Notes to Readers:
The co-author on this chapter is, of course, Jodancingtree. She has added lots
of charming touches, thanks, Jo!
Thank you for the comments! Reviews are very motivating and give me insights
into the stories that make me dig deeper in writing, which I probably wouldn't
do were I the only one reading these stories... (I am sending them on to Jo,
and she thanks you as well.) And thank you for your patience as well! We are
getting there—there is at least one chapter left after this one. I cannot tell
you when it will be posted. Probably not for a week, but check back if you are
not signed up for "author notifications".
Aemilia Rose, Farry is learning, and will continue to learn. By the beginning
of "At the End of His Rope" he has turned into a son to be proud of, indeed.
Hai, you are welcome! I think Farry will enjoy working to make his payments
too, especially if he has to work around ponies. I remember at his age I'd do
anything to be around horses.
Xena, the part about pointing out constellations was Jo's writing. That was a
lovely moment. Ferdi has worked hard all his life and knows the benefit of hard
work, so he's a good mentor, I think.
Bookworm, I hadn't even thought about the Silmaril, but Jo did... and I'm glad.
Tim, the difference is that Pip knows now that there is a time and a place to
cause a stir, and a time and a place not to do so.
FantasyFan, excellent summary, as you usually write. I think Pip is
making reparations to the farmers he pilfered from, in a way, with the policies
he's instituting as Thain. Tookland is prospering. I had a little fun in
Freddy's story, showing that restitution was made to Farmer Maggot (on a
regular basis!) at the time Freddy and his cousins were raiding the good
farmer's fields, by Freddy's father, who knew very well what was going on (but
why he didn't discipline the boys more strictly is beyond me...)
If you cannot access ff.net, try www.storiesofarda.com.
You can leave reviews there, as well (thanks SoA reviewers! See replies at SoA
as well), and there is a "reply" feature where an author can reply to
a review right there rather than within the text of the story. I have also
discovered the "author alert" feature. Amazing place, that SoA.
The next chapter of "A Small and Passing Thing" will be posted on Monday, if
all goes well.
Enough admin notes. Let's get to the story.
***
Chapter 26. To Squelch a Rumour
Ferdi had gone off in a rush at dawn, kissing her even as he threw the cloak
around his shoulders and settled his quiver on his back. She was used to it -
an errand for the Thain, of course, and Pippin brooked no delay in carrying out
his orders. Only later she had thought it odd, for Pippin had left the previous
morning for Buckland, so what orders could he have left that had waited for a
day and yet had called for this speedy departure at first light?
Something the escort had forgotten, she decided, and Regi must have discovered
it only at day's end and sent Ferdi haring after them to bring it. But if she
had seen Ferdi leaving Tuckborough on foot instead of ponyback, she would have
been puzzled indeed, for certainly he would never catch up with Pippin that
way.
Nell gave it little thought; she was busy enough with her household, and the
day passed quietly. Truthfully, she gave less thought to Ferdi's errand than
she did to her nagging anxiety over Diamond's pregnancy. Her own
soon-to-be-born babe didn't worry her overmuch; her other confinements had been
normal enough, thank heaven, even if Pali had been a bit late in his arrival.
And he'd been late for everything since, she thought in fond exasperation. Late
in waking from his nap, at the moment, and if he slept much longer, she'd never
get him to sleep tonight. She gave the soup in the little kettle over the fire
a final stir and went to rouse him.
She was changing his wet pants and stripping the sheet from his mattress - the
over-long nap had led to predictable, if regrettable, results - when the outer
door banged open.
'Mum? Where are you?' Fredevar barrelled into the bedroom. 'Mum, can I eat in
the great room for eventide? Please? Gorbi's going to, and then we're going to
play hide'n'seek 'til bedtime!'
Nell sighed. It was part of her struggle to have a real family life, here in
the Smials - the younger children took the evening meal here in their own
quarters, away from the crowd and the formal manners of the main dining hall.
Without Ferdi, of course - the Thain's escort ate together at one table by
inviolable custom, and it was all the more reason for these quiet early suppers
en famille. After the little ones were abed, she'd join Ferdi for late supper
in the great room, oftener than not.
'Why is Gorbi eating in the great room?' She was playing for time, but she
really wanted to know. It was Gorbi's mother, her friend Meadowsweet, who had
started the custom of family eventides; Meadowsweet had grown up in a small cot
on the outskirts of Tuckborough, and she had adapted only partially, and on her
own terms, to the formal atmosphere of the Great Smials.
'I dunno - they're all eating in the great room, and Flambold has to take care
of the little ones because Meadowsweet isn't going with them.'
'What? That doesn't sound right. Is she ill?' But Freddie didn't know the
answer to that, and he was dancing in place, eager to be off to the great room,
to join his friends.
'Go by their quarters first and see if Meadowsweet needs anything - first, mind
you! before you go to the great room! Find out if she's all right and come back
and let me know; then you can eat in the great room tonight.'
But when he returned ten minutes later, it was with the amazing information
that Tolly, too, was having the evening meal in his own quarters. Husband and
wife would be dining together, and alone, in defiance of any Tookish protocol
whatsoever. Meadowsweet, it would seem, had pulled rank on the head of escort.
Nell gathered her brood around the table and ladled out the soup, torn between
admiration of Sweetie's nerve and disquiet at what it might portend. The soup
was thick with chunks of meat and garden vegetables, in a richly-flavoured
broth, and there was a loaf of herb-laced bread, as well, for dipping in the
broth. The cooks had outdone themselves; Nell couldn't have done better had she
made the soup herself. Many times she went down to the kitchens to do her own
cooking, but not so often lately. It was a relief to have someone else doing
the cooking these days, when her own burden was so heavy. Each afternoon a
servant would bring a kettle of dinner fixings ready to go over the fire,
filling the suite with savoury smells.
After dinner they stacked the dishes in the kettle – no scraps were left over,
to scrape into the waste bucket for the pigs. Nell went to set the kettle outside
their door, where a servant would come by later to carry it away, but, 'No you
don't!' Mignonette told her. 'You let Rudi put it out when he gets home.' She
escorted her mother to the sofa and brought a hassock for her feet.
'Now I'll make you a nice pot of tea, Mum, while you rest.' She put the little
teakettle on the fire and turned to scrub down the table. When she finished,
Cori laid the cloth and little Perry solemnly placed the mug of dried flowers
just so in the centre of the table. Nell smiled and sipped her tea, her heart
warmed by the gentle attentions of her children.
All right, gather round,' she told them. 'I'm thinking of something
blue and green, hates to be seen. What is it?'
They crowded around her, eager to play the guessing game, and it kept them
amused till bedtime.
She went to late supper in the great room with Mignonette – another servant
came to sit in the family quarters so the sleeping little ones would not be
left alone – and she saw her older boys there, eating with their age-mates.
When she got back she sat down in the parlour and put her feet up, not yet
sleepy enough to seek her pillow, though the babe weighed heavily upon her. She
was still sitting there, mending Freddie's britches and wondering how he managed
to tear out the knees so often, when the owner of the britches returned. His
news this time was beyond amazing.
'Mum! Faramir's run off, and Da's gone looking for him!' He stood in the
doorway, wide-eyed and breathless, and for a moment she couldn't take it in.
'Shut the door,' she said at last. 'Don't shout it in the corridors, Freddie,
all the more so if it's true! Where did you hear that?'
'It's true, Mum! Meadowsweet told me herself when I left off Gorbi at his door
- she said to tell you, but nobody else, and I didn't!'
'What else?' she asked, putting down her mending. 'Do they know where he was
going?' And why, she thought, but that wasn't such a difficult question. In
mischief again, she'd wager, or playing for attention from older, wilder cousins.
It wasn't the first time, and she wondered in sorrow if Farry had any idea what
these shenanigans of his cost his father. Pippin was pushing himself to the
edge as it was, carrying the welfare of all Tookland on his back as he did.
Farry's scrapes only added to a burden that was already far too heavy.
She pulled herself back with an effort. 'I'm sorry, Freddie, what did you say?'
'Meadowsweet said she'll stop by once the little ones are asleep, so don't go
to bed yet, Mum.'
'All right. Off to bed with you then, and you too, Mignonette. You're sure you
didn't tell anyone else, Freddie?'
'Mum! I said I didn't!'
She smiled and pulled him into a hug, reached out her other arm for Mignonette.
'I know you did. It's that important, though - make sure you keep the secret,
both of you! Talk has long legs - especially in Great Smials. Let Da bring him
back safe, and the Thain can deal with him when he returns.'
She kissed them and sent them off, and when Rudi and Odo came in a while later
she asked casually if there was any news. 'They're talking about new diggings
over near Pincup in the spring. Flambold is keen to go, but Tolly won't let
him,' Odo said.
'I suppose not,' his mother said absently. 'Flam hasn't got his full growth
yet; they wouldn't let him dig.' But she was glad they had no news to report of
Faramir's absence; the gossip hadn't caught up with that yet, apparently.
It was late when Meadowsweet finally tapped on the door; Nell had nearly fallen
asleep in her rocking chair, and the fire had burnt down to coals. Sweetie
slipped in as if she feared to be seen, her rusty black shawl drawn over her
head.
'Freddie told you? Of course he did; don't mind me, I'm that flummoxed I'm not
thinking straight at all. I wanted to get Tolly alone to talk about this debt
business; his wretched wagering last summer, and now he's worrying himself thin
over it, and it's got to stop or he'll make himself sick! I thought we could
hash it out over a good meal, so I sent the childer off to the great room, and
doesn't he go and drop this rock down the well, and all the frogs go a-jump! I
guess it'll stop him brooding over our debts for the nonce, but it won't do
much for his peace of mind!'
'Come sit down, Sweetie, and I'll make a fresh pot of tea. Does Diamond know?'
'Not yet, and with luck she'll never need to. Tolly told her the Thain'd
changed his mind and taken Faramir along after all.'
Nell stopped scooping tea leaves into the warmed pot. 'Sweetie! She'll find out
that isn't true, with the first letter from Brandy Hall!'
'Aye, true enough, and so I told Tolly. But they'd worked that out already, the
pair of them: Ferdi will take the lad to Buckland and make it true, and until
Tolly hears from him that it's done, there won't be any letters coming from
Brandy Hall.'
'There won't be - good heavens, Sweetie, Tolly's not planning to stop my
brother's letters!' Nell got an odd breathless feeling at the thought. If Tolly
were caught tampering with the Thain's post, and if he'd done it on Ferdi's
orders...
Meadowsweet sprang up from her chair and paced distractedly around the room.
'If Diamond finds out Farry's missing, what then? Would it bring on her pains,
d'you think? The babe's hardly settled in yet, it's that early - a shock now
could bring it all to nothing.'
Pimpernel was silent; it was only too true. She busied herself lifting the
teakettle from the fire and pouring the boiling water upon the leaves, but the
breathless feeling persisted. She concentrated on taking deep, regular breaths
and felt the reassuring movement of the babe within.
'She was a farmer's daughter, wasn't she, before they wed?' Meadowsweet mused.
'You'd think she'd carry her babes easy, but she didn't, not the last one,
anyhow. The talk's starting already, Nell; two or three of the mothers asked me
today, where Farry was keeping himself. You and me, we'll have to keep Diamond
from hearing it, 'til your Ferdi gets the lad safe to Buckland.'
Pimpernel set cream and sugar on the table and poured out the tea. 'Diamond's
been staying pretty much in her own rooms the last few weeks; ill as she's
been.'
'That's a good sign,' Meadowsweet said. 'I'd worry more were she not sick!'
'It'll make it easier to keep the news from her,' Pimpernel said, thinking
further. 'If she stays quiet, keeps her feet up... we can bring Woodruff in on
the secret, and she'll help us...'
'D'you think that's wise, Nell?' Meadowsweet said dubiously. 'When does a
secret stop being a secret?'
'When more'n one person knows it,' Pimpernel said, 'yes, I know that old saw.
Well, two know it, you and I, four if you count Ferdi and Tolly, five if you
count Farry...'
'Let us hope it goes no farther,' Meadowsweet whispered. She put a hand to her
heart. 'The children know,' she said slowly.
'Can't you trust them?' Pimpernel said. She took a slow, careful breath as a
cramp seized her belly. 'Mine know as well, but they're Tooks - they wouldn't
tell their own mother the time of day if they didn't think I needed to know!'
Meadowsweet had seen the look of concentration on Pimpernel's face; taking her
friend's arm, she steered her to a chair. 'Sit down,' she said firmly. 'It's
too early for your babe.'
'I know,' Pimpernel said. She tried to breathe evenly as another cramp seized
her. 'Go get Woodruff, will you, Sweetie?'
Meadowsweet pulled a stool up and propped Pimpernel's feet upon it, then with a
quick pat to the shoulder she was gone. Pimpernel put both hands on her abdomen
and continued her measured breaths. 'Ferdi,' she whispered, a tear spilling
down her cheek. 'Ferdi, why are you out chasing a wayward lad, when I need you
here?' She wasn't being fair, she knew, but Ferdi had been off chasing Farry on
another occasion when she'd needed him, and he'd missed the birth of their
first son together. As a matter of fact, she'd nearly lost Ferdi that day; he'd
all but drowned saving Farry and a cousin when their mischief got them into
trouble that was literally over their heads.
Healer Woodruff was there in a few moments. The escort's families were
quartered close around the Thain's own apartment, to be on hand at a moment's
notice, and Sweetie hadn't far to go to find her.
'What's all this?' the healer said briskly. 'Got yourself all stirred up about
something, and woke the babe, I hear?'
'It's too early,' Pimpernel said, trying to push down her fear. She had yet to
lose a babe, and had counted herself lucky until now.
'Just a bit too early,' Woodruff said. She helped Pimpernel to bed and
conducted a rapid examination. Her smile was more genuine when she finished.
'Just false pains, I think, but I want you to drink a potion to be safe.'
Pulling a corked bottle from her sack, she poured out into the mug that
Meadowsweet handed her.
Pimpernel lifted it to her lips, but put it down again at the first taste. 'It
must be nearly all brandy!' she protested.
'Nearly half,' Woodruff said unruffled. 'Drink it down now, there's a good
girl.'
'You told me yourself not to drink spirits!'
'There's a time for everything,' Woodruff replied. 'Drink it down.' Pimpernel
complied, and Woodruff sat down on the bed and took her hand. 'There,' she
said. 'Nice and cosy. Whyn't you close your eyes and rest now?' Her voice was
soothing, and truth be told, Pimpernel was starting to feel drowsy; that potion
carried quite a kick. Before long, her eyelids drooped and her breathing became
regular without any concentration on her part.
'Can you stay with her?' Woodruff whispered, rising from the bed.
'My eldest knows I'm here,' Meadowsweet replied. 'I can stay the night if need
be.'
'That might be a good idea,' Woodruff said. 'I'll be with Diamond if you need
me.'
***
The next day as Pimpernel made her appearance in the Thain's quarters, Woodruff
ushered her to the next-most-comfortable chair and placed a stool for her feet.
'Don't we make a pair!' Diamond laughed.
'Yes,' Pimpernel said dryly. 'All we need to do is start knitting booties and
we'll be a perfect picture.'
'I've never knitted booties in my life and I'm not about to start now!' Diamond
was pale with her own discomfort, but determinedly cheerful. Nell had suffered
a shock, unexpected cramping, Woodruff had told her, and needed cosseting.
Diamond kept to happy topics, such as Yuletide preparations, though by mutual
consent they kept food out of the conversation.
Meadowsweet came and went on errands. Diamond was in charge of the smooth
running of the Great Smials and keenly aware of her responsibilities, even if
she couldn't bear walking through the corridors, where the smell of food was
invariably in the air. Sweetie kept her occupied with myriad details, bringing
questions and fetching back written instructions and orders. It was not until
evening that the first sign of trouble appeared.
'Is the post not yet come?' Diamond said.
'Post?' Meadowsweet asked innocently. She had looked in to see if the Mistress
needed anything before she retired.
'Yes, the pony post,' Diamond said. 'The Thain ought to have gotten to Brandy
Hall last evening, and he always sends a message to tell of his safe arrival.'
'Ah, the post!' Meadowsweet said with sudden comprehension. 'I've been that
busy, Mistress, I hadn't thought to see, and Tolly's been out all the day or
he'd've brought it to you the minute it arrived... perhaps the Thain stayed
over at the Crowing Cockerel an extra day.'
'Ferdi did say something to that effect,' Pimpernel temporised. 'He wanted to
speak to the innkeeper about the thinning of the woods about the inn...'
'Cutting a firebreak, wasn't it?' Meadowsweet said helpfully.
'Ah yes,' Diamond said slowly. 'Well that must account for it. I doubt he'd've
sent a message to say he was staying over at the Cockerel. Such a hardship,
having to linger where they serve the best beer on the road to Stock.'
Difficulty averted, for the time being. Pimpernel hoped Ferdi had found Farry
and was nearly to Buckland by now. There'd be trouble, and soon, if he weren't.
***
'So Ferdi took young Faramir on to Buckland,' Healer Mardibold said. It was his
turn to dance attendance upon Diamond (and herself as well, Nell suspected,
though he had not appeared to pay much attention to her).
'Yes,' Diamond said. 'I suppose Pip thought he'd been punished enough for the
latest mischief. The lad had been looking forward to the trip; he was terribly
disappointed to be left behind.'
The lad could stand a bit more disappointment, to my way of thinking,
Mardibold's raised eyebrow said.
Diamond read the look and laughed. 'O I know, we spoil him shamelessly. But
tell me... how do you avoid spoiling the son of the Thain?'
Mardi grunted. He was old enough to remember Thain Ferumbras; worse than
useless he'd been. A mercy that he'd never married and fathered a son. Thain
Paladin had brought fresh blood, fresh energy, fresh ideas to the Thainship,
and his son, not raised in the Great Smials, had followed in his father's
footsteps. Tookland was prospering, and the rest of the Shire was recovering
from the ruffians, under the watchful stewardship of Thain Peregrin, Mayor
Samwise, and the young Master of Buckland.
The Thain's son, however, was not prospering. Great Smials was a difficult
place to raise any child, to say nothing of the pampered only son of the
highest-ranking hobbit in the Shire. The lad was hedged about by protocol and
etiquette, and surrounded by equally pampered cousins with too much time on
their hands. None of them did a lick of honest work, of course; it wasn't
appropriate to their social standing.
Small wonder they found mischief to fill the idle hours.
Pondering the sorry state of the Thain's son brought Mardi's mind back to his
own quandary. He'd been invited to take up residence in the Smials, permanent
assistant to Healer Woodruff. It was a grand opportunity, for he'd be head
healer when she retired, but he hated to do it.
He himself might have been a candidate for the Thainship, but his grandfather
had removed his branch of the family from the succession years before. Isembold
had moved his household from the Great Smials entirely, buying a house in
Tuckborough and taking up healing as his profession. Come to that, Thain
Peregrin's great grandfather had done the same; Hildigrim had returned to the
family farm, turning out a lackadaisical tenant and bringing prosperity out of
the mismanaged fields. But Pippin's father Paladin had been called to the Thainship,
returning to the Smials and bringing his family with him.
Great Smials was a hard place to escape. Mardi's younger brothers Tolly and
Hilly had left their father's house to become members of the Thain's escort,
but Mardi was reluctant to follow their example. He didn't want his youngest
son running with the company he'd find in the Smials. The Thain's son had
seemed a likely enough youngster when the family first came back from Buckland,
but life in the Smials was in a fair way to ruin him.
It might be a mercy that Faramir seemed unlikely to follow Pippin as Thain,
Mardi reflected, and then was pierced by grief at the thought. Pippin was the
finest Thain the Tooks had produced in a century; more than that, Mardi was
genuinely fond of him. But for all his wisdom in managing the Tookland, Pippin
apparently had none when it came to managing his son, and no more did Diamond.
And who would dare to remonstrate with them on how they raised Faramir?
He looked up to find Diamond watching him, and realized he hadn't answered her
last question. 'I wouldn't know, Mistress,' he said. 'I'm lucky enough not to
be Thain, and what's more, I never will be.'
'Lucky indeed!' Diamond said fervently. She wished sometimes that they'd
remained at Brandy Hall, or at Long Cleeve. Anywhere but Tookland, in fact.
Pippin poured so much of himself into his work that there was little left for
wife or son. And yet she would not want him to do less than his best. She
honoured and respected her Thain, but in her heart she missed her husband. Her
beloved.
Mardi walked Pimpernel to her quarters in time for early supper. She found a
servant already there, serving out helpings of chicken pie, rich and meaty in a
velvety gravy, the crust a marvel of golden flakiness. 'What?' she said in
surprise...
'You've been overdoing,' Mardi said. 'Sit yourself down on the sofa, put up
your feet, and let your daughters serve you. You lads will take care of the
dishes, won't you?'
'Of course,' Rudi said, exchanging glances with his brothers. They'd be staying
close to home the next few days, lightening their mother's load as much as they
could, especially with Da gone after Faramir. Again.
Nell dismissed the servant once the little ones were abed. 'We won't be needing
you this evening, Rusty' she said. 'I won't be going to late supper.'
'D'you want me to bring you a tray, ma'am?'
'No,' Nell said. 'Eventides were so lovely and filling, I don't think I'll need
another bite until breakfast. Go ahead and take the rest of the evening off,
and thank you.'
'Thank you, ma'am,' Rusty said with a dignified bow, and exited their quarters.
Rudi shut the door firmly behind him and came to stand by the sofa.
'What news?' Nell said, keeping her voice low.
'None, yet,' Rudi replied. He had taken a message from his mother to
Meadowsweet, to tell her Nell would miss late supper this evening, and had
returned just as Rusty was leaving.
'What?' Nell said, startled. 'Your father ought to have found Farry by now!
He's sent no word at all?'
'No,' Rudi said, troubled. It was not like his step-father to be so secretive.
Farry must have made mischief indeed
'Did Meadowsweet say aught about Diamond? Surely she's wondering at the lack of
post this evening?'
'She said Tolly came in while she was with Diamond, said there'd been no word
and he expected they'd stayed over one more day at the Cockerel before going on
to Buckland,' Rudi said. 'There was some question as to where the firebreak
would be placed, and how many trees must be cut, and who would pay for the
cutting of it — the Thain, or the innkeeper, it being across the road as well
as the innkeeper's land.'
'One could spin out such a discussion for days, or at least as long as the
supply of beer held out,' Pimpernel said dryly. Rudi grimaced and his mother
reached out to take his hand. 'Ferdi knows what he's about,' she said. 'He's
protecting the reputation of the Thain. If he hasn't sent a message yet to
Tolly, he has a good reason.'
'It's a good thing Reginard is in Tookbank,' Rudi said seriously. 'Tolly's
running the Smials at the moment and has a free hand, but when Regi returns-'
'Thankfully he's not due back for a week,' Pimpernel said. She would have been
less sanguine had she known that the Steward would conclude his business early,
arriving back at the Smials before teatime the very next day.
