March 24th

Walking towards the breakfast table, Faramir is met with a pleasant surprise. At the table, Éowyn sits looking at a tree on her right. She does not respond to his approach but continues to look at the tree. Her facial expression stays hidden for him. He frowns. What is troubling Éowyn so? Yesterday, he noticed she seemed troubled but she refused to talk about it. Hopefully, he will be able to discover what worries her during breakfast. He does not like this sight at all. Just as he did not like her worries yesterday.

Nearing the table, he scrapes his throat. At this, Éowyn hurriedly turns her head around. Her eyes are wide. Faramir smiles calmly hoping to calm her down.

"Good morning, Éowyn. Did you have a good night's rest?"

"Not really."

"Why not, Éowyn? Was something bothering you?"

Faramir sits down. He knows something is bothering her. Now, he only wants her to confirm it. Éowyn looks away while biting her lips. She crosses her arms in front of her chest. He smiles amused. Apparently, she does not want to talk about it. Or at least, it is the impressions he gets.

Footsteps come from behind. He turns his head around and can see who is approaching them. Beregond is walking towards them with two baskets. Beregond nods to them when Beregond notices his attention. He nods back and Beregond frowns. Did Éowyn not respond? He turns his head and sees Éowyn still looking at the tree. She has also not moved in any way. He turns his head back to Beregond and gives a reassuring smile. Beregond should not get the impression that Éowyn is upset with him.

Reaching the table, Beregond starts to place their breakfast on the table. This time Faramir uses to consider Éowyn's actions once more. He knows she is worried but can not determine about what. All he knows is it should have something to do with their inspection of the fields yesterday. This because her worries only appeared after she met with one of the women. Was something said there that has her worried? Or did he not notice her worry earlier?

He shakes his head. It cannot be. She did not seem worried before. She only seemed annoyed and angry. Or was it a front? He does not know and struggles to hide the sigh which wants to escape. To determine if it was a front he should know Éowyn better than he does now.

He looks up and around. As he does, he notices Beregond taking the basket from the floor. Looking towards the table, he sees their breakfast has been placed on the table. Beregond stands up and nods to him. Then Beregond leaves. Éowyn still does not react. Well, he better inform her their breakfast is ready. He is quite hungry and it would be wrong to start on his breakfast on his own. Especially, as he and Éowyn agreed to eat breakfast together.

"Éowyn, shall we eat our breakfast?"

Éowyn turns her head around and nods once. She quickly gathers her breakfast and begins to eat. Faramir looks at her with a frown. Why does she not talk about anything? She always did. He shakes his head. If she wants silence then he will give it to her. It results in an uncomfortable silence falling between them.

The silence, Faramir uses to eat and look at the people in the garden. 9r at least those he can see between the trees and other plants. He sees mostly patients. Occasionally he sees a healer or other member of the staff.

"Faramir?"

He turns his head towards the direction of the sound. Éowyn looks at him with a hopeful look. Will she talk about what has been bothering now? Only one way to find out.

"Yes, Éowyn. What is it?"

"How does Gondor look at widows with children?"

"Why do you ask?

Faramir frowns. Where does this question come from? And why would she want to know? Because she is interested in Gondor? But then she would have had many other things to talk about. Could it be she has another reason? It seems likely. But what could it be?

"Because I value your friendship, Faramir. I would like to know how Gondor looks at them. Can a widow remarry? And if they can, what will happen to the children?"

His frown increases. Why would she ask this? Does she know someone who would have a use for such information? But who could it be? More importantly, what brought this on? Besides his confusion, he is pleased to know what has been bothering Éowyn. It eases his worry slightly. He smiles at Éowyn before his mind wanders back to what brought this on. It could be something she heard about in the houses or on the field. Or it could be something she has seen. He sighs. He better asks Éowyn before he thinks about it for too long.

"What brought this on?"

"Just something which came to my mind during our visit to the fields. Mostly your actions but also those of the men stationed there. But can you answer my question?"

"Of course, I can. Widows remarry often in Gondor. It is not seen as strange with the peasants. In noble families, it is expected of a young woman. Only once a woman is about forty to fifty years old is it not expected. As for the children? Well, they go with their mother if the new husband and the family of the children's father allow it. If either does not allow it then the children stay with their father's family."

He now knows for certain it has to do with something she has heard in the fields. It should be no surprise for him to be asked about widows. All lands will have plenty of them now. As such, she will have most likely have met one or more widows. But it still does not explain why she would want to know what happens to children. There were no children on the field. Nor are there many children in the city. Those children who are in the city do not enter the houses. But it also does not explain why she only wants to know how Gondor handles widows with children.

"And what would you do were you to marry a widow with children."

"Why do you ask?"

Éowyn shrugs. Faramir frowns. Just like he said, why would she ask? And where does this come from? Does she know a widow with children who she is worried about? But then why would she be interested in his opinion? It does not add up and confuses him. He shakes his head.

"Well, I would never separate a child from its mother. I would prefer for mothers and children to stay together. But then not everyone shares my opinion."

Éowyn nods and looks at her plate. Silence falls over them again. Faramir looks at her for a few moments before turning his attention to his breakfast.


Faramir walks towards his room. Lord Húrin has sent him a missive to expect him there. It will be a meeting he has been longing for since yesterday. A meeting he called earlier this morning. Or in fact, he called it directly after waking up. Along the way, he encounters plenty of men. Most are learning to walk again or trying to recover their strength. He talks to each of them for a moment before continuing in his way.

As he walks, he thinks back to Éowyn's question. And specifically her answers. Why would she give them like that? Does she need his explanations herself? But then why? Does she have children? He shakes his head. It cannot be. If she had children she would not have left them. Besides, she would have mentioned them. His experience is that mothers are highly proud of their children. They always talk about them and never leave them without a good reason.

Soon, he reaches his room. He stops before the door and turns around hoping to see Lord Húrin coming. Unfortunately, he does not see him. He knows he has some time left to think about the upcoming meeting. He opens the door and enters his room. He walks to the table and sits down waiting for Lord Húrin.

As he sits, he considers whether Lord Húrin knows about the way the prisoners are treated. It is a possibility as the warriors could have complained to their captain and the captain to Lord Húrin. It is something to ask about but then shakes his head. It cannot be. He knows Lord Húrin. Had lord Húrin know about it then he would have already done something about it.

"My lord, you wanted to see me?"

He looks up. Lord Húrin stands inside his room with the door closed behind him. He frowns. When did Lord Húrin enter his room? He did not hear anything. He was not so lost in his thoughts to miss a door opening, was he? Lord Húrin frowns at him. Faramir smiles.

"Yes, Lord Húrin, I did ask to see you. I went to inspect the fields yesterday and made some discoveries there."

Lord Húrin smiles momentarily and then frowns. Does he not know what he is hinting at? Did master Neston not tell him about his inspection. It would seem so.

"And what did you discover?"

"Something which upset me greatly was the treatment of the woman. But what also upset me is how an overseer, Captain Wald, treated the prisoners in general. It is not how I thought a Rohirrim would act in regards to prisoners of war."

He shakes his head. No matter how often he remembers it, he cannot imagine why Wald would do this. It just makes no sense. Looking at Lord Húrin, he is met with an amused smile. He frowns. What amuses lord Húrin so. Does he have an idea who he talks about? Of that is then lord Húrin would have to know about what is going on in the field. Lord Húrin shakes his head. It gives him hope he will soon know what it is all about.

"Ah, you mean captain Wald. I have heard about him and it is nothing good. Our captains who oversee the prisoners are highly displeased with him. Why they did never explain. No matter how often I asked them to do so."

Faramir smiles amused. He can understand their reluctance. He would be reluctant to talk about it. Lord Húrin continues to scrutinize him. It only makes his smile grow. He waits a while with responding but not so long as to annoy Lord Húrin to much.

"Oh, I have some ideas what displeased them. It is good to know the men have also noticed it."

"And what would be displeasing them? I assume this concerns the reason you asked to meet with me. Do you wish to discuss solutions for this?"

"Well, you are right I want to discuss solutions with you. As such, it is only normal I explain what they are upset about. What upsets them is the fact that the women are treated like pleasure objects. And in general that the prisoners are not allowed to know what the overseers and guards discuss or do. Something I see little problems with the prisoners knowing about."

Faramir watches as Lord Húrin reacted. He could hear the underlying request in lord Húrin's question. Hence, why he explained things as he did. Lord Húrin looks at him. Moments later, he frowns and tilts his head.

"What did you tell captain Wald?"

Now, he frowns. Where does this question come from? Does Lord Húrin assume he talked with Wald about it? And what does lord Húrin want to know? Lord Húrin stares at him. He shakes his head before answering.

"I told him that I would keep an eye on him. At that time, I had not decided how I would do that. Nor would I have told him how had I decided at that time."

They share a laugh. They understand his reasons for never explaining to Wald how he would be watched. It would only have given Wald opportunities to hide the things he would not want to be known. Still, he left some things out. Lord Húrin will understand in what way he wants the solutions to go.

Looking up, he sees lord Húrin frowning and looking at the floor. Faramir nods absentmindedly. He already looks forward to the solutions lord Húrin will offer. He smiles to himself in anticipation but after some time, he decides to remind lord Húrin about the matter on hand. Hopefully, soon he will learn of solutions lord Húrin has in mind this way.

"Well, we should discuss a solution then for how to deal with captain Wald. It should be a solution which does not tell him anything about the fact that he is being watched."

Lord Húrin looks up and scratches his chin. This has Faramir turning his attention to potential solutions. How will they keep an eye on Wald? They could pull prison wardens from the city. Or use men who have recently been released from the houses. It will certainly give the men time to regain their strength while still contributing to Gondor's future. Just as he wants to voice his idea, Lord Húrin speaks up.

"That is a wise thing to do. We should indeed keep the captain unaware when and how he is being watched. As much as is possible to do so. The best solution I have is to place some spies among our men with orders to observe if captain Wald is obeying your orders."

Spies? Does Lord Húrin mean actual spies? Or what does Lord Húrin have in mind? The men he thought of earlier would also be able to serve as the spies Lord Húrin mentioned. Also, they could use prison wardens for this. These men could be replaced by the recently released. This last option seems the best to him. He nods to himself before speaking up.

"That is certainly a possibility. But could we not use the men who are already guarding the prisoners for that? We could replace them with men who were recently released from the houses. Putting someone new among the men would certainly raise suspicion. Especially, if they have little experience with guarding prisoners."

"Not as much as you would think, Faramir. It is something which often happens with those who watch prisoners. There are multiple explanations we can give. Besides, watching prisoners is not something one needs to have much experience with."

"Explanations such as?"

He frowns to reinforce his words. Still, he is intrigued by the mentioning of the explanations. He can imagine some explanations but is not sure they will be sufficient. These can easily be seen through or they can raise suspicions. Neither he wants to have happening. As such, he wants to know if the explanations he has in mind are the same as the ones of lord Húrin.

He looks at Lord Húrin. Lord Húrin scratches his chin, frowns and looks towards the ceiling. This has him frowning once more. How could Lord Húrin mention explanations if he does not know them? He looks expectantly at Lord Hurin.

"Well, we could say they are prison wardens who like a challenge. Or who needs a new place to work due to personal matters. This are but a few of the explanations we can give."

"Both would explain things. And from what I can gather we should keep our explanations short and easy. I imagine you want the spies to have a chance to give details when needed. But do our spies have experience with guarding prisoners?"

"Not really. What I can tell you is they learn quickly."

Well, that could pose a problem. If they indeed learn quickly then it will not matter too much. But all what is left is to select the spies and assign them to the camps. He nods pleased with his solution before speaking up.

"That is good to know. Give me a list of spies who could do this task. I will make a schedule for them for the coming weeks. But we should not leave it to only this solution."

No, preferably they should use a few more solutions. Or have a few ready as a backup. But which ones will this be? He looks out of the window to consider it. But before he can even begin lord Húrin speaks up.

"There is no need for you to make the schedule, my lord. I can easily do it. You need to rest. And you should make good use of the quiet time. Especially after work yesterday. You must know you will not get any once you are out of the houses."

He frowns. Why did Lord Húrin not react to his question? The matter of the schedule is not what he deems the most important. Lord Húrin looks at him questionably. He shakes his head. Better to answer lord Húrin now and later steer him back to his question.

"I do admit that I feel a bit tired. Still, it does not mean I cannot make a schedule for the men. I have more time to do it than you do."

"I understand that, my lord. But I insist; I will make the schedule. You should enjoy the time you have left in the houses."

He sighs. Enjoy his time? He doubts he can enjoy it with everything which is going on. Too much is currently distracting him. Having seen Lord Húrin's look, he hopes he can fight him on it. But he sees that no other answer will be accepted; he will have to accept Lord Húrin's offer. An offer which feels more like an order to him. And which he does not like at all. He sighs again before nodding.

Lord Húrin smiles pleased. He returns the smile uncertainty. He still does not know how to feel about Lord Húrin's insistence. But still, now it will be a good time to steer their conversation back to his question. He still wants an answer. Lord Húrin stands up. He mentions immediately for Lord Húrin to sit down. Lord Húrin follows his direction with a frown.

"Is there something you have left to discuss with me? I thought we had covered everything."

"Yes, there is something we still need to discuss."

Lord Húrin's frown deepens. Did he not anticipate it. Or did he not hear his question? It would seem so. But how could it be? Lord Húrin never forgets anything. So why now? A frown appears on his face.

"And what do we have to discuss?"

"I asked you before for other solutions to use. We should ensure that what I saw cannot happen anywhere else. As such, the other camps also need to be watched."

"I do agree with you, my lord. The other camps also need to be discussed. I assumed you knew that the spies would be placed all over the camp. Not just at captain Wald's camp. This will also ensure captain Wald will not be very suspicious of the new men."

He nods for he agrees with Lord Húrin. Placing the spies all over the camps will ensure no one will be able to become suspicious. This is a bonus. He knows how captains tend to gossip when they see or hear about something. So with avoiding their suspicion, he gets the most out of the placement of the spies. Still, he does not know how he was to know the spies would be placed over the camps? It was never mentioned. Not that he is not pleased with it. On the contrary, he is.

This has a new matter coming to his mind. Do they have enough spies? He is not certain. His father never involved him in the spying business which was going on. He does not even know the spies. Something he should do soon. Maybe, Lord Húrin will know.

"Do we have enough spies available?"

Lord Húrin looks down and scratches his head. Faramir frowns. He does not like the impression he gets from this gesture. It seems to him as if they do not have the needed men. Lord Húrin looks up after a moment.

"No, we do not. We only have enough spies available to cover half of the camps."

Just like he suspected. But now, how to solve it? Thinking back, he remembers how he mentioned prison wardens earlier. He frowns and considers them for a moment. He realizes that they will be the only ones they can assign to fill the voids the spies cannot fill. But do the prison wardens know how to spy? He will have to ask. He nods once before speaking up.

"Then you must be aware we will need to assign prison wardens to the field."

"I know. It is not how I would like it but we cannot avoid it. We need them to be able to cover the entire fields."

"Do you know if the wardens will be capable of spying?"

"Oh, there are some who can spy. These are former spies who could no longer continue with their work. Those I already planned to assign. The others I have in mind are all quite capable of spying. Or so your father told me once. Besides, you must know how much the guards report from the prisoners' dealings. How do you think they get that kind of information?"

The disbelieving look on Lord Húrin's face has him laughing. Yes, he should have thought about it. The only way the wardens can provide useful information on prisoners is by spying on them. And knowing some of the prisoners, it had to have been done without their notice. He knows the prisoners would have refrained from mentioning any of it. Lord Húrin tilts his head which has him responding.

"Yes, you are right. They do know something about spying."

Silence falls over the room. Faramir uses the time to consider what he should do with his time. He could go to the garden and walk a bit. Or he could read one of his books in his room. Looking out of the window, he sees the sun blazing. Well, blazing? Only so much as is possible with the dark cloud hanging over the city. Still, the sunlight which comes through the clouds wakes a desire for him to be outside. He looks back at Lord Húrin just as the Lord speaks up.

"If it is alright with you, my lord, I will make the schedules now. If you so like, I will submit them for your judgment."

He nods to show he wants to look over the schedules once they are finished. A smile from Lord Húrin confirms his reaction has been understood. Still, he would have liked to make the schedule himself. Lord Húrin simply made it clear he would make it. So by being able to look at the schedules over some of his irritation fades away. Not fully but enough that it will not hinder him.

Lord Húrin stands up and moves towards the door. Faramir stands up and follows Lord Húrin. He intends to go to the garden to think about everything which has recently happened. And also why lord Húrin would insist on doing the work. Lord Húrin knows full well he could have done so. The door is opened and they leave the room.

"I hope you have a good day, my lord."

"I hope you too have a good day, Lord Húrin."

The door is closed and both men to their separate way.