Notes to Readers:

Please be sure to leave a review! They are very motivating, and each review you leave entitles you to a free cup of cyber-tea in the parlour (The Muse and I do try to make our guests feel welcome).

FantasyFan, glad to hear from you, and I'm glad the chapter is as good on re-reading.

Bookworm, Sam does propose, but we leave that moment between him and Rosie private. Imagine whatever you wish.

Xena, now you will find out what Lobelia wanted.

Expect another chapter of "Shire" next, as long as ffnet cooperates. My editor is helping me whip it into shape, chapter by chapter.

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Chapter 48. Lobelia's Bequest

The next morning, Merry wakened to Frodo pulling back the curtains. 'Good morning, sleepyhead!' Frodo greeted him. 'It is shaping into a lovely day.'

'Is it?' Merry said groggily as Frodo helped him to sit up.

'Of course it is! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, Samwise and Rosie are getting married, the mallorn in the Party Field looks as if it's about to burst into flower—'

'Wait, wait,' Merry interrupted, grasping Frodo with his good left hand. 'What was that?'

'Samwise came whistling up the lane to tell me that he expects the mallorn, and it is a mallorn, will wonders never cease? He expects the mallorn to flower any day now.'

'Not the tree!' Merry said in irritation, and Frodo grinned. 'Samwise and Rosie!'

'Isn't that what you expected when you sent Sam off yesterday, telling him not to come back until he'd asked the girl to marry him?' Frodo held a basin for his cousin to splash his face, and then supplied a towel. 'At least they'll both move in with me after the wedding; I'll have two fine cooks in the bargain instead of one!'

'Let's hope you don't starve in the meantime,' Pippin said from the doorway. 'Congratulations, Merry! Do me a favour...'

'What's that?' Merry asked, slipping his right arm into its sling.

'If you take it into your head to marry me off, give me some warning so that I can make a nice long journey to Gondor...' The cousins laughed together, a fine way to start the day.

They made a leisurely breakfast, then Frodo seated Merry on the bench before the smial to drink in the spring sunshine while he and Pippin did the washing up. The cousins ate elevenses on the bench together, took a slow walk to the party field to admire the budding mallorn with a picnic basket for the noon meal, returning to Bag End for tea. After tea, Merry sat on the bench again to watch the colours of the setting sun.

There Freddy found him as the Bracegirdles' waggon pulled up before Bag End. 'Merry!' he cried, and seeing the sling added, 'But what have you done to yourself, cousin?'

'I nibbled my nails down to the nubbins,' Merry said. 'The sling is just a precaution.'

'Did you nibble your head as well?' Freddy said, eyeing the stitched wound there after Horatius Bracegirdle had helped him down from the waggon.

'I tried, but I had to leave off, it is so difficult to reach, you know. Cousin Horatius! You're looking astonishingly well this evening. What brings you to Bag End?'

'This troublemaker here,' Horatius said. 'Sit down before you fall down, Freddy, or I won't answer for the consequences.' He turned back to the waggon to help down Alyssum. 'Cousin Merry, I'd like you to meet my wife.'

'Your wife!' Merry said. 'However did you convince a lass to marry you?'

Alyssum took her husband's arm and smiled up at him. 'He and a band of Bracegirdles rescued me from a group of ruffians who thought they'd take some spoils with them from the Shire.'

'You, spoils?' Merry said gallantly. 'You look more like a north-Took to me!'

'I was a north-Took,' Alyssum laughed. 'I'm a Bracegirdle now.'

'O I hope it won't make you all sour and liverish,' Merry said, and Horatius snorted.

'You Brandybucks take things all too lightly,' he said. 'No sense of responsibility.'

'Too lightly!' Merry said. 'What about the Tooks?'

'I'm astonished they don't float away altogether,' Horatius said. 'It's getting cold out here, Freddy; let us get you into the smial.' He released his wife to help Freddy up from the bench, then eyed Merry. 'You don't look all that well yourself, cousin. Take my other arm.' He helped both Merry and Freddy into Bag End, where Frodo met them and took Freddy's arm from Horatius; Freddy was tired, he saw, and needed either a bed or a comfortable chair without delay.

'Come in to the parlour! I thought I heard ponies.' He looked past Horatius to see Alyssum. 'Welcome, cousin Ally! What brings you all the way from Hardbottle?' Frodo led the way to the parlour, where they settled Merry and Freddy. He raised his voice. 'Pippin!' Hearing a faint reply from the direction of the larder, he called, 'Put the kettle on! We've guests!' He saw Alyssum and Horatius seated, and walked to the doorway. 'Will you stay? I'm sure we can scramble up some eggs, put some sort of supper together.'

'We had some business to conduct on behalf of Auntie Lobelia,' Alyssum answered his first question without her usual smile.

'And how is Lobelia?' Frodo asked.

Horatius' long face grew even longer, if that was possible. 'I'm sorry to say she passed away a few days ago.'

'What!' Frodo said. 'Horatius, my condolences.' He forgot about supper and sank down into the nearest chair.

'She lived a good long life,' Horatius said. 'She was more than an hundred, you know.'

They talked quietly of Lobelia until Pippin brought a tray with teapot, cups and all the necessities. Horatius rose abruptly. 'I left the ponies tied up outside,' he said. 'Is there a place where I can put them away?'

'Samwise has already taken care of your ponies,' Pippin said, pouring out tea. 'Sit down, cousin. Have you found your smile yet? I remember you lost it years ago...'

'As a matter of fact I have,' Horatius said, taking Alyssum's hand and squeezing it. 'Right here. May I introduce my wife? Ally, this is Peregrin Took, of whom you've heard so much, I'm sure.'

'All bad!' Pippin laughed.

'Not quite all,' Allysum said thoughtfully. 'I think I heard something good, once.'

'What's the business that brings you here?' Pippin asked. The savoury smells of frying bacon and toasting bread were wafting through Bag End.

'Don't you have to attend to something?' Horatius asked.

Pippin shrugged. 'Sam is cooking,' he said. 'He put your ponies away, said it looked as if Mr Frodo had guests to supper, washed his hands and started in chopping and frying and such.'

'That's just like Sam all over,' Merry said. 'He hasn't even moved in yet and he's already taking care of things.'

'Aunt Lobelia's business would go better on a full stomach, I think,' Horatius said, and, good host that he was, Frodo quickly turned the talk to other topics until Samwise called them to the table. Frodo didn't know how he'd done it, but Sam had somehow counted noses without anyone seeing him. The proper number of places was set, two bottles of wine were breathing on the sideboard, the plates were warmed and a light supper awaited them in covered serving dishes.

When Frodo went to the kitchen to invite Sam to join them, the latter said, 'Marigold just about had our supper ready when I stepped out to see who'd arrived in the waggon, Mr Frodo. She and I will be back to see to the washing up just as soon as my old gaffer is fed and abed.'

'Thank you, Samwise, but we can do our own washing up,' Frodo said. 'You've done so much already.'

'You enjoy your guests, Mr Frodo,' Sam said firmly. 'O, and I made up beds for your cousins whilst the dinner was cooking.'

'You're a wonder, Sam,' Frodo said, but the gardener only shook his head.

'It's all in a day's work, Mr Frodo,' he answered. 'Have a nice supper—now don't let the food go cold!'

'I won't, Sam,' Frodo said, clapping his gardener on the shoulder and returning to the dining room.

When they finished eating, Marigold appeared from the kitchen as if by magic. 'I'll just clear away,' she said with a smile. 'Sam's already laid a fire in the parlour, and I do believe the sherry's ready to pour out.'

Freddy stared in astonishment. 'My, Frodo,' he said. 'Here I thought the Bolgers were the richest family in the Shire, but I see you Bagginses have us beat!'

'What's that?' Alyssum laughed.

'All the servants in the Manse put together cannot match one Samwise,' Freddy said.

'You have the right of that, cousin!' Pippin laughed. 'Not to mention he's handy for carting heavy packs and slaying monsters in the bargain.'

'Now I know you're telling tales!' Alyssum said, and her husband nodded, sipping his sherry.

'Speaking of tales,' he said meaningfully.

'Yes, Horatius, you said you were here on Lobelia's business,' Frodo said, recalling the point of the visit.

'I have here Aunt Lobelia's Will,' Horatius said, putting his sherry down and pulling a bulky envelope from inside his waistcoat. 'As her nearest living relative, I am the executor of her estate.'

'I see...' Frodo said uncertainly. 'Does this have anything to do with Bag End?' He thought uneasily to himself that Lobelia might have said she'd given it to him, but her Will might say otherwise. She was, after all, over a hundred years old.

Horatius smiled briefly. 'As a matter of fact, she does mention Bag End.' He saw Frodo tense and hastened to add, 'if only to confirm her verbal agreement with you, that the smial reverts back to your possession.'

Freddy leaned forward. 'Tell him the good news,' he said.

Horatius lifted an eyebrow at him. 'You are speaking out of order,' he said. 'We must do things properly.'

'I'm one of the witnesses; you'll see my name there, right and proper, in red ink,' Freddy said. 'I held her hand while she was dying, for goodness' sake, and promised to bring the news to Frodo as soon as possible. She wanted him to know!'

'What news?' Frodo said.

'Her last words were to you, cousin,' Freddy said. ' "Tell him to pay those who are working to put a roof over the heads of the homeless," she said.'

'I would if I could,' Frodo answered.

Seeing that he would not have the chance to read out the Will from start to finish, as was proper, until he satisfied Freddy's demand, Horatius cleared his throat. 'Yes, you can,' he said. 'Aunt Lobelia's left you all her money, and what was left of Lotho's, for that purpose. Of course she did not word it quite so restrictively. The exact wording is...' and he read down through the document to find the place, '..."to use in helping hobbits made homeless by the Troubles". So you see, it need not be restricted to paying the workers, but may be used towards purchase of materials and such as you find necessary.'

Frodo was flabbergasted. 'All her money, and Lotho's—' he said. 'But you're her nearest living relation...'

'She left us the property, of course,' Alyssum said, 'including the fields of Longbottom Leaf and the vinyards. We won't be amongst the homeless hobbits you need to assist.'

'I never thought I'd see the day when someone would say it,' Pippin said.

'Say what?' Horatius asked, frowning over the top of the Will at the irrepressible young Took.

'To Lobelia Sackville-Baggins!' Pippin said, raising his sherry glass. The others echoed the toast, and all drank to the memory of a memorable hobbit.

'May her dreams all be peaceful ones,' Freddy said softly, setting down his glass. When Frodo met his gaze, he added, 'She had no son to sing her out of the world, so she asked me to do the honours.' He swallowed hard. 'I shall never forget her.'

'She'll be long remembered,' Frodo said, 'longer, because of her generosity at the end.'

'Hear, hear,' Horatius said, raising his glass again. They drank a final toast to Lobelia, and then it was time to retire for the evening.