Mhurren rolled his eyes and started towards the door, holding it open for her to once again enter the street. It was mid afternoon still, the spring sun still high in the sky. He hated that he had been relegated to the role of bodyguard for her. It was as if Albanus was just tempting him to try something with her. As she walked onto the street in front of him, he watched her go and felt the twisting in his stomach, that longing pain for her that grew as he watched her hips sway.<br/><br/>“This way,” he said coldly and started off the direction from which the half-elf had first come to the alehouse. His steps were long and quick compared to hers, but she kept up easily with him, much to his disappointment. He had hoped to make her rush to keep up with him, to get her panting again, but perhaps he was more tired that he had thought from their little scuffle.<br/><br/>Mhurren watched in relative silence as they walked, keeping his eyes out on the crowd in front of him. There wasn’t much danger he needed to worry about, not in this part of Cheapside where everyone knew who Albanus was, and how far his reached extended. But still, any excuse to keep his eyes away from Miriel was a worthwhile one. And if she ran? So be it—Albanus had given her the chance to do as she wished, to make her money elsewhere. Part of him actually wished she would run. Would he give chase? Trap her in some alley?<br/><br/>He shook his head and gritted his teeth. Whether she knew it or not, she was teasing him, just by being in his presence. He would be glad to be rid of her when the bath had started. But then … to see her fully naked at the bathhouse would be a treat to spare him some lonely nights.<br/><br/>The bathhouse was nearby. He could see the giant tub of water on the building’s roof, and the sign for Lady Sondra’s hanging from a wooden column on the front of the building. “You ever been to a bathhouse?” he asked then breathed out a quiet laugh. “Of course you haven’t—you’re no lowborn girl, are you? Probably had your own lil’ maids and your own lil’ bath in whatever lofty lil’ manor your father kept. But now you’re slumming it, huh? What’s the matter,<em>little flower?</em>Got tired of living the good life on daddy’s coin?”