Chapter 12 - Persistence
It had taken a long week to return each family to their holdings and after speaking their farewells to the Rangers at the Northwest marker, the tired but happy escort of Brandybucks, Tooks, and North-Tooks were finally resting in Long Cleeve. Though entirely recovered, Pippin had had little opportunity to do more than trade friendly glances and greetings with Diamond, and there were words he wished to speak where no others could hear. Their unhappy adventure had not changed her, or blunted the sharp edge of her tongue from all he could tell, but he dared to hope she might yet return his sincere interest with more than disdain.
Tonight, fiddle, flute and drum rang loud into the night, over the roaring bonfire that lit the center square of the settlement, celebrating the arrival of spring and the safe return of their small group. The lively music drove the dancers through reels and rounds and breathless jigs, circling the blaze as they moved through the steps, intricate or simple, without pause. Pippin roamed the edges of the happy crowd, mug in hand. He could have joined the dance with any partner while he waited for Diamond to appear, but he had the sneaking suspicion that none might have joined him. There had been remarkably few interruptions of his baths during his second stay with Angrim's family. Leaning back against a wall, Pippin was watching Merry swing his partner round, the young matron laughing happily at some clever jest, when a sudden movement of the gathered hobbits across the square drew his eye. Diamond had stepped into the light, unbound russet curls shot through with flame and he felt his breath catch. The emerald green silk of her dress clung softly to the gentle curve of hip and breast and swayed about her small ankles with every stride. The single winking teardrop of a diamond hung trembling at her throat.
The world narrowed down to her face, her eyes, and all else faded beyond thought as she stopped before him with a small smile. Gray-green gaze fixed on his, she wordlessly offered him her hand, which he took up and kissed, thrilled to giddiness with the hope her changed manner raised. While he had worried she might not receive his attentions, the look in her eye tonight made it clear that she had decided to claim him herself and on her own terms. Giving her his most winning smile, he led her into the dance.
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One hand at the small of her back and the other twined about her own, he drew her into the lively round with a flourish, sending her whirling towards the bonfire before recapturing her within the circle of his arms. One breathless set after another, they led and followed each by turn, sometimes barely touching, sometimes pressed close, face-to-face, as the dance required, until she lost track of everything but the one that seared her with every glance, every touch. Long as a lifetime, short as a breath, the night wore to its middle hour.
But they were soon parted as the unmarried lasses were sent home under the watchful eyes of the shepherding matrons. A long year from her own coming of age, Diamond stalked unhappily to her chamber, cursing custom and calendar under her breath. The look of surprised disappointment on Pippin's face might have been humorous if she hadn't felt the same frustration, but it was true that her age had never come into question before tonight, and in a childish fit of willfull blindness she had hoped that small fact would be overlooked. It had not and now she was trapped between these four walls when her heart's desire lay beyond them. And he would be leaving tomorrow.
She stopped her fretful pacing, coming to stand before her looking glass. She stared at the strange lass that faced her, soft silk and curls disarrayed by the dance and looking delicate and feminine without another to stand in comparison. Could she do this? Wait upon a husband and stand at his side, a trophy or an ornament to grace his home? That was the common expectation, one she despised and knew she could never fill. She gazed blankly down at her feet, thinking over all she knew of the one who had stolen her heart. He had met her as an equal among her brothers and cousins, and never betrayed surprise or disapproval of her position. He had been the target of her sharp wit and her disdain and returned her wit for wit, and had neither cursed nor ignored her. "Common" was not a label that seemed to fit Peregrin Took in any fashion, just as it would never fit her. Perhaps...
Never one to dawdle over a decision, she suddenly shifted from pensive stillness into movement and in a few minutes' time had left the lovely dress upon her bed, and, hair braided-up and dressed in her favorite ranging clothes, she ducked out of the window, a small satchel over her shoulder.
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"Under age?" Merry shook his head in sympathy. "That's one complication I hadn't even considered, what with her traipsing about the woods..."
Pippin frowned into his mug, untouched since Merry had pressed it into his hand as Diamond was escorted home by the chaperones. "Yes... The one thing I can't do is change her age, no matter what she's capable of. It isn't very fair, but..." He sighed. There really was nothing he could do that didn't flout age-old custom and they would simply have to wait, despite the fact that it ran counter to both their hearts and natures. He had no more doubt on her feelings in his regard, and had been ready to speak for her to her father in the morning. And now...
"Cheer up, Pip! I don't imagine Angrim will mind turning away any suitors that might think to knock upon her door in the next year or so."
"I know, but I don't think Diamond waits patiently or well, no matter the reason."
"Afraid she'll realize the handful she's chosen to take on?" Merry teased, trying to lighten his cousin's unusually pensive mood. A quiet Pippin was neither normal nor auspicious, and trouble soon followed such episodes unless he was quickly distracted by jest or task.
"Well, several years of consideration didn't rescue poor cousin Estella from choosing her own burden!" the young Took replied, grinning as he downed his drink. "I'm off for bed!"
"Already? Are you ill?"
"I still mean to speak to Angrim in the morning, and that is an anxious thought I rather sleep away. Till morning, then?"
"Bright and early. Or my wife will have my hide if we arrive later than your namesake!"
Pippin set off into the shadowed path that led back to the smial, full of more frustration and excitement than he had felt in a long time. Well, treasures delayed and striven for were sweeter for the price paid, it was said. Remembering others who had waited longer for their heart's desire was small comfort, but already plans swarmed his imagination, of the many preparations and distractions a year could afford.
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Weaving among the darkened dwellings, she soon came to the edge of the brightly lit square, just in time to watch Pippin bid his cousin goodnight and turn towards the smial she had just left. Darting from the shadows as he passed, she pulled him into her hiding place, heart racing apace at her own audacity. He struggled a moment before realizing who she was, letting fall one fist raised in defense as soon as he recognized her.
"Diamond? What are you doing out here?" he asked, sounding puzzled and somewhat alarmed.
Unable to express intent she had not yet clearly formulated even to herself, she remained silent and still, but her expression must have spoken loudly enough for her, because she felt his warm hands in the dark cup her face and place a very soft kiss upon her lips. The long awaited contact did not disappoint, sending little chills down her back as he gently deepened the embrace, tongue moving slowly against hers. As he moved to withdraw, Diamond pulled him close again, fingers tangled in his shirt to press them closer still and she felt more than heard the faint moan her movement elicited.
Still, he placed firm hands against her shoulders and slowly pulled away, though she could hear his hurried breath match her own and his eyes shone in the little bit of stray moonlight that peered under the concealing overhang.
"Slow down, sweet..." he whispered, and she felt his breath mist against her cheek.
"Why ever for?"
"This... This isn't right, Diamond... Your parents..."
"What do they have to do with this?"
"Now you know very well there are some rules than cannot be bent, even for us. Especially for us."
"No. I do not see why it must be so. Those same customs would have me in the kitchens rather than on the hunt. Is that what you think I should do?" she asked, her voice betraying rising anger.
"I never said that."
"Right!" she snarled. "You are as comfortably bound by tradition as the rest of them, but you almost fooled me!" She made to walk away, but he stopped her, one hand on her arm.
"Now, hold on just a minute...!" he started, though a well-aimed swing at his head interrupted him as he dodged her blow and several that followed. He finally managed to immobilize her against the stone, wrists pinned above her head.
"Would you please calm down!" Pippin hissed as she continued to writhe against him to free herself.
"Ha! I'll scream first!" she snapped back.
"And how will you explain being out and about on your own at this hour? Just... Let me finish."
Breathing hard, she stilled and clamped her jaw shut, though the glare she threw him spoke volumes.
"You'll find that I'm the last person to put fetters on another's freedom for the sake of custom, Diamond. I have seen first hand the ill that it can do. But there are some things that ought always to be considered, and the happiness of those we love is one of them." He paused, hands releasing hers to drift down to caress her face. "I'll have none speak ill of you for the sake of my own impatience. But I will trounce any fool that thinks he can stop you doing as you please."
"Words. You twist them well enough, but that is all they are," she said, twisting away with an angry sob. "I need no other to fight my battles for me, and I care nothing for the gossips in the marketplace, so I cannot imagine what I could possibly want from one such as you!"
"And I suppose love and respect are beneath you as well, then?" Pippin replied hotly as his own temper got the better of him.
"What?!"
"I love you. All of you, even the part that hits so damn hard," he said, reaching out to run hesitant fingers along the hard ridge of her knuckles, her hands still fisted at her sides. "And I want to marry you."
"I... I... do too," she whispered, throat suddenly dry.
He gathered her close again and felt her relax against him, hands warm on the back of his neck.
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Now faced with what she had sought when she had crawled from her window tonight, Diamond found herself at once ecstatic and apprehensive. Yet in the face of the myriad conflicting thoughts and feelings that whirled inside her, she reached out and clung to what had felt most right in all the confusion, the perfect rush of that first kiss.
"I still do not care to wait," she murmured against his neck and, twining fingers into his hair, she pressed her lips against his.
"Diamond..."
"Shush," she said, laying warm fingers on his mouth to quiet his protests. "I'm leaving with you in the morning, Peregrin Took. One way or another," she said, and she saw acceptance wash over his expression.
"I can deny you nothing, it seems, Barachiril," he said softly against her fingers, taking her hand to place light kisses upon each fingertip.
Diamond shivered as he drew her tight against him, and his hot breath trailed down her neck in achingly slow procession, lips barely touching her skin. Reaching behind her with one hand and pulling him along with the other, she sought blindly for the door she knew must stand nearby and found herself crushed up against its wooden surface. The velvet touch of his tongue tracing the sensitive curve of one ear completely distracted her from her search for the latch for a long moment.
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Pressed hard against her warm body, Pippin could feel every inch of her, gloriously uncorsetted and filling out the boyish clothes with curves they were never made to conceal. The surface that they leaned against suddenly gave way, and they nearly rolled to the floor of what was obviously the entry hall of a small dwelling.
"It's alright," Diamond murmured, "It's unused at the moment."
She pushed the door to and drew him across the hall to the bedroom, throwing off the dusty cover. Turning to face him, silhouetted by the moonlight from the window behind her, she seemed for a moment less a mortal lass than some maiden goddess, just stepping from legend on a moonbeam, and in that instant he didn't dare move, lest she should vanish like a wisp of dream.
Her hand lightly brushed his jaw and continued in a long line of fire to his open collar. The beckoning sparkle in her eyes prompted him to draw her into a close and passionate embrace that consumed every thought and doubt that remained.
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As sight and sound returned to him, Pippin became aware again of Diamond's yielding body beneath him and he smiled down at her, enjoying the look of breathless surprise that was still on her face. Rolling to his side, he gathered her gently into his arms and she nestled her head against his chest, comfortable silence settling over them, broken only by the rattle of the night wind against the window. As her breathing settled into the deep rhythm of sleeping calm, Pippin reached down to pull a sheet around them and set a light kiss on her temple. Curled around her warm body, he slipped into a dreamless rest, content to leave the morrow's problems for the dawn.