CHAPTER 20

Esmeralda was glad she had packed for the trip to Tuckborough the day before. This little mess was going to really put her behind.

She turned to the kitchen hobbit who had followed her out. “Serve first breakfast in the smaller dining hall this morning. Do not even try to untangle this mess--get two or three hobbits with scissors in here, and just cut it loose. After being stretched and tangled like this, the yarn won’t be worth using anyway.”

She went back to her room to get dressed for the day. Saradoc was awake, and she told him of what the little emergency had been. He guffawed.

“Sounds exactly like something our son and his favorite cousin would have got up to years ago. I’d suspect them even now, if they weren’t at Crickhollow.” He was still chortling. He had always had a hard time keeping a straight face when he had to discipline Merry and Pippin after one of their pranks. “Oh, well,” he wiped his eyes, “it’s given me a laugh to start a busy day with. You are still determined to come to Tuckborough, Esme?”

“Yes, dear. I am.” It would be tiring, but they would be pony back, and taking it in stages, as there would be quite a crowd going: the Master and Mistress; Merimac--who would represent the Brandybucks in the conclave, since both the Master and his son could be considered to have a conflict of interest; Thain Paladin; Pearl ; Merry, Pippin, Frodo, Sam; their guests--Elf, Dwarf and child and three pack ponies with Tip from the stables to care for them. Since the Master, the Mistress, the son of the Hall, and the Master’s brother would all be gone, Berilac had been put in charge until they returned. She chuckled. Their nephew had *not* been pleased with that--he very much wanted to go also.

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Denny Banks rode into Tuckborough on a very weary pony. His own weariness had been held in check by his curiosity. He had never been further west in the Shire than Frogmorton before, so there had been a lot to see. Still, he was very tired; he had not much rest since leaving Bridgefields. He saw a gaffer trundling a barrow up the road, and asked for directions to the Great Smials.

The old fellow looked at him like he had lost his mind, but replied kindly enough. “Just you keep going as ye are; about two miles or so past the last house t’other side o’ town, you can’t miss a great place like that, lad.”

Denny smiled his thanks and urged his pony on.

He arrived at the Great Smials just as directed, and to the hobbit who answered the door, said “I’ve messages from the Thain to Mistress Eglantine Took and Mr. Reginard Took. I’ve ridden hard from Buckland; it’s very important.”

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Just north of the Brandywine Bridge, the Men from Gondor and from Rohan were busy breaking down their encampment, as they awaited their escort of hobbits to arrive.

Anwynd and Leodwald were seeing to the pack horses; Borondir and Adrahil were filling in the firepit, and Artamir and Danulf were striking the tents.

“Make sure to leave as little trace of our stay as possible, men,” said Targon.

Éothain shook his head. “You are spending more effort in leaving than in arriving,” he chuckled.

“King Elessar told me that we are not to mar the Shire or its environs in any way, and to leave it as we found it.” Targon had thought the order strange at the time, but what he had seen so far of the pheriannath in their own place showed him how wise it was. “I do not mean to wait until we cross over the border to begin.”

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Eglantine and Reginard had received Denny in the Thain’s study, and after hearing from him verbal assurances that all was well with Paladin and other family members, Eglantine had dismissed him to get some food and rest before he continued on his way with other messages.

She sat in the armchair across from the desk, and Reggie sat at the desk as they opened the letters from Paladin.

My darling Eglantine,

By the time you receive this message, Pippin, Pearl and I will be well on our way home.

We will be bringing with us a large number of guests, and so, my dear, I am giving you fair warning. Esmeralda, Saradoc, and Merry, along with Merimac, Frodo and Samwise Gamgee are coming.

Eglantine’s eyebrows climbed; if the Master’s whole family was coming, who was in charge in Buckland? And why would Merimac be coming?

But we are also to have guests who are not hobbits. There will be an Elf, Legolas of Mirkwood, who is a prince in his country, and a Dwarf, Gimli son of Gloín. There are also eight Men and a Man-child, who were sent here on a mission from our new King. The Men will not sleep at the Smials, but will establish a camp in the assembly field. It is possible that the child, named Bergil, who is a dear friend of Pippin may be allowed to stay with us at the Smials. This has yet to be decided.

She gave a soft exclamation. She recognized those names from Pippin’s tale of his journey. It had never dawned upon her that she would ever have a chance to meet any of those people.

Furthermore, at Frodo’s urging, I will be extending an invitation to two more: Miss Rose Cotton, Samwise’s betrothed, and Miss Marigold Gamgee, his sister. It is by no means certain that they will accept the invitation. However, Frodo seems to feel it important, and he will be urging them to come. I trust Frodo in this matter, as I trust you to make them welcome.

Eglantine smiled. In other words, keep the Tookish snobbery of the various aunts and female cousins on a very tight leash, and greet the lasses warmly.

I do not know how long these guests will stay, but it would not surprise me if they remain nearly to the end of Astron.

Eglantine blinked in surprise, and began to mentally calculate the stores.

As if I have not already given you enough work, there will also be a conclave of the family heads in Tuckborough, beginning on Highday the seventh of Astron. I do not know how long this will last, but it is bound to mean at least one party.

She shook her head. She was going to have to dig deeply into the household budget. She read on.

Do not worry overmuch about the cost. I will explain further when we arrive.

Now Eglantine was surprised--*her* husband saying not to worry about cost? That was definitely not like him.

I am sorry, my love, to place such a burden upon your fair shoulders, but I know you are more than capable.

I have missed you very much, and heartily look forward to homecoming.

Ever yours,

Paladin

Eglantine put down her letter, and glanced over at Reggie. He had a rather stunned expression on his face. He lay the letter down upon the desk, and put his head in his hands.

“Did he tell you what this is all about, Reggie?”

“It seems that there are some amazing proposals from the Kings in the South; Paladin, Saradoc and Frodo feel it is important enough to warrant a gathering of the family heads before they answer them. Also, because of Pippin’s and Merry’s personal relationships with the Kings, the Thain and the Master want someone else to speak for the Tooks and the Brandybucks in the conclave, in order to avoid talk about favoritism. He wants me to speak for the Tooks, and Saradoc is bringing his brother to speak for the Brandybucks. As acting Mayor, Frodo will ask old Ponto to speak for the Bagginses.”

Eglantine nodded. As Bilbo’s heir, Frodo was technically head of the Baggins family, but Ponto would have been otherwise. This explained a lot. She wondered what the Kings could have had to say that caused so much commotion.

“Well, Reggie, it looks as though both of us have a lot on our plates. We had better get busy right now. I suggest that the first thing you do is send word to the Inns in Tuckborough that they may be expecting a lot of guests in the near future.”

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