Chapter 2

Much later that evening, Feladyrne steered Tamwen away from the Hall. They had danced, and he plied her with wine as the evening unfolded. Now they walked down to the open area behind the kitchens and, finding some bustle around the kitchens themselves, he moved them into the shadows, well away from prying eyes. Though Tamwen was allowing it, it made her uneasy, as it was not entirely appropriate for them to be so alone.

The next instant, she realized with certainty that she had made a mistake. He turned and caught her to him, his hand coming up to stroke her face. In other circumstances, it might have seemed a tender, loving gesture, but her stomach lurched more with fear than passion.

"I should not be here with you," she said, pulling back and starting to move away.

But his hand grasped her wrist and held her. "The time to be coy is past, Tamwen. You have played your proper little game of purity and innocence, but now we are ready to set aside such pretense and get down to the truth – that you want this as much as I do." His lips pressed to her forehead and began working their way around her face, as his hands roamed over her back and pressed her tightly against him.

For several moments, Tamwen was too stunned by his words to react. Game? Pretense? Did he truly think so poorly of her? As his lips and hands began to take more liberties, she came abruptly to her senses. Struggling against his hold, she demanded, "Let go of me! I am not that kind of woman!"

He chuckled, but held her easily. "They all try to claim that, hoping to further incite the passions of the man they desire. There is no need, Tamwen. I am interested, and tonight I will be with you, just as you were hoping." His lips crushed down on hers before she could respond and her protest was muffled.

An angry voice stridently broke the darkness beside them. "Let her go!" Feladyrne jumped at the realization that they were not alone, and pulled back slightly, though he did not release her.

His eyes tried to pierce the darkness and identify the interloper, but a moment later his challenger stepped from the shadows and the moonlight struck him. With a snort of derision, Feladyrne said, "Stay out of this, Caffola. It is none of your concern."

"I will not allow you to treat her so!" Caffola persisted. "Not unless she tells me to leave." His eyes flicked to Tamwen, fearing what her response might be.

Without warning, Feladyrne swung, and his fist connected with Caffola's mouth and nose. He landed another blow before Caffola could react, and Tamwen scurried away from them staring in horror at the fight.

Frantically looking around, she spied a broom someone had left resting against a tree and snatched it up. With a thump, it landed across Feladyrne's back and he broke off his attack to eye her in surprise. "Leave him alone!" she demanded, with more bravado than she felt.

Feladyrne's eyes narrowed at her as she raised the broom to strike again. Finally, he gave her a sneer and straightened his tunic, saying, "You are not worth this much trouble. If you would rather roll in the hay with the stable boy, so be it. There are plenty of others to take your place in my arms."

He threw a smirk at Caffola, where the young man lay sprawled on the ground, his nose and lip bleeding. Then, turning, Feladyrne strode jauntily away as if nothing had happened. Tamwen stared down at Caffola for several moments, but when his eyes came up to meet her gaze, she gave a choking sob, dropped the broom and fled.

Caffola simply sat there for some time, wiping at his nose and staring after Tamwen. Likely she would never forgive him for his interference, but knowing what Feladyrne was intending he could not stand idly by and permit it. Maybe she had wanted to be with Feladyrne, and he had spoiled it for her. He had not thought her that kind, but it seemed he had been mistaken about a great many things lately.

Some time during the night, he crawled over and took a seat on a bench by one of the trees, resting his head back against the broad trunk. By morning he was near frozen from sitting out in the still nippy spring air, but he had not had the ambition to drag himself off to bed, or even get himself cleaned up.

"So it is true," a quiet voice said from his left. "I had been told you were sitting out here with a bloody face," Lothiriel told him. "What has happened, dearest?" She took a seat beside him on the bench.

Numbly, he related the events of the previous evening and his reaction to all that had transpired. The area was beginning to fill with more and more people as the morning began, and the queen realized their conversation was quickly becoming public. Rising, she held out her hand to him. "Come, let us get you washed and tended. Then we will talk."

Without argument, he stood and let her catch his arm, guiding him to his room. She disappeared long enough to send for warm water and some medicants she desired, and he took the opportunity to pull on some fresh clothing that wasn't dirty and bloody.

His face was soon clean and as Lothiriel dabbed ointment on the cut above his lip, she told him, "Dearest, I will not pretend that I know Tamwen well enough to speak adamantly of her character, but consider this. It might not be that she ran from you because she was angry with your interference preventing her being with Feladyrne; it could be that she was embarrassed and ashamed that you had found her in such a compromising situation, and she feared you thought ill of her." She fell silent, allowing him to ponder her words.

For several moments he sat in stony contemplation, but his face was working with the emotions playing across it. At length, his demeanor crumbled and he fell against her breast, weeping. "I could not bear to see him touching her so familiarly," he confessed. "It was like a knife in my gut. I love her so very much. What do I do?"

Setting aside the ointment, Lothiriel wiped her hand on a cloth and then took him in her arms, stroking his head. With a sigh, she told him, "I think you must speak with her. Find out her thoughts on this – whether her reaction was anger or embarrassment – and then go from there. If she was indeed angry, then likely all you can do is try to get over your love for her and drive her from your heart. But if it was the other, then there is yet a chance to make things right. Still, only in speaking with her will you know which it is. All we can do is sit here and speculate."

She pulled back from him and caught his chin, making him look up into her eyes. "If you like, I will send for Tamwen to 'assist' me so that she has the time to talk, and I will even remain with the two of you and help facilitate the conversation, if you wish."

Though fearful of what such a confrontation might bring, Caffola nodded his head resolutely. The queen was right – he could only get answers from Tamwen.

Rising, Lothiriel moved to the door, and sent a servant to get him a light breakfast of bread and cheese. While they waited, she instructed, "You are weary, dearest, and not at your best. Eat what you can and then rest for a while. I will come get you after dinner and we will set our plan in motion then."

Again Caffola nodded, acquiescing to anything she said. There was likely no one he trusted more than the queen, the first real mother he had known, and the only one until Byldan's wife had also adopted him into her family. As close as he was to Halmeth, he thought of Lothiriel as the mother lost to him at birth, for she was the first to nurture him as a mother would, and she had never ceased to do so.

xx

After the debacle in the kitchen yards, Tamwen had fled to her room, and spent the rest of the night weeping. Why had she ever listened to her parents? She had always believed Caffola the better man of the two, and now both were gone from her – one not soon enough, and the other…. Pain wrenched at her heart as she remembered the look on Caffola's face when she had turned him away in the Golden Hall, and then to see him bloodied on her account had been too much. She had deserved to be ill-used for her own foolhardiness, but Caffola did not merit the misfortune that had befallen him. He had always been worthy of her highest regard and she had treated him cruelly. How could she ever again bear to look him in the eye?

Tamwen spent a miserable night, and come the morning she looked as dreadful as she felt. Fortunately, her mother mistook her bedraggled appearance for illness and excused her from work for the day, though that left her alone to wallow in her dismal thoughts. Part of her wanted to see Caffola, to make sure that he was all right after the attack he had suffered, but the greater part of her dreaded the prospect of it.

And what would the queen say? Would Caffola tell the royal family of her part in his injuries? Would they dismiss her from working at Meduseld? Even as the thought crossed her mind, she set it aside. She could not believe Caffola would do such a thing. No, likely he would hide her part in all this in order to protect her – that was his gentle, thoughtful way. And it made her feel all the guiltier to acknowledge it.

To her surprise, shortly after dinnertime a page from Meduseld knocked at her door, saying the queen wished to see her. Her heart leapt into her throat, wondering what this summons signified, and her stomach heaved so violently she thought she might be ill. Still, there was nothing to do but answer the call. Indicating she would be there directly, she washed and dressed, then set out up the hill.

The page had said the queen was awaiting her in Lothiriel's sitting room, and she made her way there, grateful not to pass anyone in the halls who might wonder at her presence when she had stayed home ill today. Knocking fearfully at the door, she heard the queen call, "Come", and she lifted the latch.

At first she was so focused on her monarch that she did not notice there was someone else in the room. Only once she had shut the door and the queen waved her to a seat on a small couch, did she see Caffola sitting tensely in a chair nearby, and avoiding her gaze. His lip was quite swollen and his face a bit bruised, but he seemed not to be too injured, which gave her some slight relief.

Slowly she sat down, unable to keep her gaze from flicking toward Caffola even as she tried to focus on the queen. Lothiriel had had tea brought, and offered her a cup before saying anything more. Nervously, Tamwen took it, more to have something to occupy her hands than for any thirst.

Gently, Lothiriel broached the subject that was on the mind of everyone in the room. "I am aware that there was some trouble last night outside the kitchens, and Caffola has told me his version of things. While I do not doubt the truthfulness of what he has said, I think it possible that he may not have all the facts available to him in this matter. Would you tell me what happened last night, Tamwen?"

Tamwen visibly gulped at this request, and fought to restrain her emotions lest they spill over in tears. With quavering voice, she gave as brief an account as possible, ending with Feladyrne leaving the scene.

With a probing look, Lothiriel persisted quietly, "And what of you, Tamwen? What did you do after that? Where did you go?"

Unable to hold it in check any longer, Tamwen gave a gasping sob and broke into uncontrollable tears, and instantly Lothiriel moved to sit beside her. Lothiriel took her cup of tea and set it aside before taking the girl into her arms. Caffola was nearly twitching with the effort it took to restrain himself from moving to join them, and comfort the woman he loved. Whether she cared for him or not, he could not bear to see her so aggrieved.

Gradually, her weeping eased and she stumbled over her words to explain, "I…I did not wish for Caffola to be hurt! I swear it! My parents thought I should turn my attentions solely to Feladyrne, but they were greatly mistaken about his character, as I was. I…I…I could not bear to see Caffola hurt and know I had caused it, so I ran away and…cried all night. I am so very sorry for the terrible things I have done!" She fell to weeping again, as Lothiriel continued to hold her and soothingly stroke her head.

As she subsided once more, Lothiriel asked gently, "What terrible things have you done, but be misled by someone you thought trustworthy, and obey your parents?"

Tamwen's head came up in bewilderment at the question. Surely the queen was not forgiving her part in all this, and certainly Caffola would not wish to be so generous. But a quick look at him, showed nothing but anxiety on her behalf shining in his eyes. When she turned once more to the queen, Lothiriel asked, "If I may be so bold, Tamwen, do you have feelings for Caffola?"

Her stomach lurched at the query, and Tamwen's eyes again flicked to Caffola, who was waiting – expectantly? Surely, he did not still care for her! Surely he would not forgive her…. But there was such a look of longing there, and she could not stop herself from admitting, "I do. I…love him. I never truly wanted to accept Feladyrne, but my parents persuaded me it would be for the best." She dropped her eyes in shame, for her parents' misjudgement and for her own behavior.

Lothiriel's gaze came up to meet Caffola's, noting that he seemed stuck in stunned silence. "Dearest? Is there anything you wish to say to Tamwen, in light of her confession?" A twinkle lit her eyes as she awaited his response.

Always to the point, Caffola said the first thing that came to his mind, "Marry me?"

"Marry? Truly? After what I–" she began to protest, but he cut her off.

"I love you! I came to Edoras with the intent of seeking your hand. Please?"

With another gasp, Tamwen began to sob again, but this time with joy. Now her tears did propel Caffola out of his chair, and Lothiriel relinquished her seat to him so he could take his beloved in his arms. The couple did not even notice the queen slip from the room.

It was a long while before Tamwen recovered her composure enough to speak, but when she tried to make her apologies, Caffola silenced her, pressing a kiss to her head. "Shhh…it does not matter. All is in the past; the only thing that matters is that you are here with me now and have accepted me, my love," he whispered fervently.

With great clarity, Tamwen realized how different it felt being alone with Caffola than it had with Feladyrne. Caffola's embrace, his kiss, did not feel inappropriate or offensive as Feladyrne's had, and there was no question in her mind that this man beside her thought much differently of her character than her undesirable suitor had. This man was safe and sure, and she knew he would never display a dark underbelly. Slipping her arms around him, she let her head come to rest on his shoulder with a sigh of contentment and relief. This was where she had wanted to be all along.

Unfortunately, there was still the matter of her parents. She could not be sure how they would take this new development, but anger flared in her at the thought. If need be, she would go against them in this, but she would be Caffola's wife.

Unconsciously, she had stiffened slightly at her unpleasant thoughts, and Caffola looked down questioningly at her. With a sigh, she confessed what was on her mind, but reiterated her determination, "I will not let them keep us apart, Caffola! If they wish to disown me for not obeying them, then so be it."

Caffola gazed at her with troubled eyes, but nodded. He had not intended to cause a rift in her family. He had thought the only hurdle he had was in winning her consent, not the goodwill of her family also. Unexpectedly, his mind flashed back to his conversation with Elfwine, after seeing Tamwen with Feladyrne and being rejected by her. No, he would not worry. Elfwine would support him in this, and perhaps that would be enough to sway her parents' opinion in his favor. And surely the rest of the royal family would stand by him as well. He would trust the outcome would be favorable.

Caffola was too straightforward to beat about the bush. Rising, he pulled Tamwen up with him. "Let us go and seek an audience with your parents now. I would have this resolved quickly, and claim you for my own."

Impulsively, he pressed another kiss to her head, though he blushed at his gesture. While he was affectionate, he had always been quite reserved and proper in his behavior with Tamwen and other girls, so this intimacy was new to him and felt awkward. Tamwen, however, seemed to have no objections to it and smiled warmly at him, kissing his cheek in response.

She was a bit intimidated at the idea of facing her parents, but probably sooner was better than later. Taking a deep breath of resolve, she nodded her agreement to his proposal, and they moved toward the door. As they did, they settled into the more proper mode of her arm around his, and they made their way to the Golden Hall.

Neither was terribly surprised to find the queen tarrying there, keeping an eye out for them. Moving to join her, Caffola explained their intent and the queen nodded. "I will send for Leofwine and you may meet with them in my sitting room. Would you like me to join you, dearest?"

His eyes answered her question before he ever said a word and she smiled reassuringly at him. Reaching out, she stroked his head, "All will be well, dearest. I am sure of it. You are a fine man and I will convince them of that, if they do not see it for themselves."

Just then, Elfwine and Freawine came down the length of the hall, calling out a greeting. It did not take long for Elfwine to realize this was more than just a casual meeting taking place, and he also agreed to participate and put in a good word for Caffola.

A page was dispatched to fetch Leofwine, and Lothiriel sent for Durucwen to meet them in her room. Freawine had thought to excuse himself, but everyone seemed to expect him to remain, so he willingly did. Being Elfwine's closest friend, he'd had much association with Caffola also and knew the young man well. What was more, he was the one most acquainted with Feladyrne, and knew more than a little of the man's reputation and past behavior. Likely he could comment there as well, if need be.

Leofwine took the longest to arrive, coming from his tannery, but the group was soon assembled, with Durucwen eyeing Caffola rather suspiciously and wondering why her 'ill' daughter was in attendance. As the queen seemed content to wait for all to gather before explaining her summons, everyone mostly stood silent or offered only inconsequential conversation.

When at length Leofwine joined them, Lothiriel prefaced the proceedings with a few remarks before letting Caffola have his say. "Durucwen, Leofwine, there have been some recent events of which you need to be made aware. But perhaps the most pressing, and happiest of all, is what Caffola would like to say."

She gestured for him to take over, and Caffola nervously cleared his throat. Tamwen tightened her grip on his arm, that she had never relinquished, in a sign of encouragement. It served its purpose, and he pressed determinedly on, "Durucwen, Leofwine, I…I am in love with your daughter and wish to make her my wife. She has accepted my suit and now I seek your blessing on our union as well. I am not a rich man, but I have a good occupation and I work hard. I have recently built a home for us and have managed to set aside some money. I know I will be able to take good care of her, and any family that may come to us." He cleared his throat again and then asked, "What say you?"

Tamwen's parents were looking uncomfortable about being put on the spot this way, and gazing less than favorably at their daughter's suitor. Tamwen could guess their thoughts; they were wondering why she was with him rather than Feladyrne. At the realization, her anger flared and she told them bitingly, "Caffola is a fine man! He is much better than Feladyrne who tried to–" Emotion overcame her and she broke off her words as she remembered Feladyrne's less-than-savory overtures to her. Caffola's hand covered hers gently, pressing it in a calming manner.

Her father had not missed what she had been saying and asked with narrowed eyes, "Tried to what?"

Caffola and Tamwen shifted uneasily, not wanting to relive the previous night's events, but Elfwine stepped forward and told them, "He tried to take liberties with your daughter! Had not Caffola intervened, he might have succeeded!" Gesturing to Caffola's face, he commented pointedly, "You can see for yourselves the result of his defending Tamwen's honor! My mother spent this morning cleaning him up and treating his injuries!"

Durucwen had gone white at this revelation, while her husband had passed through white and was now purple with anger. For a moment, it almost appeared as though he would storm from the room and do some bodily harm to Feladyrne, but suddenly he seemed to remember where he was and who he was with, and recovered his self control.

Glancing at his wife, he stepped forward sheepishly and said, "I thank you, Caffola, for protecting Tamwen. It would appear we greatly misjudged Feladyrne's character…and your worth. I…we…accept your suit for Tamwen's hand and you have our blessing." The last was said slightly grudgingly, and it was clear the man did not like having to make such a public apology and admit his mistakes. His wife nodded stiffly in agreement with his words, though it was equally evident she did so reluctantly.

For Caffola's part, he was willing to accept this much capitulation and hope to improve their relationship later. With an exhale of relief, he pulled Tamwen into an embrace and held her close, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

After several moments, Lothiriel began seating everyone to discuss the particulars and sent for wine to celebrate. Elfwine and Freawine excused themselves from participating, but as they stepped into the hall and walked back toward the Golden Hall, Freawine was lost in thought.

Elfwine came to a stop and raised a questioning eyebrow at his friend. Pursing his lips, Freawine observed, "This much is resolved, but I know Feladyrne better than any of you. He is not above bragging – even where he has no cause."

Elfwine nodded slowly in comprehension, then got a steely look in his eye. "Perhaps I should consider having a little talk with Feladyrne–"

Freawine gave a grin and inclined his head in agreement. "Indeed. A wise idea."

TBC