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Javan hurried off to do as Léof told him to do. He got two of the water buckets and hurried out to the pump to get fresh water. All the while, his head spun with excitement about the promised surprise. What could it be? He had begged Léof to give him a hint, but the hostler had merely shook his head, pressing his lips shut, and refused to answer with a single word. Javan had let off quickly, knowing the sooner he got his work done the sooner he would know.
In the mean time, though, he would guess what it would be. It could be a number of things, but he had no hints to start from. He worked in haste, and before very long, the watering was complete and he was in search of Léof.
“I’m done with the water,” he said when he found him returning from taking a horse out to the paddock. “Will you tell me what the surprise is now?”
Léof shook his head. “Just get a lead rope, Javan, and move these two horses out to the yard. One at a time. I’ll tell you what it is when we’ve completed the work.”
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Thornden
In the kitchen, a short silence fell after Eodwine had given his news. Thornden pushed the few remaining bits of eggs about on his plate with his fork. He looked up and cast a critical eye about the kitchen, looking at the newly built walls and stove. He had grown to rather like this place. The three months he had been part of the household had made the entire place seem more like home than the whole year he had spent living in the barracks as a guard of Meduseld. But perhaps things would not change very much when the Eorl moved. If Thornden went with him, the new holding would soon become as familiar as this old one.
He looked at Eodwine. “How soon does the king wish you to move your household? And who do you intend to take with you, and who will you wish to stay here, to look after the inn?”
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