiphany. “That's a great idea!”

Joan looked over at her. “You want us to start staying at Dolly's? Especially you when you work at the Academy?”

Claire shook her head, leaping off of Bar's lap. “No, but we it gives us a larger area to meet. Let's convene there in an hour.”

After breaking up and everyone unpacking, they all did as instructed and met at Dolly's.

Dolly and Francesca didn't seem to know how to react when meeting each other.

Francesca laced her fingers together, “Um...are you Dolly?”

Dolly nodded, “Yes, who are you?”

Francesca blushed, “Francesca. I'm...also once of his fiances.”

“Oh...” was all Dolly replied.

She's pretty, but she's more...mature than I had in my head... Francesca thought.

She's pretty, but she's...younger than I thought he liked...Dolly thought.

After a moment, they smiled and awkwardly went in for a hug.

Joan giggled watching their interaction.

Bar was feeling a bit awkward, sitting to the side.

At that point, Claire arrived, followed by Mio in her maid outfit.

Bar blinked a few times. “Mio?”

Mio grinned at him, then bowed, “Nice to see you, Master Bar.”

Bar shook his head, “You don't need-”

Mio started giggling, “I know, I know...”

Claire walked over, “I'm assuming you guessed, but we hired Mio as a servant. Which looks to be a good decision, considering you got yet another fiance.”

Becky, who had been silently standing to the side, chimed in, “At least this one comes with a servant,” she said, poking Francesca's side, “unless Mas-..., Bar insists on marrying me too.”

Bar looked over at her, blushing, “It's not like I have to marry every maid we get.”

Becky looked at him. “What, am I not pretty enough?”

Bar blushed darker, “No, you're pretty, I...” but trailed off, realizing he was being teased.

Francesca poked Becky's cheek. “If you tease him any more then I'll order you to marry him.”

Becky curtsied, “Of course, mistress.”

After some chatting, everyone sat in a semi-circle facing Claire, who got on a chair and stood. Coughing so she had everyone's attention, Claire started, “So...I think we have a few things to go over. I wanted-”

She stopped as Francesca held up a hand. “How are we divvying out nights with Bar?”

Joan and Belle nodded in agreement.

Claire facepalmed. “That's not what I wanted to talk about, but I guess that is important.”

Francesca continued, “I think we should split it out one night a week for the first five days, give him a choice night on the sixth, then a rest night on the seventh.”

Joan raised an eyebrow, “The one night a week and the rest night make sense, but what is this 'choice' night? Like he gets to choose whoever he wants?”

Francesca nodded. “That way Bar feels like he has some choice in the matter. Plus, when he gets a sixth fiance, we can just slot her in there.”

Claire sighed, “That's pragmatic, but how is it fair if one of us gets more than once a week?”

Bar, who didn't like where the conversation was going, chimed in, “I don't want to play favorites...”

After a moment of silence, Belle asked, “Can he choose more than one on his choice night?”

The other four fiance's blushed, while Mio giggled.

Claire coughed, “Well, ignoring the choice night for now, does anyone have an issue with that plan?”

Dolly asked, “Um...what about me? Is Bar coming down here?”

Claire waved her hand like it was no big deal, “I can sneak you onto campus for your nights. Or just whenever you want.”

Dolly blushed and got a giddy smile on her face, looking down.

After no one else voiced anything, Claire continued, “Okay, so the actual reason I called everyone here was so we could make sure everyone is on the same page.”

“You mean Bar's 'Plan'?” Francesca asked.

Claire nodded, before turning to Bar. “You're not...having second thoughts or anything, right? Everything hinges on you.”

Bar blushed, shaking his head. “Of course not.”

Claire blushed (as well as the others) before continuing, “Good. Now, since we won't be able to rely on our families for support-”

Francesca cut her off again. “I don't understand that part. I know we're doing it as cover, but our families genuinely would support us getting married.”

Claire shook her head. “Would they still support you if they knew about all his other fiances?”

Francesca grimaced a bit, “Well, you're a noblewoman...”

Joan jumped in, “But Belle and I are his servants, and Dolly...” she turned to look at her.

Dolly gave a sheepish smile, scratching her head.

Francesca thought for a moment, then nodded. “Sorry...”

Claire shook her head again. “You don't need to be sorry, that's why we're talking now.” Looking over at everyone again, she continued, “So, I wanted to make sure everyone knew how they fit in. For Bar,” she looked at him, “You need to keep focusing on your studies. No working, no picking up anymore women. If you graduate with high marks I can get you a job at the Academy. We usually have random administrative positions available as people leave, or if we're lucky you might be able to snag a teaching position.”

Joan asked, “Do you think he'll be able to if his family disowns him?”

Claire shrugged, “I think the headmaster cares more about the work you do then whether your family likes you or not.”

Francesca asked, “What about me?”

Claire turned to her, “Err...I don't really know what you wanna do after academy...”

Francesca thought for a moment, “I don't either.”

Becky chopped her on the head.

Claire smiled, “As long as you get some sort of job, I think that's fine.”

Francesca blushed and nodded. “I'll do my best.”

Claire turned to Dolly next. “I think we should close down the tavern.”

Dolly gave a forlorn smile, nodding and looking down. “I think so too...”

Bar stood up, “But-”

Claire cut him off. “Look, I can tell the effort Dolly, Joan, and Mio put in, but the money just isn't there.”

Dolly looked at her. “I'm assuming you want to do something else with the building?”

Claire gave a devious smile, “I do. I'm thinking we spruce it up a bit, and turn it into a restaurant.”

Bar sat back down, leaning back in his chair and raising an eyebrow. “A restaurant?”

Claire, stilling smiling, nodded at him. “That fancy restaurant I take you too sometimes? They make a bunch of money catering to nobles. If we can get a slice of that market, we'd get a house in no time.”

Bar nodded, remembering how good the steaks were. “But don't we need chefs for that?”

Claire nodded her head towards Belle. “You think any noble is gonna balk at some of Belle's cooking?”

Belle blushed and smiled, looking down.

Claire continued, “And I bet Dolly and Joan could easily learn to cook some of Belle's dishes, or at least close enough to it.”

After this, there was silence for a few moments, as everyone was contemplating.

Then Mio cleared her throat, “Err...what about me?”

Claire looked at her, “I'm hoping you won't mind working at the restaurant for now. Eventually, we'll...” she blushed, looking down, “...we'll have children and a house to look after.”

Mio nodded and sighed, “As long as I don't have to pay rent...”

Joan giggled, while Bar and Francesca looked around confused.