Part Three: The Secret Book

Merry shook out his pipe and filled it again. A good tale was always better with a pipe; he had learned that from Bilbo. He lit the pipe and puffed contentedly for a few moments, gathering his thoughts.

“I didn’t actually manage to read very much, and to be honest, what I did read left me with more questions than answers. I had to figure out a whole lot on my own, and a good deal of what I read that day left me with unanswered questions until we formed the conspiracy to follow Frodo and I was able to learn some things from Sam.” Merry said.

“But you read enough to understand what happened when I left and later what Frodo was planning.” Bilbo said, not letting himself be fooled by Merry trying to be contrite.

“Yes. That I did. Though I understood what Frodo was planning because I know him so well. He didn’t manage to pull the wool over my eyes the way that you managed to do. I know Frodo better than I had known you after all. I knew that he would follow after you someday, and I always meant to go with him when he did, so I kept my eyes open. ” Merry said.

“How did you find the book? I never left it lying about, and I don`t think Frodo spoke to you about it either. Come to that, how did you even know that it existed?”

 “It was your love of books and tales that made me start to wonder if perhaps you might have been writing a book of your own, long before I ever had that glimpse of the ring. Your stories were too good not to be passed on, and I thought that you would want to preserve them for us younger hobbits, especially as I always felt that you would leave the Shire someday. You would speak of your adventures sometimes with such longing that I knew that the Shire wouldn’t always be able to hold you.  You were often locked for hours in your study, and when you came out your fingers were almost always stained with ink. And you put your elven translations and your poems in books – why not your stories? After I saw you vanish on the road, I reasoned that if you were writing a book, then a magic ring that made you disappear would be certain to be in it.”

Bilbo laughed. “Logical and insightful! Just like a Brandybuck. And how did you manage to find it?”

“I had another clue. Whenever I was allowed in your study, I couldn’t help but notice that, no matter how many papers and books were strewn about, there was always a cleared space of a certain size on your desk, just the right size for an opened book. As I had never seen you carry the book out with you when you left the study, I decided that you must keep it in there. I was ready to look for it under your bed though, if I didn`t find it where I thought it would be.” Merry smiled and looked at Bilbo, hoping the elder hobbit wouldn`t think too ill of him after the whole tale was told. He had after all snooped around in quite private matters. Merry stood and started pacing. A few elves and men could be seen in the distance, but none of them were coming in the hobbits` direction. Even if the council were done and over with, there were still several large groups of delegates that had not yet left Rivendell.

“Meriadoc my boy. Stop that pacing and continue with your story.” Bilbo drew Merry`s attention back to the storytelling. Merry sat down again, resuming his tale.

“I think it was a few days after I had seen you put the Ring on that I reached the conclusion that to learn about your secret ring, I must find your secret book. It wasn`t easy you know, getting access to your study without you or Frodo being there. Both you and Frodo spent much time there. Pip had come up from the Smials too, which did not make the task easier. Not in the least.”

Bilbo laughed. “No I should think not. That lad is a handful at the best of times. Just as you are.”

Merry smiled. “Yes.”

“How did you manage it then?” Bilbo pressed on.

“I was quite determined I remember, and once I even tried to find it in the middle of the night!” Merry laughed a little at his own desperation. “But typically enough, Frodo couldn`t sleep that particular night and was roaming the kitchen for something to eat and heard me coming. Luckily he just assumed that I was hungry too. And I didn`t know exactly what I was looking for. I knew it was a book or at the very least notes, but that study was so filled with notes and books that it was almost impossible to find anything with everything lying about and no order to things. It`s a wonder to me how you never failed to find what you were looking for in that mess. I remember even trying to pry information out of Frodo asking him about any special books you might be writing rather than translating and how you worked. I had to stop though, because he became suspicious.”

“Frodo didn`t know that much himself then. He knew I was writing everything down, but he had hardly seen the book himself.” Bilbo said.

“Once I set my mind to finding it nothing coud stop me and there were only a few times when I got a brief opportunity to look for the book. When I finally found it – hidden in a chest and under some papers – I was almost discovered and had to put it back quickly. It was very disappointing! I didn’t even have the opportunity to open it. I finally managed to get some minutes in the study alone, when I knew that both you and Frodo were otherwise occupied. The Gaffer had called you out to the garden to look at something and Frodo was bathing Pip I think. I may have found where you kept the book, but I didn’t know just where in it to look to find information about your ring. I think you must have written most of your travels in that book by then, as I found several stories I recognised.”

“But how then did you find the story about my Ring?” Bilbo said eagerly. Now they were coming to it.

“I scanned through the text as fast as I could, not knowing when you might be finished talking to the Gaffer or Frodo would finish bathing Pip. It was sheer luck really, that I came upon your description of how you were able to slip past the goblins, when you lost your buttons. But once I found a reference to the Ring I scarcely had time to read more than a few sentences before I suddenly heard the back door close and put the book back real quick. You came into the study silent as any hobbit and I had a hard time trying to explain what I was doing there. Do you remember?”

Bilbo had leaned forward, eager to hear more of Merry`s story, but sat back in his seat, thinking. “No… Wait. Yes! Yes, I remember you saying that Pip wanted a story while taking his bath. You knew very well that the books with children’s stories were not in my study but in the sitting room. You said that he had grown tired of those books and wanted something else.”

Merry laughed. “Did you suspect anything? You was quite shocked earlier today when I told you I`d found your book.”

“If I suspected anything, I forgot about it quickly. There was no reason for me to think that you knew anything. I reasoned that if you were up to some sort of mischief that I’d find out about it sooner or later, as indeed, I finally have! ” Bilbo said.

“I was quite desperate Bilbo, and I even offered to dust the study, hoping to get another look. Both you and Frodo were shocked at that. But as it happened, that was my only glimpse of the book. I have hungered for more to this day.”

“Why didn`t you just ask me what happened when I disappeared?” Bilbo asked, after thinking a little about Merry’s tale.

“Judging from how you had behaved on the road I didn`t think you would answer me. I could tell you considered it a secret, and I know that I should not have acted as I did, but I was only a teen and just couldn’t bear not knowing.” Merry said.

“Well, after going to all of that effort what did you think? Did it meet your approval?” Bilbo was curious of the younger hobbit`s reaction to his story.

“It was a whole new experience seeing your adventures set out in a book compared to hearing the stories told by you of course. And your drawings – beautiful! You left out some very juicy details when you told us your tales; things that would have frightened the most adventurous hobbit lad!”

Bilbo just laughed.

“So, what exactly did you learn about the Ring?”

“You found it in the caves in the mountains, where Gollum was. But you did not know its purpose then?”

“I didn’t know what the ring really was at that point, nor did Gandalf. Certainly had I known the ring’s true nature I never would have burdened poor Frodo with it.” Bilbo sighed resentfully and emptied his pipe and put it back in his pocket. He squinted his eyes against the autumn sun. “Well, Meriadoc. I should say it`s time for tea, don`t you think? All this talking makes a hobbit hungry.” Bilbo rose and straightened his weskit.

“Tea it is, Cousin Bilbo” Merry said, and together they walked towards the Last Homely House.