A/N: Are you ready to find out who truly poisoned Merry? Read on..but do
not forget to review..it helps keeping me in the mood to write, more
chapters ahead.
Chapter 7
That Will Not be so Easy
Erling rocked in the saddle with every step his horse made. He covered many miles today interviewing everyone that had any contact with Merry over the course of the past few days. The long ride home to Buckland was agonizing, he thought he had blisters on top of blisters in places a hobbit should not mention. He looked forward to his mother's cooking that he knew would be waiting for him no matter what time he showed up.
When he finally rode up to the corals at Buckland, he was happy to see his father Hob who offered to tend his horse so he could eat his evening meal that his mother was keeping warm for him.
"Thanks Da, it has been a very long day for me." Erling handed his father the reins and walked toward the kitchen door.
Hatty jumped from out of her seat when her son walked through the door and rushed to grab his plate for his supper. She eagerly joined him at the table and began asking what new information he had about Merry.
"Can a hobbit eat his meal before the gossip'n begins." Erling laughed teasing his mother who he knew sat on pins and needles waiting to hear every single little thing he had to tell.
She waited for him to drink and swallow a few more bites as her anticipation grew. Hatty poured herself another cup of tea and began sipping it. "Well am I to die of old age before I hear the happenings of our dear son." Hatty leaned closer to make sure she would hear every word.
"Well it seems that Fredegar might have accidental spilt some herbal medicine in with the tea. The healer seems to think that they have spotted small mixture of something in the sample of tea I brought them to test. Who knows where Merry could have drank the poison tea from, since he visited a number of people in the past few days." Erling began telling her, but refrained from looking into his mother eyes.
"Well, I'll not be drinking any more tea from now on and certainly not from Bolger's store. Has anyone else gotten sick from the tea?" Hatty asked.
"No, not yet, but I still have a few more places to stop and some more questions to ask before all of this is done." Erling took another bite before he continued. "I have brought you another jar of honey for you." He took it out from his pocket and gave it to his mother.
"I am sure glad to have it, Berilac cannot stand tea without his honey, nor Merry for that matter. I can not see why anyone would want to ruin a good tea by putting honey in it. I like my tea strong and dark. I have to bring Berlac and Ester their evening tea and having the honey will sure make their spirits brighter. Thank-ee for the honey." Hatty patted her son on the back.
"Tell Ester I will join her for evening tea as soon as I finish this wonderful meal." Erling smiled up at his mother.
~*~
Diamond knock on Merry's door before she entered with a tray full of Merry's favorite things to entice him to eat a little more.
"Diamond I was hoping Estella would join me for evening meal. Where is she?" Merry asked while he grabbed his napkin from the tray when Diamond placed it on his lap.
"Merry, her brother came and got her early this morning. He took her back to Hobbiton." Diamond tried to choose her words wisely. Merry took a few bites and looked up at Diamond and noticed she seemed uncomfortable.
"Why would she leave without saying good-bye to me?" Merry asked her.
"Her brother insisted that she needed to go home." Daimond said nervously.
"She did not have a minute to say good-bye." Merry thought something was not right by Diamond's reaction to his questions. "Diamond tell me what is going on, Please." Merry looked into her eyes.
"Well, Merry, it seems that Fredegar was not too happy that his sister was paying attention to you and he forbid her to see you again."
"Why! Fredegar and I use to be best friends when we were children, I have known them most all of my life." Merry told her.
"I do not know for sure Merry, but when you are better, you can talk to Fredegar or Estella, and maybe they will be able to explain that to you." Daimond bit her bottom lip and did not want to tell Merry anything more. She could tell Merry was getting agitated already.
"Now you lay back and get some rest, I'll be checking on you in a little while." Diamond closed the door and went in search of Pippin.
Merry sat on the edge of his bed and dangled his feet for a moment while he waited for the dizziness to stop. He saw his clothes clean, pressed and folded on the nearby table. He stood up, but his legs began to tremble a bit, but he forced them to walk towards his clothes. Merry sat in his chair and began dressing. It did not take him long before he opened his bedroom door and headed towards the gardens.
Diamond found her husband sitting in the gardens smoking his evening pipe of Old Toby. "Pippin, you were right, Merry is asking a lot of questions about Estella. I did not have the heart to tell him everything I knew. I just finally told him that he needed to ask Fredegar and Estella when he felt better."
"That is what I intent to do Diamond first thing tomorrow morning." Merry told her as he appeared just entering the gardens.
"Merry you should not be up yet, you are still very weak." Pippin told him as he ran to Merry's side.
Merry excepted Pippin's arm to help guide his weak legs over to the chairs in the garden to sit down. "Nonsense Pip, you think I can just lie there in bed and not give anything another thought."
"No, Merry. I know you better than that." Pippin walked slowly with Merry until they reached his chair and sat him down. "But really, you do need your rest so you can regain your strength."
"My strength will return fast enough sitting up in a chair as well as lying down in a bed. Bring me a cup of tea and some honey." Merry asked Daimond, so he could be alone with Pippin.
Diamond excused herself and went to the kitchen.
"You tell me everything you know and do not leave anything out." Merry face grew very serious at he looked Pippin in the eye.
Pippin began telling Merry everything he wanted to know.
~*~
All day long Fredegar encountered the same reaction with the other hobbits. No one wanted to buy his tea. He even had to argue with a couple of hobbits who wanted to return their portion of tea they had purchased the day before. No matter how he tried to convince them, they would not listen. Fredegar knew that he would lose everything he worked so hard for. Fredegar even began to believe that maybe it was his fault that Merry was poisoned by accident. He was the only one in the store for days just prior to Merry getting sick. Estella was busy getting ready for Pippin's wedding to Diamond. She spent more time at the dress makers shop with endless fittings or attended bridal showers in honor of Diamond's approaching wedding. He agonized over every possibility of some of those herbs getting into the tea. He could not remember one time ever spilling a single drop of herbs, but still the tea should of never been placed anywhere within the reach of the those herbs. 'It was no use, it is over with.' Fredegar told himself. "I might as well lock up and put a for sale sign in the window, I have lost everything.' Fredegar place the key in the lock and turned it. He placed the closed sign in the window and pulled the shade. Tears flowed from his eyes as he gave way to his frustration and heartache.
Estella opened the door to the shop that joined their house and saw her brother crying with his hands covering his face. "Brother what is it? What has happened?" she ran to him wrapping her arms around him.
Through his sobs he began telling Estella what has happened. "This is not your fault and that tea was not poisoned by any herbs that you have spilt. I have never known you to spill a drop of anything. There is no hobbit with steadier hands than you have Freddy. Something is not right here. I will go to Merry and Pippin, they will help us figure all of this out." Estella told him.
"You will do no such a thing, the last thing I need for those two to be feeling sorry for me or bailing me out of my troubles. I think I would just rather die than do that." Fredegar gave into his despair and felt beyond worthless.
"I will not be hearing you give up like this Fredegar. You told me to be proud of the name Bolger, that it means something.well it does, it means we do not give up without a fight. We need help Freddy, we need our friends to stand with us. Merry has never looked down on you Freddy. Merry thinks the world of you and holds you in great regards." Estella tried to tell him.
"No Estella, I have always been Ol' Fatty Bolger the worthless. They were right, I am worthless. I will never be as grand as Merry and Pippin." Fredegar hung his head in shame.
"That is not the Freddy I know, to give up without a fight. Merry and Pippin did not clear out the ruffians all by themselves. They needed their friends to help them. You never gave up, even when the ruffians locked you up for months and even in your weakened condition, you stood by Merry and helped him. You pulled father and me from not having a penny in our pockets to building this here fine store and helping our dear father in buying and selling crops from the farmers. You're an honorable hobbit Freddy with too much pride to give up like this. There is an answer out there, but we must find it together. There is no shame in going to our friends, who loves us the most and asking them to help us. That is what good friends do, someone you can always count on." Estella tenderly touched Fredegar's cheek and looking into his eyes.
"You are right Estella, I have been too prideful, go to Merry with my blessings, I was wrong to try and stop you. Forgive me my dear sister, but I love you and I could not bear you being hurt again over Merry. Go to him and see if he can help us." Fredegar kissed his sister forehead and hugged her.
~*~
Berilac bent down and kissed Ester on her cheek. "Good-night my dear, do not stay up too late."
"I will be there in few minutes after I have spoken to my brother." Ester smiled up at her husband.
"Well my sister, I see that Berilac has went to bed early this evening." Erling commented as he approached Ester sitting at the garden table. Ester watched her brother move slowly about the garden veranda. Her eyes blacken and so did her mood. Every nerve was on edge as he prowled about. Erling began to circle Ester and slowly came up behind her chair were she sat. He leaned over her shoulder to whisper in her ear.
"Dear sister there is something that I need you to do for me." His spoke his words one at a time to emphasize them to her.
"I have done of enough for you." She hissed at him.
Erling grabbed the back of her hair and pulled it back hard. "I don't think you have heard me clearly enough, dear sister. Perhaps your dear Berilac would love to know that his oldest son in not a true Brandybuck."
"You monster, one of these days they will all see you for who you truly are, Erling. I know it was you who tried to poison Merry. He'll find you out and make you pay for all the rotten things you have done. How long will you keep blackmailing me?" Ester snarled at him, but still trying to keep her voice down.
"You hold your tongue or perhaps I will just have to cut it off." Erling laughed when he took out his knife to show it to her. The evil in his eyes made her cower all the more.
"Your precious Merry will not live long enough to discover it, now that I have convinced everyone the Fredegar accidentally spilt herbs into his tea. That should cause enough fear and panic to create a good smoke screen for myself."
"Tell me what you want so I can leave." Ester snapped not wanting to hear any more of his wicked words.
Erling put his lips right next to her ear and whispered, "You get Berilac to drive those horses through Bywater, some of my best men who were spies for the Chief's ruffians will be waiting there to take over the herd. We have a new buyer for these horses and before anyone can find us, we will be living like kings."
"They will hunt you down and find you." Ester tried to warn him.
"They will have to find us first, and that will not be so easy for them." Erling smiled.
Chapter 7
That Will Not be so Easy
Erling rocked in the saddle with every step his horse made. He covered many miles today interviewing everyone that had any contact with Merry over the course of the past few days. The long ride home to Buckland was agonizing, he thought he had blisters on top of blisters in places a hobbit should not mention. He looked forward to his mother's cooking that he knew would be waiting for him no matter what time he showed up.
When he finally rode up to the corals at Buckland, he was happy to see his father Hob who offered to tend his horse so he could eat his evening meal that his mother was keeping warm for him.
"Thanks Da, it has been a very long day for me." Erling handed his father the reins and walked toward the kitchen door.
Hatty jumped from out of her seat when her son walked through the door and rushed to grab his plate for his supper. She eagerly joined him at the table and began asking what new information he had about Merry.
"Can a hobbit eat his meal before the gossip'n begins." Erling laughed teasing his mother who he knew sat on pins and needles waiting to hear every single little thing he had to tell.
She waited for him to drink and swallow a few more bites as her anticipation grew. Hatty poured herself another cup of tea and began sipping it. "Well am I to die of old age before I hear the happenings of our dear son." Hatty leaned closer to make sure she would hear every word.
"Well it seems that Fredegar might have accidental spilt some herbal medicine in with the tea. The healer seems to think that they have spotted small mixture of something in the sample of tea I brought them to test. Who knows where Merry could have drank the poison tea from, since he visited a number of people in the past few days." Erling began telling her, but refrained from looking into his mother eyes.
"Well, I'll not be drinking any more tea from now on and certainly not from Bolger's store. Has anyone else gotten sick from the tea?" Hatty asked.
"No, not yet, but I still have a few more places to stop and some more questions to ask before all of this is done." Erling took another bite before he continued. "I have brought you another jar of honey for you." He took it out from his pocket and gave it to his mother.
"I am sure glad to have it, Berilac cannot stand tea without his honey, nor Merry for that matter. I can not see why anyone would want to ruin a good tea by putting honey in it. I like my tea strong and dark. I have to bring Berlac and Ester their evening tea and having the honey will sure make their spirits brighter. Thank-ee for the honey." Hatty patted her son on the back.
"Tell Ester I will join her for evening tea as soon as I finish this wonderful meal." Erling smiled up at his mother.
~*~
Diamond knock on Merry's door before she entered with a tray full of Merry's favorite things to entice him to eat a little more.
"Diamond I was hoping Estella would join me for evening meal. Where is she?" Merry asked while he grabbed his napkin from the tray when Diamond placed it on his lap.
"Merry, her brother came and got her early this morning. He took her back to Hobbiton." Diamond tried to choose her words wisely. Merry took a few bites and looked up at Diamond and noticed she seemed uncomfortable.
"Why would she leave without saying good-bye to me?" Merry asked her.
"Her brother insisted that she needed to go home." Daimond said nervously.
"She did not have a minute to say good-bye." Merry thought something was not right by Diamond's reaction to his questions. "Diamond tell me what is going on, Please." Merry looked into her eyes.
"Well, Merry, it seems that Fredegar was not too happy that his sister was paying attention to you and he forbid her to see you again."
"Why! Fredegar and I use to be best friends when we were children, I have known them most all of my life." Merry told her.
"I do not know for sure Merry, but when you are better, you can talk to Fredegar or Estella, and maybe they will be able to explain that to you." Daimond bit her bottom lip and did not want to tell Merry anything more. She could tell Merry was getting agitated already.
"Now you lay back and get some rest, I'll be checking on you in a little while." Diamond closed the door and went in search of Pippin.
Merry sat on the edge of his bed and dangled his feet for a moment while he waited for the dizziness to stop. He saw his clothes clean, pressed and folded on the nearby table. He stood up, but his legs began to tremble a bit, but he forced them to walk towards his clothes. Merry sat in his chair and began dressing. It did not take him long before he opened his bedroom door and headed towards the gardens.
Diamond found her husband sitting in the gardens smoking his evening pipe of Old Toby. "Pippin, you were right, Merry is asking a lot of questions about Estella. I did not have the heart to tell him everything I knew. I just finally told him that he needed to ask Fredegar and Estella when he felt better."
"That is what I intent to do Diamond first thing tomorrow morning." Merry told her as he appeared just entering the gardens.
"Merry you should not be up yet, you are still very weak." Pippin told him as he ran to Merry's side.
Merry excepted Pippin's arm to help guide his weak legs over to the chairs in the garden to sit down. "Nonsense Pip, you think I can just lie there in bed and not give anything another thought."
"No, Merry. I know you better than that." Pippin walked slowly with Merry until they reached his chair and sat him down. "But really, you do need your rest so you can regain your strength."
"My strength will return fast enough sitting up in a chair as well as lying down in a bed. Bring me a cup of tea and some honey." Merry asked Daimond, so he could be alone with Pippin.
Diamond excused herself and went to the kitchen.
"You tell me everything you know and do not leave anything out." Merry face grew very serious at he looked Pippin in the eye.
Pippin began telling Merry everything he wanted to know.
~*~
All day long Fredegar encountered the same reaction with the other hobbits. No one wanted to buy his tea. He even had to argue with a couple of hobbits who wanted to return their portion of tea they had purchased the day before. No matter how he tried to convince them, they would not listen. Fredegar knew that he would lose everything he worked so hard for. Fredegar even began to believe that maybe it was his fault that Merry was poisoned by accident. He was the only one in the store for days just prior to Merry getting sick. Estella was busy getting ready for Pippin's wedding to Diamond. She spent more time at the dress makers shop with endless fittings or attended bridal showers in honor of Diamond's approaching wedding. He agonized over every possibility of some of those herbs getting into the tea. He could not remember one time ever spilling a single drop of herbs, but still the tea should of never been placed anywhere within the reach of the those herbs. 'It was no use, it is over with.' Fredegar told himself. "I might as well lock up and put a for sale sign in the window, I have lost everything.' Fredegar place the key in the lock and turned it. He placed the closed sign in the window and pulled the shade. Tears flowed from his eyes as he gave way to his frustration and heartache.
Estella opened the door to the shop that joined their house and saw her brother crying with his hands covering his face. "Brother what is it? What has happened?" she ran to him wrapping her arms around him.
Through his sobs he began telling Estella what has happened. "This is not your fault and that tea was not poisoned by any herbs that you have spilt. I have never known you to spill a drop of anything. There is no hobbit with steadier hands than you have Freddy. Something is not right here. I will go to Merry and Pippin, they will help us figure all of this out." Estella told him.
"You will do no such a thing, the last thing I need for those two to be feeling sorry for me or bailing me out of my troubles. I think I would just rather die than do that." Fredegar gave into his despair and felt beyond worthless.
"I will not be hearing you give up like this Fredegar. You told me to be proud of the name Bolger, that it means something.well it does, it means we do not give up without a fight. We need help Freddy, we need our friends to stand with us. Merry has never looked down on you Freddy. Merry thinks the world of you and holds you in great regards." Estella tried to tell him.
"No Estella, I have always been Ol' Fatty Bolger the worthless. They were right, I am worthless. I will never be as grand as Merry and Pippin." Fredegar hung his head in shame.
"That is not the Freddy I know, to give up without a fight. Merry and Pippin did not clear out the ruffians all by themselves. They needed their friends to help them. You never gave up, even when the ruffians locked you up for months and even in your weakened condition, you stood by Merry and helped him. You pulled father and me from not having a penny in our pockets to building this here fine store and helping our dear father in buying and selling crops from the farmers. You're an honorable hobbit Freddy with too much pride to give up like this. There is an answer out there, but we must find it together. There is no shame in going to our friends, who loves us the most and asking them to help us. That is what good friends do, someone you can always count on." Estella tenderly touched Fredegar's cheek and looking into his eyes.
"You are right Estella, I have been too prideful, go to Merry with my blessings, I was wrong to try and stop you. Forgive me my dear sister, but I love you and I could not bear you being hurt again over Merry. Go to him and see if he can help us." Fredegar kissed his sister forehead and hugged her.
~*~
Berilac bent down and kissed Ester on her cheek. "Good-night my dear, do not stay up too late."
"I will be there in few minutes after I have spoken to my brother." Ester smiled up at her husband.
"Well my sister, I see that Berilac has went to bed early this evening." Erling commented as he approached Ester sitting at the garden table. Ester watched her brother move slowly about the garden veranda. Her eyes blacken and so did her mood. Every nerve was on edge as he prowled about. Erling began to circle Ester and slowly came up behind her chair were she sat. He leaned over her shoulder to whisper in her ear.
"Dear sister there is something that I need you to do for me." His spoke his words one at a time to emphasize them to her.
"I have done of enough for you." She hissed at him.
Erling grabbed the back of her hair and pulled it back hard. "I don't think you have heard me clearly enough, dear sister. Perhaps your dear Berilac would love to know that his oldest son in not a true Brandybuck."
"You monster, one of these days they will all see you for who you truly are, Erling. I know it was you who tried to poison Merry. He'll find you out and make you pay for all the rotten things you have done. How long will you keep blackmailing me?" Ester snarled at him, but still trying to keep her voice down.
"You hold your tongue or perhaps I will just have to cut it off." Erling laughed when he took out his knife to show it to her. The evil in his eyes made her cower all the more.
"Your precious Merry will not live long enough to discover it, now that I have convinced everyone the Fredegar accidentally spilt herbs into his tea. That should cause enough fear and panic to create a good smoke screen for myself."
"Tell me what you want so I can leave." Ester snapped not wanting to hear any more of his wicked words.
Erling put his lips right next to her ear and whispered, "You get Berilac to drive those horses through Bywater, some of my best men who were spies for the Chief's ruffians will be waiting there to take over the herd. We have a new buyer for these horses and before anyone can find us, we will be living like kings."
"They will hunt you down and find you." Ester tried to warn him.
"They will have to find us first, and that will not be so easy for them." Erling smiled.
