Chapter Nine - I Will Always Love You

"I suppose Pearl knew the mind of a Took as well as anyone, She decided to wear the pearl necklace out of love for our father, and the rest was just as she said. I wasn't so young to where I didn't know a rumor when I heard it, and I was privy to hearing more than a few of them through the rumor-mill myself. One cousin, who shall remain unnamed (Saffrin, Cousin Ferdi's youngest sister), told me that Pearl was given the string of pearls for first poisoning Cousin Lalia's drink, and then running at top speed down the main hallway before shoving Lalia in her wheel chair down the steps.

"I laughed at her speculation and told her that was the most ridiculous notion I'd ever heard, and then reminded her that I was Pearl's brother. I was rather pleased to see her stomp off in a huff, disappointed that she found a rather predisposed listener in Pearl's defense, who was not in the least interested in her fables.

"Alas, the gossip didn't stop then. For many years after, I would still hear the hint of a story of how Pearl Took found favor with the Thain. I knew that Pearl had heard them all the same and it broke my heart.

"Over the next few years, Pearl found a friend and confidant in Wiliford Goodbody. At first, I was the protective young brother of Pearl, but she assured me that Will was her dearest friend; in fact, they were in love and wanted to be married as soon as possible. Pearl was barely thirty-one years old, and most lasses usually wait until they are of age, at least, before they marry, or are given in marriage."

And then I think, 'Thirty one is the same age that Cousin Lalia married.'

"Father wasn't pleased with Pearl's decision, but he knew she wasn't happy at Great Smials, though he guessed it was because of the whole matter with Cousin Lalia.

"Will had the hardest task of convincing father that he could provide for Pearl and any children they had. As we all know, Will was a carpenter by trade (I gaze around at all the fine wood furniture Will made with his own hands for his house), and most of his relations lived in Needlehole, away up north, just south of the North Farthing. But father knew that the folk in the North Farthing could farm just as well as the Tooks in the West Farthing (guffaws from the Goodbodys), so his daughter and grandchildren wouldn't starve."

I pat my own stomach for emphasis, "And just look at what Dalia's done to me in just the last few days!"

Dalia laughs as she pokes my stomach with her finger, "And it could use a lot more! Mother always worried about you. About how you've never managed to keep your weight on."

"I'll have you know my Diamond has done very well in her attempts over the years." I feel a warm, supple hand press against my cheek from behind the couch. I turn my face in the direction it comes from, and I see Diamond, smiling her mysterious smile, and I return her smile, squeezing her hand in my own. "Are you feeling well, my love?" She nods as she leans down to kiss me.

"You know very well that I can't abide anywhere else when you're telling a story!"

At this point, my audience disperses, and my account of Pearl's story is ended. Heather interrupts her mother and I to ask permission to go on an evening stroll with her cousins. She's still a young lass of nineteen with an eye for mischief, and so as long as she is with her older brother, we consent. Boromir detests having his young sister tag along with the group of older tweens, and my calculations tell me the two will keep each other out of trouble....I think.

I sit back in my seat on the couch, my arm resting on the shoulder of my wife, now seated next to me where April was sitting. Dalia is sitting on the other side of Diamond, deep in her own thoughts. Then she looks over at me with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Uncle Pippin, whatever happened to the pearls my mother had? I do recall her having a string of pearls, and once I even asked her about them, but..."

Diamond and I look at each other uncomfortably. I could feel her pain mingled with my own at the memory of our daughter. "With Blossom", I tell her. "Pearl thought the pearls too beautiful to sit in a box forever, but she refused to wear them, and really wanted nothing at all to do with them. So she gave the necklace to Blossom before she....before we buried her. I tried to talk her out of it, but Pearl insisted, and you know how your mother would get when she insisted on things."

"Yes, I know". Dalia paused in thought, "Goodness, that was over twenty years ago!" Then added as she placed her hands over Diamond's, "Blossom was a beautiful lass; the pearls are right where they should be."

Apparently, Pearl had never told her own family about the complex details of her brief stay at Great Smials--or about the pearls. I could see in Dalia's eyes that my story has affected her the most.

Now I am content. Contented that the rumors will someday fade, and the truth is now passed on to yet another generation of Goodbodys, Tooks, and Brandybucks.

Farewell, Pearl; rest peacefully. I will always love you.

~The End~