A/N: Oh, good! What a relief - you all are liking it!

Jazzcat - Not to worry. Eomer will find his voice. He just wasn't sure what to expect when she turned up out of the blue, without sending word. Now that she has, ahem, 'explained' herself, he'll be okay.

By The Book

Chapter 2

It took awhile to get our party settled into rooms, and Eomer had been in a council meeting when we arrived. He needed to return and finish that, and a few other items of business, before he was free to simply sit and talk with me.

He found me in his garden, twirling a late season blossom in my fingers.

"It is good to see you," he said softly, startling me from my reverie. I had not noticed his approach.

"You as well," I answered. I held up the blossom. "I stole one of your flowers." I wasn't sure why I was feeling a bit awkward with him.

He stepped toward me and slipped his arms around my waist. "Then I must punish such blatant thievery!" His lips lowered to mine and suddenly my awkwardness melted away.

I smiled up at him as he pulled back and then rested his forehead on mine. "I should have known you would come when you got her letter."

"She told you she wrote to me?"

"Yes. I think she thought it would cause you or your family to break the betrothal, and that I would consider her in your stead. As if I could think fondly of anyone who tried to hurt you!"

I squeezed him more tightly. "She did not hurt me – she angered me. I have come to defend what is mine! And I do not doubt that you are completely mine!"

We stood in silence for quite awhile and then, suddenly, he chuckled. "Well, we do owe her credit for bringing us back together sooner than we expected! I had not thought to see you again for at least another month."

I grinned conspiratorially at him. "Not only that, unless Rohan declines the pleasure of my company for the next month, my father has consented for me to stay here and travel to Minas Tirith with the wedding party! I may have neglected to mention to him that my coming to Rohan had a little to do with Danwen's letter, and a lot to do with a desire to be with you again!"

He laughed heartily. "One thing is for certain, you have not changed since last I saw you, my sweet!"

I pulled him closer and laid my head on his chest. "I have missed you so very much, my love," I whispered, and felt him kiss my head in response.

"And I, you."

xxxxx

Supper that night was a quiet gathering of just the four of us – Eomer, Eowyn, Amrothos and me. However, in honor of our arrival, Eowyn was hastily pulling together a feast and celebration. She had asked what brought me to Edoras, and since Eomer apparently had not told her about Danwen, I thought it best that I not do so. I simply told her I couldn't bear to be separated from Eomer, which was not entirely untrue, but I saw by the look in her eye that she knew there was more to it than that. I wasn't surprised to see her cornering Amrothos after supper when Eomer and I drifted away for a walk in the moonlight. And knowing my dear brother, he wouldn't hesitate to fill her in, but at least I had not done so.

After we had strolled for some time, hand in hand and silent, I let out a contented sigh. "It is good to be...home." I turned to smile at Eomer and found an elated expression on his face at my choice of words. He pulled me close and just held me tightly, and I knew there would never be anywhere else I would feel so safe and loved.

Eventually, we did talk, though much of what we said was the same as what we had written in our letters to each other already. Before we knew it, it was quite late and we reluctantly slipped back inside and headed off to sleep.

Poor Eomer had to be up early, but I had the luxury of sleeping in and it was well past sunrise before I awoke. However, I was to learn that was primarily due to Eowyn threatening my brother's life if he disturbed me. Even so, once they had eaten breakfast and she was otherwise occupied, he turned up at my door, knocking loudly for admittance.

I had actually awakened a short time before, but I yelled at the door, "Go away, Amrothos. I am sleeping!"

I heard him laughing and then he started pounding all the louder. I sat there watching the door and counting. When I got to twenty-two, it finally occurred to him to try the latch and he discovered it wasn't locked.

He sprawled across the foot of my bed and made himself at home. "So, how late did you and the king smooch in the garden?"

"We did not smooch in the garden!" I exclaimed indignantly. As he gave me a skeptical look, I added haughtily, "We tore off our clothes and made passionate love among the flowers!"

He began laughing so hard he started choking and I had to pound him on the back. "There, there, brother. Do not fret. We will be wed before the babe is born!"

He laughed all the harder and managed to say in a strangled voice, "You are not helping!"

When he had somewhat recovered, he eyed me sternly, "I certainly hope you do not go around telling people things like that. Someone might believe you!"

"Do not be ridiculous. I would only say that to annoying brothers who ask personal questions!"

"I am not the only sibling asking personal questions. Eowyn had a few of her own last night."

"What did you tell her?"

"The truth. You cannot always be here to keep an eye on Eomer so I thought you would want her help."

"I see. And did it occur to you that I will be here until her wedding in October, after which neither of us will be here to keep an eye on Eomer?"

"Oh. No. I forgot about that." He shrugged. "Sorry. But anyway, she knows your dark secret. Perhaps you can get her to run the woman through in a duel. Word is, Eowyn is pretty good with a sword."

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, a bit. Good enough for the Witch King, anyway." Changing subjects, I stood and told him, "Get out."

"I beg your pardon!"

"Get out! I want to get dressed and find something to eat. Go find the Swan Knights and try to stay out of trouble."

He strolled toward the door. "Alright, but do not think I will not be keeping an eye on you and dear old Eomer. I am, after all, your chaperone for the duration!" He pulled the door closed behind him, just in time to block the shoe I had thrown at him.

Once I was dressed, I wandered forth to the Golden Hall in search of sustenance and to see what was going on. I found Gamling and he sent to the kitchen for a servant to fetch me a breakfast and chatted with me while I ate. The king was in yet another council meeting, a regular occurrence of late as they tried to make sure all of Rohan was ready to face the winter.

Eowyn put in appearance just as I finished eating and joined us. She went over the plans for the evening's festivities with Gamling while I listened. Then they both excused themselves to hurry off and attend to various tasks that needed their attention, and I was left alone.

I considered my options for the day and then returned to my room and retrieved the book I was currently reading. I retired to the garden, to a bench in a sunny spot. The air was already a bit cool and the sun felt nice. I must have been reading about an hour or so when I heard footsteps and looked up to see Eomer approaching.

"Well, at least I will have little difficulty locating you if there is a garden nearby." He smiled warmly at me and I moved over to make room for him to sit next to me.

"How did your meeting go? Will Rohan be ready for the winter?"

He sighed and worked his shoulders to ease the tension in them. "Hopefully. I still worry, though. So many crops were destroyed, and if it is a hard winter, the people will suffer."

I rose and moved behind him, massaging his neck and shoulders. "Is there anything Gondor might do to help? Even though Minas Tirith suffered tremendous damage, their food supply was largely unharmed and their stores have a surplus. I am sure King Elessar would be happy to send aid if you think it necessary."

"Perhaps," he murmured, his eyes closed as he enjoyed my hands forcing his muscles to relax and unkink. "I will give it much thought before we go there next month, and decide if I will approach him on the matter."

"Well, Faramir owes you for moving up the date of his wedding even though he did not help us in return. Do not hesitate to call in his debt!" I said softly.

He let out a chuckle, "Blackmail? Who is this woman I am to marry? I thought she was a genteel lady of Gondor's nobility, but now I find she is a scoundrel at heart!"

"When have you ever known me to be 'genteel', my love?" I asked. "Have I not guided you in trickery and deception from the time we first met?"

He thought a moment and then conceded the point, "Yes, now that I think about it, you have! You have always been a scoundrel!" He reached around and caught me by the waist, pulling me around the bench to stand in front of him. He looked up and grinned at me, "And I do not seem to mind one bit!"

He was just beginning to pull me down onto his lap when Gamling appeared and smiled knowingly at us. "My apologies, my lord, but there are papers you must sign and Lord Bronow is awaiting you in your study."

Eomer sighed and rose, reluctantly releasing his hold on me. He caught my eye and whispered, "I can only hope the scoundrel will not find marriage to the king too boring and tedious!"

I saw little of Eomer for the rest of the day. I talked Amrothos into taking a ride with me for about an hour, but after more than a week of travel, he wasn't anxious to spend a lot of time in a saddle.

By late afternoon, I was getting a bit nervous. I had a feeling I might well meet this Danwen face to face tonight and I wanted to be ready for the encounter. Both to relax myself and to prepare for the evening, I had my maidservant, Miren, arrange a bath for me and I soaked a long while until the water began to cool.

I slept for about an hour and then rose to begin preparing for the evening. Normally, I didn't pay a great deal of attention to my appearance, but I very much wanted to look my best tonight. Miren loved working with my hair, putting it in intricate styles, though I rarely let her do much. I made an exception today and let her work to her heart's content, and even I thought it was magnificent. The girl does have a gift for working with hair. My hair alone took almost an hour, so by then I had to hurry a bit to get dressed and be ready when Eomer came to escort me to the Golden Hall.

If I had any doubt that my appearance was all I wished it to be this night, the look in Eomer's eyes quickly dispelled the notion. I have been told I am a pretty girl, though I never gave the matter much thought, but in Eomer's eyes I felt beautiful beyond description and it warmed me to my very core. We moved slowly down the hall, and I think we were both reluctant to spend this night with others. But duty called, and it was too late to cancel the festivities Eowyn had worked so hard putting in place.

I do not remember a great deal of the supper or other activities. They were much like those of other functions like this that I had attended. Eowyn had pointed out Danwen to Amrothos, and he leaned over to make her known to me.

She was not an unattractive woman and, under other circumstances, perhaps Eomer would have indeed been attracted to her. But her gaze in my direction was cold and calculating, and I felt her challenge. Well, Gondor is not home to the faint-hearted, and I am a daughter of noble lineage. I would not hesitate to fight to the end to protect my own.

As the dancing began, I shared a few dances with Eomer and one with Amrothos, but Eomer had to mingle and greet his guests so he could not spend all his time at my side. The ladies of the royal court seemed desirous to become better acquainted, and I was drawn into a group of them for conversation. It was not long before I noticed Danwen edging in on the periphery, and I steeled myself for whatever she might attempt.

Soon she was making veiled references to Eomer's good looks and how the women of Rohan had long enjoyed his company. She even went so far as to suggest he should have chosen a wife of his own country rather than a foreigner. Some of the women were beginning to shift with discomfort, uneasy with the tenor of the discussion. Finally feeling I had tolerated her long enough, I spoke up.

"The ladies of Rohan are both fair and worthy, to be sure," I commented, "but they did not win the king's heart. He found love, and his queen, in Gondor." I eyed Danwen meaningfully, and she gave me an annoyed, venomous look before she slunk away from the group.

At that moment, Eowyn slipped up beside me. It was clear she had overhead my statement, and possibly part of the conversation as well. She excused us from the other ladies, drawing me away to 'help' her with something, but it turned out she was really only rescuing me. When my anger seemed to have dissipated a bit, she moved on to her other guests.

I was grateful when the party ended not too much later. I was tired, and still a bit annoyed by the woman's undisguised attempts to steal my betrothed from me. I had noticed that Eomer had pointedly avoided being put in a situation where he would feel he had to ask her to dance. I wondered if all the practice I had given him in eluding dancing with someone was now proving beneficial. I smiled to myself at the thought.

At last the Golden Hall was cleared of people, and even Amrothos had wandered off to bed. Eomer, Eowyn and I sat enjoying one final cup of wine and resting a moment before following Amrothos' lead.

Eomer had not asked about Danwen, but Eowyn raised the subject. "You would have been very proud of Lothiriel, Eomer. She looked positively regal as she silenced her on the issue of who you should be marrying." Then she related to him what I had said and I blushed slightly. I had not been looking for praise, only to establish clear boundaries. Eomer, I think, understood that and gave me a small grin. Neither of us was prepared for Eowyn's next words.

"Lothiriel, I assure you, you have no need to believe anything this woman tells you about her and Eomer. Indeed, I know for certain that my brother has never even been with a woman before, so definitely not her. You will be the first." Eowyn asserted triumphantly.

"Eowyn!" I had never seen anyone manage to blush and look deathly pale at once, but Eomer was doing it. There was a look of mortification on his face, and something else I couldn't quite place. He bolted up from his seat and stormed from the room, too angry to speak.

Eowyn's eyebrows raised in surprise. "What is the matter with him? I would think he would be pleased that I proved Danwen was lying about this!"

"Eowyn," I said softly, choosing my words carefully, "I am sure you meant to be helpful, but that is not the sort of thing any man wants said about him, especially not to his betrothed. It was his place to tell me, not yours. He is both angry and embarrassed."

A look of understanding crossed her face and then dismay, "Oh dear! I did not think of that...I only wanted to help."

"I know," I assured her.

"I had better go apologize," she said, starting to rise.

I caught her arm and pulled her back down, "Better tomorrow than tonight, when he is less angry and more inclined to be rational. I will go see if I can perhaps ease his embarrassment."

She nodded, clearly still distressed. "Do not worry! I am sure he will forgive you once he lets himself realize your intent, and that I do not find fault with him for this." She smiled weakly with gratitude as I stood and headed for the exit that Eomer had taken.

I found him in the garden, staring rigidly off into the distance. I knew I would be risking injury if I approached him without his being aware of my presence – his soldierly instincts ran too deep.

"Eomer?" I called softly.

As rigid as he was, he still stiffened at my voice. "I would prefer to be left alone," he said curtly.

I moved quickly forward and slipped my arms around his waist from behind, laying my cheek against his back. "I know, but then you will go to bed angry and get no rest, and you will wake up disagreeable. So clearly it is in everyone's best interest if I do not leave you alone just now."

Against his will, I felt him relax slightly and I slid around to face him as he at last raised his arms and put them around me.

"I do not think any less of you for this secret, my love. Eowyn only meant to aid your cause by convincing me you had not been with Danwen. She did not intend to embarrass you." I tightened my hold around his waist and laid my head on his chest. "In truth," I added more softly, "I find it pleasing to know I will be the first."

"You do not think me...unmanly?" he asked with some hesitancy.

"No, dearest, not in the slightest. There is nothing unmanly about you...except when I imagine you barefoot in a skirt, of course!"

He couldn't restrain a laugh and finally fully relaxed in my arms, holding me tight and laying his cheek on my head. "Thank you...for being you, and everything else."