Yes, Marion, isn't it wonderful that ffnet is back to business? Wonder where everybody else is? Ah, well, this one's for you, since you check daily for updates! (O but wait, maybe you'd prefer a more cheerful chapter... well, don't worry, one's coming up.)


17. Forgotten

Ferdibrand settled into a routine of sorts. He'd watch at his assigned post from the middle night until the dawn, then take himself off for a ride on Dapple, revelling in the freedom of the wind in his face. Eat a quick bite of breakfast, keep his appointment with the healer to work the bad arm, then into bed to sleep until mid-afternoon.

Sometimes Everard would seek him out at tea time, pressing him to eat more than he wanted, taking him off to walk the fields together. It was refreshing to see the new life coming out of the ground; it made Ferdi think that perhaps there might be new life for him, someday, even though now he lay fallow and to all appearances useless.

After late supper, Everard, or Hilly and Tolly, would persuade him to join in a round at the Spotted Duck in Tuckborough. He became quite adept at tossing darts; his archer's eye was an asset even though he could no longer pull a bow. He always limited himself to one mug, however, and nursed it through the evening, until it was time to excuse himself and get ready to stand at his post once again. And so the days passed, one running into another.

He rode Dapple in the annual Tookland Pony Races and ended in a respectable fourth place overall. He watched the Thain's laughing daughters bedeck the winning pony with braided chains of wildflowers; Pimpernel saved one of her chains and hung it about Dapple's neck, saying, 'If your lass hadn't got bumped at the start, she'd have won for sure, is what I'm thinking.'

'That makes two of us,' Ferdi said, smiling down at her. The Thain caught the exchange and frowned.

The next day, Paladin asked Eglantine to share elevenses with him in his study, and when Reginard had served them and made sure they wanted for nothing, the Thain excused him.

Once they were alone, he turned to his wife. 'Pimpernel is of an age to be married,' he said. He was not one for chit chat, preferring to get right to the point.

'Did you have someone in mind?' Eglantine asked. She thought of the glances she'd seen passing between her daughter and Ferdibrand Took, a brave lad, a bit down on his luck at the moment, but with enough determination to win his way back.

'Yes, Odovacar Bolger's youngest brother asked me for her hand last night, after the feast, and I've accepted him.'

Eglantine was taken aback. 'Rudivacar Bolger?' she asked. 'He's old enough to be her father!'

'Now, love, let us not exaggerate, he's only a score or so years older. I must admit, Fredegar would be a closer match in age, but he's not the one that asked. Rudivacar's a good, solid hobbit,' Paladin soothed, 'very well thought of. He'll make her a good husband, and with the money in that family...'

'I had thought there was some feeling between our Nell and Ferdibrand Took,' Eglantine said quietly.

Thain Paladin sat back with a sigh, steepling his fingers. 'Surely, my love, you can see how that is not possible. Ferdibrand comes of good family lines, is true enough, but his father Ferdinand invested all his money, and the Bolger money as well that his wife brought to their marriage, into ponies. And most of those ponies burned up with his stables when Ferdi was a child, don't you remember?'

'How can I ever forget?' Eglantine said softly. 'Ferdi never comes near a fire, whether it's a singing by the hearth in the great hall, or a bonfire by the racetrack on the eve of the races. I'm surprised our Nell's even noticed him, but she has.'

'Well, she will have to forget him, for she's promised to another,' Paladin said grimly. 'For all that he was brave and bold against the ruffians, he's near useless now, with that arm of his. It was a kindness to give him a post by one of the doors. I doubt he'd let me pension him off, at his young age.' He sighed. 'Rudivacar has prospects for the future. Ferdi, poor lad, doesn't.'

'When did you want to set the wedding?' Eglantine asked. She knew from long years' experience that there was no swaying her husband once he had set his course.

'O, I don't care, whenever you'd like,' he said. 'Perhaps at harvest festival, d'you think you can have everything ready by then?'

'I think so,' Eglantine said with a sigh. Somehow she could not find it in her to rejoice at this match.

'Too bad we can't make it a double wedding, tie up our son safely with Estella now rather than later. Running about the countryside with young Merry, he's likely to get romantic notions in his head.'

'Have you told him yet, about the agreement with the Bolgers?' Eglantine asked.

'No need,' the Thain said. 'The lad'll do as he's told, when the time comes. And with our Nell and our Pip both married into the Bolger's fortune, well...' he rubbed his hands together with a satisfied nod. 'Things'll be looking up for the Tooks, that's for sure.'

***

Ferdi managed to avoid most of the wedding festivities. He was off on a long ride on Dapple during the wedding breakfast, slept through most of the afternoon activities, and traded watches with another door guard so that he was on duty during the wedding supper.

He hadn't been surprised at the announcement, for there was no question in his mind that he could never marry one of the Thain's daughters. He was just a ghost, after all, haunting the Smials until his time came to depart.

Besides Everard, only Tolly and Hilly seemed to remember that he existed at all. The Thain would give him a nod as he held the door open, but even Pippin, on one of his visits to the Smials, breezed by him one day without acknowledging him. Ferdi stood stiff and straight, face expressionless. If this was to be his lot, he'd make the best of it.

Months passed, turning into years, and word came that Meriadoc Brandybuck was to be married to the eldest daughter of the north-Tooks at Long Cleeve. The Thain did not wish to make such a long journey and elected to send along a delegation of Tooks to carry his well-wishes to the happy couple.

To Ferdi's surprise, Reginard sought him out in the stables, as he was preparing Dapple for her morning ride. 'You've buried yourself long enough,' the older hobbit said. 'I've asked the Thain if you can come along to the wedding. It's about time you gave up being a ghost and started living again.'

'They don't need me at the wedding,' Ferdi said. 'At least I'm of some use, here.'

Regi looked at him intently. 'You used to spend a lot of time in Merry's company, when he stayed at the Smials,' he said. 'You're about the same age.'

'You're about the same age as Frodo Baggins, but I didn't see you hanging about him when he was here,' Ferdi said.

'That's different. He was head of the Baggins family, while I was low chicken in the Tooks' pecking order.'

'If you're low chicken, what does that make me?' Ferdi said. 'I'm just a hired hobbit, like you. Merry's not said half a dozen words to me since they came back from that journey of theirs. Probably doesn't even know who I am.'

Reginard lost his patience. 'Well, you're coming along, anyhow, whether you wish to or not, so you might as well make up your mind to enjoy yourself.'

Ferdi gave him the ghost of a smile. 'Is that an order?' he asked.

'I can make it one,' Regi snapped.

'I'll do my best to obey,' Ferdi said glumly.

***

Truth be told, Ferdi enjoyed the journey. He'd not been more than five miles from the Smials since that ruffian's club had smashed him down and his future with him. He could pull a bow now, after a fashion, but he'd never again be the finest of the Thain's archers, and doorward was about the highest post he could hope to attain.

Riding through the summer landscape, he rested his eyes on the rich green of the rolling hills, the bright wildflowers, the crops in their ordered rows. He even forgot himself and joined in the singing on occasion as the wagons rolled.

In the afternoon of Mid-year's Day, they drove into the yard at Long Cleeve, to find hobbits working away, but none of the family at hand.

'They're all gone on a picnic,' one of the cooks shouted. 'It's Ruby's birthday this day, you know.'

'Lucky lass,' another chuckled. 'Birthday today, wedding tomorrow, two days in a row of feasting...'

'Yes, and if there's to be feasting, you had better mind what you're doing!' said the head cook, with a sharp rap of her knuckles on the heads of her gossipping workers. 'Back at it, now! Wagon's coming down the road, don't you see? They'll be here any minute and the sauces aren't all made yet!'

'Wagon's coming!' Reginard echoed with a shout, and Ferdi looked down the road, to see the wagon coming slowly, ribbons blowing from the ponies' manes and the sound of bells jingling on the breeze. Something seemed amiss, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

The head cook sighed gustily. 'Looks as if they've tired themselves out,' she said, 'and all the festivities yet to come this day. Ah, well, a bit of food and music'll perk them right up, I don't wonder.'

That was it. The wagon was coming on slowly, some figures were sitting, slumped as if in exhaustion, others seemed to be reclining in the wagon. 'I see Pippin,' he said to Reginard. 'Shall we go to greet them?'

The bells grew louder as the Tooks went to meet the wagon, and suddenly Ferdibrand could see that things were very wrong indeed. Tears streaked the faces of the driver and the others sitting in the wagon, the reclining hobbits were pale and still, wrapped in blankets, and there were two blanketed forms lying ominously quiet.

'What's happened?' Reginard snapped as the wagon turned into the yard.

'Wagon broke down in the Ford,' the driver said wearily. 'A flood came down on us, dam burst upstream or whatnot. Two drowned.' His voice broke and he could say no more.

Merry was one of the blanket-wrapped figures lying, head in Saradoc's lap, pace pale and still, Pippin sitting next to him, blanket-wrapped, wet hair draggling down over his forehead. Ferdibrand recognised Samwise Gamgee amongst the hobbits that lifted the shrouded forms out of the wagon, to carry them to the house.

'We want some help here!' Ferdibrand shouted as he reached up to steady Pippin, who was climbing shakily down from the wagon.

'Ferdibrand?' he said.

'Oh, aye,' Ferdi sighed. 'We'd just drove in when Regi shouted that he saw the wagon coming. We saw the ponies all decked out in their ribbons, and we heard the jingling bells. We thought--' He broke off and wiped his sleeve across his eyes.

Reginard came up to them and took Pippin from the other side. 'Come on, let's walk him to the house.'

'I can walk.'

'You can barely stand on your feet, lad. Give me some credit for having two eyes I know how to use.'

Pippin allowed them to walk him to the house and lower him to a chair by the hearth. Ferdibrand could see that his breathing was fast and shallow, and he held his arm close to his side protectively. Reginard lifted his shirt to prod gently along his ribcage, and Ferdi saw him suck in his breath.

'Looks as if you've cracked some ribs,' Regi muttered.

'Oh, aye, and don't I know it...' Pippin replied

'I can bind them for you. Might make you more comfortable until the healer gets here.'

'Thanks. That will be a help,' Pippin said.

Regi said, 'Ferdi, go on out and see if there's aught else you can do.' Ferdibrand nodded and went out, to help unharness the pony team. He led the ponies to the barn, placed them in stalls, unbraided the manes and tails, silently rolled up the ribbons.

The hobbits who had come to celebrate a wedding stayed instead to mourn at a burial, for Merry's bride-to-be Ruby and one of her younger brothers had been drowned in the flood. Word was whispered that young Merry Brandybuck had lost his mind from grief, and Ferdi could see that he was merely going through the motions required of him, led everywhere by his solicitous cousin Pippin. Ferdi shook his head. It looked as if Merry would be needing a minder, more than Pippin, after this.

But the next afternoon, Ferdi saw Merry, apparently restored, walking slowly to the gravesites to lay wreaths of flowers and say his farewell.

Pippin came up to him, then. 'It's good to see you, Ferdi,' he said quietly.

Ferdi nodded. At least Pippin could see him at the moment, not like when he was acting the part of a doorpost at the Smials.

'Regi tells me you're heading back in the morning,' Pippin continued.

'That's right,' Ferdi said.

'I'll be coming along as soon as these ribs heal enough for me to ride,' Pippin said.

'It'll be good to have you about the place again,' Ferdi said politely.

'I think Merry needs to get away from Buckland and Long Cleeve,' Pippin added. 'I want him to spend some time at the Smials.'

Ferdi nodded again, wondering if Pippin had a point or was just making conversation.

Pippin's gaze intensified then, and he put a hand on Ferdi's arm to command his attention. 'You and Merry used to be close,' he said. 'Can you help pull him out of himself? Help him see that there's still life to be living as long as he's breathing?'

Ferdi smiled faintly. Pippin was asking a ghost to help pull another back into life. 'I'll do what I can,' he said.