Chapter Eleven - Welcome to Great Smials 

Having left her brother to grieve the loss of his latest love, Pimpernel walked further down to her familiar yellow door. With a heavy heart she entered her own apartment. What caught Pimpernel’s attention was the laughter and shrieks of joy emitted by her young brood while engaged in what appeared to be a drawing contest. Diamond sat giggling on the floor beside Gelly and Tilby who were stretched out on their tummies frantically scribbling on a single leaf of paper. In her lap sat Hilly, clapping his hands in anticipation of the winner.

“What is going on?”

Diamond helped the small lad stand to his feet before rising to her own. “Hullo, Mrs. Brownfield. We’re playing Dots.”

“Dots? I’ve not heard of that game in ages.”

“My dad taught it to my sisters and I when we were children,” Diamond replied.

Pimpernel looked over her middle-lad’s shoulder, seeing a host of “G’s” hastily scratched within the tiny boxes. “Are all those Gelly’s?” she asked with a bewildered expression.

“Yes!” laughed the eldest lad without a pause in the game, “And I’m going to win!”

Nine-year-old Tilby still held out hope for himself. “Not if I best you first!” Unfortunately, as he said those very words, he glumly watched as the last few blocks were filled in…most of them bearing a “G”. He laid down his leadstick in frustration. “It’s not fair!” cried Tilby, “He always gets to win.”

Gelly rolled onto his back, waving his victory paper in the air for all to see. “Behave, Gelly,” admonished Pimpernel, then addressed Tilby. “Tilby, you have to remember that your brother has a few years on you.”

Tilby countered, “I’ll wager if Miss Diamond played him, he’d lose!”

“There is no wagering in this apartment, young hobbit.” Pim looked over the sitting room area then to her temporary child minder. “Did the lads have tea, Diamond?”

“We had apples and cheese and biscuits and milk, Mummy,” Hilly put in helpfully.

“What’s wrong, Mum?” asked Gelly, noting that his mother seemed not quite herself.

Pim sat in her favourite chair near to the hearth letting out a long breath as she sunk into the cushions. “Uncle Pippin isn’t feeling well, dear. I don’t think he will be up to conducting studies for a while.”

Worried, Gelly asked, “Is he sick?”

“No, love. He’s…,” she paused, trying to choose her words carefully.

“He’s feeling very sad in his heart, Gelly,” said Diamond, completing Pimpernel’s idea.

Pimpernel looked thoughtfully at the tween. “I suppose that will do--well said, Diamond, however, I don’t believe my lads are old enough to understand the deeper matters of the heart.”

“Yes, I do” said Gelly, growing quite serious. “Miss Diamond explained it perfectly just now. I do hope that uncle Pippin feels better soon.”

“I liked Miss Sapphira,” put in Tilby, “but…”

“But what, Till?” Pimpernel wondered at her sons’ remarks; perhaps the older two have indeed grown enough for such matters.

“But…I like…,” Tilby mumbled his words.

“We can’t hear you!” said Gelly, a crooked grin on his face. He apparently heard his brother’s comment.

“I said I like Miss Diamond better!” shouted Tilby, blushing a bright red.

“Thank you, Tilby,” smiled Diamond. “I like you, too.”

Pimpernel didn’t understand it, but she definitely saw a connection had been made between Miss Diamond and her lads. Inwardly, she dreaded the moment when Sapphira would have to come in to clean out her wardrobe, gather her things and pack her luggage. It seems now that it would not affect her children the way she thought. Unfortunately, Diamond would be leaving on her sister’s heels, travelling all the way back to Long Cleeve with her family. Pimpernel would have to think upon a few things first before posing her thoughts to Mrs. North-took. “Why aren’t you lads outside enjoying the sunshine as usual before supper?”

“Because it’s raining outside,” answered Hilly, then beamed, “Can we go outside and play in the puddles?”

“You mean, ‘may we,” corrected Pim, walking over to the window, “and no, you may not.” Pulling aside the curtains, she saw that it definitely was raining. Low, dark grey clouds full of rain slowly passed over the Shire. It did not appear to be a mere afternoon rain, therefore, it should be too dangerous for the North-took family to travel until the roads dried out. Perhaps this little bit of inconvenience would work to her advantage.

Supper came and went with little fanfare--and Pippin. Pimpernel had passed on her brother’s message to their father after dessert. “Something about a calf being stolen from under my nose?” she said to her father. “I don’t understand it, but I suppose that it is something for the Thain and Thain-in-training to figure out.”

Back in the North-took’s quarters, the daughters all gathered in their mother’s room to speak about the coming days.

“I don’t suppose we’ll be travelling tomorrow with this rain, will we mother?” asked Sapphira.

Diamond sat dejectedly in the bedside chair. “What’s the matter? You can’t return to Long Cleeve quick enough?”

“Diamond North-took!” Opal chided her daughter.

“I’m sorry, Sapphira.” Young Diamond stared vacantly at the small fire in the hearth. The servants had built it to keep the dampness at bay. “I just keep seeing his face…the hurt--the anguish he must be feeling.”

“I didn’t mean for things to end up like this,” Sapphira said, sitting on the arm of her sister’s chair. “I do love Pippin,” she added, “but not, I found, in the same way that I love Hildebrand.” Sapphira put her arm around Diamond, “Someday you will understand--when you fall in love with a lad.”

Diamond moped in her seat, “I am not falling in love with a lad until I am at least forty years old. I’ve had enough of broken hearts to last a life time.”

“Trust me, Diamond,” said Gemma, sitting on the bed with her mum, “Mr. Pippin will eventually get over Sapphira.”

“And how do you know?” demanded Diamond. “Has your heart ever been wounded by someone you love?”

“No,” came Gemma’s sharp reply, “and neither has yours! You’ve never had a lad friend, let alone a steady beau.”

“Stop it--both of you,” said Opal, reining in her two youngest daughters. “Mr. Peregrin showed no signs of a lost heart to me this afternoon when I asked him to give Sapphira’s nuptial agreement a read.”

“Mother, you didn’t!” said Sapphira in exasperation. “You had no right!”

Diamond gaped in dismay at her mother. “No wonder he wasn’t at supper. That was like rubbing his nose in his own misery, mother. Have you no thought for him?”

“I have a thought for my own daughters,” Opal answered with firm conviction. “I want to make sure that their husbands don’t die and leave them without anything.”

“Dad did not leave us penniless, Mum,” said Sapphira. “And I refuse to acknowledge that…that contract you and Hildie’s parents wrote. ‘Sapphira gets this, Hildebrand gets that…’” the lass fumed, tears brimming in her eyes. “Well, the only thing I want is Hildie’s heart, mother, and this document,” she took up the paper on her mother’s nightstand, shaking it in the air, “has gotten in my way. It caused me to make a huge mistake last month--running away from the very person who loves me--and then caused me to injure another’s heart in the course of things.” Sapphira ripped the contract several times, threw it to the floor then fled the room. Diamond ran after her.

By the time Diamond caught up with her sister they both were approaching a round yellow door in the Thain’s tunnel. They passed it by, heading for the brown one not far from it. Diamond instantly knew she had never been in this hallway before. “Sapphira, where are we?”

“I’m going to my room. You may follow if it suits you,” replied Sapphira, wiping her tears. “I’m going to pack my belongings. I want to be ready to go back home as soon as the rain lets up.”

“You’re not going to stay until Mrs. Brownfield can find a replacement?” asked Diamond incredulously.

Opening the door, they both entered Sapphira’s room. “Diamond, I’ve hurt too many people to remain here any longer than need be.”

Young Diamond gawked at her sister’s private entrance. To think Sapphira actually received a regular wage for watching three young lads--and had her own entrance to her own room! It all seemed to make Sapphira appear more grown up in the younger lass’s eyes. Diamond suddenly wanted that for herself; she wanted to be grown up--on her own. “But you once wrote and said that Mrs. Brownfield aids her aging mother with charities and such. What will Mistress Took do if her daughter can no longer help her?”

“Mrs. Brownfield will find another nurse to care for her lads.”

Diamond traipsed about the room as her sister packed, letting her fingers glide over the well-polished furniture. She opened the wardrobe doors wide as if examining the shelf space, how much clothing she could store inside it. Diamond next sat upon the bed with a little jounce, sizing up the softness of the feather mattress. “Seems to me that your position is open for anyone who wishes to apply.”

“Oh, no you don’t!” said the elder sister. Sapphira should have known her little sister was up to something. “You’re coming home with the rest of the family.”

“No…,” said Diamond thoughtfully, “I am seriously thinking about staying here.”

“You can’t possibly!” Sapphira was getting worried. “What is Mrs. Brownfield going to do with a nursemaid who cannot comfort her six year old lad having a nightmare because the lass is busy having a nightmare of her own?”

“Mrs. Brownfield doesn’t have to know,” answered a confident Diamond. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

Sapphira continued, “And what about ponies? You detest being around them.”

“I have absolutely no problem with ponies--as long as they’re hitched up to something.”

“Diamond, you’re impossible!” Sapphira shook her head in disbelief. “Besides, mother will never agree to it. You’re still very much a juvenile.”

Before Diamond could retort, the sisters both turned toward the sound of knocking upon the adjoining door, interrupting their disagreement. “I thought I heard voices in here,” said Pimpernel, peering round the door. Noting the packed luggage atop the bed she added, “I am sorry to see you go, Sapphira. Thank you for helping with my children.”

Little Hilfred slipped in between the door and his mummy’s skirt. He also saw the luggage all packed and latched; he began to cry. “You’re going away, aren’t you? Like Miss Molena did.”

Pimpernel called for Gelly to come and get his little brother. “I want absolute quiet for the next quarter hour,” she softly, but firmly admonished her eldest. “Not a peep out of you three. I wish to speak with Miss Sapphira and Miss Diamond for a few minutes.”

Gelly nodded, placing a protective arm around Hilly. Gelly understood the reason why Sapphira was leaving, although he still did not appreciate his brother’s heart being broken in the process--nor his uncle’s.

Pimpernel sat down in the chair near the door while the siblings sat together upon the bed. She first addressed the younger lass. “Diamond, you said earlier that you have experience with minding children. How much experience?”

Sapphira started to speak but was quickly cut off by Diamond. “I started out four years ago minding Mrs. Hedgerow’s two lasses whenever she went to market. Their ages at the time were five and eight. Presently, and for the past year, I have been minding Mrs. Oatbarton’s three children when she and Mr. Oatbarton are out at social gatherings. She has two lads, ages one and four, and their sister, who is almost seven.”

Pimpernel was impressed at Diamond’s repertoire. It was Mrs. Oatbarton’s great-great-great-great-grandfather who founded Oatbarton in the Northfarthing of the Shire. She remembered meeting the very same Mrs. Oatbarton at the Free Fair six years ago when the eldest child was just an infant, recalling her being very picky about who held her baby daughter and who watched over her. “Very good, Diamond,” said Pimpernel. “If I may ask, how old are you?”

Diamond didn’t want the chance of staying at Great Smials to pass her by. Without missing a beat the lass blurted out, “I’ll be thirty-one very soon!”

Sapphira rolled her eyes, “She’ll be thirty-one at Yule. Truth of the matter, Mrs. Brownfield, is that my sister should be perfect for the position, except…” she trailed off. Diamond grew annoyed with her sister.

Pimpernel was curious, “Except for what?”

“I told you about my father’s accident after I arrived here,” Sapphira began, “however, I didn’t mention that it was Diamond who found him inside the pen. Diamond became hysterical. She--,” Sapphira faltered in her speech, “Diamond has no memory of that night yet continues to have nightmares over it.”

“Everyone has a nightmare once in a while,” said Pimpernel, without revealing any information about her own brother. Then asked, “You don’t throw things or injure yourself or others, do you?”

Diamond wanted to run and hide! Sapphira had no right to divulge her deepest secret. Mrs. Brownfield must think of her as a faunt. “No, ma’am.”

“Diamond, would you give thought to minding my children in my absence? The wage is fair, and there are plenty of benefits that come with the position.”

Diamond’s face went from dejected to elated at hearing Pimpernel’s offer. She smiled wide, answering with a resounding ‘yes’, then became more sombre--more “grown up”, “I mean--yes, Mrs. Brownfield. And thank you for this opportunity.”

“That it is, little sister,” added Sapphira, “but your only obstacle now is to convince mum.”

“We can speak with her together, shall we, Diamond?” said Pim.

Diamond nodded, however, she was well aware of the difficulty in persuading her mother; Opal could be shrewd when it came to business dealings. Sapphira agreed to mind the lads one last time while Diamond and Mrs. Brownfield went to speak with Mrs. North-took.

* * *

It was near to midnight when Diamond crept out of the room she and Gemma shared in the guest quarters. She held her only piece of luggage in one hand while trying to quietly manage closing the door with the other. Hefting her overstuffed bag, Diamond counted the passing hallways as she walked the main passage until she came upon the Thain’s tunnels and then smiled. She was moving into Sapphira’s old living quarters!

Diamond still marvelled at the meeting that took place earlier in the evening. Good old Mrs. Brownfield could be just as clever as Opal North-took--bringing out the fact that Sapphira was giving little or no notice to leaving her position. So surely Mrs. North-took could spare young Diamond for just a while--that is, until Pimpernel could properly search for a replacement. However, Diamond meant to immediately prove herself worthy to Mrs. Brownfield; she meant to stay at Great Smials. How often does an opportunity like this come by? Diamond would return home to visit of course, but not to live. The young lass felt that this was the beginning of growing up and she loved her newfound independence.

As she passed one particular door painted green and trimmed in red, it suddenly opened up, startling her. She lost her hold on her heavy luggage, desperately trying to regain her hold as she watched it tumble out of her grasp. It fell to the decorative stone floor, scattering her belongings all over it. She gazed despondently at the mess; now it would be well after midnight before she crawled into her new bed, and tomorrow would be her first day on the job.

“I am terribly sorry,” said Pippin, stepping outside for a bite to eat. After missing supper, his stomach had begun to protest the abuse of not eating. Also, Paladin stopped by earlier to console his lad and to have a long talk. After his father left, Pippin felt somewhat better, which helped to bring his appetite along.

Diamond observed that Mr. Peregrin’s voice still held a tinge of sadness, however, she was glad to see him getting out of his room--however late it was. She next looked down at the mess of clothing, getting down on her haunches to pick it all up. Diamond saw that her underthings had been scattered as well--out for all the world--and Mr. Peregrin--to see. “Turn around, Mr. Peregrin.”

“Why?”

“Turn around,” she insisted.

Pippin grudgingly obeyed, doing as the young lass told him. “I’ve seen ladies’ underclothes before, Gemma. I grew up with three older sisters--and you wouldn’t believe what other garments I’ve seen.”

That did it! Diamond stood up with her hands on her hips addressing the lad, “First of all, I am not Gemma. She may be taller, but I am older. My name is Diamond North-took. And, Mr. Peregrin--you may have seen your sisters’ underclothes, but you haven’t seen mine.”

Pippin couldn’t help but smirk at the little lass’s temper. He sadly recalled running into another North-took lass’s temper a month ago. Apparently, Pimpernel had hired one of Sapphira’s younger sisters to take over the task of minding his nephews. It appeared that Miss Diamond would be here to stay--at least for a while. Pippin wondered how his sister managed that one with the lass seeming so young. Either way, Pippin would guard his heart well this time. He waited a proper minute before asking, “Am I allowed to turn back round?”

“Wait…,” said Diamond firmly, clutching an armful of clothes. She shoved the bunch into her bag and then latched it. “Now you may.”

Pippin turned back round to face the young lass then signalled with his eyes toward a lacy garment still lying on the floor behind her. He politely cleared his throat, turning round once more to face his door. Pippin was finding this quite amusing. He patiently waited for her to acknowledge that everything was picked up.

“Thank you,” Diamond said, a bit flushed.

“You're welcome,” said Pippin. Indicating to her full arms, he asked, “Do you need further assistance with getting into your room?”

“No, sir,” a weary Diamond answered. “I can manage, thank you.”

“Please call me Pippin,” he said. He would have taken the heavy bag from her, however it had already broke open once; he truly did not wish for her to be embarrassed again. Her arms completely occupied with holding her belongings, Pippin knew that she would have trouble with the door handle no matter what she thought she could manage. Gazing at the heavy bag it seemed to Pippin that none of the North-took lasses knew how to pack lightly. He would walk beside Diamond to ensure she would have no further difficulties.

“That wouldn’t be proper,” she answered in regard to his name. “You’re Mrs. Brownfield’s brother…although I wouldn’t mind calling you Mr. Pippin.”

“Sapph--,” Pippin began and then stopped. Sapphira indeed called him by his shortened name at his request, then again, maybe these sisters weren’t altogether alike. Perhaps in getting to know one, he would eventually come to understand the actions of the other. Moreover, Diamond was proving to be a rarity all by herself; this was the same lass whose eyes met his the night before--who probably saw more into his soul than he himself wanted or realized. As the twosome stopped in front of the door painted a plain brown colour, he saw young Diamond break into a huge smile. A placard had been placed upon her door that simply read, Miss Diamond North-took.

At seeing her lovely smile, Pippin smiled his first genuine smile of the day, although he had no idea how many more he had in store. He leaned in, turned the door handle then said, “Welcome to Great Smials, Miss Diamond North-took.”

TBC