"Have you heard from him, Frodo?" Pippin asked anxiously as soon as his cousin arrived in Tuckborough.

Frodo shook his head. Merry had left the Shire a week ago; after one last, fearful quarrel with his father, he had finally made good on his long-standing threat to return to Gondor. They could only assume that he was on his way there now, and hoped he would reach Minas Tirith safely. It was a very long journey for a hobbit to make alone.

After Merry's departure from Brandy Hall, Frodo had returned home with Sam, intending to rest. The tragic conclusion of the case of Camellia Stillwaters' disappearance had left him feeling depressed and drained of all strength, but when they arrived at Bag End, he found a short note from Pippin waiting for him.

"Please come," Pippin's note had begged. "I need you here while that girl's visiting."

Frodo could not refuse such a plea. He'd immediately taken up his still-packed baggage and set out for Tuckborough against Sam's protests. Sam would have come with him, but didn't want to leave Rosie again so soon after being away from her for nearly a week.

Pippin had been keeping watch from the eastward slopes of the hill under which the Thain's Hall lay, and he came down to meet Frodo on the road and ask his question.

"I'm sorry, Pip. Not a word," Frodo said as they took his pony to the stables. Pippin looked crestfallen, and Frodo added, "If he's gotten as far as Bree and thought to send a message, it would take another week for the letter to reach us."

"I know, but I hoped..."

Frodo put an arm around his cousin, and they walked together to the Thain's Hall. "How are you bearing up?"

"It's been horrible," Pippin answered. "The worst of it is that there's no one I can talk to about Merry. Uncle Addy's kind, but he's been through much the same thing himself and I hate to trouble him, and the girls and Father won't understand. I'm sure Mother's thinking how nicely things have worked out, and that I can't help but accept- well-her now."

"Is she here yet?" asked Frodo. They were both referring to Diamond Took, a distant cousin from the northern branch of the family, the girl Pippin's parents had chosen for him to marry.

"No," said Pippin. "We're expecting her and Aunt Di to arrive tomorrow. Everybody's so eager to see her. I hope she's not too bad."

They went inside. Pippin's mother, Lady Eglantine, met them in the front hall. "Why, Frodo, what a surprise to see you! We weren't expecting you for a visit."

"I asked him to come and stay, Mother," said Pippin. "I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not," said Eglantine. "Frodo is always welcome here, but I wish you would have given us fair warning, Pippin dear, that he was coming. Why don't you show your guest to his room? I'm sure Frodo will want to wash up and change after his journey. Frodo, you may have the same room you slept in on your last visit, when you were here for Melilot's and Everard's wedding."

"The one you shared with Merry," said Pippin.

Eglantine ignored this. "It's ready to accommodate a visitor, and you'll find it most comfortable. We're having tea on the top terrace in half an hour and we'll be very happy if you join us, Frodo."

"Yes, Aunt Eggie, thank you." Frodo accompanied Pippin up the long, sharply slanted tunnel that led to the bedrooms.

"Mother was overjoyed when she heard that Merry had gone," Pippin said once they were out of Eglantine's hearing. "She tries not to look triumphant, but she thinks she'll have it her own way now. I won't put up a fight about marrying this girl anymore."

"And will you?"

"I don't know. Does it matter, now that Merry's gone?" Pippin's eyes misted, and he mumbled something about leaving Frodo to get ready for tea. He went into his own bedroom and shut the door.

Frodo went into the bathroom across the hallway for a quick wash, then into his room to change from his dusty riding clothes. When he came out, Pippin's door was still shut. Frodo returned to the lower level to find Eglantine and Thain Paladin talking together; he just caught Pippin's name being spoken, then the two stopped when they saw him.

Paladin came forward to greet him. "Ah, Frodo, it's good to see you, lad." He clasped Frodo by both shoulders. "I'm glad you've come. Our Pip is in need of his friends. The poor lad came home in tears last week, and wouldn't even tell us what had happened. We thought he'd quarreled with Merry. It wasn't until Doderic came down two days afterwards that we heard the news."

"I know that he's terribly distressed," Eglantine added in a sympathetic murmur, "but I believe that Merry's going away may truly be for the best. When Pippin recovers from his present disappointment, he'll see that this... relationship wasn't right. I've no objection to Merry Brandybuck as a friend for Pippin, but it shouldn't become more than that. These overwrought emotions over another boy are absurd. It's time that Pippin leaves such childish games behind. A nice, suitable, well-brought-up girl will help him to understand that."

Frodo had doubts about this, but he wasn't going to argue the point.

When Pippin emerged from his room, pink-eyed but composed, they went out of one of the back doors of the Hall and up to the flagstone terrace which lay atop the hill, surrounded by flower beds, and screened by bushes and decorative trees; between the greenery, the front lawn of the Hall and the lush gardens behind could be glimpsed, as well as vistas of the hills and valleys around Tuckborough. On sunny, summer afternoons such as this, the Tooks often had tea here to enjoy the fine weather and the view.

Pippin's sisters, Pim and Peri, and their cousin Ferdi were already on the terrace, and greeted Frodo with exclamations of happy surprise. When the Tooks from the next smial in the same hill, who were on their own half-circle patio farther down the hillside, saw that the Thain and his Lady had come out, they climbed the slope to join them and welcome the visitor before they went to get tea. In rapid succession, Frodo was greeted by Adelard Took, his daughters Ada and Flora, his elder son Reginard and daughter-in-law, Pippin's eldest sister, Pearl, as well as Ferdi's parents, Ferdinand and Floribunda Took, who lived in the smial on the other side of the Hall.

Frodo's cousin Melilot, who was married to Adelard's younger son, threw her arms around him. "Frodo, how wonderful! It's been ages since I've seen you."

Frodo returned the hug. "It's good to see you cheerful again, Melly. Are you and Ev happy?"

"Deliriously. Oh, it was a bit rough at first, with the scandal over the Clovers and poor Evvy feeling as if it were all his fault, but we seem to be doing very well now. Evvy," she turned to her husband, who was lingering a few feet away, "come and say hello to Frodo."

"Hullo, Frodo," said Everard, but did not join them. He looked rather sulky and made Frodo conscious that he and Melly still had their arms around each other.

"He isn't still upset that I proposed to you and you almost accepted, is he?" Frodo murmured to his cousin.

"I'm sure he hasn't forgotten it. I wouldn't let him," rejoined Melly. "It makes him more appreciative of his good fortune. Oh, but you haven't heard Dodi's news yet! Dodi-!"

Doderic Brandybuck, who was coming up the hill slowly, hand in hand with Adelard's youngest daughter Isalda, looked up at Melly's call and smiled. "Why, Frodo, what brings you here?" he said as they came closer. "You're not expecting another murder, are you?"

"Not this time, I hope," Frodo replied. "I've had quite enough of murder and death."

"I don't blame you after that awful business in Budgeford... although who can say how Aunt Eggie might react if Pip isn't nice to this girl he's supposed to marry?" said Dodi.

"I hope he won't be rude to her," said Isalda. "From all we've heard, Diamond Took is a shy, sensitive child, and it's really not her fault that Aunt Eggie and Aunt Di have arranged this match. Not everyone has the luck to be able to make their own choice in marriage." As she spoke, she hooked her arm around Dodi's.

"What's your news, Dodi?" Frodo asked as if he hadn't guessed it already. Since Dodi had been courting Isalda, he'd spent more time in Tuckborough than he had in Buckland.

Dodi's smile grew more foolish. "You must congratulate us, Frodo! I've asked Isalda for her hand, and she's accepted."

"That is marvelous!" Frodo offered his congratulations, hugged Dodi, and gave Isalda a kiss on the cheek. "But what about Uncle Saradoc?" he asked Dodi after Isalda had gone to join her sisters at the tea-table; Melly stayed with them. "Didn't he object?" Saradoc, Master of Brandy Hall and Merry's father, had decreed only last week that he did not want his young nephews to marry before his son; it was one of the reasons Merry had finally decided to leave.

Dodi shook his head. "Uncle Saradoc didn't let out a peep when I said I was coming here, and why. He's too stunned to put up a fuss about anything. I don't think he really believed Merry would go off like that--though I would have said it was only to be expected. He wasn't going to give in to his father over something so important to him."

"Merry's always been wild and adventuresome," agreed Melly. "He's talked so often of how exciting it was out in the Big Folk's world since you came home. It was only a matter of time before he left us again."

"The only surprise was that Pip didn't go with him."

"He might yet," said Melly. "If things here become too unbearable for him, poor lad."

"Anyway, since Merry's- ah- gone-" Dodi cast a wary glance at Pippin, who was sitting on the grass under one of the trees a safe distance away, playing with Reg and Pearl's baby, Peveril, "and we don't know when he'll ever be back, Mother suggested that Ilbie and I ought to settle matters with 'Stella Bolger and Isalda as soon as possible. After all, it's up to one of us to provide the next heir to Brandy Hall now."

What Dodi didn't say, but Frodo knew well, was that if Merry didn't come home, Dodi would become the next Master of the Hall in his place. The Brandybucks must all be thinking of this too, and preparing for that contingency.

"I'm glad it's worked out well for you," Frodo told him. "Merry would be too."

"We're grateful to him for standing up for us... only, I do wish it didn't have to come about this way. Mother thought that since I'm the elder son, Isalda and I ought to wed first. We've settled on October, and Ilbie and Estella can marry in the winter if they don't want to wait 'til next spring. Aunt Esme thought we might have one of the cottages in the lane for our honeymoon. Ivysmial is in the best condition, but Mentha's things are still there. Before you came, I was asking Melly if she wanted to come and take any of her sister's belongings before we had the place cleaned out. You don't mind, do you, Melly?"

"No," said Melilot. "It's got to be done. I haven't been back to Mentha's cottage since that day... you remember, Frodo."

Frodo remembered the day of Mentha's death very well; it had been on his mind of late, during his last investigation.

Flora came over to the trio. "He may be a closer cousin of yours, but you two mustn't keep Frodo to yourselves. Dodi, Isalda's waiting for you." She nodded to indicate her sister, who had piled a plate with enough cakes and sandwiches for two and saved a seat for her betrothed beside her on one of the benches; when Isalda smiled at Dodi, he went to her. "Frodo, Papa wants to talk to you." And, taking Frodo by the arm, Flora brought him over to Adelard.

"I wanted to ask, Frodo: you're here for Pippin's sake, aren't you?" Adelard asked and, when Frodo nodded, "Good. I hope you can help him. Perhaps he'll talk to you. We can all see how distressed the poor lad's been, and now he has to face this meeting." He glanced at Pippin, who was feeding little Peveril bits of scone with jam and cream and, for the moment, seemed as cheerful as the baby. "I've invited him to confide in me, but he won't."

"He didn't want to trouble you, Uncle," Frodo explained. "He sees that his... current problem is too much like your own."

"That was more than forty years ago!" said Adelard. "It doesn't disturb me to speak of it, especially now that it's talked of openly by everyone--even my children, although they seem to have taken it remarkably well. There are no secrets anymore. But, you see, because of that, I believe I understand Pip's situation better than anyone else can. I know just what he must be feeling."

"I'll tell Pippin that." Frodo hesitated, then asked, "How is Mr. Clover, by the way? Have you seen him?"

"I haven't seen him, but I hear that he's a broken hobbit," said Adelard. "He's returned to his home and children, you know. The daughter, Tansy, is looking after him as best she can, but their shop is closed."

"How do they live?"

"Paladin's kept an eye on them. He feels that the Clovers are our responsibility--he wants to make up for what our fathers did to Togold. I'm afraid the younger boy has never recovered from the shock of his brother's death. They say he drinks too much, and gets into all sorts of trouble in Tookbank."

Frodo was about to ask more about the Clover family, when Peri, who was looking out over the landscape before the Hall cried, "Look! There's someone coming!"

The other hobbits turned to look in the direction that Peri was pointing; a pony was flying down the road from Green Hill toward them.

"He's riding very fast," observed Ada. "It must be a messenger."

The gathering of Tooks and their guests went down the front slope of the hill as the pony drew nearer and leapt over the rose-bushes to stop on the lawn before them. They could see now that the rider was a young girl.

"Have I reached the Thain's Hall?" she asked.

"Yes, that's right," Paladin answered, somewhat perplexed. "I am Thain Paladin, and this is my wife, Lady Eglantine."

The girl smiled at them. "How do you do, Uncle, Auntie? I'm Di Took."

She was very young--twenty-six, if Frodo recalled correctly what he'd heard about Diamond Took last year when the match had been arranged. Her hair was bright red, the color of autumn leaves, cut shorter than most girls wore it, and in a wild tumble from her riding. She had the fox-like features, pointed nose and long chin, that were characteristic of the Took family, north and south, and freckles splashed across her nose and cheeks like a spatter from a paint-brush.

"Auntie Diamanta's been delayed," she explained, "but I wanted so badly to come that I couldn't wait another day."

"You came all the way from Long Cleeve by yourself?" Eglantine asked with some alarm.

"I've never gone so far alone before, but it was rather fun. I didn't get lost at all, but rode straight down the Oatbarton road. People were so helpful along the way, and gave me good directions to Tuckborough whenever I wasn't certain which way to go. And here I am!"

As Di swung her leg over the saddle in preparation to dismount, it became obvious to all that she was wearing trousers. The girl jumped down from her pony unaided, and looked at the astonished little group that had gathered around her. "Which one of you lads is Pippin?" Her eyes darted curiously from Frodo to Ferdi to Dodi, until Pippin shyly stepped forward to introduce himself.

Di looked him over. "So you're the boy I'm going to marry?"

"Er- yes," said Pippin. "That is, if we like each other."

She grinned. "We'll have to see about that!"

Eglantine stared at this odd and outspoken little creature, utterly scandalized, but she summoned all her skills as a hostess. "We were just having tea when you arrived, my dear child. You'll want a cup-"

"Yes, thank you, Auntie! I'm famished! I think I could eat a whole pie and a plate of sandwiches without help."

"After you change out of your- ah- riding habit."

"Oh, these?" Di looked down and tugged at her dusty trousers. "It's shocking, I know, but they're so much easier to ride in than a skirt. If you'll show me where I'll be staying, Auntie, I'll be happy to put on something more ladylike." She pulled her travel-bag down from the back of the pony's saddle and went with Eglantine into the Hall.

The Tooks stood silently for a moment after they had gone.

"So that's Diamond Took," Pippin said in amazement.

Dodi was the first to laugh; Ferdi joined in, and the girls began to giggle.

"What could Aunt Di have been thinking?" Pearl wondered as they returned to the terrace. "How could she suggest that such a hoyden would be suitable for our Pip?"

"It seems to me to be a perfect match," Ferdi laughed. "She's as close to a boy as a girl can get!"

When Di joined the party on the terrace, she was wearing a flowered print dress and a green ribbon tied around her hair to keep it out of her eyes, but she looked no more ladylike than she had in her trousers. At Eglantine's invitation, she helped herself to a cup of tea and, demonstrating that she was indeed as hungry as she had claimed, a plateful of seedcakes. After the girl had had her refreshments, the Lady presented her to the rest of the family, then brought her over to Pippin, who had retreated into the shrubbery in hopes of being overlooked. But his mother was determined that he should talk to his prospective bride, and summoned him out with a single preemptory gesture.

"I'll leave you children to become better acquainted," said Eglantine, although she made no effort to move very far from them. "I do hope you'll get on well together."

"I hope so too," Di told Pippin. "I came all this way because I wanted so much to see what you were like. I've heard about you, you know."

Pippin's eyebrows went up. "Have you?"

The girl nodded. "When Auntie Di first proposed the match, Uncle Alamargo- No, I mean, Uncle Alamaric, didn't like it. He said that even if you were the Thain's heir, he'd heard how you did all sorts of wild and disreputable things, like go off on adventures in the Big Folk's world and get involved in investigations of murders. But I thought it sounded terribly interesting."

"Actually, it's Frodo who does the investigating," Pippin said diffidently. "It was his adventure too. I just go around with him."

"Which one's Frodo?" Di turned to look at the other boys. "There's so many of you south-Tooks here, I'll never remember everyone's names and put the right faces to them."

When her eyes landed upon Frodo, he identified himself. "But I'm not a Took, except by way of my grandmother. I'm a Baggins."

"Frodo's one of my best friends," said Pippin. "He's the cleverest hobbit in the whole Shire."

"And you take Pippin off on adventures? What fun! Will you tell me about it?" Di requested, looking wistfully from one lad to the other. "I've never been out of the Shire, and hardly ever beyond the hills of Long Cleeve."

"I'm sure there's little beyond our borders of interest to sensible hobbits," said Eglantine; while she was gratified that Pippin was behaving himself and talking with Di politely, she wasn't certain she liked this topic of conversation. "Nothing but wizards, and horrible, giant goblins, and Big Folk getting themselves into wars. From what Pippin's told us, I'd say he and Frodo are fortunate to be safely home."

"Some of it was terrible," Pippin had to agree, "but some of the places we went to were lovely. Elvish cities, and a city of the Big Folk as tall as a mountain. We even went through the insides of a mountain once, and I was in a forest where the trees had a 'shepherd'--Treebeard, he was called. He was an Ent."

"An Ent?" echoed Di. "What's that?"

"A sort of talking, moving tree. He found Merry and I when we were lost in the forest..." Pippin had begun to speak with some enthusiasm, but as he spoke the name and old memories returned, a look of sadness crossed his face. Abruptly, he stepped away with a mumbled excuse; his mother let him go.

Di turned eagerly to Frodo. "Did you see the talking trees too?"

"No, I wasn't there." Frodo pardoned himself and went after Pippin, leaving the bewildered girl to stare after them.

---

A large dinner party was planned for the following evening, but tonight, there was only a small family meal in the Thain's dining hall: the Thain himself and his Lady, their three unmarried children, and the two guests who were staying with them, Frodo and Di.

Over dinner, Eglantine chose a suitable topic of conversation and asked Di, "Why don't you tell us something of your home, dear?"

"Have you never been to Long Cleeve, Aunt Eglantine?"

The Lady shook her head regretfully, but Paladin said, "I visited once, years ago when I was a lad in my tweens. It was for my sister Diamanta's wedding, as a matter of fact."

"Aunt Di?" The younger Di grinned. "That must've been ages ago! Was she very different as a girl?"

"I would say she was just the same then as now," Paladin answered with a smile.

"Well, I daresay Long Cleeve hasn't changed much since then either. It's a great, long cleft between the hills, full of farms and fields, and as many Tooks as you have here. I like to ride into the hills to camp overnight in the woodlands."

"Doesn't it worry your family when you do that?" asked Eglantine.

"Oh, no," said Di. "It's perfectly safe. There aren't any wolves or bears or any dangerous creatures like that, only foxes and deer, and little creatures like rabbits and squirrels--I've shot some of those with my bow and arrows and roasted them over the fire for dinner when I've been out in the hills. I went riding as far as Bindbole Wood once to spend the night, but my cousin- one of my cousins, told my- ah-Uncle Alamaric, and he set off after me with as many farm-hands as he could get to bring me home again before nightfall."

"You sound as if you're quite an adventurer yourself," said Pim.

"Not as much as I'd like to be," Di answered. "After my trip to the Wood, they've kept such a close eye on me, I haven't been out at all... until now. I suppose there'll be a great fuss and scolding when they find out I've come here."

"I spent the night in Bindbole Wood not long ago," Pippin said. "It was for one of Frodo's investigations. Merry and I..." As he spoke Merry's name, that look of sadness came into his eyes again. But he couldn't help speaking of Merry; they'd been almost inseparable from their tween years, and Merry was a part of nearly everything he'd ever done.

"Who's Merry?" asked Di, puzzled. But Pippin didn't answer, and the Took ladies swiftly changed the subject.

---

After dinner, Frodo went to his room. He had changed into his nightshirt and was about to go to bed when Pippin knocked on his door.

"I don't think I can stand much more of this, Frodo," he announced. "Mother's doing her best to push us at each other. Even if she doesn't think much of this Di, I suppose she considers any girl who likes me is better than none at all. I've got to get out for awhile. I thought a half-pint or two at the Bullroarer's Head would do some good. I was going to ask if you'd come with me..." Pippin's eyes went up and down Frodo in his dressing gown, "but you're probably too tired."

Frodo was tired, but he was ready to get dressed again in an emergency. "I'll go if you need me, Pip, but I promised Sam I wouldn't over-exert myself while he wasn't here to look after me."

"I wouldn't want to go against Sam's orders," Pippin said with the first hint of his usual playfulness that Frodo had seen during this visit. "Who knows what he'd do to me if you had another one of your bad spells? You're only just getting over the last. No, you go to bed--you've done enough for me today, just being here. Don't worry about me. I can go over to Tookbank by myself."

"Why don't you ask Ferdi or Dodi to go with you?"

"Ferdi might, but I think Dodi would rather spend his time with Isalda than at the Bullroarer's."

"What this Bullroarer's?" Di was coming up the hallway to her own room, and had overheard this last part of their conversation. "A pub? I've never been to one. There are one or two in the Cleeve, but Mother wouldn't hear of me going in to have a drink. Will you take me, Pip?"

Pippin was about to say 'No'--Di was, after all, part of what he wanted to escape from--then he reconsidered and began to look impish. "Yes, all right, if you want to," he said. His mother and sisters were also coming up to their rooms. "Go out your window when you're ready," he instructed Di in a hasty whisper before the other ladies were close enough to hear, "and I'll meet you on the slope outside."

Di nodded and went quickly to her room down the hall. Eglantine and her daughters went by a moment later, pausing to say goodnight to Frodo.

"Pippin..." Frodo warned his cousin as soon as they were alone. "What mischief are you up to? Whether or not you like her, she's still a young girl-"

"We're just going to have a bit of fun! I'll see no harm comes to her," Pippin assured him. "Besides, I do like her." He seemed surprised to hear himself say it.

Later that night, Frodo awoke to hear voices nearby, laughing and speaking softly. There was no one in the hallway outside his room, and the room next to his was unoccupied. He went to the window and looked out.

A bright full moon was high in the cloudless sky and gave enough light to show him where Pippin and Di had flopped down in the grass on the slope below his window. They lay sprawled a few feet apart, not touching in any way. Di was wearing her trousers and a loose-fitting shirt and jacket; she might easily pass for a young boy.

"There's no reason why you shouldn' do as you please. They say the Old Took's daughters went off on adventures, and I know other girls who did," Pippin was speaking in a slightly slurred voice. "There was a Lady of the Big Folk who dressed up as a Man and rode into battle. She fought. She killed a terrible, monstrous beast and faced down the Dark Lord who rode it. Merry was there with her..." He lapsed into another melancholy silence.

"Who's this Merry?" Di asked. "You keep talking about him, but won't tell me who he is. Everyone shuts up the instant you say his name."

After a minute, Pippin answered, "Merry's my friend. My very dearest, most wonderful friend."

"And he went off on this great adventure with you and Frodo? I'd like to meet him."

"You can't," Pippin said mournfully.

"Why? Is he dead?"

"No. He's gone away, and might never be back. I loved him more'n anybody. D'you understand what I mean? I loved him with my whole heart 'n' most of the rest of my body. When he left, it was like part of me went away too. He's the one I would marry if it was allowed. Did your uncles tell you that about me, Di?"

"No... but I wondered. You always look as if you're about to cry whenever you think of him--is that why?"

"That's why. You see, he asked me to go too, but I didn't."

She leaned up on one elbow to look at him. "Whyever not, if you feel like that?"

"I should've. Part of me wanted to, but I couldn't leave, not now, when I'm finally getting on with my father. Much as I love Merry, I love Father too," Pippin went on in maudlin tones, "and my sisters and my nephew Pevvy, and Uncle Addy and my cousins and Mother, though she can be a pain. I didn't want to leave them. And I love the Shire. It's my home. We went away once and fought a war to save it--me 'n' Merry, Frodo 'n' Sam--but all the time we were off in the Big Folk's world, I missed being home. Well, now I'm home, and Merry's off in the Big world again. Must be halfway to Rivendell. I wish I could go after 'm and catch up..."

Frodo sank down onto the window-seat and lay his head on his arms on the curved sill. He shut his eyes to listen as Pippin talked about Merry. It was heart-breaking to hear all that emotion spilling out in a drunken gush.

He missed Merry terribly too, and loved him as dearly as a brother. He'd seen how unhappy his cousin had been since they'd come back to the Shire, restless and chafing against the social conventions of respectable hobbits, and forever at odds with his father, who wanted him to marry some girl, any girl, and produce the next Brandybuck heir. Like Dodi and Melly, Frodo had long suspected that it was only a matter of time before Merry had had enough... but he'd dreaded the day. Now that Merry was gone, he too felt as if some important part of himself had gone.

He suddenly felt achingly alone and thought of Sam, who would have come here with him, but had stayed behind at Bag End with Rosie. Frodo was sorry now that he hadn't asked Sam to come. It would be some comfort to have Sam here with him now, and to sleep tonight with strong, sturdy arms around him and a warm body to cuddle against rather than go back to an empty bed. At least, his love was only twenty miles away. He would return to Bag End and be with Sam in a day or two. But Merry... who knew how far away he was? Halfway to Rivendell, as Pippin had said?

Tears trickled through Frodo's lashes and onto his cheeks and he pressed his face into the curve of his arm to blot the moisture on his nightshirt sleeve. On the slope of the hill outside, Pippin went on telling the secrets of his heart--not to him, nor even to Uncle Adelard, but to a girl who was far too young to understand this kind of love.

Frodo was therefore surprised when Di said, "But that's terrible. Why couldn't people let you be? 'Tisn't right at all, Pip. It seems to me people oughta be married to whoever they like, boy or girl, if it's the one they love best."

Pippin lifted his head to stare at her, and spoke the words that had been in everyone's thoughts since Di's arrival that afternoon. "You aren't at all like I thought you'd be."

This made Di laugh. "Aren't I?"

There was a sound of another window opening and one of the Took girls called out, "Who is it? Who's out there? Is that you, Pip?"

The pair on the hillside fell silent. Then, after some whispers and shushing, Di climbed to her feet and made her slightly wobbly way around the hill to her bedroom window. A moment later, Pippin crawled to his own bedroom window, which was nearer. He seemed to have trouble getting the half-circle casements apart; Frodo got up and went to his cousin's room.

"Did you have your fun?" he asked as he unlatched the window from the inside and helped Pippin climb through.

"Oh, fun! She wanted a taste of ale, and we made a bet to see how much she could drink before she got sick," Pippin said as he stumbled over to the bed, Frodo holding him by the arm and trying to keep him on his feet. Once they reached the bed, he let Pippin flop down. "I thought I could drink her under the table, but she's got an awful good head for such a little girl!"

As Frodo lit the candle on the nightstand, he noticed that Pippin's lower lip was swollen and bloody. "Did you get that when you fell under the table, or did she hit you?"

"No, that was Tibby Clover. Can't stand the sight of a Took. But Di's good in a fight too." Pippin chuckled. "She gave 'm a thumping!"

"The two of you seem to be getting along remarkably well." Though Frodo knew it was certainly not in a way that Thain Paladin and Lady Eglantine would approve of.

"'Tisn't like that, Frodo. 'Salmost like having another sister--'cept Pim, Peri, 'n' Pearl never go out to pubs." Pippin managed this sentence with great difficulty, and laughed out loud when he got to the final P. "I can't 'magine us being like Mother and Father, can you? Getting into bed together. Having babies." He rolled his head back and forth on the pillow. "No, I can't see it. But I s'pose if I have to get married, it might as well be someone I can have fun with. 'Tisn't Merry..."

Frodo prepared for a fresh burst of tears, but that outpouring to Di seemed to have exhausted Pippin's emotions for the present. He shut his eyes and fell asleep almost immediately; Frodo tucked him in and left him in peace. Instead of returning to his own room, he went quietly down the hallway to the room where Di was staying. He tapped softly on the door, and when he heard the words, "Who's it?" entered.

Di was lying curled on the bed, still dressed. She held her nightshift in one hand, but hadn't gotten as far as changing into it yet. When Frodo came in, she clutched the shift to her chest with an exaggerated gesture of maidenly modesty and giggled, "Why, Frodo Baggins! Are you the sort of genl'man who comes to young ladies' bedchambers in the middle of the night?"

This kind of remark would normally leave Frodo flustered, but he could see that the girl was not in the least alarmed by his presence. "Don't be ridiculous," he replied. "I'm the sort of gentleman who can be trusted with young ladies, even in the middle of the night--and I suspect that you're more than capable of taking care of yourself with the other kind, or anybody else who gets out of hand."

"Well, what d'you want then?"

"I want to know who you are."

"I'm Di Took."

"You're a Took, certainly, but I'm just as certain that you're not Di."

"What makes you say that?" She lifted her head and focused on him with curiosity. "Pippin says you're the cleverest hobbit in the Shire. Are you really so clever, Frodo?"

"Clever enough to notice things, and wonder about them," Frodo responded. "You've raised quite a few questions, Miss Took. I wonder if you'd be so kind as to answer them for me. For example, can you tell what your father's name is?"

She opened her mouth to answer, stopped, then laughed. "What an odd question!"

"Don't you know? You have a father, don't you?"

"'Course I do!"

"Is it Alamargo Took, or Alamaric? You spoke of both as your uncles today: The first disapproved of Pippin as a prospective husband, and the other brought you home when you went to Bindbole Wood, but these seem to me to be the actions of fathers. I suspect one is Di's father, and the other is yours. Uncle Paladin and Aunt Eggie will know--they must have looked into Diamond's pedigree back to old Bandobras. I can ask them tomorrow morning."

The girl was somewhat befuddled by this line of reasoning, but she answered, "'Twas Uncle Alamaric, both times. I meant Alamaric. Slip of the tongue, that's all. You know how us Tooks are--everybody's got names just like everybody else's, so even we can't help getting 'em mixed up sometimes."

Frodo let this explanation pass; the custom of hobbit families to use extremely similar names was not confined to the Tooks. "There is also a discrepancy between you and the girl that the Tooks were expecting. They've been told that Diamond Took is a shy little thing, sensitive and well-mannered, just the type of girl that a lady of Aunt Di's refined sensibilities would recommend as a bride for the next Thain, and Aunt Eglantine would approve of for marriage to her son."

"You don't think Aunt Eg approves of me? She's been very kind."

"I daresay, but Pippin's mother wants a wife who will be a good influence on him--make him settle down and behave like a grown-up, respectable hobbit."

"Make him not like boys anymore, you mean. He's told me all about his Merry."

"Yes, I know."

The girl giggled. "Maybe Aunt Eg won't mind Merry so much now!"

"I don't believe Aunt Di would play such a trick on the Tooks. Therefore, you are the one who's playing the trick. You aren't Di Took," Frodo repeated. "You can't be."

"But I am," she insisted. "I am Di, and you can't say otherwise, Mr. Smarty-Baggins--so there!" She laughed again, hugging herself and rocking with delight as if it were a marvelous joke.

Neither Pippin nor Di were at first breakfast the next morning. Thain Paladin and his Lady were curious and concerned at their empty seats at the table, but Pim and Peri looked as if they were more aware of what was going on and were anxious to keep it from their parents. After breakfast, when Frodo went out for a walk in the garden, he found the girls in an eagerly chattering group with the ladies from the house next door.

"-and they didn't come in 'til late," Peri was telling her eldest sister and cousins. "Tipsy, I'd say. No wonder they're both still abed. Pimmy and I heard them outside..." She looked up as Frodo approached them. "You did too, didn't you, Frodo? They were practically under your window."

"Yes," he said. "I heard them."

"It must have been midnight, at least."

"You don't think..?" Ada asked breathlessly, then reconsidered and shook her head. "No," she and the other girls agreed in chorus.

"I don't believe they were up to anything improper--not in that sort of way," said Pim. "I rather think Father would be relieved if they were. At least, that would mean that Pippin can take an interest in girls. I'm sure they only went out for a ramble, to talk without Mother hovering over them."

"I wonder if they weren't up to some mischief?" Peri suggested. "Father's had an early visit from the Tookbank High Shirriff this morning."

"Oh, that could be anything," said Pim, "nothing to do with Pippin and Di."

"Perhaps..."

"What do you think of this girl?" Frodo asked them.

"I like her," said Pim. "It shows a wonderful spirit for her to come all this way by herself. I wouldn't have been so brave at her age."

"She's a bit wild, but charming. That's not at all remarkable for a Took," Melly teased. "She's just a little more Tookish than most."

"A little too Tookish for poor Mother!" laughed Peri.

Pearl, who was most like their mother, gave Frodo's question more practical consideration. "Pippin seems to enjoy her company, and I suppose we ought to be glad of that... but I wonder if it isn't because of what Ferdi suggested. The girl is quite boyish. That may be what Aunt Di had in mind when she proposed this odd match. I know that Mother wants someone who will be a steadying influence on our Pippin, not encourage his eccentricities with her own but, after all, they're both very young, still in their 'tweens. They may grow up quite a lot in ten years..."

The errant pair appeared at the mid-morning second breakfast. From long experience of mornings-after, Pippin took only a cup of strong, hot tea with no milk or sugar, and cast a queasy glance at the bacon, eggs, and stewed tomatoes in their warming pans on the sideboard before he sank into his usual seat at the table.

When Paladin came in, he asked, "What's this about your fighting with Tibby Clover at the Bullroarer's Head last night, Pip?"

Pippin lifted bleary, blood-shot eyes to his father. "How d'you know about that?"

"I've made it my business to keep a watch on Tibby, to see that the lad doesn't do too much harm to himself or anyone else. Shirriff Thornbreak has informed me that Tibby was tossed out of the Bullroarer after a tussle with you... and another young Took the pub-keeper didn't recognize." Paladin looked at Di, who sat with her head propped on one hand and her breakfast untouched, then regarded his son incredulously. "Peregrin Took, did you actually take a girl of six-and-twenty to a public drinking-house?

"Don't shout, Father, please?" Pippin pleaded, and put his hands over his ears. "Why shouldn't she go? I see girls at pubs all the time. Besides, I started going to the Bullroarer when I was five-and-twenty."

"But you were in a brawl." Eglantine sounded horrified.

"That wasn't Pippin's fault," said Di. "I asked to go with him, and we were having a perfectly nice time 'til that boy came over and picked a fight. He hit Pippin for no reason, and knocked him onto the floor. I couldn't stand by and let him do that, could I?"

"She jumped up on Tibby's back," Pippin said with a reminiscent grin, "and started pounding on his head 'til he got off of me. Mr. Brundle at the Bullroarer didn't throw us out, exactly, but we were asked to leave after that."

The Tooks were speechless.

"Please don't scold, Uncle Pal, Auntie," said Di. "I've got an awful headache. I'm not used to drinking so much."

"No one is going to scold you, dear," Eglantine said in a softer, carefully restrained voice. "You aren't responsible for this... misadventure. If you aren't feeling well, why don't you go back to your room? You can lie down until luncheon--I hope you'll feel better by then."

"Oh, I hope so too," said the girl, and left the table.

Paladin turned sternly to Pippin. "I want to speak to you, son, in my study, as soon as you've finished your breakfast."

"Yes, Father." Pippin had already finished his tea, and set the empty cup down on the table. "I don't see what you're so upset about," he said as he headed for the door. "You ought to be pleased we're doing things together."

"Diamanta must have lost her wits to propose such a match," said Eglantine after Pippin had gone. "She's entirely the wrong girl for him!"

"But, my dear," said Paladin, "he does seem to like her."

"I know--that's the worst of it!"

---

A little later, Frodo found Pippin on the top of the hill. Pippin was lying on the grass with his head carefully in the shade of the laurel trees to keep the midday sun out of his eyes.

"You're not in too much trouble over last night's outing, are you?" Frodo asked as he sat down beside his cousin.

Pippin shook his head. "I didn't get yelled at, much, but I had to promise I wouldn't get Di tipsy anymore and we'd stay clear of Tibby Clover--and I'd do that anyway. I don't think Father minds it so much as Mother does. He can't complain. He wants me and Di to get on, and we do."

"Do you, Pip?"

Pippin opened one eye to look at Frodo. "Not like that, really, but it's better'n us not liking each other, isn't it? She understands about me and Merry, so that's all right if he ever comes home. It won't be so bad with her--more like a friend than a wife. And if we never... Well, I'd like a son of my own one day, but if I never have one, there's always Pevvy to be heir to the Thainship."

Frodo had intended to tell Pippin his suspicions about Di, but in light of this, decided not to. Would it make a difference? Whether or not she was the approved-of Diamond Took, perhaps Pippin's parents would realize that it was better that he be reconciled to marrying this incorrigible girl than dragging his heels over a match to someone else.

The distant sound of clattering hooves and creaking wheels made Frodo turn to look over his shoulder: a large, two-pony vehicle was coming down the road toward the Hall.

At the sound, Pippin sat up and shielded his eyes with one hand to look also. "It's a lady's carriage. I wonder if it's Aunt Di."

It was Diamanta, but as the carriage drew up before the Thain's Hall, they could see that she had brought another young girl with her. This one also had distinctly Tookish features, but her hair was not so bright a red and her face was pale and unfreckled.

As the two descended from the carriage, Paladin and Eglantine came out of the front door, and Frodo and Pippin came down the front slope. Diamanta smiled warmly and came forward to clasp her brother and sister-in-law by the forearms and give them each a kiss on the cheek. "Dear Eglantine, Paladin, and especially Peregrin, how delightful to see you! I know how eagerly you've all been awaiting this day. May I present you my niece, Diamond." She gestured to the girl; the girl, a shy, well-behaved little thing, turned pink as she curtsied and offered an inaudible greeting, but didn't dare glance in Pippin's direction. The Tooks stared at her in utter bewilderment.

"Then who-?" Eglantine whirled to look up at the windows on the upper level of the Hall.

"I'll go and fetch her," offered Frodo, and while the dazed Thain and Lady escorted their guests into the drawing room, he went up to the bedrooms and went into Di's room.

She had been sleeping, but woke instantly when he opened the door and blinked at him drowsily. "You again? You're making a bad habit of this bursting into bedrooms, Frodo. It could ruin a lady's reputation. Everybody'll talk."

"They're talking already." He sat down at the foot of the bed. "I want you to tell the truth now. Who are you?"

"We had this all out last night. I'm Di Took. Nobody else."

"Then you are not the only one. As you said, the Tooks have a way of using similar names. Diamanta's arrived, and she has another girl with her who also goes by the name of Di."

"Aunt Di's come already?" The girl sat bolt upright, fully awake now. "Oh, gobby-knobs! I meant to be gone before they got here." She twisted around as if she intended to fly out the window above her bed, but Frodo grabbed her ankle to stop her.

"Before you go, Miss, I think you owe the Tooks an explanation, and an apology." He held onto her in spite of her squirming, knowing that she could "thump" effectively if she truly meant to put up a fight.

Fortunately, the girl's better nature forced her to surrender. "I suppose you're right. They've been awfully sweet to me, even when I misbehaved. Apologies it is."

She lifted her chin and braced herself, and went with Frodo to the drawing room, where Pippin sat beside his mother, regarding their guests in confusion, while his father said, "It's all quite extraordinary, Di. Another girl arrived at the Hall yesterday and told us that she was Diamond-"

As the red-haired girl stepped into the room, Diamanta stared at her in astonishment, then took so deep a breath that she seemed to puff up before she spat out the name one syllable at a time: "Di-an-tha Took! I might have guessed it was you."

Once explanations were offered, it soon became clear to Paladin and Eglantine that the girl they had taken for Diamond Took was also Diamanta's niece, a first cousin to the real Diamond, and this sort of elaborate joke was commonplace for her. Apologies were made by the contrite Diantha.

While the Tooks had every reason to be furious at the deception played upon them, they were remarkably forgiving. In fact, Eglantine was more kindly disposed to Diantha now that she knew the girl was never intended to be Pippin's bride. When they heard the news, the Took girls had even more to talk about. Dodi and Ferdi seemed to think it a hilarious prank; Pippin was inclined to agree--the imposture only raised his estimation of Di--but he was now faced with another Di, a girl very different from the one he'd grown fond of.

He was polite when his mother insisted he speak to Diamond, but their conversations were limited, not only by the girl's excessive shyness, but because Diamanta kept a protective watch over her niece and chaperoned her carefully. It was rare that Diamond said more than Yes or No in answer to questions, but the Tooks were left the impression that this timid Di was not at all interested in adventures. Diamanta and Eglantine were also careful to keep Diantha away from Pippin and Diamond.

The guests only stayed at the Thain's Hall for three days, a much shorter visit than originally planned, for Diamanta was anxious to see both girls home to Long Cleeve before Diantha caused more mischief. Frodo was also eager to go home to Sam, but he felt he had to see things through and stay by Pippin until the guests had gone. On the morning before their departure, he had a final conversation with Diantha.

"I told you I was Di, didn't I?" she said with a grin. "I wasn't lying."

"No, but you didn't tell all the truth either, Diantha."

She laughed. "Yes, you were right about everything, Smarty-Baggins, and you're pleased with yourself for it, aren't you? But it wasn't only for a prank. I wanted to meet Pippin, just as I said. Diamond's such a little lamb--I want to look out for her, even if she was the tattle-tale who told my father when I went to Bindbole Wood that once. When I heard what Uncle Alamargo said about the Thain's son being unsuitable, I thought I ought to see for myself what kind of husband he'd make for Di."

"And what do you think of Pippin?" Frodo asked her.

"Pippin's a nice boy. I like him a lot, but he won't do for her. She'd never understand the things he told me about Merry. It would shock her if she did."

"It didn't shock you."

"I understood. It's awful to be that much in love, and know that nobody approves."

"Yes, it is," Frodo said softly. Diantha gave him a sharp, curious glance, and he suddenly felt that she saw quite clearly that he wasn't simply referring to Pippin and Merry. "I must say, you have an uncommonly mature outlook for a girl of six-and-twenty... Are you six-and-twenty, Di?" That was Diamond's age; this girl might be older.

"I'm almost eight-and-twenty," she answered proudly. "Almost a big sister to Diamond, and that's why I want what's best for her. I can see that this match is no good--Pip and Diamond will only be unhappy with each other. I don't want her to be unhappy, or him either."

"You think he'd do better as a husband for yourself?"

"Oh, no!" She turned to him, wide-eyed. "You don't understand. You're so clever, Frodo Baggins, and you don't see at all. I don't want to marry Pippin. I won't ever marry anybody. A girl's supposed to want a husband, but I never did." She sighed. "I should've been born a boy--you get to have so much more fun, and nobody's shocked when you do. And maybe I might have married Diamond myself."

Frodo understood.

---

Later that morning, he stood beside the Tooks and saw the three Dis get into Diamanta's carriage, and waved goodbye as they rode away.

After the carriage had gone out of sight, Eglantine said, "Everything was upset by that other Di, but it was a mistake, I think, to bring Diamond here so soon. She seems like a sweet child, but she's far too young to be considered for such prospects yet. Diamanta can bring her back again in three or four years..." As she made her plans, she took her husband's arm, and they went into the Hall.

Pippin sighed.

"It's all right, isn't it?" Frodo asked, and put an arm around his cousin. "It's over for now. You won't have to bother about Diamond again for years."

"I know," said Pippin. "It's not that. She seems like a nice enough girl, but five years or ten, I wouldn't want to marry her unless she grew up to be more like her cousin. I don't care what Mother says--I liked the other Di better."