"Everyone believe I'm your what?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. Even as she spoke she knew that the boys, obviously friends or at least neighbours would be spreading the rumor that Ali was out here alone with a strange woman no one had seen before. If this was the sort of place she suspected that meant that not too long after that there might be a visit from the local wisdom or a good wife just 'dropping in for a chat'. None of these options filled her with enthusiasm. Still there was nothing for it. Ali busied himself elsewhere while she stripped and climbed into the tub, alowing the warm water to wash over her body, cleansing her of the dirt of the road and the smell of fear she had endured since the first whispers of the wind in a place where no wind should blow. The cuts and scratches on her body prickled and stung as the water reached them but she relaxed her mind as she had been taught and ignored the sensations. She scrubbed her hair with the small piece of soap that was provided, feeling guilty for using up what was probably a luxury item in such a remote locale. She resisted the urge to channel or even to hold Saidar. It was best that she play the part of the lost traveler. It was bad enough she had lost her head and used a weave on the road, but she couldn't have known that the boy she had run into was some sort of staff fighter. She mused events until she was pleasantly soaked and the water had began to cool and then climbed out of the tub, dried herself off and donned her newly tailored garments. She would have to leave a coin or two when she went no matter how much he protested. Joining Ali in the kitchen she found him crouched down behind a table, peering over the window sill. A severe looking woman was walking down the path to the door along with a man in his early forties. He wore a medallion of some sort around his neck, though his clothing was indistinguishable from Ali's. Perhaps the mayor or whatever it was called in this place. Mave suppressed a groan.