Prince Louis watches the antics at the bar with an ever growing smile. Eventually, after a suitable pause for the more modest looking of the girls the Duke of Bretagne has brought settle out, Louis says something quietly to the thin looking chap who ordered his wine. Immediately the man stands and moves through the crowd, selecting girls of a certain type to bring back to the Prince's table. Four women, all on the tall side with long, dark hair are picked and sent scurrying over to the wide oval by the back door.

Then the assistant pauses to scan the room, eyes finally settling on the youngest of the tavern girls, a nervous looking fresh faced thing who has turned her back to the wall and is watching the proceedings with wide eyes. Rather than approach her, however, he returns to the Prince's side where the fourteen year old page has been standing behind Louis' chair at a position of something like attention. As Louis twists around to wordlessly place something in the boy's palm the thin man whispers in his ear, and then pushes him in the direction of the waif by the wall.

The Prince, with two fetching young girls taking their places on his lap, watches the young boy intently as he hesitantly crosses the room. When one of the girls leans down to whisper in Louis' ear, however, he abruptly spills her from her seat right onto the floor, and roars,

"Duke Alain! These two wenches only speak German! Did you bring spies into my tavern?"

There is an instant's pause across the whole place, but before anyone can speak the Prince continues,

"Bloody good choice if so, I wager I'll be sending their Emperor a few missives by way of these spies' secret pouches tonight!"

Laughing uproariously at his own joke the Prince picks the girl up off the floor and dusts her off rather aggressively, from head to toe.

"By the by lads, there'll be no fighting in the tavern tonight. Take it outside or you'll find yourself facing more than even your liquid courage can equal."