Just to be With You
7:
Missing
Peregrin
soon grew bored of dancing, and in fact, of Myrtle’s company. He was beginning
to think that he had made a wrong decision in choosing her over Celandine. He
excused himself from his dance partner and joined Frodo, who had not been
dancing.
“Not
dancing tonight, cousin?” Pippin asked. “I can remember a time when you ruled
the dance floor. No one could dance as well as Frodo Baggins!”
Frodo
smiled. “You were ten at the time, Pippin, and I assure you, there were many
that could dance better. My excuse for this evening, though, is that all of the
good partners were already spoken for. I had meant to ask Estella for a dance –
to make her feel more welcome – but she seems to have disappeared.”
“So
she has! And Meriadoc with her.” Pippin grinned. “Now I wonder where they’ve
gotten to.”
“We
should not make any assumptions, Peregrin. Merry can control himself far more
than you.”
“Well,
I suppose you are right there. But Stella did look especially lovely in Pearl’s
dress. I was even considering turning on the Took charm…”
“Stop
right there, Peregrin Took. You know as well as I that this is the first time
Merry has taken a real interest in a lass. I certainly will not allow you to
steal her from him!”
“You
are no fun at all, cousin Frodo.” Pippin helped himself to an ale. “We shall
have to interrogate him in the morning, and find out everything that happened.”
Against
his better judgement, Frodo rather liked Pippin’s idea. He decided that it must
have been his Tookish curiosity getting the better of him.
“I
wonder if anyone has noticed Meriadoc’s absence,” he said.
Several
guests had in fact noticed. Pervinca and Pimpernel had seen the pair leave, and
had exchanged whispered comments about it. Odo and Rosa had left the party
earlier and returned to Crickhollow, but Fredegar had noticed that his sister
was nowhere to be found. He had not yet realised that Merry was missing with
her.
Paladin
Took wandered over to his sister. “Well, Esmie, have you noticed that Meriadoc
has disappeared with Miss Bolger?”
Esmeralda
sent her brother a mock-scowl. “This is my son we are talking about,
brother, not yours.”
“I don’t
know what you’re talking about,” the Thain insisted, but he was smirking.
“My
Meriadoc is a well-behaved, young gentle-hobbit. A pity that’s the one thing he
never managed to pass onto Peregrin.”
Paladin
laughed. “I am defeated. There is no way I can argue with my dearest sister.
But Esmeralda, I’m sure you cannot deny that you have wedding plans in mind.”
She
laughed with him. “No, I cannot deny it. To be honest, Paladin, I worried that
perhaps Merry would never settle down. He does spend a lot of time with Frodo,
and did with Bilbo also, before he left.”
“You
and Saradoc worried that he would never have an heir? No one to succeed him as
Master of Buckland.”
“Well,
yes, but not only that.” Esmeralda smiled. “I can remember how happy and proud
you and Eglantine were on Pearl’s wedding day, and when little Peridot was
born. I want to feel that way someday.”
“And
I am sure you shall.”
* *
* * * *
“Merry?”
Estella whispered. Though she did not really wish to wake him, she could see no
other way for her to escape. “Merry, wake up please.”
The
only response from Meriadoc was a particularly loud snore. Estella sighed
again. It seemed there would be no way for her to leave. She decided the best thing
she could do with the time she had was to make up various excuses as to why she
had ended up beneath Master Meriadoc Brandybuck on his bed. But just as she had
rejected the third or forth reason, Merry unexpectedly moved in his sleep. It
was only a very slight movement – a roll towards his left side – but it was
enough for Estella to wriggle her way out from underneath him.
Once
free, she had to take a moment to stretch her limbs. She had been there long
enough for her muscles to start cramping. Her eyes fell upon Merry’s face as
she did, and she smiled. He looked so peaceful as he slept, and she knew that
she wanted nothing more than to wake up to that face every morning for the rest
of her life.
She
also knew that she could not simply leave him like that. She took the ribbon
that was in her hair and placed it in his hand. After kissing him softly on his
forehead, Estella slipped silently from the room.
When
she came to the ballroom, she found it empty, save the empty glasses and
deserted tables.
“Must
be later than I thought!” she mumbled to herself. “Everyone has gone. I’ll have
to go to Crickhollow.”
It
took her a few moments to find her bearings. She had not been paying much
attention when they had come to the ballroom, staring fondly at Merry instead.
After a few wrong turns, she found the front door of Brandy Hall. She struggled
with the lock before she was finally outside. From there, Crickhollow would be
easy enough to find.
* *
* * * *
The
Tooks, Frodo and Fredegar had returned to Crickhollow an hour or so earlier.
They had concluded that Estella was with Merry somewhere, or that she had gone
with her parents. Either way, they did not search the Hall for her, knowing
that she would eventually turn up.
As
they readied for bed, Pervinca turned to her elder sister. “So do you suppose
they did anything?”
Pimpernel
thought for a moment. “If it was Pippin, I would say yes in the blink of an
eye, but with Merry, I’m not so sure. And I don’t know if Stella would want to
do anything…inappropriate.”
“Merry
was very drunk.”
“Really?
I didn’t even notice.”
“Oh,
yes,” Pervinca giggled. “He was almost tripping over his own feet during the
Springle-ring. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so drunk. Not since Pippin
at Old Bilbo’s party, anyway.”
“Not
since Pippin when?”
Pervinca
was about to explain the details of eleven-year-old Pippin’s unfortunate
incident with ale when the sisters heard a soft knock.
“What
was that?” Pimpernel cried. They waited for a moment in silence and the knock was
repeated.
“The
window!” said Pervinca. She unlatched the window of their bedroom to see
Estella standing outside, panting heavily. “Stella!”
Together,
Pervinca and Pimpernel helped Estella through the window. Once inside, Estella
collapsed on her bed, exhausted.
“Where
have you been, young lady?” Pervinca snickered.
Estella
groaned and buried her head under a pillow. “I don’t want to talk about it
right now! I’m tired and I want to sleep.”
“Fine,”
Pimpernel sniffed. “But you will be telling us everything in the morning. You
are lucky that your parents left before you did and so are not aware of your
disappearing act with cousin Meriadoc. Be assured that if you do not tell us
the story, we may feel inclined to tell them.”
“There’s
nothing to tell anyway,” Estella grumbled, before falling fast asleep.
* *
* * * *
Frodo
and Pippin were awake bright and early the next morning. They were dressed,
breakfasted and on their way to Brandy Hall before the rest of Crickhollow had
risen. As close family to the Master of the Hall, they were allowed in without
question. Very few were stirring inside Brandy Hall. The Brandybucks were
renowned for their grand parties that usually required a good day to recover
from.
On
their way to Merry’s room, they passed Berilac, who only acknowledged them with
a tired wave of his hand. Frodo and Pippin decided that it was best not to
include Berry in their interrogating group. He hardly seemed well enough for
it. They continued on to Merry’s room and stopped outside the door, listening
intently.
“I
can only hear Merry snoring,” Pippin whispered.
“Shh!”
hissed Frodo. But as hard as he tried, he could hear no sound to hint whether
Estella also lay within.
As
quietly as they could, Frodo and Peregrin pushed the door open. They were quite
disappointed with what they saw. Merry, very much alone, was sprawled on his
bed, still dressed in his clothes from the party.
“Perhaps
she heard us coming and hid,” Pippin suggested. He and Frodo started searching
the room.
Their
hunt was interrupted by a groan from Merry. “Oh, my poor head…”
With
a grin, Pippin jumped on his cousin’s bed, as he had done when he was a child.
“Good morning, Cousin Brandybuck! Not feeling too well?”
“Pip?
What are you doing here? Go away!” Merry rolled over. It was at this moment
that he noticed he had something in his hand. Sitting up, and ignoring the pain
as he did so, he opened his hand revealing a navy blue piece of material.
“What’s this?”
Pippin
scuttled to sit next to Merry, and Frodo made his way to the side of the bed.
Pippin broke into another broad grin. “I remember that! It’s the ribbon Estella
was wearing in her hair!”
“But
what’s it doing here?”
Frodo
and Pippin exchanged looks of surprise, and Frodo asked, “You don’t remember?”
Merry
paled. “Remember what? Frodo, what happened? My mind is a complete blur.”
Pippin
frowned. “How are we supposed to interrogate him if he doesn’t remember
anything?”
Ignoring
his Took cousin, Frodo focused on his Brandybuck cousin. “Merry, how much of the
party do you remember?”
“Very
little,” Merry admitted. “I remember you all arriving. I remember Celandine
getting angry at Pip. I remember greeting all of the guests…and they all
gave me drinks.”
“Oh
dear. Meriadoc, do you have any idea how much you drank?”
Merry
shook his head. “Oh, Frodo. If Estella was here, you don’t think I did
something terrible, do you?”
Pippin
had, by now, realised how upset his cousins seemed and forgotten about his
desire to interrogate him. “Well, she left her ribbon here, and that’s a good
sign. It could mean that she was going to come back.”
“Or
that I pulled it out of her hair and she ran away,” Merry said, grimly. “I
can’t remember! I’m never drinking ale again!”
“Calm
down, Merry,” Frodo ordered. As the eldest, he felt it his duty to remain level
headed. “Estella’s bound to have gone back to Crickhollow. We probably just
didn’t hear her arrive. Why don’t you have a wash, eat some breakfast and then
speak to her. I’m certain that she did not drink as much as you did.”
It
took some convincing, but Merry finally agreed to Frodo’s plan. Once he was
clean and well fed, he did indeed feel much calmer, though it was with very
little confidence that he made his way to Crickhollow.
It had
taken Merry long enough to get ready for the rest of Crickhollow to be out of
bed and dressed. Frodo, Merry and Pippin found Paladin, Eglantine, Rosamunda,
Odovacar and Fredegar having breakfast. Merry did not much like the smirk that
his uncle’s face wore.
“Is
Estella here?” Pippin immediately asked.
“She
was,” Rosa answered, “but she went for a walk with Pervinca and Pimpernel.”
Merry
could barely hide his relief. “Do you know where they went?”
“Bucklebury,”
said Eglantine. “Market day today.”
Frodo,
Merry and Pippin expressed their thanks and left. Fredegar, not wishing to be
left behind yet again (the girls had not let him come with them), followed
after them. “Wait for me!”
Though
Merry was uncomfortable at having Estella’s brother with them, there was not
way that they could refuse Fredegar. He did not seem particularly angry at
Merry in any case, which they all took as a good sign. Before too long, they
had reached the town of Bucklebury, bustling with life.
“It
won’t be easy to find them,” Merry sighed.
“And
it won’t do to split up and look for them,” said Frodo. “We shall just have to
search the whole town.”
Fortunately,
it did not actually take long for them to find the three lasses. Pervinca,
Pimpernel and Estella were stopped at a sweets stall. The young hobbit serving
had eagerly offered them a sample of his goods. Frodo wondered if the lad knew
who the girls actually were.
“Pervinca!”
Pippin called.
“Oh,
hullo Pip,” she replied, mouth full of toffee. “This toffee is simply divine. We
must buy some to take to Hobbiton. Rosie will love it!”
Upon
hearing this conversation, the sweets-maker mistook them for a young married
couple discussing their child.
“That
stuff won’t be no good for young‘uns, ma’am,” he stated.
Pervinca
laughed. “Oh, I was not speaking about a child! I meant a good friend of mine.”
Estella
caught Merry’s eye and blushed. She knew that he had come looking for her, and
that Frodo, Pippin and Freddie were there for moral support. But what was she
going to say to him? What needed to be said?
Frodo
saw that Merry and Estella needed some time to speak alone. “Come on, lads. Let
us see if this toffee is really as wonderful as Pervinca claims.” He pulled
Merry aside and whispered. “Now is your chance, Master Meriadoc.”
“Thank
you, Frodo,” said Merry, and Frodo grinned. Merry beckoned to Estella, and led
her out of the bazaar, while the stall owner was mobbed by the richest group of
customers he had ever seen.
Away
from the crowds of Bucklebury, Merry handed Estella’s ribbon back to her. “I
believe this belongs to you.”
“Yes,”
she replied, accepting the ribbon. “I was going to come and get it back –
that’s why I left it. To let you know I would be coming back.”
“Stella,
what happened last night?”
“You
don’t remember?”
Merry
shook his head. “I have vague memories, and mostly from the earlier hours of
the party. Believe me when I say that I am truly sorry for anything I may have
done.”
Estella
gave a little laugh. “There is no need to be sorry, Merry. You were very
drunk…”
“That
is no excuse for inappropriate behaviour!”
She
held her finger to his lips. “Meriadoc, you did nothing inappropriate. I took
you to you room to make sure you had some sleep. Unfortunately, you fell asleep
on top of me!”
Merry
managed to laugh. “Well, that is certainly not what I expected. Are you certain
nothing else happened? You seem hesitant…”
Estella
blushed again, and looked at her feet. “Well there was one thing, but I would
not call it inappropriate.”
“What
was it?”
“You
did this.” Estella stepped forward and kissed him. For a moment, he stood in
shock, but then he kissed her back, savouring how perfect it felt.
Their
kiss was interrupted by the sound of applause. Breaking apart, Merry and
Estella saw Frodo, Peregrin, Pervinca, Pimpernel and Fredegar standing nearby,
clapping and cheering. They simply had to laugh.
Merry
wrapped his arm around Estella’s shoulder, and kissed her lightly on the
forehead. “Well, Miss Bolger, we appear to have been found out.”