Egwene could stand it no longer. “Maryim,” she broke in, “do you really believe you'll ever need to know these things again? You are not a Wisdom any longer, or have you forgotten?”
“I have not forgotten anything,” Nynaeve said sharply. “I remember a time when you were as eager to learn new things as I am.”
“Mother Guenna,” Elayne said blandly, “what do you do for two women who cannot stop arguing?”
The grayhaired woman pursed her lips and frowned at the table. “Usually, men or women, I tell them to stay away from each other. That is the best thing, and the easiest.”
“Usually?” Elayne said. “What if there is a reason they cannot stay apart. Say they are sisters.”
“I do have a way to make an arguer stop,” the big woman said slowly. “It is not something I urge anyone to try, but some do come to me.” Egwene thought there was a suspicion of a smile at the corners of her mouth. “I charge a silver mark each for women. Two for men, because men make more fuss. There are some will buy anything, if it costs enough.”
“But what is the cure?” Elayne asked.
“I tell them they have to bring the other one here with them, the one they argue with. Both expect me to quiet the other's tongue.” Despite herself, Egwene was listening. She noticed Nynaeve seemed to be paying sharp attention, as well. “When they have paid me,” Mother Guenna continued, flexing one hefty arm, “I take them out back and stick their heads in my rain barrel till they agree to stop their arguing.”
Elayne burst out laughing.
“I think I may have done something very like that myself,” Nynaeve said in a voice that was much too light. Egwene hoped her own expression looked nothing like Nynaeve's.
“I'd not be surprised if you have.” Mother Guenna was grinning openly now. “I tell them the next time I hear they've been arguing, I will do it for free, but I'll use the river. It is remarkable how often the cure works, for men especially. And it is remarkable what it has done for my reputation. For some reason, none of the people I cure this way ever tells anyone else the details, so someone asks for the cure every few months. If you've been fool enough to eat mudfish, you do not go around telling people. I trust none of you have any wish to spend a silver mark.”
“I think not,” Egwene said, and glared at Elayne when she went off in peals of laughter again.
“Good,” the grayhaired woman said. “Those I cure of arguing have a tendency to avoid me like stingweed caught in their nets, unless they actually take sick, and I am enjoying your company. Most of those who come at present want something to take away bad dreams, and they grow sour when I have nothing to give them.” For a moment she slipped into a frown, rubbing her temples. “It is good to see three faces that do not look as if there is nothing left but to jump over the side and drown. If you are staying long in Tear, you must come see me again. The girl called you Maryim? I am Ailhuin. The next time, we'll talk over some good Sea Folk tea instead of something that curdles your tongue. Light, but I hate the taste of marshwhite; mudfish would taste sweeter. In fact, if you have time to stay now, I'll brew a pot of Tremalking black. Not long till supper, either. It's just bread and soup and cheese, but you are welcome.”
“That would be very nice, Ailhuin,” Nynaeve said. “Actually... Ailhuin, if you have a spare bedroom, I'd like to hire it for the three of us.”
The big woman looked at each of them without saying anything. Getting to her feet, she tucked the pot of marshwhite tea away in the herb cupboard, then fetched a red teapot and a pouch from another. Only when she had brewed a pot of Tremalking black, put four clean cups and a bowl of honeycomb on the table along with pewter spoons, and reclaimed her chair did she speak.
“I've three empty bedrooms upstairs, now my daughters are all married. My husband, the Light shine on him, was lost in a storm in the Fingers of the Dragon near twenty years ago. There need be no talk of hiring, if I decide to let you have the rooms. If, Maryim.” Stirring honey into her tea, she studied them again.
“What will make you decide?” Nynaeve asked quietly.
Ailhuin continued to stir, as if she had forgotten to drink. “Three young women, riding fine horses. I don't know much about horses, but those look as fine as what the lords and ladies ride, to me. You, Maryim, know enough of the craft that you ought to have hung herbs in your window already, or should be choosing where to do it. I've never heard of a woman practicing the craft too far from where she was born, but by your tongue, you are a long way.” She glanced at Elayne. “Not many places with hair that color. Andor, I'd say, by your speech. Fool men are always talking about finding a yellowhaired Andor girl. What I want to know is why? Running away from something? Or running after something? Only, you don't look like thieves to me, and I never heard of three women chasing after a man together. So tell me why, and if I like it, the rooms are yours. If you want to pay something, you buy a bit of meat now and then. Meat is dear since the trade up to Cairhien fell away. But first the why, Maryim.”
“We are chasing after something, Ailhuin,” Nynaeve said. “Or rather, after some people.” Egwene schooled herself to stillness and hoped she was doing as well as Elayne, who was sipping her tea as if she were listening to talk about dresses. Egwene did not believe Ailhuin Guenna's dark eyes missed a great deal. “They stole some things, Ailhuin,” Nynaeve went on. “From my mother. And they did murder. We are here to see justice done.”
“Burn my soul,” the large woman said, “have you no menfolk? Men are not good for much beyond heavy hauling and getting in the way, most of the time — and kissing and such — but if there's a battle to be fought or a thief to catch, I say let them do it. Andor is as civilized as Tear. You are not Aiel.”
“There was no one else but us,” Nynaeve said. “Those who might have come in our place were killed.”
The three murdered Aes Sedai, Egwene thought. They could not have been Black Ajah. But if they had not been killed, the Amyrlin would not have been able to trust them. She's trying to keep to the bloody Three Oaths, but she is skirting it close.
“Aaah,” Ailhuin said sadly. “They killed your men? Brothers, or husbands, or fathers?” Spots of color bloomed in Nynaeve's cheeks, and the older woman mistook the emotion. “No, don't tell me, girl. I'll not pull up old grief. Let it lie on the bottom till it melts away. There, there, you calm yourself.” It was an effort for Egwene