Chapter Seventeen - Not In Love

Diamond wandered the tunnels in the wee hours of the morning in attempt to make herself weary. Perhaps I ate too much, she said to herself then pushed the idea out of her head. No, what little she didn’t eat, the ladies helped her to finish. As she walked, Diamond came to the conclusion that all the excitement in the air was the culprit. The visitors…the children…the fair.

But something else niggled at her brain. The tween mused on all the earlier accounts of couples falling in love. Inwardly, the lass fervently denied the notion of falling in love with Pippin. I’m a working lass from a small village who has night terrors--and now I have an ugly scar on my face--what would Mr. Pippin want with someone like me? Diamond’s answer didn’t come to her immediately. Not even while she drew near to the door of the Thain’s private parlour, seeing the candlelight from inside spill out onto the decorative stone floor. You’re not in love with Mr. Pippin, but you know exactly where to look for him at one o’clock in the morning, she said inwardly, sighing. This can’t go on, Diamond-lass! All you would do is hinder the likes of Mr. Pippin.

Diamond entered the parlour where she and Pippin would often play draughts whenever sleep eluded them. She smiled, seeing the special game sitting out…then Diamond crinkled her brow. Something was amiss. As she stepped closer it appeared a game had already been played--the winner being the player with the red draughtsmen stacked high on one side of the table. Diamond recalled that she always played the red draughtsmen--who was Pippin’s new opponent? Diamond’s gaze drifted over to a sketching tablet set where the loser sat; a few scattered black game pieces lay near to it. She leaned in closer in order to better view the half-drawn figure of a…what was it? The tween gasped at the voracious creature, detailed in every way from the shoulders up, including wild black hair, bared sharp teeth with flesh dangling from its maw.

“What are you doing?”

Diamond jumped out of her skin, giving a cry of alarm. As she twisted about, she knocked into one of the tall hobbits who stood directly behind her, holding a mug of warm milk in his hands.

“Why did I know this should happen?” asked Pippin, arms held out while milk dripped from his nightcoat. “I suppose I had this coming…”

Diamond held her hand to her bosom trying to catch her breath. “The next time you enter a room--”

“I ought to sneeze, cough, or blow my nose?” asked Pippin derisively.

“It was an accident, cousin,” said Merry, holding his mirth. “Go wash up and I’ll have another mug sent in. I’ll also see about this wee burglar.”

Hands on her hips again, Diamond declared, “Wee? Now see here--I am not a burglar!”

“A wee eavesdropper then,” replied Pippin. Pippin watched in amusement as Diamond reacted just the way he wanted. Her face turned beet red while she opened her mouth to give them a piece of her mind.

Before the lass could utter any rancorous words that she might regret later, Merry interceded. “He’s jesting with you, Miss Diamond. Now hurry up, Pippin--I don’t have all night.”

Merry followed Pippin out of the parlour to speak with a servant, then returned a few minutes later. He took his seat at the table where the sketch lay. Diamond remained standing. Merry looked over to the lass saying, “Why don’t you sit down in Pippin’s chair until he returns?”, then busied himself with setting up the draughtsmen for another go.

Diamond set her eye upon the curious drawing, wondering about the creature visible in the sketch. “What is it?”

“Hmm?”

The tween pointed toward the powerful jaws, “What sort of animal is it?”

Merry hesitated to explain the image. He placed the last few game pieces on the black squares, then brought out his pipe from his small pouch. The same pouch that he almost gave to Saruman. “What has Pippin told you? About our…Journey, I mean.”

Pippin had indeed told Diamond that Merry accompanied him on his travels and so she hoped to get a bit more information from him. However, the tween instantly put two and two together. She deduced Merry had to have seen this creature somewhere in order to draw it in such detail. And Pippin said he had been with his cousin for most of the Journey. No wonder Mr. Pippin had as many--if not more--sleepless nights as she did! Diamond quickly answered Merry so as not to raise suspicion, “He told me about Minas Tirith…Elves…Mr. Legolas and Mr. Gimli…Rivendell and the friends you all met there. Mr. Pippin never spoke of such beasts as this one.”

“As he shouldn’t have,” Merry put in a bit tersely while lighting his pipe. Exactly how much had his cousin told this innocent lass?

Undaunted, Diamond asked, “Were the beasts in the Stone City?”

Merry folded up his sketch tablet, laying it aside. “I don’t wish to speak of it right now.”

Diamond sighed. “I’m sorry, Mr. Merry,” she said quietly. “I think it frightens him, too, but he won’t say anything.”

“Frightens whom?”

“Mr. Pippin,” said Diamond. “Thoughts of foul creatures such as this one. He won’t talk about it. Instead, he retreats to his music room, playing his violin for hours.”

Merry blanched. “You just said he didn’t tell you about them.”

“I…I,” Diamond stammered. Even though she thought she had guessed some of what happened, she sincerely had no way of knowing the truth of the matter. However, Diamond figured that she had probably stepped on a sore spot with Mr. Merry and so apologized. “I was only guessing about the memories,” she said somewhat truthfully.

Diamond thought for a moment then asked further, “Is that what your drawings do for you, Mr. Merry? Help you to escape the memories?”

Merry was not about to answer the lass’s inquisition as he regarded his sketches as very personal--and right now, Diamond was barely an acquaintance. Taking a deep breath to relax and unwind, Merry let the matter rest. Diamond couldn’t have known, he reasoned to himself.

Diamond did not press the issue, but returned to the previous conversation about music. “Did you know Mr. Pippin composes his own music?”

“Yes, I know he does,” said Merry. Having recovered his wits, a faint smile appeared on his lips, “How do you know about Pippin’s music room? He is very close about it.”

“I…I listened one day,” she replied, quickly adding, “but I didn’t eavesdrop. I was sad…and I could hear the music in the hallway…it was so beautiful.”

“Music touches a multitude of wounds, don’t you agree?” Merry said casually, absently biting the mouthpiece of his pipe.

“I believe so…,” Diamond said thoughtfully. “It soothes--much like a balm does. I easily get lost in a far away meadow when Mr. Pippin plays his violin. I mean,” Diamond quickly added, “ with most any violin music.”

In spite of being startled with her inquiries, Merry was becoming a bit fond of this lass. He kindly smiled, “I think you were correct the first time. I could sit and listen to my cousin’s music for hours on end--and I have.”

“Do you play the violin, Mr. Merry?”

“No, though my uncle taught me to play the flute when I was a lad. Other than the flute, I am afraid that is about as far as my musical talent goes.”

“But you draw beautifully--like Mr. Pippin playing his violin,” said Diamond. “I’ll wager folks hire you regularly to make a portrait.”

Merry’s eyes twinkled at the mention of “wager”. “Some hobbits do, but not many are as appreciative of my skills as you are--and I do humbly thank you.” He cocked an eye toward the tweenager. “I don’t suppose living with Pimpernel has influenced your view of wagering.”

“Well, Mr. Merry, I don’t believe children ought to go round wagering, but I’m a grown up.”

“Please leave off the mister title--call me Merry,” he said.

“I can’t do that, Mr. Merry, it isn’t--”

“Proper?” Merry blew out a plume of smoke, “Tell me, lass, are you by any means related to Sam Gamgee?”

Diamond frowned, “No…I don’t think so, though I’ve heard of him--and he would be right. Besides, I was going to say ‘appropriate’.”

“Same thing,” Merry said flatly.

“Not necessarily,” countered Diamond.

Merry laughed, “You are a stubborn lass!”

“Didn’t I warn you?” said Pippin, stepping back inside the parlour wearing a fresh nightshirt and nightcoat.

“No, I believe you failed in that area,” replied Merry. Without waiting for Pippin to sit down he moved his red draughtsman forward.

“Good move, cousin,” said Pippin, then made his counter-move.

Growing restless again, Diamond stood to her feet, offering Pippin his own chair back. “I think I shall try sleeping again--although the excitement of the Fair is making it harder to find slumber these days.”

“I’ll walk you to your room,” said Pippin, once again rising from his chair.

Merry watched with amusement as Pippin nearly tripped over his own feet to assist the young lass. “Careful, Pip--don’t injure yourself.” Merry had to contain himself to keep from laughing when Pippin shot him a look of contempt.

Five minutes later Pippin returned to the parlour, less one Diamond. “Did you tuck her in?” Merry asked when Pippin entered the room.

“I did no such thing, Meriadoc!”

“You will in due time.”

Pippin didn’t know if he liked the direction this conversation was going. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that in due time, you will be tucking her into bed.”

“You’re not being funny,” said Pippin picking up the draughts game where they left off. “Your move.”

Merry moved a draughtsman from his second rank, blocking Pippin’s jump. “I am not trying to be funny. I’m being very serious.”

Pippin looked at his life-long friend; not a gleam in his cousin’s eye, nor a hint of a smile. “Your guess is very wrong.”

“Is it really?” asked Merry. “You find every excuse to take things to her, to be in the same room with her. For goodness sake, you just walked her thirty feet to her door.”

“What are you insinuating?”

“Insinuating? Its obvious to everyone else except you.”

Pippin leaned back into his chair with a resigned sigh. “She’s different, Merry,” he finally admitted. “She’s not like her sister at all. She leaves Posey behind in pony dust. Likewise, no other lass I‘ve known is like Diamond.”

“How much have you told her about the Quest?” asked Merry.

“Minas Tirith, Frodo…Rivendell, the Fellowship and the High King--things that won’t give her nightmares.”

“Uruk-hai? Nazgú l?”

Pippin shook his head in disbelief, “None of those, Merry. But if I were to tell her…I have a feeling that she wouldn’t run away. I don’t sense that she would laugh at the idea of a grown hobbit having a nightmare, either. Diamond is…different.”

“In what way?” Merry looked at his dear friend. “You said that about Sapphira, too. Is it her hair, her smile, or her the way she walks?”

Pippin replied with all seriousness, “Nothing on the outside, Merry. She’s beautiful, yes…but even more than that, she’s is genuinely interested in me--in my journey--not in any title I might bear later. She doesn’t judge me or mutter that I’m cracked when she thinks I’m not listening. She actually remembers the names of all our friends away South, people that she’s never met. That alone tells me that she’s listening, not just humouring a daft hobbit. Diamond is different, Merry…she’s…”

“Special?” Merry helped his younger cousin. “I spent a bit of time with you and Sapphira when you arrived at Brandy Hall last month and yet truly could not say that I knew her any better when she left. For the ten minutes you were gone cleaning up and changing into a fresh nightshirt, all we did was talk. I can honestly say that I know Diamond so much more than I or Stella ever knew Sapphira.

“I was indeed startled with discovering how much Diamond knew about the Quest; I worried that you had gone too far and told her everything.” Merry laughed softly, “She wanted to know everything--reminding me of a certain Took not too long ago.

“But in truth, I like Diamond much better. She is social, forthright, aware of others’ needs and wants besides her own…the sort of lass you will need by your side while serving the Tooks and the Shire as Thain. Just don’t wait too long to let her know how you feel.”

* * *

At breakfast, Pippin walked toward his usual seat next to his father. As he pulled out the chair to sit down he heard someone whisper his name. Looking round the table he spied Pimpernel giving a slight shake of her head.

Paladin looked up at his son, “Pippin, I hope you don’t mind--but I was hoping to catch up on more news of Buckland from Merry before the Fair takes him and Stella away.”

Just as Paladin finished speaking, Merry strode up behind Pippin with Kali in his arms. He smiled a bit nervously at his younger cousin, “Sorry, Pip,” then slid the chair out from Pippin’s grasp.

Pippin watched his cousin deliberately take the chair from him then sit down, placing the baby in his lap. Pippin leaned down in between the two hobbits who had expressions of uneasy guilt, whispering, “You two are plotting something, aren’t you?”

Merry gave a shamefaced chuckle, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course you don’t,” said Pippin in a flat tone, straightening up. He then walked round to the only available seat--right next to Miss Diamond North-took. He noticed his sisters avoiding his glare. Pippin took the seat to Diamond’s left, glowering at all the lasses--including his sister-in-law (that’s how the siblings thought of her, anyway), conveniently deep in conversation with each other.

“Good morning, Miss Diamond,” Pippin greeted the tween beside him as he sat down. “It appears we’ll be breakfast companions for this meal.”

As soon as Paladin gave the word, platters began to be passed from one end of the table to the other.

“So it seems,” Diamond commented, turning at an odd angle so that she could better see the speaker. She next took the platter Pervinca passed to her, scooping a small heap of scrambled eggs onto her plate and then offered it to Pippin. “Who won?”

“Beg your pardon?” said Pippin, taking the offered plate.

“The draughts game--who won?” asked Diamond, now taking a few strips of bacon.

“Oh…I must confess that Merry was the overall victor,” Pippin chuckled. “There is much on my mind of late--over the Fair.” He hastily added the last part. “Are you looking forward to it?”

“I am,” replied Diamond. “But I believe the dance will prove the most interesting.”

“Why is that?”

“All those lads who asked me for a dance will probably now fear me stepping all over their toes--now that one of my eyes is covered up.”

“They will have nothing to worry about,” Pippin reassured her.

The rest of the meal was quiet while the hobbits ate. At one point, Pervinca turned to ask Diamond a question. Diamond turned to the young mother in order to give Pervinca her undivided attention.

“How is your sister faring these days?” Pervinca asked in a low voice, so as not to attract Pippin’s interest. She remembered the lass with light-brown hair and the memorable night at the party.

Reminded of her dear sister’s abrupt marriage, Diamond thought to put off answering Pervinca. She thought of the letter that sill lay unopened upon her nightstand. Pondering what to say to Mistress Pervinca, Diamond groped with her left hand toward her glass of milk, which was just out of her sight.

Suddenly Pippin gasped, “Oh, no!”

“Diamond!” Pervinca cautioned the lass, pointing behind her.

Diamond turned round in her seat; indeed, she had grabbed her own glass of milk, but in the process she had knocked over Pippin’s. Diamond used her own napkin to wipe at the mess. Without warning, Pippin stood up so as to let the milk in his lap drip to the floor. In doing so, his arm bumped into her bandaged eye.

Now Diamond gasped.

Instantly, Pippin began apologizing profusely to Diamond.

Diamond clutched at her wound then leaned back into her chair. Tears ran down her cheeks as the room went silent, embarrassment settling in. Finally, Pimpernel rose from her chair to aid the weeping tween out of the dining room.

Pippin watched helplessly as his sister escorted the young tween out of the room.

“I’m sorry, Diamond,” said Pim, having confessed her sister Pervinca, Estella, and herself conspiring to sit her with Pippin at breakfast. “I suppose we ought to just mind our own business…but…”

“I understand, Mrs. Brownfield,” said Diamond. She lay on her bed with a towel dipped in ice water upon her left eye. “He’s your brother and you love him. Besides, I knew you and Mistress Pervinca and Mistress Estella were scheming the whole time. When Mistress Estella asked me to fetch her bag yesterday, after I left my room, I realized that it was already with her. She brought it when she gave me Holly to mind.”

Pimpernel smiled at Diamond’s cunning. “So you brought Pervinca’s bag instead. How clever of you!”

“Well, I didn’t want you to know that I figured it out,” answered Diamond.

At that point, Donnabelle appeared inside the adjoining doorway from inside Pimpernel’s apartment wiping her hands with a clean towel. “Let me have another look at your wound, Diamond.” The healer gently took off the cold towel then leaned in for a closer look. “It’s mending nicely, however, due to your recent mishap it is a bit red and swollen. Fortunately, I don’t see bleeding anywhere. You will live,” she added the last with a smile. “It will be tender for a few days, but the healing should proceed as normal. I suggest that you continue the herbal mixture I gave you at the start--just for a couple days to ensure this wee incident doesn’t interrupt the progress.

Diamond made a face at eating the minced garlic. “Mistress Donnabelle, I already smell like an herb garden. No lad will want to stand next to me tomorrow, let alone dance with me, while my breath smells dreadful.”

Donnabelle smiled at the lass. “It’s just to be safe, dear.”

“I’ll wrap up the wound, Donna,” offered Pimpernel.

“Thank you--I do need to see to my young niece, Thistle. She’s had nasty head cold this week.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Pim. “Please give my regards to Laurel.”

As Donnabelle left, Pippin peered through the door. “I wanted to see how you’re getting on,” he said sheepishly to Diamond. “I am terribly sorry about injuring you.”

Pimpernel repeated Donnabelle’s earlier assessment, “Diamond will be sore for a couple days, but she’ll be fine. She’s not altogether happy about having to ingest more of the minced garlic.”

“I will reek of garlic at the dance tomorrow night,” Diamond said with a sigh.

Pippin stood at the foot of the bed observing the displeased lass. “I wish there was something I could do.”

“There is,” said Pim, giving her brother a friendly pat. “You should go to father’s study and tend to Fair business. Ev has already stopped by and asked for you--you’re expected at a meeting this morning.”

“Yes, today will indeed be very busy,” said Pippin, then smiled at Diamond. “I will stop in later to see you.” When he left, Pippin could be heard walking down the hallway whistling a joyful tune.

Pimpernel sat close to Diamond on the bed as she re-wrapped the bandages over the stitches. “Let me know if I’ve got it too tight,” she said. Diamond said nothing.

“Diamond,” Pimpernel began, “tell me the true reason why you’re so troubled. You didn’t complain overly much about eating garlic before now.”

“Simple,” answered Diamond, “the lads won’t dance with me.”

Pim tied off the ends neatly before continuing. “Come now--you so cleverly deduced the conspiracy between my sister, sister-in-law, and I. Now allow me to do the same for you.” Pimpernel went on when she knew she had Diamond’s attention. “Your reason has something to do with Pippin, doesn’t it?” Diamond meekly shrugged her shoulders. Pim asked, “What are you afraid of, Diamond?”

“I’m not afraid,” replied the young maiden. “It’s just…well, if I dance with other lads then Pippin will be compelled to dance with Miss Myrtle and lasses like her. She’s bonny…and…” Diamond looked away, unable to think of any other “nice” adjective for her rival.

“No scars?” prompted Pim. “She doesn't have breath smelling of garlic? Diamond, Myrtle is no better than you are. She’s just like many other lasses in the Shire between your age and hers trying their best to ensnare my brother. The problem lies in that some who think they are worthy of his heart, really are not. And those who are,” said Pim, taking the tween’s chin in her hand, “do not realize it.” She stood up, “I must look in on my lads for a few minutes, but please think about what I’ve said.”

TBC