Chapter 3: Play The Game
Thorin was not interested in testing my theory.
He didn't plan on leaving the inn or the tavern in case he were to run into those men again so he was stuck with me, but he wasn't keen on sitting and trading stories. So, that just led to me doing work around the tavern prepping for another busy night and him having to instead deal with me singing and talking to myself. He planted himself in one of the chairs by the fire and had to try his best to ignore me, which I knew was no easy feat.
Lunchtime came around so I grabbed some bread from the small, unused kitchen area. I grabbed two large pieces and wandered back out into the tavern.
I held out a piece to Thorin as I pulled up a chair and plopped down next to him by the fireplace. He took it and broke it to pieces to eat.
"Terribly stale isn't it?" I said.
"It's fine."
"Master Ferdinand fired the cook a couple months ago and hasn't been able to hire anyone else. Damn shame, Chef Viktor was amazing. Could make just about anything taste good and that was an essential power with the cheap ingredients that Fern coughs up. They butted heads on that a lot though and the master doesn't tolerate a lot of back talk so now we don't really serve anything for lunch or dinner anymore."
"Since he doesn't tolerate backtalk, how did you manage to stick around?"
"Ha, ha," I said dryly. "I know how to hold my tongue when I need to."
"Just leave then. If it's so bad, just leave."
"I would if I could, trust me. Would have been gone ages ago if it was as simple as telling Master Ferdinand to go hug a bear."
"And? The reason?"
Oh we're having a conversation now, are we?
"Well, it's sort of a long story, but I suppose the short of it is that my family, particularly my parents, were not looked upon very fondly by this town. We lived on the outskirts for ages, barely going into town because they had screwed over and pissed off a lot of people. After they died though Ferdinand thought it was charity to let me work here and allowed me to stay in one of the rooms for free as long as I did a good job. I might have made a lot more friends in Bree since starting here but there are plenty of other people who would rather see me and my siblings dragged miles through the mud than enter their establishments."
"Where are they?"
"My siblings? My oldest brother inherited the family house and land a few years ago, and as soon as everything was in his name he kicked us all out. Didn't want to share any of the hunting land I guess. My two other brothers took to following in my parents footsteps, being drunks or cheats to get by in life. All of my sisters went off to Hobbiton to just marry some unaware hobbit men that didn't know about our family history or didn't care. Can't say either of those directions were my style to be honest." I gave up on the stale bread and gave it to him as well. "I think I'm the only Barclay that's trying to live honestly. Don't even know what I'm going to do with the money I've earned the past few years, I just know I need to get out from under Master Ferdinand's thumb."
"You could probably get your own land?"
"That would be a bright idea wouldn't it? Might take some more time but I should be able to get there eventually." Although the thought of being there for more time did make me a bit sick to my stomach, I tried to not have that read on my face the best I could. "Can I get you anything else? Something else to eat? Something to drink?"
"No thank you, Miss Lydia."
"You really can just call me Lydia. Though I have a feeling you won't listen to me." I gave him a teasing smile. "If you change your mind and want anything give me a holler. Best to get any requests in before the crowd files in this evening."
He nodded in understanding and looked back to the fire.
I went back to singing to myself as I cleaned and set up the tables. Noticing how many tables there were, Thorin got up and assisted in setting up the chairs. I thanked him for his generosity and he just nodded to me. Half of his communication seemed like it was body language or random noises. And the other half was communicating in as few syllables as possible. I still appreciated the help either way. Joseph only shows up in the evenings, but since I had to justify having my home and board covered I usually got stuck with complete housekeeping before and after shifts.
"It's so nice to have someone strong around here!" I exclaimed, noticing that Thorin was almost done setting up the chairs and moving the tables. I set down the crate of wine on the bar and looked around at the progress. "No offense to Joseph but you are so much faster than him! I don't know much about dwarves, are they usually strong?"
He couldn't help but scoff. "I guess in comparison to hobbits and humans we might be considered strong."
"Well either way, thank you so much for helping. You really didn't need to jump in but I really appreciate it."
"Do not worry about it, but I will take you up on a beer now though."
"Of course, free of charge my friend!" I got a mug for him and slid it down to him as he sat down at the bar. I tied all of my heavy curls up high onto my head, attempting to cool off a bit before stocking the bar. "Hey Thorin, I'm used to stocking when I'm completely alone, so I usually get more comfortable so I don't sweat to death before people show up. Am I going to offend your delicate sensibilities if I do that while you're here?"
He shrugged his shoulders, taking deep drinks from his beer.
"Works for me."
I grabbed another one of my hair ties and scrunched up my skirt so it laid higher up on my legs. I wasn't flashing high or anything but it would be considered indecent especially in the heart of The Shire. It was much easier to carry new orders from the back and fill the bar when I was a little more cool though, and I didn't even manage to catch Thorin staring at all. It was refreshing to be around someone who wasn't so much of an animal that the sight of calves made them lose their minds. Joseph was a gentleman, though I can only imagine what his wife would do if she heard that I caught him leering at me. He probably knew what was best for him.
I continued to sing while I worked, only stopping to take some bites from some more bread we had in the back. I did miss having the regular hobbit meals but I hadn't had that in a long, long time. That diet was expensive and took a long time. I missed it though, the tea and meat pies and cheeses and crumpets. And since Pa and I did a lot of hunting we would have the most amazing fresh and smoked meat. I wasn't much of a cook myself since I was more of a hunter, but I wish I learned some of my ma's recipes before it was too late. I was drooling just thinking about the stews and the fresh bread we would dip into it.
My growling stomach really made me wish that I had time to go out and spend some of my money on a warm meal, but I knew Master Ferdinand would be in at any moment.
The door swung open and the large and tall man I called 'Master' stepped into the tavern looking grumpy and hungover and drenched from the rain. Before I could even greet him his eyes went straight to my skirt.
"Damn Lydia, show some fucking decency won't you? Or is this fellow paying you for some sort of show?"
I timidly reached down and fixed my skirt so it fell back into its natural place. "Good morning Master, can I get you anything?"
He grumbled at me and went into the back to probably evaluate the inventory and figure out if he needs to get anything else for the evening. I pulled out a mug and filled it with beer, it was usually what he wanted as soon as he got to work.
My gaze grazed over Thorin as I quickly went back to my tasks and I noticed him looking at me with an eyebrow cocked.
"What?" I said lowly so Master Ferdinand couldn't hear us.
"You let him speak in such a way?"
"We went over this before, I can't just back talk him." I froze and looked over my shoulder as Master Ferdinand made noise in the back, but he was just fumbling around back there. "If I wish to keep a roof over my head and a job that puts coins in my pocket then I need to hold my tongue and play nice with him. As do you if I have any chance to reserve the tavern for your dwarven brethren tomorrow night. If you anger him there will be no amount of beer and ale and mead to convince him to let the gathering happen here."
He grumbled into his cup. He seemed much better at picking his battles than most people I knew, besides the very docile hobbits to the west. However I always expected dwarves to be hot headed, stubborn creatures that would start a fight with anyone who dare look their way. Maybe it was a silly stereotype.
Master Ferdinand came back to the bar and grabbed the beer I had set out for him. He inspected the stock of alcohol we had for the night so I tried my best to keep working while staying out of his way. When he was in a sour mood, the safest thing to do was stay out of his way.
"Do you think it will be another busy night, Master?" I asked, trying to feel out just how fowl his hangover was.
"It's been raining all day, people either want to warm themselves at home or warm themselves with beer. So who knows how busy it will be."
"Will your associates be visiting you again?"
"Why are you sticking your nose in my business, Lydia? If they show, then they show, if they don't then they don't. Damn, where the hell is Joseph?" He went out to stick his head outside to check on his other employee.
Thorin gave me another look. I leaned across the bar and said quietly but sternly, "If you're going to keep giving me judgmental looks I'm going to send you up to your room, Sir. I would rather deal with Asshole Ferdinand instead of Drunk Ferdinand everyday of the week and twice on Sunday, but I'm going to have to get him drunk to agree to the gathering since he's in such a piss poor mood. I'm helping you out here so the least you can do is lose the attitude."
He put a coin down and pushed it over to me. "I'll have another beer."
"Yes you will, Love." I filled up his mug and handed it back to him. He took it and meandered his way to take a seat by the fire. I took another deep breath and got another drink ready for Master Ferdinand as well.
Gandalf asked a favor of me and I was really going to have to finagle the situation to make it happen. I had to be sure not only that the tavern is reserved for them and I'm the one bartending, but also to convince Ferdinand to not be there at all tomorrow night.
When he came back to the bar, grumbling on the whereabouts of his other employee, I slid his drink down to him.
"Master, I received an exciting request last night." He picked up the drink but seemed to ignore me entirely. "Seems like there's a group that wants to rent out the tavern tomorrow evening once the sun has gone down. Some sort of gathering of friends and family who haven't seen each other in a while. That's good right?"
"We've been so busy the last few nights because of the rain, why would we shut the place down for an event?"
"Because they're willing to pay for the space and pay for their own food and booze. And I can imagine that if they're traveling from far away they will probably rent out a few of the rooms as well, if not all of them." I could feel Thorin's gaze on me from across the room. "Plus it wouldn't really be necessary to have more than one barkeep here for just a single group. I don't mind working that evening and I'm sure Joseph would enjoy the night off."
"And who exactly is looking to take over my tavern for the evening and have full access to my only female barkeep?"
"An old friend, Gandalf the Gray. I didn't inquire too much, he just said he was looking to meet some people here tomorrow night and wanted the place reserved and for me to bartend since he wanted to catch up." I left out the details about them being a hoard of dwarves.
"And who are these people he's supposed to be meeting with?"
He's more coherent today than I expected.
"He mentioned friends, I didn't inquire more into it to be honest. I know that they will have the money to rent the area. Since I know him and he had the money I didn't think there would be any issues with getting it set up. I'm sorry if that wasn't the right thing to do, Master. I thought it would make you happy."
"Oh yes, we know how you're always so focused on my happiness," he scoffed.
The gentle-innocent act isn't working. Well if everything else fails.
"I keep the beer flowing, don't I? And I did something to put more of a lining in your pockets, I think I deserve some credit." I filled up another pint and shoved it into his hands. "Take tomorrow night to relax a little bit, Master. I would really appreciate the time to see my old friend again and I'm sure you'd like a night to do as you please without having to deal with the random bullshit around here. What's the point of earning the money you do when you never have a chance to spend it. Right?"
He seemed to stop and consider it for a moment. "This seems much more like a favor for you, what will I get in exchange?"
The creeps rolled down my neck and back, not liking the corner he was trying to force me into. "I don't think that-"
"You want a night to do as you please in my residence with an 'old friend' as you put it. Plus to have no one around, come on now, this is very much a favor for you." A devious smile subtly crossed his mouth. "So what will it be, Lydia? What will you give me in return?"
Oh I knew what he wanted, but he was not going to get it under any circumstances. Not for anything in the world would I spend the night with that disturbed man. There had to be something else I could offer him that wouldn't haunt me for the rest of my days.
There was a slam on the bar top that made me nearly jump out of my skin. We both turned and saw Thorin had slapped his hand down, and he then pushed a coin towards us. "A beer when you have a moment," he said, his voice like gravel. His eyes were not on me though, he was sizing up Ferdinand. "Just a pint would do, Sir."
"Do I look like a bar-wench to you, Dwarf?"
"I understand who you are perfectly well, so I'm asking you to get it for me. A pint, Sir, so you can stop bothering the lady."
He scoffed in disbelief. "You think I'll allow disrespectful types like you to be served in my establishment just because you can flash a coin? Not fuckin' likely, Mate. If you pipe down I'll allow Lydia to serve you, otherwise I will throw you out myself." Thorin simply took a seat at the bar and looked away from him. "That's much better, Lydia, get this idiot a beer. We will discuss your payment to me later."
He walked out of the bar and went upstairs into the inn and I felt like I could breathe again. I poured out the beer and took the coin, listening closely as he went to his room.
"What did I say about not getting into it with him?"
"Promise the man whatever he wants, just promise you'll give him whatever after tomorrow night," he said, completely ignoring my comment. "You will not need to pay him back anything, so just secure the bar and the inn for the night and everything else will be taken care of."
I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "How would you possibly be able to guarantee that? If you're just trying to get me to do anything that's cruel-!"
"You will not need to pay that low-life back anything. I swear upon the life of my sister and her sons."
"Do you even have a sister and nephews?"
He sighed and took a quick drink. "Yes, her name is Dis and their names are Fili and Kili."
"Those are literally the fakest names I've ever heard in my life."
"There are hundreds of years of Dwarvish pride in those names!" He quickly calmed himself. "If you have not seen enough of my character to believe I wouldn't do something like that, then I think you can believe that I wouldn't wish to be on the bad side of Gandalf. Best to not offend magic bearers and I know I would anger him if I did something like that to you."
I was still extremely hesitant. I knew close to nothing about this dwarf and what he and his family would be doing in the tavern, and I had no idea what he could do to stop Ferdinand besides kill him. However, a deep part of me urged me to trust him. Maybe I found him attractive and whatever feverish youth that still pumped through my body wanted to blindly follow him like a puppy. No reason to lie to myself, I would be revisiting that moment of him defending me against Fern, in my head for quite a while. It was downright the most attractive thing I've seen a man do in a long time, especially on my behalf. Not like that standard is high from working in a tavern for so long.
Despite my best judgment and logic, I shook my head and said, "I will play your game, Thorin. And I swear if you try and get out of this I will find you a beautiful, curly brown wig and you will take my place receiving whatever my master intended to give me. But, I will trust you."
"That will not be necessary, I assure you." He stood up from the bar stool to go back to his spot by the fire. I could hear him grumble under his breath something to the effect of, 'Men like that don't exist in Erebor'.
