Forelithe, 1420
An early summer wedding had the whole Shire talking. The union of Estella Bolger and Meriadoc Brandybuck, the heir to Brandy Hall. Diamond remembered the day vividly. The smell of the petals strewn about the aisle, the vibrance of the yellow roses and white daisies Stella carried in contrast to her dark hair.
Stella and Merry's romance had been a whirlwind. Diamond supposed they always had known they were to be married, and as such their courtship and engagement lasted only a short month before wedding preparations were made.
Back when they were just children Merry and Stella had been making eyes at each other while Pippin and Diamond argued and fought like children would. Diamond knew the only reason that she and Stella had chased Peregrin and Meriadoc around all those years was because Stella had fancied Merry. Diamond wanted to laugh when she realised all that time she had fancied Pippin herself.
Diamond remembered the look on Merry's face at the altar. She remembered Peregrin at her side. They were the Best Man and Matron of Honour for their dearest friends. The two had been seen in public together before, there was no doubt in that. The whole Shire knew of Pippin and Diamond's antics it seemed. But here, at the wedding of the Master of Brandy Hall nosy hobbits began to speculate about the future wife of the Thain's son.
There was a rumour, that back when Peregrin and Diamond were leaving their childhood age a bet had been started by some of the famers at the Green Dragon one night, so the tale went. They had witnessed a particularly nasty spat between Pippin and Diamond over some silly thing or another and one older hobbit, a Proudfoot said from his corner of the tavern:
"Well aren't they two lovebirds." This of course, raised laughter from all the hobbits in the place, but that was when the joke started. There was a whole pool of coins now, and now hobbits that had bet the two would never wed were starting to feel a bit nervous.
Though the whole "bet" was just a rumour. Probably.