8. Ill News The West Wind Brings

The small wreath of pale and fragile blooms drifted by upon the river, gray flood beneath a gray sky, and Pippin was grateful for Merry’s strong hand clasped tight about his own.  Other hobbits stood upon the riverside, alone or in small groups, as their silent offerings were swept away by the dark current.  It had been freeing to join his grief to the keening wails of those for whom the long wait for news had held hope, a hope that had been dashed by some of the letters he had carried out of Tuckborough to Brandy Hall.  His aunt still knelt in her husband’s arms upon the grassy bank, undone as much by the cause and manner of Pervinca’s death as by the very passing of the child she had watched grow from petulant tot to fiery maid.

The weight of the heavy satchel Pippin had carried across the Shire had made it clear to him that despite the cold distance that currently existed between the heads of their respective families, the Brandybucks and Tooks still had much to say to each other.  They had so long intermarried that their family trees more resembled a web, inextricably tangled together, though now stretched and torn by recent events.  It was time to cut and mend the master strand before someone decided to start anew without it.  He gave Merry’s hand a slight squeeze and looked into his cousin’s face.  The wind had dried the tears upon his cheeks and tousled the neat curls above his winter coat, and a small smile quirked the generous mouth.

“What are you thinking?” Pippin asked quietly.

“That Vinca would slap me silly if she found me moping about as I have lately.  She was never one to put up with that sort of thing,” Merry replied, smile warming as Pippin nodded and laughed.

“That she would indeed, though she was more likely to pull my hair for that,” he said.

They turned together towards the Hall, the weight of grief having made way for happier memories in their hearts.

***   ***   ***

Saradoc found Merry and Pippin tucked away in the second parlor, the decanter of brandy on the table between them three quarters empty and the air heavy with fragrant smoke.  The two young hobbits were deep in conversation, heads together over a mess of parchment and maps, though they both looked up when he closed the door behind him.

“Hard at work or play this evening?” he inquired with a smile.

“That depends on your idea of fun, I suppose,” Pippin answered.  “Merry here enjoys puzzles and knotty problems, so he’s having a grand old time.”

“But you’re not?”

“I’d rather be stealing tarts and kissing girls, of course,” he said with a grin.

“Pippin!” Merry sputtered indignantly.

“Well, I have to make up for my cousin getting all serious and dull in his pursuit of wedded bliss, you know!  How goes the quest for the fair Estella’s heart?”

“Winning her heart isn’t the problem, it’s her father’s good opinion he has yet to gain.  But I suppose you’re a little young to have such concerns,” Saradoc teased.

“Oh I’m quite smitten actually, love at first sight and all that,” Pippin replied straight-faced.  “Oh yes,” he went on, barely suppressing his amusement at their dumbfounded expressions. “She’s quite the charmer, at least in my opinion, though she can get rather cranky if she misses her nap.”

“What?” Merry asked, now completely confused.

“My dear Merry,” Pippin said with a chuckle, “You’ve a darling new cousin in Whitwell, and when she learns to speak, we’ll all be in trouble!”

***   ***   ***

“Well, I’m glad to hear that you carry good news along with the bad, Peregrin,” Saradoc said after they had sat through a brief account of Pippin’s visit with his sister. 

“I wish it were all good,” the young hobbit answered with a sigh.  “The Troubles won’t be truly over until Tookland is freed from my father’s fears.  I just don’t know how to do that.”

“You’ve made a start bringing these letters out, though baiting the old bear in his own den was a bit reckless,” Merry said.

“It’ll take more than a few letters to fix the problem, but then that’s why I’m here,” Pippin replied with a wicked grin.  “I’ll need all your cleverness to keep the promises I’ve made.”