9: A Dance to Remember

Sam sat with Tom and Jolly Cotton close to the bandstand and dancing area. Much to their displeasure, they had been asked to keep an eye on the youngest Cotton, Nibs. Nibs was close to Pippin’s age, and, though not quite as much of a handful, he was not the most desirable of company for the three older hobbits.

“You should’na be drinkin’ all that ale, Jolly,” he declared, feeling that if he was not old enough to drink ale, than neither was his brother. “I’ll tell Dad, I will.”

“Shut your mouth, Nibs,” Jolly returned angrily. As if to prove his point, he took a large swig from his mug.

Sam quickly took the mug from Jolly. “Now, now, that’ll do. I certainly don’t want to be explaining to Mrs. Cotton why you can’t walk in a straight line.”

“Sam’s right, Jolly,” said Tom. “When I said you could have some ale, I only meant a little. And you’ve had your fair share by now.” Jolly scowled, but did not protest. Nibs just smiled smugly.

With that settled, Tom returned to what he had been doing – scanning the party for lasses. His eyes fell upon his sister and Marigold, who were standing near by, whispering and giggling to one another. Sam saw this and grinned.

“You know, my Marigold has quite a fancy for you, Tom,” he stated.

“And my Rosie for you,” was Tom’s reply. Sam flushed, but said nothing. Tom looked at him. “I’m sure she’s just waiting for you to ask her for a dance…”

“Maybe later,” Sam said abruptly, looking into his mug.

Jolly smiled a little and Nibs snickered, but Tom looked at his friend in concern. He leant in close and whispered, “Is something wrong, Sam? Only last month you were telling me how much you wanted to dance with Rosie at this party? Has something changed?”

“No, nothing’s wrong. Nothing at all…” Sam trailed off. He had just caught a glimpse of the face he had secretly hoped to see. What’s she doing over here? Shouldn’t she be in that special pavilion? His face flushed even more. Tom followed Sam’s line of sight.

“Now she’s a pretty one,” he whistled, quietly. “Do you know her? That’s a mighty fine dress she has on. Must be one of them rich folk.”

“Her name is Pervinca Took. She’s Mister Frodo’s cousin, Mister Pippin’s older sister.” Sam didn’t need to explain any further. The name Took meant “too good for either of us”. Tom now understood Sam’s strange behaviour.

Pervinca saw Sam and smiled. She came over to him, something which Rose noticed. Jealously flared up in the young lass, and she grabbed Marigold by the hand and dragged her over to the merry group.

“G-good evening Sam,” Pervinca stammered, as she gave a clumsy curtsy.

“Hullo, Miss Pervinca. How lovely to see you here,” Sam replied, no less nervous, especially since he had seen Marigold and Rose approaching from the corner of his eye. “Miss Pervinca, I’d like to introduce you to my friends. This is Tolman, Wilcome and Carl Cotton, or Tom, Jolly and Nibs as they’re more often known.”

“Aren’t you going to introduce us, Sam?” Rosie asked, icily.

“Oh, Rosie! I didn’t realise you were there. Miss Pervinca, this is Rosie Cotton and my sister Marigold.”

“I am very pleased to meet you,” Pervinca said, politely. She had been taught proper manners and etiquette since she was a small child.

Rose, obviously, had not. “What kind of a name is ‘Pervinca’?”

“Rose Cotton!” Tom scolded. “Watch your tongue! This is Miss Pervinca Took, cousin of our good host. Show her the proper respect.”

Rosie was silenced for a moment. She had guessed that Pervinca was from one of the richer families from her beautiful gown, but one of the Tooks? Rosie felt utterly ashamed and defeated. How could she compete for Sam’s affections against one of the richest girls in the Shire? She murmured some form of apology before running off.

“Rose, Rose come back!” Jolly called after his twin sister. He looked at his brothers. “We’d best go after her.”

Tom nodded, sensing that Sam probably needed some time alone with his Tookish friend. Much to Marigold’s delight, he took her hand and led her away. Sam looked at Pervinca, sheepishly. “You’ll have to excuse young Rosie. She likes me, you might say, and well, I suppose she was a little jealous seeing me talking to you, and all…”

“It’s all right, Sam,” Pervinca said, with a smile. “Frodo spoke to me and warned me about the fury of Rose Cotton.”

“Mister Frodo…spoke…and…and did Mister Frodo say anything else, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Pervinca looked at her feet. “He said that you were in a ‘bit of a spot’ because of me. I am sorry if I have caused you trouble.”

“There’s no need to be sorry at all, Miss Pervinca! I can’t be blaming you for anything.” Sam took Pervinca’s hand and, not knowing what else to do, kissed it. “Miss Pervinca Took, would you allow me this dance?”

“Of course, Master Gamgee,” Pervinca replied. She curtsied to him again, but this time she was far more graceful.

Sam led her to the middle of the dancing area. He knew that they must have looked like a very odd pair; Pervinca with her beautiful pale green gown, and he with his well worn best pair of breaches. But for the moment, he didn’t care. He lost himself in Pervinca’s smile and glittering green eyes, and for a brief time, he felt as if they were the only two beings in the entire world. No one else existed.

From the edge of the dance area, three hobbits looked on. Pearl and Pimpernel had found Frodo and given him the presents they had bought. When they had asked if he had seen either of their younger siblings he had led them to the bandstand.

“I have not seen Pervinca so happy in a long time,” Pearl said. She felt ashamed of her earlier behaviour, especially since their father had given she and Pimpernel a stern talking to.

“We should not have been so horrid to her,” Pimpernel sighed. She looked at Frodo. “But we simply trying to look out for her. I know that Sam is lovely and very loyal, but he cannot provide for our sister.”

“Did it ever occur to either of you that her intents were never marriage?” Frodo asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“Well…no…”

“She has two older sisters, who have countless amounts of suitors. It’s hardly surprising at all that she would start to find an interest in lads. It just so happens that Sam was the first she felt a strong connection to. Neither of you married the first hobbit you fancied.”

“I never thought of it like that,” Pimpernel admitted. She looked at Frodo slyly. “When did you become so clever, Master Baggins?”

Frodo grinned. “I have many hidden talents, Mistress Took. And I wondered if you would give me the honour of showing you another. May I have this dance?”

Pimpernel looked at Pearl, but Pearl simply nodded. She did not mind if Pimpernel left her while she danced with Frodo. With both sisters’ permission, Frodo led Pimpernel to a spot near Pervinca and Sam.

Pearl smiled as she watched her two younger sisters dance, but she was not to be left alone for long. A young hobbit came up to her and shyly stammered, “Excuse me, Miss, but would you allow me this dance?”

She looked at him in shock. He was very handsome. “I…I…I would love to.”

The hobbit took her hand. “By the way, my name is Orlando Burrows.”

“Pearl Took.”

Pervinca looked over and saw that her two sisters had also started dancing. She smiled happily, and knew that she would have to forgive them for their earlier behaviour.

“Having fun?” Sam asked.

Pervinca nodded. She hugged Sam. “Thank you.”

“W-what for, Miss Pervinca?”

“Just for being you.” Pervinca looked up at Sam and he was blushing. Her heart fluttered, and she wondered if maybe she had been fooling herself along with everyone else when she said she had no intention of marrying Sam. Aside from his lower class, he was everything a lass could want in a husband.

As she thought of this, a memory worked itself into her brain. It was from when she had been about Peregrin’s age, and Pearl’s first suitors had appeared. Pearl had loved the attention she received from as many as ten admirers at one time. Pervinca could remember Pearl asking their mother about marriage while Eglantine had been brushing the girls’ hair. Eglantine had admitted that she had had many suitors too when she was a young lass, but she had known that Paladin was her one true love when he first kissed her. She had said that during that kiss, it was as if she could see her whole life ahead of her. A life with Paladin. Pervinca, of course, being only very young, had screwed up her nose. She had hated any talk about lads and kisses, but Pearl and Pimpernel had loved the story and were convinced that they would know their own true loves from their first kiss.

Pervinca made up her mind. She cleared her throat. “Sam, I have a strange favour to ask of you.”

“Anything you wish, Miss Pervinca.”

“Would you…would you kiss me?”

Sam gasped, but quickly returned to looking at his feet. “Well, to tell you the truth, I’d been thinking about much the same thing. You look so pretty and all tonight. I wanted to ask if you’d mind me giving you a little kiss, but I didn’t think it’d be at all proper.” He smiled at her. “But since you asked…”

Pervinca took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she moved her face closer to Sam’s. At the moment of soft contact, a strange feeling took over Pervinca. She thought that perhaps this was what her mother had meant – she was about to see her life with Sam. But that was not what she saw. Instead, she saw a young hobbit who looked remarkably like her brother, but different at the same time. She thought she could see something of herself in his grin. With him, she saw a hobbit-maid with beautiful golden curls. This amazed Pervinca, since golden hair had always been very, very rare in the Shire. The lass looked like Rose, but she had Sam’s deep brown eyes, complete with the undying devotion.

With a gasp, Pervinca pulled away from the kiss.

“I’m sorry, Miss Pervinca,” Sam cried, not understanding her reaction. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, Sam…” Pervinca replied, in a state of confusion. What had she just seen? Her eyes finally focussed on Sam. Words spilt from her mouth that she did not understand. “Well, maybe you did. Maybe we both did. It is not yet time. It is not our place.”

“Pervinca…?”

“I have to go.” Pervinca ran away. She did not know where she was going. All she knew was that she had to get away.

* * * * * *

Translators Note: Yeah, sorry this was a full chapter of Pervinca and Sam! The next one will be Pippin and Merry centred. Oh, and the hobbit that dances with Pearl is her husband it one of my other stories. He’s not actually from The Lord of the Rings, but I found his name in The History of Middle-Earth!