As Averyll returned from her morning walk, she felt more tired and perplexed than refreshed. The things the baker had said bothered her. She needed to find out for herself if other people were indeed passing foul rumors about Lady Finduilas, or if the baker was just an old windbag. Judging by his air of confidence, she had her doubts. On her way back through the streets, she took several detours through other shops, pretending to browse, but listening carefully for any talk of the party the night before or of Finduilas. What she heard made her hurry in search of Finduilas' other ladies when she got back to her rooms. She found Eleniel and Vieana outside on one of the terraces that overlooked the white city.
"There you are!" exclaimed Veiana as Averyll hurried to where the other two ladies waited. "We were beginning to think you had hopped a ship back to Dol Amroth!"
Averyll smiled. "Me? Never!" But she winked at them both. They knew how much she missed her home city and her toddler son that she had been compelled to leave behind.
As she drew nearer to them, both Elen and Vieana edged in close. Vieana tilted her head in the direction of the guards who stood on post at either end of the terrace.
"Have you noticed anything odd about the guards?" she asked Averyll.
Trying to be subtle, Averyll glanced in their direction. Absorbed in her own set of questions, she had not paid much attention to the guards. "Like what?"
"Like the way they have been acting toward the Minas Tirith guards."
She shook her head. "How have they been acting?"
"Cold. Like they don't trust one another. It's very strange." Vieana frowned. "My husband has always spoken well of Minas Tirth's guards."
Averyll looked again, but the guards seemed fine at the moment. Of course, there were no Minas Tirith guards on the terrace at the moment, so, why wouldn't they? She decided to watch them in the future, to see what Vieana referred to for herself. It was decidedly odd.
"How strange!" she said finally. "I'll pay closer attention in the future. But listen to this!" She bent even closer to Elen and Vieana, dropping her voice to whisper. "Someone has started a rumor about Finduilas. Outside the residence, they are saying that she is an imposter."
Both of the other ladies, stepped back in surprise. "An imposter!" exclaimed Elen. "What do you mean?"
"They say she is not even from Dol Amroth."
"Well, where would she be from if not from there?"
Averyll shrugged. "I don't know. Should we tell Finduilas? Or Tessa? The whole thing seems malicious to me. I don't know quite what to think."
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