Inglor and Haleth were a few hours from Bree, the Bree-hill rising to the south and east of them.

Inglor was his always perfectly groomed self. Haleth looked like something the cat dragged home after making a detour through several fields, chewing on it and rolling it in a few hay stacks. Her appearance was not helped by the feral gleam in her eyes which were shaded by the deep, dark circles of an insomniac.

A small, clear stream bubbled beside the road.

"I want to take a bath," Haleth announced, heading off the Greenway.

"You can have a hot bath at the inn at Bree," Inglor said, once against baffled by her incomprehensible whims.

"I want a bath now," Haleth said, undeterred. "I'm tired of looking like a complete wreck when I stand next to you and I'd like to at least be clean when we get to civilisation."

"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded when he followed her.

"I am going with you," he said simply, as though it should be perfectly obvious and acceptable to any reasonable person.

"Not to watch me bathe, you're not!" Haleth waxed indignant.

Inglor seemed to actually consider the situation.

"Do not be ridiculous, Haleth," he sighed. "There are other people around here. There might be trouble."

"Oh, there'll be trouble all right," Haleth mumbled.

"Did you say something?"

"I said I can look after myself," she said sullenly.

"I never said that you could not." He was perfectly tranquil. "But given that we could be here for some time, it would be better if we avoided any situations where you did have to look after yourself."

"Fine, fine," Haleth stalked along the stream. "Suit yourself."

The warmth of the sun and the merry voice of the water soon forced the angry woman into a better mood.

She came to a clearing where the stream widened to a pool. A small waterfall poured into the pond from the southern side.

Haleth stood perfectly still and listened intently for several minutes. She could hear nothing but the splash of the water and the wind in the leaves. Finally she shrugged. What did it matter if Inglor was sitting in a tree watching her? It was not like it would have any effect on him. She hardly expected him to swoop out of the trees and... Blushing furiously, Haleth checked that particular line of thought.

She removed her pack and dug around until she found a small store of soap. Then she washed her clothing, spreading it on bushes to dry. Once her garments were clean, she waded into the pool. The cold water raised goose-bumps on her flesh. She quickly scrubbed her skin and hair, days worth of dust and dirt floating downstream. At last she was satisfied that every inch of her was clean and she waded out of the pool.

A slight problem with her plan revealed itself as she stood shivering on the bank. Her clothing was still quite damp, she had no towel and she was rapidly getting quite chilled.

She very briefly considered hiding in a bush and calling Inglor, but was in no mood to admit that he might have been right.

"Here." His voice was directly behind her. If he could have seen the expression of shock on her face, he might have laughed.

Something warm was draped over her shoulders.

"Thank-you," she said stiffly without turning around.

When she did finally look behind her, Inglor was nowhere to be seen.