It wasn?t often that the common room of the Inn was completely empty but the gypsy hoped the late hour would find even the most hardened insomniac in his or her bed. She slipped in through the door, the edges of her cloak brushing the wooden floor. She held the cloak?s edges tightly together to cover her garb ? that should make her slightly less recognizable. The hood hid the long red braid ? red now with silver streaks through, actually ? and she bowed her head to make her less recognizable by her face.

Jaycy walked casually, carefully not slinking suspiciously through the common area. If someone did come down, she wanted to look like she belonged and was here innocently for a late drink. The bar was her destination, it seemed. She weaved about the tables in that direction, at least.

She felt bad. A sigh escaped as she remembered the events in the kitchen from the other day. Scotty?s fun in baking the cake had been marred by Harold?s upset that she?d flirted with ? and kissed ? his fianc?. She?d tried to salvage the situation by letting Harold know that she was there to listen if he ever needed her. Without saying it, she?d tried to ease his seeming worries that she was actually interested in stealing Scotty from the poor man. Of course, it hadn?t worked and it was, in the end, best for her to just go.

Feeling bad didn?t change her plans, however. She?d meant to do this for a few days now and nothing was going to stop her. She rounded the bar?s end, slipping behind with a whisper of cloth as the cloak touched wood. Green-gold gaze passed over the assorted bottles and other bar necessities in the shelves under the wooden top. As she searched, Jaycy shuffled slowly, moving down its length until she found what she was looking for.

The Wedding Fund tip jar was there and several handfuls of coins rested at its bottom. Gold in her irises gleamed at the sight and she licked her lips. She spared a glance up and then looked once more into the jar. The edges of the cloak parted as her hands slipped into view. One hand tipped the jar toward her while the other reached within. Coins clinked as they shifted in the disturbances.

She did what she had come to do, resettled the jar in its original position, and took herself out of the Inn. She hummed a soft tune as she stepped out of the door and off the porch.