Brilliant Disguise

Chapter Twenty-One

When Sophie woke up the next morning, she was alone and her flat was eerily quiet. She got up and padded into the great room to find Thorin had left her a note on the table, tucked beneath the small crystal duck she kept in the center of the stone:

I took H. to Miss Oakmane's this morning to let you sleep.

She smiled, folding the missive to bring back into the bedchamber, where she tucked it into the teak box where she kept special mementos, then went about getting ready to meet Bifur for his session. He'd come such a long way since her first days at Erebor, and now, his outbursts were fewer and further between and he spoke Westron as if it was his native tongue now.

It was a crisp, cold morning, with heavy gray clouds overhead and a hint of snow in the air. Still, she didn't mind as Bifur came out, grinning as he greeted her with a hearty, "Good morning, Mrs. Asharm," in perfect Westron. "Lovely morning, don't you think?"

"It's cold out here and you know it." She rose from the bench as he approached, slipping one hand from its glove to clasp his. "Is this your way of getting back at me for all of the times I forced you to use the Common Speech?"

His laughter boomed out across the courtyard. "Why would you think that? Do I seem so vengeful?"

"I would not have said yes, until this morning." She hastily tugged her glove back on. "Did you truly wish to work out here this morning?"

"Is it too cold for you?"

"A bit, yes, I'm afraid. Unlike you, I am soft and not built for this cold."

He squinted up at the clouds. "It will be snowing before long. Winter is almost upon us."

"So early in the season? It's not winter yet, after all."

A nod accompanied his, "I think so, yes. The air has a feel to it, before it snows. I feel that now."

As he lowered his head and met her gaze, she smiled. "You've come a long way, Bifur, and it won't be long before you've forgotten you ever forgot Westron. Why, I think it safe to say you hardly need me any longer."

His smile faded. "Will you leave Erebor, then? If that is true?"

She shook her head. "I won't, no." She hesitated, remembering their last conversation where Thorin was concerned. She had no desire to upset him or embarrass him again.

But he took the lead. "Has Thorin asked you to stay?"

She nodded. "He has, yes.And if you need me—anytime, that is—you need only come and find me. But, for now, I think you have come far enough that you no longer require my help."

His eyes widened and he caught himself as his jaw started to go slack. "I—I don't?"

"Not really, no. You speak fluently in both languages once more and I haven't heard you stutter in some time now. I told you that once the pressure was lifted from your shoulders, you would find speech came to you far more easily, and you've proven me right."

"So, I cannot come and see you any longer?"

"Of course you can." She smiled, tucking her arm through his to give his a quick squeeze. "My door is always open, Bifur, and for any reason. It doesn't have to be because you need me as a therapist. I like to think you and I have become friends. Feel free to stop and see me if all you wish to do is sit and chat a while. In Westron," she added with a wink.

"As do I, like to think we've become friends, that is," he said softly, bobbing his head. Then, his dark eyes grew soft. "I owe much to you, Mrs. Asharm," he murmured, his voice going gravelly and low, "for without you, I would not have regained my words."