[dragonsjem]

Sighing, Julianna shuts the door behind the last stragler who had just woken from his drunken stupor and looks tiredly around the common room. It had been a long long night with many a drunken advance. It was really getting trying recently night after night having to stop the wandering hands as she and her girls navigated the tables serving drinks. Smiling, she catches a small trail of blood from one of the tables to the door.

That'll teach him to grab her breasts..He won't be grabbing anything with that hand for a while.

Chuckling, Julianna set to work clearing the tables of dirty tankards and plates and disgustingly the occasional hankerchief. She cringes as she picks it up with the rest of the dishes. Her eyes catches a roundish, vaguely shiny shape on the table. Reaching down the pick it up she shakes her head.

A penny...Revolting and a cheapskate to match, like far too many of them. You'd think these traders would have at least a half-shilling to spare for her hard work and more respectable establishment. Goodness knows before he lost those ships Nigel was quite wealthy.

Sticking the penny in a small pouch at her side, she goes back to work, hoping that the rest of the tables will reveal larger tips. It wasn't always this bad, usually she catered to the more civilized and affulent patrons. The inn was a few streets up from the docks for a reason. Nigel and her didn't want the place mistaken for one of the seedier locations that catered to the common sailor. It just seemed recently the location was being frequented by a roudier crowd. She hoped it just had to do with the season, but she was beginning to wonder if the men had other ideas in mind. The fact she was a widow, a woman alone, was now a common fact. For not the first time she wished she was a man to get rid of these advances, offers to help the poor lonely woman, and to add to it all, these overheavy dresses that made moving around the cramp common room difficult.

She sighs again, glancing longingly toward the stairs to her room, wishing she could get some sleep. She knew it wouldn't be long after she got this mess taken care of that a new bunch would be coming in looking for dinner. It was times like this she wished Nigel was still around and could share in the work..even if he often left the cleaning to her...but he was long gone. She never truely loved him, but he was a kind man and she missed his companionship and help in this tiring endevor of running a inn and pub. He also had managed to break up the monotony of this business. The repetition of day in and day out cleaning up from the pub, doing dishes, serving dinner, tidying rooms, and getting what sleep she could before the pub reopened for another night was starting to get to her. She wanted something more, something different, something...like an adventure.

Time passed and she looked around the room which finally had a semblance of order and she had found a few more pennies, some six pences and a couple of shillings for her trouble. She even found a half-crown although she was sure that was a drunken mistake in her favor. Smiling slightly, she went into the kitchen to start washing the dishes while contemplating what to make for dinner that day. She cursed herself for being one of the best cooks in town, but she did what she he knew it was what kept the richer folk coming in. That and the fact she treated them with the manners and courteousy their stations required after her years of training in the upper class society, catering to their need for clean rooms, beds, and plates.

ooc/ wouldn't I also start with a bit more money, especially considering you set it after the holidays and new years celebrations. I should be in my peak time of the year. Also because of bad weather at these times would keep more people land bound, my inn should be full up. /occ