October 1436

As bad as it had been having to watch Pippin across the room when she wasn't allowed to see him, Ivy thought it was ten times worse having to watch him across the room now that they were nearly courting. And she hadn't seen him for a few weeks, which made it even harder. She'd wanted nothing more than to throw herself in his arms when he and Fari had arrived at Brandy Hall for Aunt Celly's birthday party and only Estella's hand grabbing her arm had stopped her.

They'd all agreed that Pippin wouldn't start officially courting her until her birthday in December. Ivy was happy the difficulties were over, but she didn't know if she would survive the wait. She had to remind herself it was necessary, so that she wouldn't be blamed for Pippin's problems with Diamond. There were some who had taken Diamond's side, believing her story that Pippin had indiscretions of his own that had driven her to Sancho's arms. The terms of his divorce depended on him being innocent. And while he wasn't really innocent of indiscretions, it had happened long after Diamond had taken up with Sancho!

Ivy knew she should feel guilty that they were lying, but she couldn't feel guilty considering all that Diamond had done. The old cow deserved everything she got. The best part was that Pippin could have chosen banishment from the Shire as punishment for her adultery, but instead he offered Diamond the choice to sign away all her rights to Fari. Diamond hadn't even thought twice about it, and now Fari was free of her as well.

So until a reasonable amount of time had passed they had to avoid each other, even around extended family, except for polite conversation. Only those hobbits closest to her dad and Pippin knew the truth. The worst was that to shift any attention away from Ivy, Pippin danced and flirted with the many girls now clamoring to be the next wife of the Thain. Though most hobbits never remarried after losing a spouse, Pippin was still young and Great Smials needed a mistress.

Pippin was getting back to his old self, putting on more weight and the years dropping away from his face. He put on a good show, playing the eligible bachelor with the lasses. Sometimes too good, making Ivy's gut twist with jealousy. He was dancing with a girl now, one of his distant cousins, smiling and laughing with her, and Ivy's nails cut into her fists.

"Are you all right, Ivy?" Elanor asked, coming to stand next to her.

"Fine," Ivy said, narrowing her eyes as the song ended and Pippin gallantly kissed the girl's hand.

"Right, Ivy." Elanor tugged on Ivy's hand. "Come with me," she said.

Ivy tore herself away from the sight of Pippin asking another lass to dance and followed Elanor out of the great hall, through the corridors to Ivy's room. Once inside, Elanor shut the door and turned to her. "How about you tell me what's really going on."

Ivy opened her mouth to say 'nothing', but she didn't want to hide this from Elanor anymore. Elanor was one of her dearest friends. But she didn't know what to say to her. Elanor was only fifteen, not very old as far as hobbits were concerned. She didn't know if Elanor would understand. She sank down onto her bed and sighed. "I don't know how to explain," she said.

Elanor crossed her arms and fixed Ivy with a determined stare. "Well, you can start with why you've been giving Uncle Pippin those funny looks all day. You're either blushing at him or looking like you want to punch him."

Ivy felt her cheeks warm. "Um...yeah, that..." She stared at her hands. How could she tell Elanor she'd tumbled 'Uncle' Pippin.

"You're in love with him, aren't you?"

Ivy's head shot up and she gaped at Elanor. "How...?"

Elanor just laughed and came over to sit next to her. "I may be young, Ivy. But I'm not stupid." She took Ivy's hand and leaned close. "Besides, I overheard Mum and Dad talking about it," she said.

"What did you hear?" Ivy asked. She still couldn't look Elanor in the eye.

"Just that you and Uncle Pippin like each other. And Uncle Merry's wasn't happy about it. Which is why he wasn't talking to Uncle Pippin?"

Ivy nodded. "Yes. But that's all worked out now." She finally glanced up at Elanor. Elanor was grinning at her. Ivy smiled back. "Pippin's asked to court me and Dad said yes."

Elanor gasped, her eyes going wide. "Really?"

"You can't tell anyone!" Ivy said. "Nobody can know yet. Because of the divorce, we have to wait a while. And that's why he's dancing with those other lasses. Nobody can think Uncle Pippin was unfaithful to his marriage with me."

Elanor smirked. "Don't be silly, Ivy. Why would anyone think that? You wouldn't do that."

Ivy turned away again, her face burning. "I did. We did."

"What?" Elanor exclaimed.

"I had relations with Pippin in May. That's why Dad was so mad. He found out about it." Ivy rushed through the words, then squeezed her eyes shut. What would Elanor think of her now?

"Oh..." Elanor breathed. "You... you and Uncle Pippin...?"

There was a brief silence and Ivy was sure Elanor was going to get up and march out of the room, disgusted with her. She wasn't expecting the giggle.

"What was it like?" Elanor asked. Ivy looked up at her. Elanor's eyes were bright with wonder, her cheeks blushed pink. Elanor turned bright red and she clapped her hands over her mouth. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Ivy shrugged. She didn't really mind. Her friends in Gondor asked her things like that all the time about Derwyn. "It was..." She chewed on her lip and fidgeted a little. There had been some good parts, but it had been mostly awkward. "He was really drunk and I was a little scared. So..." She sighed. "My friend Kelian said it's wonderful, so I think it will be much better next time." She hoped. Then she smiled. "It's really nice when he kisses me, though. Really nice."

They looked at each other and broke into giggles. Ivy had missed this, giggling with friends over boys, and there hadn't been anyone she could giggle over Pippin with. She was glad she had taken the chance to tell Elanor.

"Do you think you'll marry him?" Elanor asked.

Ivy shrugged. "I don't know. I hope so." There were many hobbits who decided things wouldn't work out during their courtships. And maybe Pippin would decide that about her. Her stomach knotted at the thought, that maybe this was all for naught and she'd be alone after all. Maybe Pippin would realize he liked one of those other girls better. Maybe--

"Don't worry, Ivy," Elanor said, putting her arms around her to give her a squeeze. "I saw Uncle Pippin giving you funny looks, too. Though he just looked besotted." She giggled again.

"Thanks," Ivy sighed.

"Now," Elanor said, taking Ivy's hand and standing up. "Let's get back out to the party so we can keep an eye on him. But I don't think any of those other lasses can compete with you."

Ivy followed Elanor back to the great hall. She hoped she didn't have anything to worry about, but she was afraid to get her hopes up too much. She'd done that before with Derwyn and it had hurt. Though she was grateful now that it hadn't worked out. Derwyn couldn't compare to Pippin. She looked up to search for Pippin in the crowd. She was relieved to see he was no longer dancing, but was talking to her father and Uncle Sam. He looked up and caught her eye, then smiled at her in a way that made her stomach flutter and made her wonder why she had ever been jealous of those other girls.

-o-O-o-

Pippin looked over at Fari, curled up in front of the fire with a book. Pippin worried about his son. He hadn't shown a lot of emotion when Diamond left. Mostly indifference. Fari knew that Diamond had signed away her rights as his mother to escape punishment. The bitch had told him so before she left. She had said she was glad to be rid of the both of them. Fari hadn't said a thing about it.

He got up from his desk and went to sit on the floor next to his son. Faramir looked up at him.

"How are you, Fari?" Pippin asked.

The boy shrugged. "Fine." He went back to his book.

"Oh." Pippin sighed. "Well, I'm a bit worried about you. You haven't said a whole lot about your mother leaving."

Fari shrugged again.

"She said some cruel things, and if you want to talk--"

"I'm just glad she's gone," he said, keeping his eyes on the book. "She was mean and she didn't like us."

"All right," Pippin said. "But if you need to talk about it, you come see me or your aunts."

"Hmm," Fari said, nodding slightly, still not looking up.

Pippin sighed again. That was a wound that would be slow to heal. As much as Fari didn't like Diamond, she was still his mother and it had to have hurt him. But Fari did seem happier now that Diamond was gone, even if her words had hurt him. Pippin watched Fari's bowed head for a moment and decided he might as well bring up the next big change in their lives. It had been hard keeping his feelings for Ivy secret from Fari at Celandine's party. Fari needed to know. This would affect him, too. "Fari? I have something else to talk to you about." He took a deep breath. "How would you feel about me courting someone?"

Fari looked up at him, eyes narrowed . "Who?"

Pippin nervously cleared his throat. "Ivy."

"Ivy?" Fari wrinkled his nose. "But she's Theo and Eomer's sister!"

"I...I know." Pippin fidgeted, uncomfortable with the topic. Fari was only six and still too young for the talk about lads and lasses. "But...she's growing up faster than a hobbit. She's nearly of age, now, for the Big Folk. So even though she's only four years older than Theo, she's already old enough to get married."

Fari's eyes widened a little. "Are you going to marry her?" he asked.

Pippin pressed his lips together. He wanted to say yes, but he couldn't just yet. Not until there was something official between them. He didn't want to set Fari up for disappointment. "I don't know. We'll just be courting for now, to see if we like each other enough to get married. Is that all right with you?"

Fari thought for a moment, then shrugged. "All right."

He turned back to his book and Pippin leaned back against the chair and stared into the fire. Well, that was easier than expected.

"You'll have to keep it secret, though. For a while. Until Uncle Merry makes it official. All right?"

Fari turned to him again. "Can I tell Theo and Eomer?"

Pippin smiled. "Yes. They know about it. But no one else, not even the Gamgees. It isn't much of a secret if everyone knows."

Fari smiled back. "Yeah."

Pippin chuckled. He knew that would appeal to Fari. He'd always loved keeping secrets with Merry when he was a lad. Fari was no different. He patted Fari's shoulder and went back to his desk. He hoped this all worked out. He just wanted them all to be happy.