Chapter 7

The Arranged Courtship

Merry fidgeted in his chair and straightened his broad tie for the tenth time since he escorted Myrtle into the great hall and sat her down next to him at the Brandybuck's private table with his family.

Every eye was upon the young couple and their conversations were clearly about this new courtship arrangement of the young master of Buckland. Merry could see a couple lasses pointing towards his way and a cupped hand over their mouths that whispered to each other. He watched them giggle and smile towards his new guest who sat beside him. Elderly hobbits smiled and nodded towards Merry when he made direct eye contact with them. All this did not settle Merry's nerves none and he picked up his spoon and lightly tapped it against the table.

Myrtle sensing Merry's discomfort cupped her hand over his nervous tapping fingers and gave it a confident little squeeze. It did not go unnoticed by Saradoc, who also kept his eye upon his son.

Merry looked over to Myrtle and smiled nervously and moved his hand away to pick up his glass of wine to sip it. Bending closer to his ear, she whispered to him, "Merry why don't you kiss me very affectionately right here and now. That should shock the old dog wagers well enough and satisfy there curiosity and questions once and for all!"

Merry almost spit the small amount of wine from his lips at her bold statement and set him chuckling just thinking about the shock effect that it would have caused and especially his parents. Merry looked over at Myrtle and enjoyed her quick wittiness.

Myrtle's eyes sparkled with laughter at her own jest and knew it was well received by the hobbit that she dreamed about. She could tell that Merry instantly relaxed while he turned towards her smiling.

"Why don't we do one better, let us excuse ourselves from this public display and walk through the garden so we can talk," asked Merry.

Myrtle returned his smile with enthusiasm and nodded to him politely. "Oh yes, Merry. Please, do. All this gawking is more than I can bear."

Merry turned to his father on his right and made his excuses and stood taking Myrtle's hand to escort her from the room.

Walking out of the Great Hall, they felt every eye upon them with each step that they took and behind them, Merry could hear their whispers. It sent his ears twitching that matched his raw nerves tightly twisted inside of him.

While the young couple walked down the long corridor, they did not speak to each other. Each one was lost in their own thoughts. Merry kept going over in his mind in how he was going to tell her that he was not interested in her. In fact, he felt nothing for her. This was the design of his father and he felt that she should know this.

Asking Myrtle to sit down on the garden bench, he sat beside her. Turning to her, Myrtle decided to lead the conversation. "I am glad we have a chance to talk alone. I do not want to hurt your feelings, Merry. But this courtship is not something that I want and I feel something that you do not want, as well. It seems our parents are forcing this upon us." She knew she was telling him a lie, but she did not want Merry to try and get out of this arrangement. By taking control of it first she knew she had him where she wanted.

Merry's eyes widened and his mouth almost fell open being so dumfounded by her words. This was exactly what he was going to tell her. He had expected that she would swoon all over him, break down in hysterical sobbing and begging him to change his mind. He was greatly relieved that she felt the same way that he did.

"You are right on all counts, Miss Broadbelt," added Merry. "I'm glad that this is something we both agree upon."

"In speaking so frankly, Merry, I wish you would just call me Myrtle."

Merry looked at her and nodded. "Since we are supposed to be courting, I should use your first name."

"Just because this is an arranged courting by our parents, does not mean that we can not be friends. I am not looking for any marriage. I have much bigger dreams for myself," she added.

"I most certainly agree with you, Miss……I mean Myrtle. I will never marry. I too have other dreams for myself," he said and looked again at the lass, wondering. "What dreams do you have for yourself other than marriage? I thought most all young lasses are looking to snag a husband."

"Not I!" she insisted. "My father raises ponies and I plan on taking over his business when he passes. He is teaching me everything there is about his business and I must say, I do have a knack for it!"

Merry raises his eyebrow towards the lass in disbelief. "You are interested in ponies?"

Myrtle stood and walked a few paces from Merry. "Yes, I have a good number of them that I own for myself."

"Well, I am very impressed, Miss Broadbelt. Not too many lasses I know would want to take on such a challenge."

"I'm not like most lasses, Merry," she turned back to him and faced him.

Merry smiled at her audacity and admired her spunk. "So, Myrtle, what do you propose that we do about his arrangement that we found ourselves in?"

"How I see it, is that we might as well get to know each other a little better and perhaps if nothing else, we can become good friends and business associates. I know I would be very interesting in seeing your ponies."

Again, Merry smiled at the lass and his curiosity in her had begun to grow. "By your father's words, he does not hold much for foreign ponies. Why would you be interested in them?"

"I am not my father," she commented and smiled at him.

Merry cleared his throat and he knew immediately that he had underestimated his lovely lass. She had a sharp wit and a great sense to her more so then he had seen in any lass that he had known. His interest in her and his curiosity of her sparked something in him. She reminded him of someone else that had that same type of spark. Ringlets and ribbons instantly came to his mind of another lass, far fairer than Myrtle, but none the less just as unforgettable.

"I am starting to see that for myself," added Merry. "Perhaps tomorrow we can take my ponies out for a ride and I can show you Buckland."

"I would love to see Buckland and your ponies."

"Well, then I will see you to your room and tomorrow after noon luncheon, I will take you around Buckland," said Merry and offered his arm to escort her.

xxx

Tom looked once and then he looked again when Merry escorted a lass into his private stable. For the few years Tom had begun working for the Brandybuck's, he had never seen a lass enter these stables. He put his pitchfork down and went over to the couple.

"The browns over there are our Shire breed ponies and the blacks and painted ones are, as your father puts it, the foreign ponies," Merry told her pointing and raising his eyebrows imitating her father's expression.

She went immediately over to the blacks and painted ponies and walked up and down the section of stalls looking over each one. "How many of these do you own?"

"Tom can best answer you that question," stated Merry. "We've had a few colts born recently and he knows each one by name."

Tom looked up at Merry and his eyes darted over to the lass. He watched her as she examined Essybrate, because he was a painted pony with black and white color that appeared smeared and dotted and Merry had given him a Rohan name.

"Twenty-two in all," commented Tom and looked back at Merry confused.

Merry smiled at Tom and turned his attention back towards the lass who was picking up one of the legs of Essybrate to look at his hooves. She patted and stroked his muscular frame and looked just as experienced as any knowledgeable hobbit who owned and worked with ponies.

"These ponies are magnificent, Merry. They appear strong and stout!" she commented.

"You have chosen one of my best ponies, Essybrate is a good strong runner and better natured by Tom's gentle hands." Merry added and patted Tom on his back.

He smiled with pride at Merry in knowing he was so well thought of.

"Is this the pony that you have chosen to go riding?" asked Merry.

Tom again looked over at Merry being so surprised. "She rides?" he whispered.

"Yes, Tom. In fact Myrtle is the owner of many fine Shire breed ponies on the Broadbelt's stables." Merry told him.

Myrtle came out of the stall and headed towards Merry. She again looked up and down the stalls. Turning to him, she pointed to Merry's white pony. "I'll ride the white pony over there."

"That is my pony, Myrtle and she is too spirited for another to ride. She…." Merry stopped for a moment when he remembered Estella riding with him upon Snowclad's back. "Well, usually, she will not allow anyone else upon her back." Merry smiled at the memory of holding Estella upon his white pony, while they road through Stock's countryside.

Myrtle approached Merry's pony and wanted to pet her. Raising her arm up towards Snowclad's nose, the white pony suddenly snorted and reared, kicking her front legs high above Myrtle's head. Merry rushed to grab Myrtle and get her away for his pony, while Tom immediately came around to stand in front of the white pony and gentled her.

Both Tom and Merry were very shocked that Snowclad acted in such an aggressive manner. She had always been very particular in strangers that she had met, but never like this. It was as if a snake had crossed his pony's tracks.

Merry stood beside Tom and helped to gentle his pony and spoke softly to her. Turning back to Tom, he told him, "Put Snowclad back in her stall and have the healers come check her over to make sure she is not feeling ill. I have never seen her act like that before."

Tom stroked Snowclad again and looked her over carefully, but he did not notice anything wrong with the poor pony. He took her reins to lead her back to her stall.

Merry went over to Myrtle to see if she was injured. "Are you all right?" he asked gently.

"Yes, Merry," she commented and tried to hold her anger in. If that pony was on her farm, she would have taught it a lesson with a whip.

Merry went over to the next stall and took out a spotted gray and white pony and then brought it over to Myrtle.

"Her name is Whinnie. She is gentle in nature and a good stout runner, however, she tends to talk a great deal," Merry chuckled while he remembered when he first brought her and the group of foreign ponies to his stable. She kept Tom up the entire night whinnying.

Tom brought the black pony, Essybrate for Merry to ride.

Before Merry could offer to help Myrtle upon her pony, she already had her foot in the strip and hoisted herself to sit side-saddle.

Merry watched Myrtle carefully and thought to himself how determined this lass was and how capable, this intrigued him about her.

Their ride through Buckland was enjoyable as they would race their ponies, laughing and joking with each other. Merry could tell by the time they headed back to Brandy Hall that Myrtle was very impressed with his foreign ponies. He knew in time that her father would soon be a possessor of one his ponies in his corral, whether he approved of it or not. He rather enjoyed that thought after Mr. Broadbelt's boast at the Inn.

By the end of the week, the Bucklanders paid little to no attention to Merry and Myrtle's courtship and accepted the lass as one of their own. Merry was in constant company with her and enjoyed their time with each other. However, for Merry, she still remained just a friend that he admired, but for Myrtle, her feelings for the young master was intensifying.

It was during the last day when the Broadbelt would return to their home in Stock when Myrtle and Merry sat in the garden drinking tea and discussing the foreign ponies and the upcoming race with his father, Saradoc and Myrtle's father. Hatty was serving honey and biscuits when a servant guided a fair young lass over to their group.

Mrytle was in the middle of telling them a story when Merry caught his father's glance while he watched them approach. Merry turned in the direction that caught his father's attention and almost dropped his teacup fumbling quickly to put it aside and rushed to stand waiting for her to approach. Saradoc noticed immediately that this lass was someone that Merry knew and greatly admired by his nervousness in his demeanor. Myrtle and her father also caught Merry's anticipation while he watched the fair young lass.

Her eyebrows knitted together and she fumed inside of herself with anger. Her father, knowing Myrtle, set a warning glance upon his daughter to hold her tongue.

A/N:

I finally got a review…..standing up and cheering!

I hope this little cliffy where I stopped at will inspire others to add their review of this little story I'm writing. Anyway, it would really make my day…(smile)..

Things are really going to get interesting in the next upcoming chapters as Merry finds himself between two lasses who both have an interest in him….

hehehehehehe