[Nurumaiel]

Frodides paused in her work and hesitated a few moments before answering. The idea was good, but before she agreed she had to consider the possibility that it might not work. The only obstacle seemed that two teachers wouldn't be enough for all the children in the village. But if they could get some other guests at the Inn to act as teachers as well, there would certainly be enough. It would provide the children with a chance to a good education, and that was worth the work that would need be put into it.

Smiling encouragingly, Frodides spoke cautiously, trying to keep the idea open that it might not work. "I think it's a wonderful idea, Mia," she said. "However, there are some slight problems that no doubt can be resolved with ease. I will not speak of those yet, until I give the matter enough thought to make certain that they are problems. Why don't you ask Bethberry or Aylwen about it now? I'll go to the kitchen and take over your work while you do so."

Mia gave a smile of thanks and hurried away. Frodides watched her go with a fond expression. Mia was still so young, but look how responsible she was for her young sisters, and how she wanted to help them and the other children of the village. "Hopefully my little daughter will be like that someday," she murmured as she went to the kitchen. "And if she is, there will be some young man who is very lucky to have her as a wife. And a few years forward, Mia will make a good wife and mother."

Frodides thought back to her own days as a young woman, when through her mother's constant eye ever watching and thorough training, she had been one of the most sufficient housekeepers in Edoras. And she remembered a conversation that she was sure she had not been meant to hear, where a certain young man's father had said, "By all means, Leofan, marry the girl, if she'll have you. She's sweet, gentle, and innocent, and above that she'll make an excellent wife and mother."

Thank you, Mother, for what you've done for me, Frodides thought, the words coming from her heart. You died so soon after I was married, but I know you were happy when you did. And I hope that I will raise my own daughter the way you rose me, so she will someday be a wonderful young woman, as you yourself were.