Just to be With You
13:
The Great Year of Plenty
Pippin
groaned loudly. His head was throbbing, and it felt as though something had
died a rather torturous death in his mouth. “I’ll never drink ale again!”
It
took him a moment to realise where he was and how he had come to be there.
Pippin was resting, quite uncomfortably, on one of the lounges in Crickhollow’s
sitting room. One head was rested on his thigh, and another on his shoulder.
From the red curls, he guessed that the head on his lap was Celandine’s, but he
could not see who had fallen to sleep on his shoulder.
This
was a common way for Pippin to wake up after one of the infamous parties that
he and Merry held at Crickhollow. The night before had probably been the
biggest yet. It had been to celebrate the recent marriage of Samwise Gamgee and
Rose Cotton. The fact that neither Sam, nor Rosie (nor Frodo, for that matter)
had been able to attend, hardly mattered to the cousins. Most of the young
adult and tween hobbits in Buckland had been invited, along with half of
Tookland and a large portion of the West Farthing. Pervinca Took and Everard
Took would also be marrying soon, and the party was just as much for them as it
was for the absent Sam and Rose.
Pippin
gently pushed Celandine and the, as yet, unrecognised lass from their resting
places, so he could stand. As he did, he saw that the other was Diamond,
Estella’s closest friend. He should have guessed that. Diamond was the only
lass tall enough to rest her head on Pippin’s shoulder.
He
made his way to the kitchen. He was in dire need of coffee and some form of
greasy breakfast food. Bacon and eggs sounded especially appealing.
“Could
you make enough for two?” Diamond’s voice asked. Pippin looked up to see her
standing in the kitchen doorway, rubbing her eyes and looking as awful as he
felt.
“Of
course, and good morning.” He grinned. “I certainly hope I did not wake you
from your beauty sleep.”
She
scowled at him, but a smile played on her lips as she did. “Actually, yes you
did. But it could hardly have been avoided. I should learn not to fall asleep
on lad’s shoulders!”
“Most
lads would be able to rest on your shoulder, wouldn’t they?”
Diamond
frowned. She hated it when Peregrin did that. He knew that she was highly
self-conscious about her “abnormal” height. He was really the only one who
teased her about it, and it was not as if he could talk. Pippin was a good head
taller than her. He seemed to realise his mistake, and muttered an apology.
“I
certainly hope Estella did not sleep in Merry’s room,” Pippin mused.
“It’s
possible she did,” said Diamond. “I did not see her in the sitting room.”
“Perhaps
she slept in my room. I know I did not use it.”
“No,
I am quite certain that’s where your sister and Master Everard stayed.”
Pippin
frowned. Pervinca and Everard would not be married for another two weeks. They
should not have been sleeping in the same room!
Diamond
was openly amused at Pippin’s reaction. “Peregrin, correct me if I am wrong,
but are you not Pervinca’s younger brother? Besides, I had heard the
tales of Peregrin Took and his ‘conquests’. I do not think you can say too much
against Pervinca and Everard.”
As much
as Pippin hated to admit it, Diamond had made a very good point. He huffed:
“Well, I hope they didn’t get up to anything that should wait until their
wedding night. I may have fooled around, but I was never caught with a lass in
my room.” He smirked. “I always made sure she left before anyone noticed.”
Diamond
laughed. “I have heard, too, that you were nearly caught out in the library of
Brandy Hall with a certain lass.”
Pippin
blushed furiously. “Who told you that?”
“Stella,
of course. She and Merry almost walked in on you and Celandine.”
Pippin
quickly turned his attention back to the breakfast he was cooking. It was soon
ready, and he and Diamond gratefully gorged themselves.
“Oh,
this is exactly what I needed,” Diamond moaned, taking a second helping of
bacon.
“The
prefect cure for ale poisoning,” laughed Pippin, forgetting his embarrassment
at her earlier comments.
The
breakfast was very quickly devoured by the two of them. Sipping on her forth very
strong coffee, Diamond asked: “So, when do you suppose Stella and Merry will
wed?”
Peregrin
shrugged. “Fatty’s still recovering, and Estella’s still looking after him. And
if I were one to gamble, I’d bet on Fredegar and Mel being the next married couple.”
Diamond
nodded. “Seems to me that all I do now is go to weddings. After Pervinca and
Everard, the youngest of my elder brothers is having his.” She sighed. “Think
you’ll want to settle down soon?”
Pippin
snorted. “I haven’t even come of age yet!”
“I
suppose it would be a good idea to do that first,” Diamond giggled.
“But
my mother seems to want me to marry sooner.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Pippin nodded toward the sitting room. “My whole family is sure that I’ll marry
Celandine someday. If she were to marry me, it would make up for all those Took
lasses marrying Brandybucks.”
“Do
you think that you will? Marry Celandine, I mean. You seem very close.”
“Let
us just say that I have a love-hate relationship with her. Certainly not a good
basis for marriage.” Pippin screwed up his nose. “All this talk of marriage is
making me feel closed in.”
“I
agree completely, Master Took. No need to think about one’s own wedding until
the time has come.”
A
groan from the doorway indicated that Merry was awake. He stumbled into the
kitchen. “Pip, do me a favour and kill me.”
“After
all the trouble Strider went to in order to bring you back? He’d have my head!”
Pippin laughed. “Not feeling too well, my dear cousin?”
Merry
scowled. “No, I’m not. And it’s making me feel worse seeing you so cheerful.
You should be feeling worse!”
“Must
be my Took tolerance.”
“Or
that delightful breakfast we just ate,” Diamond dobbed him in. “Where’s
Stella?”
“Still
asleep.” Merry saw the amused look from Diamond and the stern glare from
Pippin, and quickly added. “I let her sleep in my bed, and I slept in the
chair!”
Pippin
looked at him sceptically. “That had better be true, Meriadoc.”
“Oh,
you’re one to talk, Master Peregrin!”
“I
already brought that point up, Merry,” laughed Diamond, stepping in before the
argument became serious. “Pippin, let us hope that Pervinca and Everard adopted
the same sleeping arrangement.”
Merry
rested his head on the kitchen table. “Pippin, you know that you are my
favourite cousin, and…”
“No,
Merry,” Pippin interrupted. “Make your own breakfast. And don’t try to use my
methods of persuasion against me. I’ll have you know, I invented the blatant
flattery method.”
“I’ll
make it,” a tired voice offered. Estella entered the kitchen somewhat more
gracefully than the three before her. She kissed Merry lightly on the forehead.
“Don’t
trouble yourself, Stella,” he said.
“It’s
no trouble, Merry. After all, one day I may be running this house.” She winked
at Diamond. “So there had better no complaints.”
* *
* * * *
Pervinca
and Everard’s wedding was held at the Great Smials a fortnight later. Though
Hobbiton had become a very popular venue for weddings (due to the beautiful mallorn
tree), it was generally agreed that a marriage between two Tooks was best held
at the ancient dwelling of the family.
Pippin
snorted at that. “It doesn’t matter who I marry, I’m holding my
wedding in the Party Field. And if anyone complains, I’ll get married in Gondor
instead!”
Frodo,
Sam and Rosie came for the wedding. Rose and Pervinca had been close friends
for many years, and she would not have missed the wedding for anything. Frodo
and Sam wore ordinary fine clothes, though it pleased Merry to see that Sam’s
waistcoat had brass buttons, and there was a silk handkerchief in his breast
pocket. Merry and Pippin wore the livery of Rohan and Minas Tirith,
respectively, as they usually did at special occasions. This occasion was
particularly special for Peregrin, as he was to stand witness for Pervinca.
Everard had chosen his sister, Yolanda, as his witness, and the two of them
made an amusing pair when the time came for them to dance. Yolanda had always
been on the shorter side, and she barely made it up to Pippin’s waist.
Estella
watched the wedding with tears in her eyes. She did not remember being so
emotional at Sam and Rose’s wedding, but then she realised that Pervinca had
helped her to express her feelings about Merry. Seeing Pervinca marry Everard was
almost like watching herself and Merry.
Almost,
but not quite.
She glanced at Merry, and saw him smiling proudly. She wondered how he was
feeling, and whether he would be ready for their own wedding. But then she
looked over to where Fredegar was sitting with Melilot. To Estella, he still
seemed painfully thin. No, I can’t marry Merry just yet.
It
seemed that Pippin had been quite right in his guess at Crickhollow. When
Pervinca threw her posy (it was made up of pervincas, eglantines, pimpernels,
roses and a blossom from the mallorn), as was tradition at hobbit
weddings, Melilot Brandybuck caught it. She smiled warmly at Fredegar, and he
grinned back.
Estella
smiled to herself, and wondered if Fredegar didn’t really need her after all.
* *
* * * *
A/N:
I’m dedicating this chapter to Pippinfan. Without her story, “The Bright Side
of Things”, I would have completely forgotten about the parties Merry and
Pippin’s “wonderful parties” at Crickhollow. Oh, and I used the word ‘posy’
instead of ‘bouquet’, because bouquet is a French word, and to be honest, I
can’t imagine the hobbits speaking French!