Chapter 12, Nothing Like Family

The sorting of certificates of births, marriages, and deaths went on steadily into the afternoon. Paladin left the lads to their onerous task in order to conduct one of his own. He had an appointment in the Took and Thain’s office with Liodrin, Maynard, and Reginard Took. Only Liodrin was still in his tweens, however, the other two who were of Age were yet bachelors.

In the end, Maynard drew the short straw. Both Reggie and Lio offered to take Maynard’s place, but Paladin would not relent. He reasoned that fair is fair, and that Maynard was actually the more practical choice. Lio would have been Paladin’s second choice, as his father and brothers were glassmakers by trade and recently opened a shop in Tuckborough. Lio could be spared from his father’s shop for the short period required without hurting the family business. On the other hand, Reggie and his father were professional Scribes with Everard apprenticing, and were commissioned with writing out Yule party invitations and Yule greetings for many folk round the area. Maynard was not happy with his plight and said as much to Paladin.

“This is ridiculous!” Maynard fumed at who he considered to be conspirators. “This is a job for servants.”

“The draw was conducted fairly, Maynard,” replied Paladin. “And this is not a job for servants--they have their own families to take care of. Ridiculous as you may think this seems, there is someone in this family who requires constant care, and members of this family will see to him getting it. There might be a brief period of time when we may have to hire a caregiver from without, but as long as we have strong, young bachelors at hand we will take care of our own.”

And this was only the beginning of let downs that Paladin felt weighing upon his shoulders. Today was the day the first of Ferumbras’ party guests were to arrive at Great Smials. None had shown up yet although it was still early in the day. Ferumbras would either “ask” about them, or Paladin would have to give the ill Thain the despairing news. It was with this cloud of gloom hanging over his head that Paladin entered Ferumbras’ bedchamber.

“Good afternoon, Cousin,” Paladin greeted the Thain. Ferumbras lay underneath his blankets staring at the wall. Paladin sat down in the bedside chair and spoke on. “Mistress Besom has told me to keep this meeting brief--and I will. However, I do have a good report as for your new attendant.” Paladin waited for the Thain to turn his face toward him, but he didn’t. Ferumbras kept his eyes fixed upon the wall.

“Maynard has been chosen to be the first caregiver,” said Paladin, “and I have reason to believe Liodrin will succeed him after six months.”

Still no reaction from Ferumbras. Mistress Besom mentioned that the Thain wasn’t quite himself. More like, depressed, was the word that came to Paladin’s mind.

“I discovered a small wooden box underneath your desk,” Paladin commented. This seemed to get a reaction, for Ferumbras now turned his head toward his younger cousin.

“You know of this?” asked Paladin.

Ferumbras gawped at his cousin, but made no attempt to speak. Paladin came to the conclusion that the Ferumbras felt too embarrassed to utter any sound.

“It was full of marriage documents, birth certificates and the like. All belonging to Uncle Isembold’s family. I know that you know what happened to him and under what condition he left Great Smials long ago. I don’t know what instructions you were given with regard to the box and its contents, but I intend to go through it and learn who our long-lost cousins are. I also intend to make amends--to reconcile our families. As Acting Took, I left my son, Pippin, who is heir to the same title, in charge of reconstructing Isembold’s family tree by using the documents available and then writing the names in our uncle’s own family yearbook. Pippin has the assistance of his dearest friends who also have Took blood running through their veins.

As an afterthought Paladin added, “I need to find out who the chief of their branch of the family is so that I can discuss any future entries into Old Yellowskin--and to invite them back into the family fold and return to Great Smials.”

Ferumbras’ eyes widened, although Paladin couldn’t tell if it was over excitement or shock. He considered it more the latter.

“My mind is made up on the matter, Ferumbras.”

Now he came to the issue he dreaded. “Before I take my leave, I should tell you that your party guests have not yet arrived. As soon as they do, both Tina and I will ensure they are shown to your room to greet you.”

Suddenly, an idea came to Paladin. He went over to Ferumbras’ desk and used the quill and ink jar to write out two words: Yes and No. Miss Besom did mention that he could slowly move his left arm.

He showed the paper to Ferumbras and explained the idea. “Are you still intent on having a Yule party?”

Ferumbras lifted his left arm and pointed to “No”.

Delighted that his invention worked, Paladin went forward. “Do you wish the company of your guests as they arrive?”

This time Ferumbras pointed to “Yes”.

Paladin kept his facial expression in check; he only hoped that his cousin’s snobbish companions would have enough heart to visit their ill friend. For the first time in ages Paladin actually felt pity for his cousin.

* * *

“Come here, Merry,” Pippin yelled across the room to his dearest friend.

“I was just there!” Merry answered.

“Well, come here, again!” said Pippin absently, shuffling a few papers in his hand.

“You’ll just have to be patient,” Merry snapped.

“Merry! I need you here now!”

“Pippin, Merry is looking for the information you asked him for just two minutes ago,” said Frodo jumping to the young Brandybuck’s defence. “What do you want him for now?”

“I wish to tell him something,” Pippin answered his elder cousin a bit arrogantly.

Frodo put down the handful of papers he held. He casually approached the bossy little Took with Fredegar and Merry following in support. Degger knew the lads were about to recompense Pippin for his affront so he remained sitting where he was to stay out of trouble.

Hands in his pockets, Frodo said with a wry grin, “I wonder if Cousin Paladin knows what kind of diminutive tyrant he left in charge.”

“Wait! Iiieeee!!” Poor Pippin never had a chance. The three older lads pinned the teen-ager down upon said pillows to mercilessly tickle him. In the midst of this laughing and tickling Paladin entered the study.

“What is going on?” he asked.

“Help me, Papa!” pleaded Pippin, then promptly pinched Merry’s leg.

Frodo stopped tickling the lad to explain things to his older cousin.

“Pippin,” Paladin sighed, “I think you got a bit carried away.”

Pippin glared at the snickering lads. “I thought you wanted me to run things,” he said while straightening out the wrinkles in his dressing gown.

Paladin smiled a little; at least his thirteen year old was taking his duties seriously. Maybe a little too seriously, but seriously nonetheless. “I did want you to take responsibility for the general process, but if you listened to what else I was saying, you would have gleaned that I wanted you all to work together. A good leader listens to what his friends are telling him--doesn’t mean you must comply, but at least listen. That is a lesson I recently learned the hard way and I am passing it on to you as your first lesson in being Took and Thain.”

“Well said, cousin,” said Frodo.

“Now what did you have to say to Merry?” Paladin asked his son.

“That I thought I found Griggory’s marriage certificate, but it turned out to be Diggory’s--we put his back in its proper pile of papers so that it wouldn’t get lost.”

Baffled, Paladin asked further, “Who is Griggory?”

“As far as we know, Isembold had eleven children, only two of them sons,” said Pippin, “Griggory was the oldest and Diggory the youngest.”

“Ye won’t find Mr. Griggory’s marriage certificate,” said a voice from the back of the room. “Just b’fore Mr. Paladin came in, I found this,” Degger walked over to the group holding out a slip of paper. “Mr. Griggory died when he was but sixteen.”

The group of lads went silent.

“Sixteen?” Paladin asked quietly. “I wonder how that happened.”

“So that leaves Diggory as Isembold’s only heir,” said Merry.

“The more I read these small testaments, the more I want to discover about our lost uncle and his family,” said Frodo.

“As do I,” said Paladin, as sentiments of the same echoed throughout the group. “Well,” he continued, “with the Yuletide approaching, all we can do for now is put this fractured bit of family back together again and then write it all down as we get the time. I will think of a plan for after Yule, but I can think of no other alternative than to drive to Little Delving myself to learn of our cousins’ whereabouts and who their chief member is.”

“Little Delving must be full of Tooks,” said Merry.

Paladin answered, “Yes, but full or no, I feel it is my duty to find them.”

“Will we go in Afteryule?” asked Pippin, a wee bit excited to go travelling round the Shire.

“We’ll have to wait and see, Pip,” his father replied, “We still have a lot to do yet with these documents and then a lot more planning thereafter.”

“Don’t worry, Pippin,” said Merry, “I’ll help you with all of this while you’re still recuperating, but as soon as you’re able to get up and run about, we’re going to have a jolly time because I don’t know when my next visit will be.”

“I’ll help, too, Mr. Pippin,” said Degger. “Doin’ this kind o’ makes me want t’ learn ’bout my Greenhill family.”

“You don’t know anything about your family, Degger?” asked Fredegar.

Degger shook his head sadly then explained. “Only that my dad was an only child, an’ he had no family to speak of nearby.” The lad next spoke as if something else suddenly occurred to him. “I do have one mem’ry of a lady...she wasn’t my mum, and smiled a lot, but that’s all. I don’t know if she was kin t’ my mum or my dad.”

Fredegar was genuinely surprised that Degger had so little knowledge of his family’s background in spite of the fact that the lad was an orphan. Freddie thought that all children asked about their heritage at one time or another. “Nothing about your mum, either?” he asked. Again, Degger shook his head.

If Paladin wasn’t watching the lad closely, he might have missed the tears that glistened in the teen’s eyes.

“Lads, I think it’s time for Pippin to go rest a bit in his bed,” said Paladin to Merry and Freddie. “Would you be so kind as to help him there? I wish to speak to Frodo and Degger alone for a moment.”

Pippin wanted to argue the point--after all, didn’t they all just agree that there was much to do yet? Then again, Pippin sensed something more was going on inside his father’s head and decided against it. Without a word Pippin rose from his seat on the couch, took his leave by kissing his father’s cheek then walked out with his friends by his side.

Paladin and Frodo shared a meaningful glance and then Paladin quietly left the room.

Degger sat dolefully upon the couch where Pippin had sat. He looked up when he heard the door shut a second time; he and Frodo were alone in the study.

“Freddie wasn’t trying to be mean when he asked you about knowing your parents, Degger,” said Frodo, starting the conversation. “He’s young yet and takes it for granted that all children are raised by their parents. We both know that isn’t necessarily so.”

Degger looked into the depths of those blue eyes and for the first time saw much of the same heartache and pain as he himself felt on many occasion. “I miss’em so much it hurts,” Degger whispered, his voice filled with emotion. “An’ I miss my brother.” Fighting the tears, he wiped away one that ran down his cheek.

Frodo handed the lad his pocket handkerchief and said tenderly, “It’s all right to cry, Degger.” He put his arm round the slight shoulders of the teen-ager to hearten him. “Every once in a great while I still cry when I feel the pain of losing my parents. I’ll always miss my mother and father, as I am sure you will always miss yours. You were quite young when your parents passed away, were you not?”

Degger nodded then sniffled, “Did Mr. Paladin take ye in, too?”

Frodo smiled. “No, not in this instance. I lived at Brandy Hall in Buckland at the time; Cousin Paladin lived all the way over here in the Westfarthing in Whitwell. There was a Baggins cousin who lived Hobbiton--whom I affectionately refer to as my Uncle Bilbo. It was he who took me in after I lived with my Uncle Rory for a bit.”

“Did ye ever get lonely?”

“Many times,” answered Frodo. “Even though I had plenty of aunts, uncles, and cousins about to keep me company, I was very lonely. However, there was one little cousin who had captured my heart the day he was born and I love him dearly to his day. But I felt there were too many reminders of my former life at Brandy Hall for me to stay there. And so I went to live with Uncle Bilbo in Hobbiton.”

“Who was the little cousin that captured yer heart?”

Frodo smiled a sincere smile. “Why, Merry, of course! Pippin wouldn’t be born for another year or so.”

“I like Mr. Merry, too,” said Degger. “He tutored me all summer so I’d graduate with my study group. An’ it was b’cause o’ him that Mr. Paladin found me in that dark alley starvin’ an all. I almost didn’t go with him.”

It didn’t escape Frodo how swiftly Degger took the conversation away from his parents and into a different direction. “Weren’t you frightened?”

Degger frowned, “I s’ppose so, but I was more scared o’ leaving than o’ stayin’.”

Frodo mused on his young friend’s remark. “Really? What made you decide to finally leave?”

Degger shrugged. “I don’t know.”