Chapter 2
The Dearest One
A red tinge flushed across Estella's cheek while she scrambled off the bed. Her eyes lowered to the floor and took in her rumpled appearance. Her skirt was slightly twisted to the side and deep wrinkles cascaded down to the hem. The hem of her blouse was not tucked neatly into the waistband of her skirt. Horrified by what she saw, she could not imagine what her intended husband's mother was thinking just at that moment. With trembling fingers, she began to tuck in her blouse and smooth the wrinkles of her skirt. With her chin lowered, she risked raising her eyes to look up at Merry's mother and her stern face with angry eyes staring directly at her. Feeling that her hair was standing up on its ends, she ran her fingers nervously through the strands. Biting her lower lip, she waited for what she knew would be forthcoming.
Merry slowly raised to a sitting position upon the bed and eased himself up to stand. Facing his angry mother, he cleared his voice and spoke clearly to her. "See here, mum! I was just showing Estella where we'll be living once we're married."
"Not from where I was standing!" commented Esmeralda. "This was to be a surprise for your new wife after you were married, not before! You have now ruined that."
"Well, how can I help that? You have our names clearly written upon the door!" said Merry. "It's like having a cookie upon a table and saying not to eat it!"
"Watch your manners, my son. I'll not have you speaking to me in that tone. You will see Estella to her proper room, so she may rest by herself. We have much planning to do before the wedding day begins."
"Yes, mum," said Merry and walked over to Estella taking her hand to lead her out of their new quarters.
Esmeralda went over to the bed to straighten the wrinkles and placed the new lace dollies upon the tabletops that she carried with her into this room.
Shutting the door behind them, Merry glanced over at Estella who suddenly began a nervous giggle. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand to stop the laughter that was threatening to explode.
Merry put his arm around her waist and they rushed down the corridor, while they both giggled and laughed.
They gasped trying to catch their breath and stopped at the door of her room, he encircled his arms around her. "I think after this, my mum will not give us a moment to ourselves until after we are married."
"What your mum must think of me. . . . . " said Estella with a worried frown upon her lips.
"She loves you, Estella. Mum is just fussing away about everything. Mother's are just that way, you'll see, it will be forgotten about," he commented.
Merry wanted to kiss her before she entered her room, but a group of servants ambled down the corridor with an armful of linen and chattering away.
He tried to wait until they passed, but soon the Brownlocks came behind them. It seemed to him that the corridor was much too busy to say a proper good-bye to the lass that he loved. "I'll see you tonight at evening meal."
Nodding shyly to him, Estella turned the knob on her door and waved to her intended. Smiling at him one last time before she closed the door behind her. She went to rest upon her small, single bed.
XXX
He growled to himself, yet again, when the figures did not match from the previous numbers. His eyes squinted, while he traced his finger down the long columns, double checking the itemized list of expenditures. Still he could not see just what he was missing. Frustration began building in the elderly hobbit when he dipped his quill back into the inkwell a little to forcibly and he heard the tip of the quill break under the pressure. Sitting his quill down upon his paper, he went in search for his knife to re-sharpen it. A small amount of ink began to drip off the broken tip and onto the column of his numbers, making it impossible to read. Seeing this intrusive ink spot that had ruined hours of his work, Saradoc gasped and grumbled to himself. Picking up the offensive quill, he quickly tossed it aside and crumbled his parchment that was now ruined. Stacks of paper piled in disarray covered his entire desk and he would have to start completely over again in re-itemizing his columns. Just when he was about to start, the door of his study opened and his wife walked in.
"Really, Saradoc, that son of ours is at it again. His mischievous ways have always gotten the better of him."
Setting his quill down upon his desk, he turned to his wife, "I'm almost too afraid to ask, but what now has that lad gotten himself into?"
"I found them in their quarters, kissing each other!" she commented.
Saradoc raise an frustrated eyebrow at his wife, "But, my dear, isn't that what a young couple in love do with each other? I hardly see fault in that!"
"Really, Saradoc, you're as bad as the lad!" rebut Esmeralda. "They are not married, yet!"
"What has that to do with anything? After all it was just harmless kissing," he added.
"They were resting upon the bed while doing that!"
"Oh, I see..." said Saradoc mumbling to himself and thinking about how to solve his little problem his wife was having. "But my dear, they are almost married, need I remind you that was our idea once long ago just before our own wedding?"
"Saradoc!" scowled Esmeralda. "Really! That was different, entirely different!" Her face suddenly becoming red with remembrance and looking up at her husband, she began to snigger. "Oh, you're impossible, really you are!"
Saradoc looked at his wife and smiled. "Tell me, my dearest, what is truly bothering you about all of this?"
Taking her lace folded kerchief from her pocket, she dabbed the corner of her eye. "It's her, it's Estella Bolger. A Bolger marrying our son, when he could have had any Bucklander lass. We're getting old, my dear and someday Merry will be the master of Buckland and I dare say, Estella Bolger will be its mistress!" she said and began to whimper.
"Now, now, my love, she is a lovely lass and so much in love with our son. I too, have my own doubts about our son becoming Bucklander's Master, but the lass, she'll make a fine mistress, if any could possibly."
"Do you see her manner of dress? Plain, simple, and dowdy!" she commented. "She has no flare of color or design as we Bucklanders indulge ourselves in finery."
Looking at her husband in surprise by his comment about their own son and thinking back to what he had just said, she confronted him. "What do you see wrong with our Merry? He'll make an excellent Master of Buckland and he has the respect of everyone in Brandy Hall and the entire Shire, if I can make so bold to say!"
"Yes, he has the respect and love of all, but it takes more than just that to run Brandy Hall, my dear. He has yet to apply himself with record keeping and figures on these here journals!"
Esmeralda looked at the piles of parchment and journals upon her husband's desk. Thinking back to all the long hours her husband had spent in the study going over them constantly. "Merry is just young and vivacious. You surely can not expect him to sit in here for hours at a time, pouring over dreary old books. Why not hire him a scribe?"
"A scribe indeed, trusting another to every detail of running Buckland! Nonsense!" stated Saradoc. "The boy will be married soon, and he'll apply himself as its Master before I hand over the tittle to him. Being married should calm his vivaciousness, as you so put it."
"Well then, Saradoc, I will see to it first hand that Merry applies himself to your teaching."
"Then may I suggest that you purchase Estella and entire new raiment that would be fitting for a young lass of her newly acquired position," offered Saradoc.
Esmeralda smiled at her husband's suggestion and she quickly began to plan to hire an assembly of seamstresses to redo her dresses that she no longer wore, making them for Estella. She quickly thanked her husband and scurried out of the study to the servant's common room.
XXX
Just as Merry predicted, his mother did keep his intended very busy and the couple apart from each other. Merry was directed each day into the study to assist his father with the journals and recorder keeping of running Brandy Hall. While Estella was overwhelmed by seamstresses, that constantly pinched and pulled with stick pins and tape measurements and many fittings for her new dresses.
Estella was directed in how to dress a proper table and write invitation cards. She learned which families were the most important and who should be catered too or not. There were wines to be tasted and matched with each different type of meal. Everyday Esmeralda had a lengthy list of things for her to do or to practice upon. Her mind was reeling trying to please her future mother-in-law.
"Was it Tilda or Hilda that does not like her tea with sugar? Or was it the Brownlocks or the Flatbottoms that the first invitations are addressed to," said Estella out loud to herself. Placing her fingertips to her brow as she tried to think and sort out everything that Esmeralda was telling her.
She pulled at her starchy, crisp and crimson-colored skirt with the thick satin matching ribbon around her waist. Feeling very uncomfortable in her new attire, she longed for the comfortable feeling of her old, soft, country-green skirt. Even the silky texture of her light-brown hairy feet felt scratchy to her as the hem brushed against them. Bending down to comb them, the tight thick ribbon constricted her movements and forced her back to a stand. Lifting one foot on top of the other, she rubbed them together, scratching the irritation from them.
She sighed standing in the middle of her room while her hand fell to her side in defeat. Thinking about Merry and longing to see him, she crept out of her room and quietly down the long corridor to the study where she knew Merry was spending most of his time with his father.
Peeking in the doorway, she saw him sitting at a desk with a pile of books in front of him. Seeing that no one was about, she stole in and sneaked up behind him. Placing her hands upon his shoulders and leaning over to kiss his cheek, Merry turned around and smiled. He pushed the books aside and reached up pulling her into his lap.
"Now this is exactly what I was thinking about just before you came in," he told her.
"What has your father been having you doing in here?" she asked.
Merry rolled his eyes and pointed to the books in front of him. "Going over every journal that Brandy Hall has in its shelves. My head is so full of figures that I could explode. I don't know what he wants of me, I'll never be the kind of Master that he is!"
"And why should you, Merry, you must be the kind of Master that is in your own heart and not the image of what is told of you. You must find your own way of doing things that makes sense for you," she commented.
Estella looked at the books and immediately noticed how unorganized they all were. Being born to store clerks, she was very use to helping her parents with the keeping of records. "Well it easy to see where your problem lays, my love. These columns of figures should go to the left over here and these are mixed-up in the order that they should be."
Merry looked at what she was talking about, but was unsure of what he should do.
Estella stood and took another chair and put it next to Merry. Watching Estella, she quickly reorganized all the loose paperwork and put them in where they should be. Taking a new parchment, she began to group them together and rewrite all the figures. In no time her system of record keeping began to make sense and together they worked side by side. Merry was astonished how at home Estella seemed with a pile of books and records at her side, but no more than Saradoc who watched them working together from a hidden doorway of the study. Pride filled his heart and knew at that moment that Merry had found a wife and a mistress like none other that has been before them. Even his own wife had never ventured into to the study nor took the slightest interest in the running of Buckland. From all of his wife's insistence that Merry will marry beneath him, Saradoc knew differently, she is exactly what his son needed and true partner by his side.
Saradoc was so engrossed into what they where talking about and doing with the journals he soon found himself standing along side of them.
Estella looked up from her addition of all the columns and correcting his errors that Saradoc had made earlier in the day.
The Master of Buckland took the copy from underneath her arm and began to read through it. "Marvelous! Simply marvelous, my dear! You have done wonders with this. I have spent a week going over and over these figures and never coming up with the same answer."
Saradoc's finger traced along the lined columns and his eyes lit up seeing the item that was missing and causing all the problems for him. "My eyes are getting so old that the figures are escaping me, I fear."
He walked away from them and over to the shelves of his books. Tracing his finger over the tittles he tried desperately to find his book.
"May I help you find a book, Master Brandybuck?" Estella asked.
Looking at her kindly, he nodded politely. "Yes, my dear one, it is called, 'The Tales of Years.' Every generation of Master's of Buckland add to this book and soon it will be handed down to Meridoc."
Merry scowling standing behind his father, not wanting to have anything to do with writing in that dreary old book. He had hoped his father had lost it in the accumulation of all his books. However, Estella's sharp eyes spotted it immediately and handed it to Saradoc.
"However did you do that, my dear one?" asked Saradoc being so surprised by her abilities.
"I love books and I've been in my own fathers study many times. He has always places one of his favorites books in the most middle portion of a shelf just so he does not have to reach up and properly put it away in its rightful place," said Estella and smiled sweetly at Saradoc.
"Well thank goodness your father and I have so much in common or I'd have never remembered where I have put that book of mine."
The door opened to the study and Emeralda strolled in. "There you are my dear, have you forgotten that we must practice our table settings this afternoon?"
Estella's face instantly fell thinking about going back into the common room and having the mistress directing her how she should do this or that.
"I should say not," spoke Saradoc sternly to his wife. "Estella has generously offered to assist me in reorganizing all of these books. She'll be busy for the rest of the afternoon in here. Isn't that right, my dear one?"
Estella smiled up at the old Master and politely nodded her head.
"Very well then, I will leave you to your work," commented Esmeralda and closed the door of the study to return back to her duties.
"Oh, thank you, Saradoc," said Estella with more enthusiasm in her voice than she intended. Clearing her throat slightly to regain her composure of excitement in doing something that she truly enjoyed rather than fussing with tableware.
Saradoc returned back to his desk and found her system of record keeping amazing and continued in her same pattern while he worked on the figures in the journal.
Estella and Merry both took out the books and carefully reorganized them. Merry watched Estella and how carefully she treated each book with respect. He could clearly see her love of reading and how much it meant to her. Gently she would open the cover and turn each page. From time to time, she would read to Merry a passage or poetry that touched his heart and he loved hearing her beautiful voice reciting those words. He had never in his past cared about what was written long ago or who wrote this book or that. But when it came from Estella, it opened new meaning for him.
He would touch her hand or stroke her arm when she read to him all the beautiful words written upon the pages. Suddenly, Merry did not mind the hours they spent going over the old books and putting them back neatly upon the shelf. He saw a different side of Estella and it made him love her more because of it.
Saradoc enjoyed having Estella in the study with him and he noticed the strong influence it had on his son. He too, was lost in the pages that she read. Closing his eyes dreamily, he was lost in his own imagination.
When the knock came upon the study door to announce that the evening meal was ready, all three hobbits where taken back from the hours that had gone by that only seemed like minutes.
Saradoc was honored to take the arm of his son's intended and guide her to the great hall for dinner. Sitting her beside him at the table, the three hobbits talked obsessively about the book that she had read to them.
Esmeralda sat on the opposite side of the table on the other end, speaking about the grand parties that she planned to honor her son's intended and the all their wedding plans. Her husband had always sat quietly engrossed in his meal with hardly a voiced opinion on any of the subjects that they were discussing. However, this evening, Saradoc was beaming and very vocal in his enthusiasm and ignored his wife's conversation with the elderly hobbitesses of Brandy Hall.
XXX
The next morning found Estella back into the great hall with a fully set table and she was carefully considering each name card she added to a plate. When it came to the Broadbelt, Estella could not remember which Broadbelt's name to write down.
"Was it Pity or Prudy," she thought out loud and almost fearful of making another mistake. Estella wrote the first name upon the card and went down the line of plates to add another name.
Three servant lasses came into the great hall with a big basket of freshly cut flowers. Arranging them neatly into the large vase in the center of the table, they worked without saying a word to each other.
Esmeralda came in and walked down the length of the table reading and remembering the names that Estella had placed on each plate.
When she came to the Broadbelt's family, she noticed immediately a name that should not have been placed. Picking up the card she tore it into many pieces. Glancing up towards the lass, she began to lecture her.
"You must pay closer attention, my dear, this name on the card would have caused great confusion among our guests. You see this hobbitess's name that you have written is not received in any social gathering. After the scandal years ago during that horrible pony race where Meriadoc was so badly injuried . . . . . ."
"Oh, forgive me, Mistress Esmeralda. I could not remember if it was Pity or Prudy!"
"Its Prudy! By paying attention to such details are very important when one hosts a party such as this."
Esmeralda looked up to see the three servant lasses carefully listening to what she was saying to Estella. Pointing out one lass, she asked her. "You use to work for Prudy at one time, didn't you Tulsi?"
The young lass nodded politely, "Yes 'um, ma'am, and I'm very grateful ta ya hiring me ta tend Brandy Hall."
Casting a stern look at the servants who just stood there staring at her, Esmeralda ordered them. "Bring in more flowers at once, that center vase does not nearly have enough flowers and Tulsi, you're not to say a word to Prudy about the mistake of names on that card. Do I make myself clear?"
Tulsi nodded and quickly left the room.
Once the servants were gone, Esmeralda glanced over at Estella who looked rather upset at her mistake. Trying to cheer the distraught lass, she spoke kindly to her.
"Old Prudy would love nothing more than hearing the slightest bit of gossip. The 'ol pen-hen," said Esmeralda with a slight trace of humor in her voice.
Estella began to snicker and then burst out in a fit of laughter in how the mistress of Brandy Hall had made such a comment about one of her prominent guest.
Joining her, Esmeralda began to laugh.
The door opened just a crack and it drew the attention of the hobbitesses to it. They could hear tiny feet that patted across the floor and a small little voice calling out. "Auntie Estella? There you are!"
Estella's eyes widened in surprise and then a big smile crossed her gentle face. Kneeling down upon her heels and reaching out with her arms and called to the small child who raced towards her. "Faramir!"
Long bouncing curls and teeny-tiny hands reached for her and leaped into her open arms. Circling the child, she hugged him warmly.
Esmeralda watched the tender scene before her and noticed that Estella did not mind that her best party-skirt was being wrinkled from the child that sat upon her lap nor the dusty small fingerprints from his tiny hands were left upon the shoulders of her clean white-blouse.
She could clearly see how much Estella loved children and it made her proud to have such a wonderful daughter-in-law. She saw in her a loving, caring mother to her future grandchildren.
XXXXX
Merry lad : Thank you for your suggestion and reviewing my story! I made the changes to chapter one and I think it really helped the story line much more! I love it when I get great suggestions. Thanks again!
Deagol Smeagol : I had some fun writing that little piece in the story and I was pleased that you liked it. Hopefully you like this second chapter as well and keep coming back to read more. I love to update story quickly, especially when I am having this much fun in writing it.
ShireElf : I understand, ShireElf, no need to apologize to me. I understand it is hard keeping up with so many good stories on FF. I too, have many that I am currently reading, reviewing and really enjoying. Yours being are one of them. I love your reviews and appreciate you taking the time to come over here to review. Again you are awesome!!!!!
I am still struggling with the rewrite to 'A Race to Buckland,' but I almost have it all finished. I hope it does not confuse anyone when I begin to reload that story... (for those of you on my author alert list).
The Dearest One
A red tinge flushed across Estella's cheek while she scrambled off the bed. Her eyes lowered to the floor and took in her rumpled appearance. Her skirt was slightly twisted to the side and deep wrinkles cascaded down to the hem. The hem of her blouse was not tucked neatly into the waistband of her skirt. Horrified by what she saw, she could not imagine what her intended husband's mother was thinking just at that moment. With trembling fingers, she began to tuck in her blouse and smooth the wrinkles of her skirt. With her chin lowered, she risked raising her eyes to look up at Merry's mother and her stern face with angry eyes staring directly at her. Feeling that her hair was standing up on its ends, she ran her fingers nervously through the strands. Biting her lower lip, she waited for what she knew would be forthcoming.
Merry slowly raised to a sitting position upon the bed and eased himself up to stand. Facing his angry mother, he cleared his voice and spoke clearly to her. "See here, mum! I was just showing Estella where we'll be living once we're married."
"Not from where I was standing!" commented Esmeralda. "This was to be a surprise for your new wife after you were married, not before! You have now ruined that."
"Well, how can I help that? You have our names clearly written upon the door!" said Merry. "It's like having a cookie upon a table and saying not to eat it!"
"Watch your manners, my son. I'll not have you speaking to me in that tone. You will see Estella to her proper room, so she may rest by herself. We have much planning to do before the wedding day begins."
"Yes, mum," said Merry and walked over to Estella taking her hand to lead her out of their new quarters.
Esmeralda went over to the bed to straighten the wrinkles and placed the new lace dollies upon the tabletops that she carried with her into this room.
Shutting the door behind them, Merry glanced over at Estella who suddenly began a nervous giggle. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand to stop the laughter that was threatening to explode.
Merry put his arm around her waist and they rushed down the corridor, while they both giggled and laughed.
They gasped trying to catch their breath and stopped at the door of her room, he encircled his arms around her. "I think after this, my mum will not give us a moment to ourselves until after we are married."
"What your mum must think of me. . . . . " said Estella with a worried frown upon her lips.
"She loves you, Estella. Mum is just fussing away about everything. Mother's are just that way, you'll see, it will be forgotten about," he commented.
Merry wanted to kiss her before she entered her room, but a group of servants ambled down the corridor with an armful of linen and chattering away.
He tried to wait until they passed, but soon the Brownlocks came behind them. It seemed to him that the corridor was much too busy to say a proper good-bye to the lass that he loved. "I'll see you tonight at evening meal."
Nodding shyly to him, Estella turned the knob on her door and waved to her intended. Smiling at him one last time before she closed the door behind her. She went to rest upon her small, single bed.
XXX
He growled to himself, yet again, when the figures did not match from the previous numbers. His eyes squinted, while he traced his finger down the long columns, double checking the itemized list of expenditures. Still he could not see just what he was missing. Frustration began building in the elderly hobbit when he dipped his quill back into the inkwell a little to forcibly and he heard the tip of the quill break under the pressure. Sitting his quill down upon his paper, he went in search for his knife to re-sharpen it. A small amount of ink began to drip off the broken tip and onto the column of his numbers, making it impossible to read. Seeing this intrusive ink spot that had ruined hours of his work, Saradoc gasped and grumbled to himself. Picking up the offensive quill, he quickly tossed it aside and crumbled his parchment that was now ruined. Stacks of paper piled in disarray covered his entire desk and he would have to start completely over again in re-itemizing his columns. Just when he was about to start, the door of his study opened and his wife walked in.
"Really, Saradoc, that son of ours is at it again. His mischievous ways have always gotten the better of him."
Setting his quill down upon his desk, he turned to his wife, "I'm almost too afraid to ask, but what now has that lad gotten himself into?"
"I found them in their quarters, kissing each other!" she commented.
Saradoc raise an frustrated eyebrow at his wife, "But, my dear, isn't that what a young couple in love do with each other? I hardly see fault in that!"
"Really, Saradoc, you're as bad as the lad!" rebut Esmeralda. "They are not married, yet!"
"What has that to do with anything? After all it was just harmless kissing," he added.
"They were resting upon the bed while doing that!"
"Oh, I see..." said Saradoc mumbling to himself and thinking about how to solve his little problem his wife was having. "But my dear, they are almost married, need I remind you that was our idea once long ago just before our own wedding?"
"Saradoc!" scowled Esmeralda. "Really! That was different, entirely different!" Her face suddenly becoming red with remembrance and looking up at her husband, she began to snigger. "Oh, you're impossible, really you are!"
Saradoc looked at his wife and smiled. "Tell me, my dearest, what is truly bothering you about all of this?"
Taking her lace folded kerchief from her pocket, she dabbed the corner of her eye. "It's her, it's Estella Bolger. A Bolger marrying our son, when he could have had any Bucklander lass. We're getting old, my dear and someday Merry will be the master of Buckland and I dare say, Estella Bolger will be its mistress!" she said and began to whimper.
"Now, now, my love, she is a lovely lass and so much in love with our son. I too, have my own doubts about our son becoming Bucklander's Master, but the lass, she'll make a fine mistress, if any could possibly."
"Do you see her manner of dress? Plain, simple, and dowdy!" she commented. "She has no flare of color or design as we Bucklanders indulge ourselves in finery."
Looking at her husband in surprise by his comment about their own son and thinking back to what he had just said, she confronted him. "What do you see wrong with our Merry? He'll make an excellent Master of Buckland and he has the respect of everyone in Brandy Hall and the entire Shire, if I can make so bold to say!"
"Yes, he has the respect and love of all, but it takes more than just that to run Brandy Hall, my dear. He has yet to apply himself with record keeping and figures on these here journals!"
Esmeralda looked at the piles of parchment and journals upon her husband's desk. Thinking back to all the long hours her husband had spent in the study going over them constantly. "Merry is just young and vivacious. You surely can not expect him to sit in here for hours at a time, pouring over dreary old books. Why not hire him a scribe?"
"A scribe indeed, trusting another to every detail of running Buckland! Nonsense!" stated Saradoc. "The boy will be married soon, and he'll apply himself as its Master before I hand over the tittle to him. Being married should calm his vivaciousness, as you so put it."
"Well then, Saradoc, I will see to it first hand that Merry applies himself to your teaching."
"Then may I suggest that you purchase Estella and entire new raiment that would be fitting for a young lass of her newly acquired position," offered Saradoc.
Esmeralda smiled at her husband's suggestion and she quickly began to plan to hire an assembly of seamstresses to redo her dresses that she no longer wore, making them for Estella. She quickly thanked her husband and scurried out of the study to the servant's common room.
XXX
Just as Merry predicted, his mother did keep his intended very busy and the couple apart from each other. Merry was directed each day into the study to assist his father with the journals and recorder keeping of running Brandy Hall. While Estella was overwhelmed by seamstresses, that constantly pinched and pulled with stick pins and tape measurements and many fittings for her new dresses.
Estella was directed in how to dress a proper table and write invitation cards. She learned which families were the most important and who should be catered too or not. There were wines to be tasted and matched with each different type of meal. Everyday Esmeralda had a lengthy list of things for her to do or to practice upon. Her mind was reeling trying to please her future mother-in-law.
"Was it Tilda or Hilda that does not like her tea with sugar? Or was it the Brownlocks or the Flatbottoms that the first invitations are addressed to," said Estella out loud to herself. Placing her fingertips to her brow as she tried to think and sort out everything that Esmeralda was telling her.
She pulled at her starchy, crisp and crimson-colored skirt with the thick satin matching ribbon around her waist. Feeling very uncomfortable in her new attire, she longed for the comfortable feeling of her old, soft, country-green skirt. Even the silky texture of her light-brown hairy feet felt scratchy to her as the hem brushed against them. Bending down to comb them, the tight thick ribbon constricted her movements and forced her back to a stand. Lifting one foot on top of the other, she rubbed them together, scratching the irritation from them.
She sighed standing in the middle of her room while her hand fell to her side in defeat. Thinking about Merry and longing to see him, she crept out of her room and quietly down the long corridor to the study where she knew Merry was spending most of his time with his father.
Peeking in the doorway, she saw him sitting at a desk with a pile of books in front of him. Seeing that no one was about, she stole in and sneaked up behind him. Placing her hands upon his shoulders and leaning over to kiss his cheek, Merry turned around and smiled. He pushed the books aside and reached up pulling her into his lap.
"Now this is exactly what I was thinking about just before you came in," he told her.
"What has your father been having you doing in here?" she asked.
Merry rolled his eyes and pointed to the books in front of him. "Going over every journal that Brandy Hall has in its shelves. My head is so full of figures that I could explode. I don't know what he wants of me, I'll never be the kind of Master that he is!"
"And why should you, Merry, you must be the kind of Master that is in your own heart and not the image of what is told of you. You must find your own way of doing things that makes sense for you," she commented.
Estella looked at the books and immediately noticed how unorganized they all were. Being born to store clerks, she was very use to helping her parents with the keeping of records. "Well it easy to see where your problem lays, my love. These columns of figures should go to the left over here and these are mixed-up in the order that they should be."
Merry looked at what she was talking about, but was unsure of what he should do.
Estella stood and took another chair and put it next to Merry. Watching Estella, she quickly reorganized all the loose paperwork and put them in where they should be. Taking a new parchment, she began to group them together and rewrite all the figures. In no time her system of record keeping began to make sense and together they worked side by side. Merry was astonished how at home Estella seemed with a pile of books and records at her side, but no more than Saradoc who watched them working together from a hidden doorway of the study. Pride filled his heart and knew at that moment that Merry had found a wife and a mistress like none other that has been before them. Even his own wife had never ventured into to the study nor took the slightest interest in the running of Buckland. From all of his wife's insistence that Merry will marry beneath him, Saradoc knew differently, she is exactly what his son needed and true partner by his side.
Saradoc was so engrossed into what they where talking about and doing with the journals he soon found himself standing along side of them.
Estella looked up from her addition of all the columns and correcting his errors that Saradoc had made earlier in the day.
The Master of Buckland took the copy from underneath her arm and began to read through it. "Marvelous! Simply marvelous, my dear! You have done wonders with this. I have spent a week going over and over these figures and never coming up with the same answer."
Saradoc's finger traced along the lined columns and his eyes lit up seeing the item that was missing and causing all the problems for him. "My eyes are getting so old that the figures are escaping me, I fear."
He walked away from them and over to the shelves of his books. Tracing his finger over the tittles he tried desperately to find his book.
"May I help you find a book, Master Brandybuck?" Estella asked.
Looking at her kindly, he nodded politely. "Yes, my dear one, it is called, 'The Tales of Years.' Every generation of Master's of Buckland add to this book and soon it will be handed down to Meridoc."
Merry scowling standing behind his father, not wanting to have anything to do with writing in that dreary old book. He had hoped his father had lost it in the accumulation of all his books. However, Estella's sharp eyes spotted it immediately and handed it to Saradoc.
"However did you do that, my dear one?" asked Saradoc being so surprised by her abilities.
"I love books and I've been in my own fathers study many times. He has always places one of his favorites books in the most middle portion of a shelf just so he does not have to reach up and properly put it away in its rightful place," said Estella and smiled sweetly at Saradoc.
"Well thank goodness your father and I have so much in common or I'd have never remembered where I have put that book of mine."
The door opened to the study and Emeralda strolled in. "There you are my dear, have you forgotten that we must practice our table settings this afternoon?"
Estella's face instantly fell thinking about going back into the common room and having the mistress directing her how she should do this or that.
"I should say not," spoke Saradoc sternly to his wife. "Estella has generously offered to assist me in reorganizing all of these books. She'll be busy for the rest of the afternoon in here. Isn't that right, my dear one?"
Estella smiled up at the old Master and politely nodded her head.
"Very well then, I will leave you to your work," commented Esmeralda and closed the door of the study to return back to her duties.
"Oh, thank you, Saradoc," said Estella with more enthusiasm in her voice than she intended. Clearing her throat slightly to regain her composure of excitement in doing something that she truly enjoyed rather than fussing with tableware.
Saradoc returned back to his desk and found her system of record keeping amazing and continued in her same pattern while he worked on the figures in the journal.
Estella and Merry both took out the books and carefully reorganized them. Merry watched Estella and how carefully she treated each book with respect. He could clearly see her love of reading and how much it meant to her. Gently she would open the cover and turn each page. From time to time, she would read to Merry a passage or poetry that touched his heart and he loved hearing her beautiful voice reciting those words. He had never in his past cared about what was written long ago or who wrote this book or that. But when it came from Estella, it opened new meaning for him.
He would touch her hand or stroke her arm when she read to him all the beautiful words written upon the pages. Suddenly, Merry did not mind the hours they spent going over the old books and putting them back neatly upon the shelf. He saw a different side of Estella and it made him love her more because of it.
Saradoc enjoyed having Estella in the study with him and he noticed the strong influence it had on his son. He too, was lost in the pages that she read. Closing his eyes dreamily, he was lost in his own imagination.
When the knock came upon the study door to announce that the evening meal was ready, all three hobbits where taken back from the hours that had gone by that only seemed like minutes.
Saradoc was honored to take the arm of his son's intended and guide her to the great hall for dinner. Sitting her beside him at the table, the three hobbits talked obsessively about the book that she had read to them.
Esmeralda sat on the opposite side of the table on the other end, speaking about the grand parties that she planned to honor her son's intended and the all their wedding plans. Her husband had always sat quietly engrossed in his meal with hardly a voiced opinion on any of the subjects that they were discussing. However, this evening, Saradoc was beaming and very vocal in his enthusiasm and ignored his wife's conversation with the elderly hobbitesses of Brandy Hall.
XXX
The next morning found Estella back into the great hall with a fully set table and she was carefully considering each name card she added to a plate. When it came to the Broadbelt, Estella could not remember which Broadbelt's name to write down.
"Was it Pity or Prudy," she thought out loud and almost fearful of making another mistake. Estella wrote the first name upon the card and went down the line of plates to add another name.
Three servant lasses came into the great hall with a big basket of freshly cut flowers. Arranging them neatly into the large vase in the center of the table, they worked without saying a word to each other.
Esmeralda came in and walked down the length of the table reading and remembering the names that Estella had placed on each plate.
When she came to the Broadbelt's family, she noticed immediately a name that should not have been placed. Picking up the card she tore it into many pieces. Glancing up towards the lass, she began to lecture her.
"You must pay closer attention, my dear, this name on the card would have caused great confusion among our guests. You see this hobbitess's name that you have written is not received in any social gathering. After the scandal years ago during that horrible pony race where Meriadoc was so badly injuried . . . . . ."
"Oh, forgive me, Mistress Esmeralda. I could not remember if it was Pity or Prudy!"
"Its Prudy! By paying attention to such details are very important when one hosts a party such as this."
Esmeralda looked up to see the three servant lasses carefully listening to what she was saying to Estella. Pointing out one lass, she asked her. "You use to work for Prudy at one time, didn't you Tulsi?"
The young lass nodded politely, "Yes 'um, ma'am, and I'm very grateful ta ya hiring me ta tend Brandy Hall."
Casting a stern look at the servants who just stood there staring at her, Esmeralda ordered them. "Bring in more flowers at once, that center vase does not nearly have enough flowers and Tulsi, you're not to say a word to Prudy about the mistake of names on that card. Do I make myself clear?"
Tulsi nodded and quickly left the room.
Once the servants were gone, Esmeralda glanced over at Estella who looked rather upset at her mistake. Trying to cheer the distraught lass, she spoke kindly to her.
"Old Prudy would love nothing more than hearing the slightest bit of gossip. The 'ol pen-hen," said Esmeralda with a slight trace of humor in her voice.
Estella began to snicker and then burst out in a fit of laughter in how the mistress of Brandy Hall had made such a comment about one of her prominent guest.
Joining her, Esmeralda began to laugh.
The door opened just a crack and it drew the attention of the hobbitesses to it. They could hear tiny feet that patted across the floor and a small little voice calling out. "Auntie Estella? There you are!"
Estella's eyes widened in surprise and then a big smile crossed her gentle face. Kneeling down upon her heels and reaching out with her arms and called to the small child who raced towards her. "Faramir!"
Long bouncing curls and teeny-tiny hands reached for her and leaped into her open arms. Circling the child, she hugged him warmly.
Esmeralda watched the tender scene before her and noticed that Estella did not mind that her best party-skirt was being wrinkled from the child that sat upon her lap nor the dusty small fingerprints from his tiny hands were left upon the shoulders of her clean white-blouse.
She could clearly see how much Estella loved children and it made her proud to have such a wonderful daughter-in-law. She saw in her a loving, caring mother to her future grandchildren.
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Merry lad : Thank you for your suggestion and reviewing my story! I made the changes to chapter one and I think it really helped the story line much more! I love it when I get great suggestions. Thanks again!
Deagol Smeagol : I had some fun writing that little piece in the story and I was pleased that you liked it. Hopefully you like this second chapter as well and keep coming back to read more. I love to update story quickly, especially when I am having this much fun in writing it.
ShireElf : I understand, ShireElf, no need to apologize to me. I understand it is hard keeping up with so many good stories on FF. I too, have many that I am currently reading, reviewing and really enjoying. Yours being are one of them. I love your reviews and appreciate you taking the time to come over here to review. Again you are awesome!!!!!
I am still struggling with the rewrite to 'A Race to Buckland,' but I almost have it all finished. I hope it does not confuse anyone when I begin to reload that story... (for those of you on my author alert list).