The outer door was answered by a nine year old girl. Her fingers were wrapped around the collar of a large dog. The wolfhound's nostrils flared as he sniffed at the stranger. Or was he a stranger? Something about him smelled familiar. She murmured something in Sindarin to her canine guardian and, keeping himself between the new arrival and his charge, the dog stepped back.

"If you're wishing to speak with my mother, she has someone in her office right now." Melly gestured to the front room where a warm fire was burning in the hearth. "You can wait in there if you like or come back later."