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Chapter 6 - Drawing Letters

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Bit of shade here... a line there...

For reasons beyond her comprehension, Diamond couldn’t help but giggle slightly as she sat there next to Pippin, eyeing him closely, tracing her pencil carefully in the book that sat in her lap.  Pippin opened his eyes and cocked a brow, looking up at Diamond from where he lay on the grass.

“What are you laughing about?” he inquired suspiciously, but with a smile fighting its way onto his lips.

“Nothing,” replied Diamond innocently, continuing with her drawing.

Pippin glanced at the book resting in her lap.  “Oh, I see.  Now Diamond, I was under the impression that when you brought that book out here, you wouldn’t be using it to draw me.”

Diamond hesitated for a moment, a small knot of tension twisting in her stomach.  She hadn’t though he would be upset about it...

When Pippin saw the anxious look she wore, he allowed the smile to break onto his face.  The knot in Diamond’s stomach slowly dissipated as she let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“Diamond, you really must learn to recognize when someone is teasing you,” said Pippin as he sat up.  He leaned forward in an attempt to see the image on the paper, but Diamond, as a reflex, immediately pulled the book to her chest.  Pippin raised his eyebrows.

“Oh, I’m sorry, it’s just that I don’t like for people to see my work,” she explained, her face reddening.

“Not even your models?” Pippin exclaimed, looking aghast.  Diamond shook her head sheepishly.  “That simply isn’t fair.”

Diamond fidgeted.  “Well, they aren’t very good...”

“Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?” Pippin asked, giving her a rather enticing grin.

“I don’t know...”

“Please?  I shall never leave you in peace if you do not.”

The smile that Pippin was giving her was too much for Diamond to refuse.  She handed him the book, then hugged her knees to her chest, keeping her gaze fixed on her toes.

“Thank you,” said Pippin with immense satisfaction, opening the book.  Every time Diamond heard him turn a page, her cheeks grew a bit redder, until she felt that her face must have been on fire.

“Well,” said Pippin finally.  “If you don’t consider these good, then I would love to see what you do think is good.”  When she still would not meet his gaze, he reached out and gently tilted her chin up.  “You shouldn’t underestimate yourself so much, Diamond.”

She held his gentle gaze for a long, breathless moment, her heart fluttering inexplicably.  Forcing herself out of her slight reverie, she said diffidently, “So you actually liked them?  My sketches?”

“Of course!  I’m no expert, obviously, but even I can see that you’ve got some talent.”  Pippin grinned at her, sending her heart into that same exhilarated flurry as before.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling, putting as much affection into those two words as her voice could contain.  “These past few days have been so wonderful,” she continued softly.  “I don’t know what I shall do when you have to leave...”

“Don’t look so glum, Diamond,” Pippin said cheerily, hoping to bring back that smile that he had grown so fond of.  “When I return to Crickhollow, I shall write to you every day ‘til I can come here and see you again.”

But this did not produce Pippin’s desired effect.  Diamond looked down at her hands and said, “That wouldn’t work out well.  I... I can’t read.”

Pippin raised his eyebrows.  How could a daughter of such a prominent family not have been taught her letters?

“Why not?” he asked.  “Didn’t your family hire a teacher for you and your siblings?”

“For my older siblings, yes,” she answered.  “But at the time, I was a bit too young for that sort of thing.”

“And later on?”

Diamond sighed deeply.  “And later on was when our family started having financial troubles; Father decided that spending money on teaching me to read wasn’t a wise idea.”

Pippin thought about this for a moment; he hadn’t known that the North-tooks had ever had any sort of financial problems.  When he voiced this thought to Diamond, she shrugged.

“Dad and Mum have hidden it well, but we all know what’s going on.  And I think that’s why Dad is so eager to have some of his daughters and nieces married off as soon as possible...”

“Perhaps I’ve been misinformed,” Pippin said, his brows furrowed.  “But I was under the impression that a lass’s parents were suppose to provide a dowry when she gets married.”

“Oh no, you’re right about that,” Diamond replied with a small smile.  “But Dad is hoping that the girls in our family will be so irresistible that lads will convince their families to go against that sort of tradition.”  She wrinkled her nose slightly.

Pippin smiled suddenly.  “You look positively adorable when you do that.”

Diamond’s eyes widened.  “When I do what?”

“Wrinkle your nose like that.”

“Like this?”  She repeated the action, causing Pippin to burst into laughter.  Diamond attempted to scowl, but found herself grinning instead.  “What are you laughing at?”

Pippin could only shake his head in response.  Diamond plucked up a flower and threw it as his face, hitting him in the nose; but instead of ending his laughter, the action only served to heighten his mirth, and he lay back on the grass, practically in hysterics.

“Stop laughing at me, Peregrin Took!”  But by now Diamond was also laughing, and her words held little anger.

Wiping tears from his eyes, Pippin sat up.  “I wasn’t laughing at you, I was just laughing at...”  He chuckled.  “I was laughing at how adorable you are.”

“I didn’t think that sort of thing would be something to laugh at,” she said as defensively as she could manage.

“I suppose not,” he replied, eyes and voice full of mirth.  “It was just one of those moments where you were more adorable than beautiful.  See, right now you’ve gone back to being beautiful.  But I enjoy both.”

Blushing, Diamond lowered her head, hoping to hide her smile.

“Now then,” said Pippin, assuming an almost business-like manner.  “About this reading issue - there’s no reason for a smart lass like yourself to not know her letters.  And though I may not be the best choice for a tutor, I’m sure I could teach you a thing or two about reading.”

Diamond’s eyes lit up.  “Really?” she breathed.  “You wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course not!  It’s a rather good excuse to spend time with you, is it not?” Pippin responded with a grin.

“But do you think it will be too hard for me to learn?” she asked nervously.

“I don’t believe so.  After all, you’re so good at drawing, and when you think about it, writing is only drawing letters.”

Diamond returned his grin, but she became serious for a moment.  “Thank you, Pippin,” she said softly.  “For everything.”

Pippin looked into her eyes with a gentle gaze.  “Think nothing of it.”

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