[i]Day 3 addendum: appreciable shift in tactics noted in the proprietress' tactics. She has opened her speech patterns and now favors softer reminders of the world outside her shop.
Possible misread of her intentions earlier? Possible escalation of avoidance tactics?
Note for posterity - once again unable to maintain poise in the face of overloud noises.[/i]

"As you say, Milady. My service does not preclude the pursuit of pleasure. Naturally I am not a stranger to the sensation of 'fun'." she takes the time to form bunny rabbit quotes with her fingers around the word, "However. Even a festival requires working, and I--"

Pause. Cock head, shift focus forty-five degrees. The child playing with her pet has traded giddy clapping for closing her arms around the creature and covering it in soft strokes of its fur. Turn head, reconfirm environment. Aural distraction ceased. Dye makers have paused their labors to stare. 

The circle, closed. An act of affection indistinguishable from a trap.

[i]The decision to give this establishment space to fulfill my request will ultimately serve the investigation the best of all available options. I accept full responsibility should this turn out to be a ploy.[/i]

Once again, Eclair caps her pen and tucks it safely away. Once again she blows on her little book to set the ink and clicks it shut with the exact same flourish. The maid-knight's brilliant violet hair bounces around her shoulders from the motion.

...A moment, if you please. The Order of the Aurora has a semi-contentious relationship with the Civil Church and all its festivals. Even in the days when a Queen of Light was around the maids of the Manor did not swear fealty to her, and this has always left them just a little bit unwelcome at parties, at least the very formal and official ones. A celebration like this one in such a large and important city is practically begging to drag Eclair into some kind of duel, though it may not be one that involves any heartblades. 

But that doesn't mean that the festival is unimportant to the Aurora! The love of the Manor is for the world and for the people who live in it, and their mission is first and foremost to see those same things safe above the needs of politics. Of course a celebration of those exact things is welcome among the maid-knights! Contrary to popular opinion, Eclair's sisters are the [i]best[/i] at partying! And even if the Manor's own festivals have a tendency to never be held on specific dates but more crop up around general vibes and declarations from the Morning, Noon, and Evening they'd all be [i]idiots[/i] if they let the world's biggest parties pass them by. 

It's the funnest thing in the world. In truth Eclair is sorry she's missing it. The jousts, the halfpipe competition, the fireworks! Pin the tail on the Maid (which is meant to involve a blindfolded player trying to tie a sash with a (second) tail on it around another girl's waist but for mysterious reasons often devolves into giggling and more thigh touching and butt pinching than is strictly required for good knot tying?)!

The food and the drink on offer at the Manor on this day is beyond imagining. All of the Order's best cooks and bartenders get involved and quite sneakily spend the entire day trying to outdo each other and produce the most lewd-adjacent look of pleasure from their unsuspecting targets (all the knights and in particular fresh squires who don't know what to expect yet) when they taste their offerings. Even the girls who normally don't make the time for formal meals show up with empty plates and extra kerchiefs on Festival day. 

Best of all, though? The kissing. Aurora knights are known for flirting among each other most any time of the year but on a big day like this one the games escalate to an entire other level. The drunken pickup lines that have been uttered between would-be lovers are the stuff of legends. The girls who are lucky enough to match up describe nights together that blur the lines between winning and losing so that nobody can quite remember who was pinned and who did the pinning. Or, for that matter, can they remember quite where all the pieces of their uniforms have got to. The disheveled maidens are easy pickings for any enterprising knight for [i]weeks[/i] after. All you have to do is sneak up behind them and nibble on their ears and they'll just--

"I will return," Eclair says with the confidence that is only possible under the veil of full Formality, "In one hour's time. There is no need to rush your check on my account. Please simply inform your staff there will be no need to clean as part of closing. On my honor I will handle it myself."

There is no point in denying an Aurora Knight the honor of sweeping. If Lady Vessenmer tries she'll find an expert lockpick and infiltration specialist has sneaked in and done it anyway. At least by accepting she can reserve some manner of direction over the process.