Chapter Twenty-eight

Sam walked down the dimly lit hallway, on his way to Frodo and Linwe’s room. As he neared the door to their room he heard the sound of merry voices coming from the other side. Sam could not help but smile to himself. He had not quite forgotten the morning last June when he had walked right in, as was his custom at the time, to find Linwe and Frodo together in bed together. He remembered spending most of that day angry first with Frodo then with Linwe. Most of that anger disappeared when Linwe accepted Frodo’s proposal. Their plans to marry quickly had helped Sam as well.

The routines of Bag End had changed little after the addition of a second married couple. Chores were still evenly divided. Only now instead of Linwe and Rosie getting up to start breakfast most mornings, it was Sam and Rosie or Frodo and Linwe. On those mornings that it was his and Rosie’s turn to get the household up, Sam never failed to knock then wait to be invited in if he went in at all. This wasn’t very often, Frodo and Linwe proved to be a very loving couple. Most mornings they were not fit to receive visitors in their room.

Sam had just raised his hand up to lightly rap on the bedroom door when he heard Frodo cry out, "I am going to get you for that!" This was followed by a squeal of laughter from Linwe then the sound of running feet coming near the door. Sam jumped back out of the way just in time for the door to suddenly burst open. A laughing Linwe came flying out. Barely two heartbeats Frodo came running out as well, quickly closing the gap between himself and Linwe. Husband and wife were oblivious to Sam’s presence. In about three strides down the hallway Frodo caught up to Linwe. Reaching out he quickly grabbed her about the waist, sweeping her off of her feet causing Linwe to squeal again. Sam cleared his throat loudly before Frodo and Linwe’s latest antics could go any further. At the sound of Sam’s voice Frodo whirled around his arms still locked firmly about Linwe’s waist holding her so that only the tips of her toes could skim across the tiles of the floor. Linwe’s hair hung like a curtain in front of her face, Sam could just barely make out the gleam of her eyes and the flash of her smile.

"Oh! Good morning Sam." Laughed Frodo.

"Good morning to you as well. I just came to let you know that Rosie has breakfast about ready. Then, Mr. Frodo, you and I really need to get over to the Cotton’s farm to help with the apple picking."

"All right, Sam, we will be along in a few minutes."

Sam walked past them then heard them burst out laughing just before he heard their door shut behind them. Sam shook his head as he continued to make his way back to the kitchen. He was still trying to get used to Frodo and Linwe as a couple. Before their marriage Linwe had been generally quiet and reserved unless she was angry at someone. Even then she did not shout. Frodo had tried to behave more like his old self before the quest but he had not been able to fool Sam. As a couple Frodo and Linwe were entirely different people. Linwe especially seemed to take great delight in spontaneously throwing her arms around Frodo’s neck to kiss him soundly. Frodo, however, was a little more restrained, preferring to unobtrusively slip an arm around her then perhaps place a light kiss on Linwe’s head. Sam supposed there was nothing wrong with all of this. The Frodo before the quest was a more studious sort of Hobbit but had still been able to sing and dance with the best of Hobbits. The post quest Frodo was capable of making the occasional witty remark, but was for the most part reserved. Sam had not known Linwe until they had met the previous November. He had been impressed by her. Linwe had a good share of good Hobbit sense, which Sam attributed to her being of the Longfather line, as well as being intelligent and quick of wits, which Sam was generous enough to admit probably came of her being a Took and Brandybuck. Sam could accept that the Frodo he knew before the quest would have been a light hearted, affectionate husband, but the Frodo that had survived Mordor, Sam had assumed would be quiet and reserved in marriage. As for Linwe, well there was nothing to prepare Sam for the exuberant lass that was Linwe under the effects of true love.

Aside from a few slightly embarrassing moments, Sam truly was happy that Frodo and Linwe were finally together. He loved them both and wanted them to be happy.

~~~~~

The drier days of September had settled over the land. The once vibrant green of the leaves on the trees were now dusty and dull, some leaves were starting to be tinged in crimson and gold. The last warm days of summer gave way to crisp cool nights. Harvest time was in progress all over the shire as the fruits of a bountiful growing season were gathered to be stored in already bulging pantries, cellars, and store rooms.

Frodo stood atop a ladder gathering the last of the years apples. The trees in the Cotton’s apple orchard had produced an astoundingly large crop, so Sam and Frodo were lending a hand in picking them in exchange for a share of the apples. The share that was so large that Linwe and Rosie were wondering what they would do with so many. As Frodo gathered the apples, taking care to place them carefully in his basket so as not to bruise them, he let his mind wander over pleasant memories made just that summer. To him the magic of the summer had started the day he married Linwe. Sometimes he still expected to wake up to find that it had all been a dream. But oh what a dream it has been, if in fact that is all it is. He thought to himself.

The three days at the woodcutters cottage had been some of the happiest of his life. Linwe had not been able to get enough of the little spring fed pool in that green glade. Hobbits in general had a fondness for bathing, but Frodo found bathing with Linwe to be a most pleasant way of getting clean. One of the first things he did when they had returned to Bag End was to have a larger tub put in the bathroom adjoining the room that what was now his and Linwe’s. At Linwe’s suggestion he had one put in Sam and Rosie’s bathroom. Sam protested this at first, but once the task was done, Rosie told Linwe that Sam was pleased with the larger tub himself.

Life had become a little hectic when he and Linwe returned to Brandy Hall after their honeymoon. Their sudden, secret wedding had created a stir to say the least. Rumors were flying all over the Shire as to the reasoning behind it, most of those were brought to an end by Linwe’s figure staying slender. Folk from all over started to send invitations asking Frodo and Linwe to attend one sort of social event or another to be held in their honor. There were a few that Frodo and Linwe were happy to attend, such as a family dinner at the Cotton farm, but most were declined. Pippin’s mother, Eglantine, took matters into her own hands at that point, by insisting that a proper wedding reception be held at Great Smials. "Eglantine, we don’t want a large party, that was the point to our slipping off to be married when no one was looking." Protested Frodo when he and Linwe had been told of the plan.

"Frodo Baggins, you can not possibly expect everyone to go on as though nothing has happened. Folk will continue to send invitations, urging parties on you that you do not want, well into next summer even. The easiest way to make that stop is to have a grand party for you to give folk a chance to make a proper fuss over you. Then they will leave you alone." Eglantine said all of this standing in the middle of Esmeralda’s cheery sitting room having made a special trip from Great Smials to Brandy Hall so that she could be there when Frodo and Linwe returned from the cottage. Eglantine stood in the middle of the room looking down on Frodo and Linwe who were sitting side by side on a settee. For Frodo the scene was not unlike so many he had lived through in childhood when he had been caught pulling pranks or stealing from local farmers.

Frodo and Linwe gave in to going through the fuss of a "proper" wedding reception. Pearl Took, Pippin’s oldest sister was given the task of planning the event. Pearl had a flair for drama. She used her talent to it’s full extent in planning this particular celebration. Not surprisingly she found most willing helpers, or rather conspirators, in Merry and Pippin. Frodo winced through most of the planning but he could not remain silent when Pearl informed him that he would once again be expected to don the ceremonial attire he had been given in Gondor. "I will go through with this reception but I will do it in my usual clothes. I have a lovely waistcoat Linwe herself made for me, I will wear that." Frodo said firmly.

Pearl paused to take a deep breath, then in a calm but equally firm voice said, "No Frodo you will wear your finest. In fact you will do as I say in all of this. I know what needs to be done. All you have to do is what I tell you to do. It is for the best."

"I fail to see how it is for the best." Argued Frodo.

"Frodo, you have to trust me on this, I know what I am doing."

Frodo sighed, "I am thinking Linwe and I would have been better off just quietly leaving the Shire entirely. Perhaps it isn’t too late for that."

In the end, Frodo and Linwe went through with all of the pomp and ceremony that Pearl with her conspirators could think up. It was especially hard on Linwe, who was not comfortable in large gatherings let alone being the center of attention. One day Frodo over heard Rosie and Linwe discussing this.

"Linwe, I don’t see why you are so nervous about this. It isn’t any different than what you experienced at my wedding. You had a wonderful time that day." Said Rosie

"Your wedding was completely different. I was nervous that day as well but not as much so because I knew you were the center of everyone’s attention not me." Replied Linwe.

"You danced with practically every lad there that night. Believe me, you were getting a lot of attention that night."

"A few of the lads were being nice to me, that is all. They were dancing with me because Merry and Pippin asked them to." Retorted Linwe.

"No dear," Rosie said with a chuckle, "they were not just dancing with you because Merry and Pippin asked them to, they were dancing with you because they wanted to."

Customarily the guests of honor at any Hobbit party stood with the host to receive the other guests. Pearl did not feel this was grand enough, so she decided that Frodo and Linwe would not arrive at the event until nearly all of the guests had arrived. It was debated as to whether they should ride up on a silvery pony, or come out of the Smials through the main entrance. "There will be no such entrance." Said Frodo emphatically. "I will wear those ridiculously extravagant clothes but we will make no ‘grand entrance’ as you put it. Linwe and I will greet the guests as is customary, no more."

Pearl sighed theatrically "Frodo you have to do this. The idea is to give everyone such a show that they will barely notice when you refuse every invitation to every last little tea and dinner party that has been coming since word of your marriage got out. Besides, you are the Deputy Mayor of the Shire, and the leader of the Four Travelers…"

"I was not the leader!" protested Frodo

Pearl ignored him going on as though Frodo had not spoken "… who miraculously returned a year after their mysterious disappearance to heroically the revolt against the roughians. The folk of the Shire know very little of what you did on your journeys. Everyone knows what you did for the Shire and for that they want very much to be a part of the marriage of the leader of their conquering heroes. Add to that Linwe has made quite a reputation for herself around Hobbiton and Bywater as a healer…"

"I’m not a true healer. I have never done a formal apprenticeship."

"… so in the view of Shire folk this is a very important wedding and you are going to play your parts as though you were royalty."

Frodo could only sigh in resignation. There was no use arguing with Pearl when she set her mind to something. In the end Frodo and Linwe suffered through the embarrassing spectacle that was planned by those that loved them best.

The main entrance to Great Smials was midway up in a large hill that overlooked a broad lawn that was the traditional location of large Took family gatherings. Gently rising steps led from the door of the smials down to a gravel drive that crossed in front of the entrance. On the day of the party, Pearl waited until she was sure most of the guests had arrived then signaled Merry who came out through the door, resplendent in his livery of Rohan. He stood at the top of the steps, lifted his horn of Rohan to his lips then let out three short blasts. All of the guests turned at the sound of the horn to look towards Merry. The doors of Great Smials opened once more revealing Sam and Pippin, each of them dressed in their own finery, who took places on either side of the doors. Merry let loose with one last long blast of his horn, as the ringing tones of the horn call died away, Sam and Pippin pulled open the doors, revealing Rosie who was looking radiant in the gown she had worn for her own wedding. Rosie stepped out with a small basket on her arm and walked forward down the steps scattering rose petals in her wake. When she reached the bottom of the steps she and Merry took places on opposite sides of the steps. Merry let loose with one last long call on his horn. Sam and Pippin opened the doors once more. Frodo and Linwe stepped from the shadows of the hall into a beam of sunlight that set Linwe’s gown and hair ablaze.

The scene and the day was carried off better than Pearl had hoped for. The guests were all awestruck by the impressive entrance of the happy couple. Frodo and Linwe then joined the party to do their very best to make sure they talked to every guest. Despite their embarrassment over Pearl’s theatrics they decided it was all worth while. After that day Frodo and Linwe were left mostly alone.

~~~~~

The market day was one of Rosie’s favorite days of the week. She enjoyed doing the shopping in the company of friends and neighbors that she would likely not see again the rest of the week when everyone tended to be busy around their own homes. Today Rosie stood chatting with Camellia Brockhouse while she watched Linwe standing a short distance away admiring Peony Brumbleburr’s new baby. When Camellia was called away by the cries of her youngest child Rosie continued watching Linwe fuss over little Ruby. Rosie chuckled to herself remembering Linwe and Frodo had come home from their honeymoon with plans to have about thirty-three babies, since then the number had risen as they tried to come up with an equal number of boys names and girls names, each child to be named after someone special.

Rosie had known Frodo for years. He had always been a happy person. he was kind, rarely showing anger for anyone or anything. It had broken Rosie’s heart, when the lads had returned home, to see the cheerful light in Frodo’s eyes dimmed. As Sam slowly told Rosie what he and Frodo had been through on their journeys, Rosie came to be amazed that either of them had come back with any glimmer of their former selves intact. But it would now seem that salvation was still possible for even one so badly hurt as Frodo. All he had needed was Linwe.

~~~~~

Linwe was admiring Peony’s new baby and wondering to herself when she and Frodo might be so blessed. Then she smiled to herself as she recalled that a short time ago, having children was the furthest thing from her mind. For possibly the first time in her life Linwe felt she was really living. She could hardly remember a time when she did not feel that part of her was missing. With Frodo she felt complete.