Chapter 6

The Tea

Pippin and Diamond sat at the table in the gardens drinking their late morning tea. The garden flowers began to open with the sun climbing to high noon with an explosion of colors in red, yellow and pink. A warm breeze greeted them and promised to be another beautiful day. Pippin was exhausted from getting little sleep, since Merry was so ill. His thoughts stayed focused on what the healers told him about Merry being poisoned and how close that Merry came to death. Pippin wished he could return to his bed to sleep a few hours more, but after Fredegar's visit had upset him, he could no longer sleep. Merry really needed to be with Estella, and he drew so much comfort from her presence. He did not know how he was going to tell Merry about Estella and how this news would only anger him more. Pippin looked at his wife sitting along side of him and he thought that Merry should be this happy, if only he could get her brother to see that what he was doing was wrong. Estella would be a perfect wife for Merry. Pippin knew that Merry and his stubborn pride would not allow Fredegar to stand in his way.

"What are you going to tell Merry about Estella?" Diamond looked worried towards her husband as she too thought about how Merry was going to take this news. The last thing Merry needed now was to be getting upset especially all that he has been through.

"Merry is still very sick and weak. We will tell him the truth and just approach it slowly with him. Just let him know how much from what he asks." Pippin paused for a while as he looked at his wife, then added, " You know, I did want to take you to Gondor to see King Elessar for our honeymoon, but it looks like we will have to put it off for awhile until all this is settled. I have to bring Merry's horses here to the Shire. He will need help with this."

"I do not mind waiting, Pippin. When Merry is well, we will have more than enough time to visit Gondor." Diamond told him. "Who do you think tried to poison Merry?"

"I do not know, Diamond. The Shirriff is stopping by this morning to ask some questions and perhaps he may already have some answers." Pippin told her.

"I will prepare our staff and see to it that Merry gets a good meal, that is if he is able to eat anything yet." Daimond kiss her husband and went to find the cook to prepare the meal.

Pippin heard the footsteps coming down the cobble stone path leading to the gardens and could see Erling and one of his servants leading the way. Pippin stood by the table and waited for him to join him.

Pippin greeted the Shirriff as he approached him shaking his hand. "Erling, please sit down and have a cup of tea, while we talk."

"Thank you, how is Merry doing this morning?" Erling asked him.

"He is fine and resting well. It will take sometime until he has fully recovered." Pippin told him.

"I need to ask you some questions." Erling picked up his teacup and took a sip, looking over the rim of the cup towards Pippin. "Were there any strangers outside of the Shire that attended your wedding?"

"No, just our closest friends and families attended." Pippin told him.

"Were there any of these friends or family members that have recently threaten Merry in any way?" Erling looked at Pippin cautiously and waited for him to respond.

"No, not that I can think of any way." Pippin nervously tapped his teacup as Fredegar Bolger's conversation with him this morning entered his thoughts, pausing, Pippin continued, "Wait, there was one, but I would not take it too seriously."

"Serious or not, I would have to know of any incident that could possibly lead us to the person involved with trying to harm Merry." Erling told him.

"Well earlier this morning, Fredegar told me that he would kill Merry if he tried to encourage Estella to marry him." Pippin told him.

"I was not aware that Merry and Estella were involved with each other?" Erling could not imagine how Merry could have had any involvement with any young lady and the entire Shire not knowing about this. He loved his mother dearly, but he knew his mother could not keep even the simplest secret quiet, especially when it came to Merry and his attentions to any female hobbit that he may have even the slightest interest in. This would have been big news in the Shire.

"Well, not yet, but I think he really wants to eventually." Pippin knew he was not making any sense and only confusing Erling all the more.

"Did Merry say this?" Erling asked as he placed his teacup on the table and focused all of his attention on Pippin.

"Well, no, not exactly. In fact he did not say anything about it." Pippin paused as he saw Erling raising his eyebrows and glaring at Pippin in hopes that he would start making some kind of sense with this. Pippin knew it was going to be next to impossible to explain this whole thing out. Then Pippin added, "Look Erling, we are hoping that Merry takes an interest in Estella. We only just found out that Estella has strong feelings towards Merry, but Merry does not really know about all of this yet."

"Oh, I see, you are trying to set him up with Estella and then you got Fredegar angry for no reason. Are you sure he said Merry and not you?" Erling almost starting laughing, but he remembered how serious this whole thing was.

Pippin became very uncomfortable and his face blushed a deep red. "I get your point. It seemed to make a lot of sense yesterday, but some how this morning it's a bit confusing." Pippin wrinkled his eyebrows as he too could not make sense out of how he got involved with Estella or setting her up with Merry.

"I think Merry should return back to Buckland where his family could watch over him closely since someone out there is trying to harm him." Erling told him.

"We are family and we have more than enough sturdy Took's to take on any troble maker that tries to interfere with a Took or a Brandybuck. Merry is quite safe here at The Great Smial." Pippin informed him proudly.

"Rightly so, but I would sleep better knowing Merry was back in Buckland." Erling told him.

"I will head over to Bolger's and ask him a few questions and see if anything comes of it. I will let you know anyway." Erling stood up shaking his head, turned and walked back down the cobble path heading for his horse.

~*~

Erling waved and nodded to the hobbits he passed on the road back to Hobbiton. He thought to himself, about the times he has traveled this same road. When he first began working as the new Shirriff for the Chief when the ruffians took over the Shire. He would take the same routine passing messages back and forth in order to keep the hobbits under control. He even spied on the hobbits and told the chief what they were up too. He enjoyed the power and respect that being Shirriff proved him. If there were anything going on, usually Erling was the first to know of it.

Erling open the door to the general store and approached Fredegar as he was just opening for the day.

"Hullo Erling, what can I be helping you with today?" Fredegar asked him.

"I have come to purchase some honey for my mother." Erling looked over the counters and spying the tea setting on the floor just under the counter where the herbal medicines was kept, when an idea popped into his head.

"I see you keep a lot of herbal medicines in your store." Erling stated.

"Yes, we have all types of healing powders." Fredegar thought that perhaps Erling was in need some type of medicine.

"Do you have any healing agents that could harm someone?" Erling asked.

"If you are referring to Merry Brandybuck, I did not poison him, but I would not mind seeing it happen, mind ya." Fredegar said, as he was still angry over his sister bettering him both in position and money.

"I heard you had some hard feelings towards Merry." Erling looking up at Fredegar suspiciously.

"Look here, Shirriff, I did not poison Merry, if that is what you're asking or implying." Fredegar glared at him.

"I'm not saying anything of the sort, I'm just telling you what I have heard." Erling tried to brush off Fredegar's anger.

"Well, you heard wrong!" Fredegar snapped loudly.

"Easy now, I am just here to ask some questions and find out what has been going on." Erling held up his hands to indicate that there was not need of getting angry over answering some simple questions.

"Has anyone been buying these herbal medicines of yours, outside of the healers?" Erling asked him.

"No, only the healers purchase most of these medicines. The gathers come in about every couple months or so and bring me a fresh supply of them." Fredegar began to calm down some, especially seeing Old Hilda Bracegirdle approaching the door to open it.

"Why, Hullo, Hilda. How are you on such a fine morning as this?" Fredegar said to her.

"Oh, outside of every joint and muscle aching and working my fingers to the bones, I guess I am the same as usual." Old Hilda laughed some. "You got some tea for me this morning, Freddy." She nodded towards the Shirriff in a gesture of a greeting.

Fredegar opened a bag of tea that sat in front of the herbal medicine counter that Erling was looking at and he began to measure the tea and put it into the bad.

"I also got a letter for you this morning, Hilda." Fredegar handed her the letter and the tea. "That will be two pence." Fredegar said to Hilda.

Hilda put the coins in Fredegar's hand and she turned to open her letter. She walked over to the window so she could read it better.

"I noticed you keep the tea next to the herbal medicines." Erling pointed out to Fredegar.

"What of it, Erling?" Fredegar shrugged.

"I was in here a few days ago and I purchased some tea and honey for my mother to use in the Buckland kitchens. Anyway I was wondering if some of those herbal medicines might have gotten spilt into the tea by accident mind ya and that is what caused poor Merry to be poisoned." Fredegar commented.

Old Hilda Bracegirdle raised her eyebrow at hearing this and looked at her tea she held in her hand and back at the counter where the herbal medicine was directly over the huge bag of tea sitting on the floor. She placed the tea bag she just purchased on the counter and asked for her money back.

"See here, Hilda, I keep a clean shop and I can assure you that no medicines have gotten into the tea by no accident. You can trust this tea." Fredegar told her sternly.

"I still want my money back in my hand at once! I will not be risking my health or taken that chance." Hilda insisted. She stormed out of the general store. She found the first hobbit that crossed her path and began whispering into his ear.

Fredegar glared at Erling and wanted to strangle him for opening his big mouth and causing a panic over the tea. Old Hilda was sure to tell everyone in the Shire, as she was the utmost gossip. A rumor like this would cause a panic among the hobbits and Fredegar had all of his money tied into the cost of this tea. He stood to lose everything he had, even the store if he could not sell this tea.

"Well give me a sample of this tea and I will have the healer see if there is any poison in it. By the way could I get a jar of honey for my Mum." Erling said with a sly smile to his lips.

He turned and walked out of the store.

Fredegar placed his hands over his face as worry and panic over took him.