"Ha, spare me, please." Pierre Yano de Potier put on an exaggeratedly pained expression. "I'm terrible at keeping accounts. Besides, Lady Lavicia can't do without me, not anywhere."
He was currently Lady Lavicia's Latin tutor—in reality, he helped her tactically schedule her appointments among several lovers, so that these hot-blooded fools wouldn't discover each other and end up challenging one another to a duel.
An easy, pleasant job; it covered his living expenses, and every month he could still send 25 francs home to his family.
The three of them drank together for some time; after nine in the evening, each returned home.
They didn't realize this was, in fact, the last chance they'd have to drink together in years to come.
The next morning, the blond youth Chommon received a notice for an interview at the Paris Army Officer Academy—which basically meant he was guaranteed admission, unless he managed to publicly offend the examiner.
