"I've never actually washed dishes before...and if I break something, remember I warned you in advance," Linduial bantered.
"Then you shall learn!" Eodwine replied with a smile. "And I'll not take ill to a broken dish or two if you are willing to put two hands to it. After all, pretty broken plates can make a cheery footwalk." Eodwine cast his manner brightly, partly because he had enjoyed retelling the tale of Gob and Twiddle; another part was that Linduial was a cheery enough sort; yet another part was that a man lay abed with a sickened heart, and cheer might not hurt.
"I'll wash. You rinse and dry," he said, and set-to, noting Æðelhild's reproving expression that a lord should do drudge work. He grinned. "I was not always a lord, young lady! Some habits are hard to break!"
Æðelhild blushed, grinned, and left the kitchen after depositing a share of crockwear.
"And now," Eodwine said, tilting a glance toward the Gondorian princess (who held the drying towel like a kerchief rather than a weapon against wetness), "now's the time to tell me a bit about you and your guardian. I'm all ears."
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