9:
A Dance to Remember
Sam
sat with Tom and Jolly Cotton close to the bandstand and dancing area. Much to
their displeasure, they had been asked to keep an eye on the youngest Cotton,
Nibs. Nibs was close to Pippin’s age, and, though not quite as much of a
handful, he was not the most desirable of company for the three older hobbits.
“You
should’na be drinkin’ all that ale, Jolly,” he declared, feeling that if he was
not old enough to drink ale, than neither was his brother. “I’ll tell Dad, I
will.”
“Shut
your mouth, Nibs,” Jolly returned angrily. As if to prove his point, he took a
large swig from his mug.
Sam
quickly took the mug from Jolly. “Now, now, that’ll do. I certainly don’t want
to be explaining to Mrs. Cotton why you can’t walk in a straight line.”
“Sam’s
right, Jolly,” said Tom. “When I said you could have some ale, I only meant a
little. And you’ve had your fair share by now.” Jolly scowled, but did not
protest. Nibs just smiled smugly.
With
that settled, Tom returned to what he had been doing – scanning the party for
lasses. His eyes fell upon his sister and Marigold, who were standing near by,
whispering and giggling to one another. Sam saw this and grinned.
“You
know, my Marigold has quite a fancy for you, Tom,” he stated.
“And
my Rosie for you,” was Tom’s reply. Sam flushed, but said nothing. Tom looked
at him. “I’m sure she’s just waiting for you to ask her for a dance…”
“Maybe
later,” Sam said abruptly, looking into his mug.
Jolly
smiled a little and Nibs snickered, but Tom looked at his friend in concern. He
leant in close and whispered, “Is something wrong, Sam? Only last month you
were telling me how much you wanted to dance with Rosie at this party? Has
something changed?”
“No,
nothing’s wrong. Nothing at all…” Sam trailed off. He had just caught a glimpse
of the face he had secretly hoped to see. What’s she doing over here?
Shouldn’t she be in that special pavilion? His face flushed even more. Tom
followed Sam’s line of sight.
“Now
she’s a pretty one,” he whistled, quietly. “Do you know her? That’s a mighty
fine dress she has on. Must be one of them rich folk.”
“Her
name is Pervinca Took. She’s Mister Frodo’s cousin, Mister Pippin’s older
sister.” Sam didn’t need to explain any further. The name Took meant
“too good for either of us”. Tom now understood Sam’s strange behaviour.
Pervinca
saw Sam and smiled. She came over to him, something which Rose noticed.
Jealously flared up in the young lass, and she grabbed Marigold by the hand and
dragged her over to the merry group.
“G-good
evening Sam,” Pervinca stammered, as she gave a clumsy curtsy.
“Hullo,
Miss Pervinca. How lovely to see you here,” Sam replied, no less nervous,
especially since he had seen Marigold and Rose approaching from the corner of
his eye. “Miss Pervinca, I’d like to introduce you to my friends. This is
Tolman, Wilcome and Carl Cotton, or Tom, Jolly and Nibs as they’re more often
known.”
“Aren’t
you going to introduce us, Sam?” Rosie asked, icily.
“Oh,
Rosie! I didn’t realise you were there. Miss Pervinca, this is Rosie Cotton and
my sister Marigold.”
“I
am very pleased to meet you,” Pervinca said, politely. She had been taught
proper manners and etiquette since she was a small child.
Rose,
obviously, had not. “What kind of a name is ‘Pervinca’?”
“Rose
Cotton!” Tom scolded. “Watch your tongue! This is Miss Pervinca Took, cousin of
our good host. Show her the proper respect.”
Rosie
was silenced for a moment. She had guessed that Pervinca was from one of the
richer families from her beautiful gown, but one of the Tooks? Rosie felt
utterly ashamed and defeated. How could she compete for Sam’s affections
against one of the richest girls in the Shire? She murmured some form of
apology before running off.
“Rose,
Rose come back!” Jolly called after his twin sister. He looked at his brothers.
“We’d best go after her.”
Tom
nodded, sensing that Sam probably needed some time alone with his Tookish
friend. Much to Marigold’s delight, he took her hand and led her away. Sam
looked at Pervinca, sheepishly. “You’ll have to excuse young Rosie. She likes
me, you might say, and well, I suppose she was a little jealous seeing me
talking to you, and all…”
“It’s
all right, Sam,” Pervinca said, with a smile. “Frodo spoke to me and warned me
about the fury of Rose Cotton.”
“Mister
Frodo…spoke…and…and did Mister Frodo say anything else, if you don’t mind me
asking?”
Pervinca
looked at her feet. “He said that you were in a ‘bit of a spot’ because of me.
I am sorry if I have caused you trouble.”
“There’s
no need to be sorry at all, Miss Pervinca! I can’t be blaming you for
anything.” Sam took Pervinca’s hand and, not knowing what else to do, kissed
it. “Miss Pervinca Took, would you allow me this dance?”
“Of
course, Master Gamgee,” Pervinca replied. She curtsied to him again, but this
time she was far more graceful.
Sam
led her to the middle of the dancing area. He knew that they must have looked
like a very odd pair; Pervinca with her beautiful pale green gown, and he with
his well worn best pair of breaches. But for the moment, he didn’t care. He
lost himself in Pervinca’s smile and glittering green eyes, and for a brief
time, he felt as if they were the only two beings in the entire world. No one
else existed.
From
the edge of the dance area, three hobbits looked on. Pearl and Pimpernel had
found Frodo and given him the presents they had bought. When they had asked if
he had seen either of their younger siblings he had led them to the bandstand.
“I
have not seen Pervinca so happy in a long time,” Pearl said. She felt ashamed
of her earlier behaviour, especially since their father had given she and
Pimpernel a stern talking to.
“We
should not have been so horrid to her,” Pimpernel sighed. She looked at Frodo. “But
we simply trying to look out for her. I know that Sam is lovely and very loyal,
but he cannot provide for our sister.”
“Did
it ever occur to either of you that her intents were never marriage?” Frodo
asked, with a raised eyebrow.
“Well…no…”
“She
has two older sisters, who have countless amounts of suitors. It’s hardly
surprising at all that she would start to find an interest in lads. It just so
happens that Sam was the first she felt a strong connection to. Neither of you
married the first hobbit you fancied.”
“I
never thought of it like that,” Pimpernel admitted. She looked at Frodo slyly.
“When did you become so clever, Master Baggins?”
Frodo
grinned. “I have many hidden talents, Mistress Took. And I wondered if you
would give me the honour of showing you another. May I have this dance?”
Pimpernel
looked at Pearl, but Pearl simply nodded. She did not mind if Pimpernel left
her while she danced with Frodo. With both sisters’ permission, Frodo led
Pimpernel to a spot near Pervinca and Sam.
Pearl
smiled as she watched her two younger sisters dance, but she was not to be left
alone for long. A young hobbit came up to her and shyly stammered, “Excuse me,
Miss, but would you allow me this dance?”
She
looked at him in shock. He was very handsome. “I…I…I would love to.”
The
hobbit took her hand. “By the way, my name is Orlando Burrows.”
“Pearl
Took.”
Pervinca
looked over and saw that her two sisters had also started dancing. She smiled
happily, and knew that she would have to forgive them for their earlier
behaviour.
“Having
fun?” Sam asked.
Pervinca
nodded. She hugged Sam. “Thank you.”
“W-what
for, Miss Pervinca?”
“Just
for being you.” Pervinca looked up at Sam and he was blushing. Her heart
fluttered, and she wondered if maybe she had been fooling herself along with
everyone else when she said she had no intention of marrying Sam. Aside from
his lower class, he was everything a lass could want in a husband.
As
she thought of this, a memory worked itself into her brain. It was from when she
had been about Peregrin’s age, and Pearl’s first suitors had appeared. Pearl
had loved the attention she received from as many as ten admirers at one time.
Pervinca could remember Pearl asking their mother about marriage while
Eglantine had been brushing the girls’ hair. Eglantine had admitted that she
had had many suitors too when she was a young lass, but she had known that
Paladin was her one true love when he first kissed her. She had said that
during that kiss, it was as if she could see her whole life ahead of her. A
life with Paladin. Pervinca, of course, being only very young, had screwed up
her nose. She had hated any talk about lads and kisses, but Pearl and Pimpernel
had loved the story and were convinced that they would know their own true loves
from their first kiss.
Pervinca
made up her mind. She cleared her throat. “Sam, I have a strange favour to ask
of you.”
“Anything
you wish, Miss Pervinca.”
“Would
you…would you kiss me?”
Sam
gasped, but quickly returned to looking at his feet. “Well, to tell you the
truth, I’d been thinking about much the same thing. You look so pretty and all
tonight. I wanted to ask if you’d mind me giving you a little kiss, but I
didn’t think it’d be at all proper.” He smiled at her. “But since you asked…”
Pervinca
took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she moved her face closer to Sam’s.
At the moment of soft contact, a strange feeling took over Pervinca. She
thought that perhaps this was what her mother had meant – she was about to see
her life with Sam. But that was not what she saw. Instead, she saw a young
hobbit who looked remarkably like her brother, but different at the same time.
She thought she could see something of herself in his grin. With him, she saw a
hobbit-maid with beautiful golden curls. This amazed Pervinca, since golden
hair had always been very, very rare in the Shire. The lass looked like Rose,
but she had Sam’s deep brown eyes, complete with the undying devotion.
With
a gasp, Pervinca pulled away from the kiss.
“I’m
sorry, Miss Pervinca,” Sam cried, not understanding her reaction. “Did I do
something wrong?”
“No, Sam…” Pervinca replied, in a state of confusion. What had she just seen? Her eyes finally focussed on Sam. Words spilt from her mouth that she did not understand. “Well, maybe you did. Maybe we both did. It is not yet time. It is not our place.”
“Pervinca…?”
“I
have to go.” Pervinca ran away. She did not know where she was going. All she
knew was that she had to get away.
* *
* * * *
Translators
Note: Yeah, sorry this was a full chapter of Pervinca and Sam! The next one
will be Pippin and Merry centred. Oh, and the hobbit that dances with Pearl is
her husband it one of my other stories. He’s not actually from The Lord of
the Rings, but I found his name in The History of Middle-Earth!