The next morning, Merry stayed in at Bag End with Frodo. The two cousins had not had much time for confidential talk during Frodo's recent visit to Brandy Hall, and Frodo wanted to have a precise account of Merry's adventures in Fangorn and with the Riders of Rohan for his book. Frodo also planned to have Pippin recount his adventures in Gondor, but Pippin had been sent out that morning on a special errand to interview Odo Proudfoot about his 'hard words' with Lotho.
Frodo sat at his desk in the study with one of his notebooks open before him, writing as quickly as he could, while Merry sat close to the fire with his feet up on the fender. He was eating a winter apple as he told his tale.
"Now, the Lady Eowyn... You never got the chance to know her, did you, Frodo?"
"No," answered Frodo, "not well, I'm afraid. We were introduced, of course, and I saw her in the Houses of Healing with her arm in a sling, but I didn't talk with her very much. I know that she spoke highly of you. You fought by her side in the battle at Pelennor Fields."
"I wouldn't have been there at all if it weren't for her. She knew how badly I wanted to go and join the fight, and not be left behind. She wanted it as badly, and disguised herself as one of the men to do it. I sat before her as we rode into battle." Merry bit into his apple. "And when she pulled off her helm and all that long, golden hair came tumbling out..."
Frodo looked up from his notebook, smiling. "Should Pippin be jealous?" he teased.
Merry laughed. "It wasn't like that. She's twice my size! And besides, she was in love with Strider the whole time. We were friends, that's all. We understood each other. I admired her tremendously for her bravery when she faced that Lord of the Black Riders and fought him rather than let him touch King Theoden. She fought as well as any of the men. Better. She killed the winged beast the Rider was mounted upon with one stroke of her sword. I've never seen a woman, Big Folk or hobbit-kind, with that sort of physical courage."
He chomped thoughtfully on his apple while Frodo went on writing. After a few minutes, Merry asked, "Frodo, do you remember there was a terrific scandal when we were children? The Widow Goldworthy?"
Frodo paused in his work. The name was vaguely familiar. "Yes... Your mother and the aunties used to talk about her in whispers. The widow married again--and wasn't it to someone beneath her socially?"
"Her coachman," supplied Merry. "Everyone said he was a climber and only after her money. Her family tried their best to talk her out of it, but marry him she did, in spite of what they said. Some people, like Mother, came around eventually when they saw how happy the two of them were and realized that Mrs. Goldworthy--or whatever her name was afterwards--didn't care if she didn't get invited to all the ladies' tea-parties anymore. But some people never accepted it. It didn't matter to them if the coachman turned out to be a kind and dear husband, or that the two of them loved each other deeply 'til the end of their days. They only saw that it was a step down for her to marry him."
"Yes, I remember. Whatever made you think of her, Merry? The Lady Eowyn and her bravery?"
"No," said Merry, "yours and Sam's."
Frodo put his quill down. "We aren't so very brave. We live here in secret. People know about you and Pippin."
"Yes, but it's different for us. We're cousins. Everyone who knows about me 'n' Pip assumes it's just a silly boys' game that's gone on too long, and sooner or later we'll give it up and do the respectable thing with a pair of suitable girls." He sighed. "We may have to pick out suitable girls sooner or later in any case, to keep the proud names of Took and Brandybuck going--as if there weren't enough Tooks and Brandybucks around the Shire! Our situation isn't the least like the widow's."
"But you think mine is?"
"Well, yes," Merry replied. "People would say the same things about you and Sam as they did about her and her coachman--that you'd disgraced yourself by choosing someone beneath you, or even that you'd seduced a servant. That he was after your money-"
"Merry..." Frodo regarded his cousin with wide eyes. "You don't believe that?"
"No, of course not! I think Sam's marvelous. You couldn't have chosen better. But it's the sort of thing they'd say, and I don't think you'd mind it any more than she did, not as long as you were happy. Sam's just what you want, isn't he?"
"Yes." Frodo gave Merry another, small smile. "He's just what I want, and I don't care what people say. You see how silly the whole idea of 'proper places' is once you've been so far beyond it, as Sam and I have. I don't want us to go back. There is talk about us already, Merry. I'm just beginning to realize how much. Even Lotho made a remark on that day he came here. But it's only rumors so far. Nobody knows." He paused, then confided, "I don't mind it for myself, but sometimes I wonder if I'm being selfish, if I'm not doing what's best for Sam. He could do and be so much more than a nurse-maid to me. I want to show him that, to give him everything I can--but everything I do for him might also place him in an awkward position, exposed to the sort of ugly gossip you were talking about. For example, I've made out my will in his favor."
Merry sat upright, alert at this last piece of information. His mouth moved soundlessly over the word 'will'; Frodo nodded, but refused to meet his cousin's searching gaze as he went on:
"That will make a gentleman of him, beyond question. He'll be Master of Bag End after I'm gone. But can you imagine what people will say? Sam might wish I'd left him a simple gardener, and left him to love someone else."
When Pippin arrived at the Proudfoot cottage, Odo Proudfoot greeted him warmly and welcomed him in, but Odo's wife Prunella was more reserved; she thought that Pippin was a bad influence on her young grandson, Sancho, and brought out the worst in the already-mischievous boy. Pippin thought that Sancho showed a lot of promise without any help from him. The elderly couple had been bringing up their grandson since his parents' deaths when he was very small, and they tended to be both indulgent and overly protective of him.
"Where is Sancho, by the way?" Pippin asked after he had been in the house long enough to notice that the boy was not around.
"He isn't here," said Odo. "We've sent him off to stay with our Brockhole relations for awhile."
"Not because of this business with Lotho Sackville-Baggins?"
"You know about that, Pippin Took?" asked Prunella.
"Oh, yes," Pippin admitted frankly. "All of Hobbiton's talking about it. It sounds as if the shirriffs are asking everyone how they got on with Lotho."
"No one 'got on' with Lotho," Odo answered, "and we're on better terms with him than most, being neighbors as we are. You're quite right, Pip--we sent Sancho away because of Lotho. Sancho got up to some mischief around the Sackville-Baggins house awhile ago, and after what Lotho said to him, we were worried he might do some harm to the lad."
"You mean, Lotho actually threatened him?" asked Pippin, amazed.
"You know how Lotho will spout off," said Odo. "He said that if the boy ever set foot on his property again, he'd be sorry he was ever born. He'd get just what was coming to him--Lotho'd see to that."
"Well, really now-!" Prunella interjected under her breath. "Even if Lotho were only blustering, that's too harsh to stand for."
"There might've been nothing in it," her husband said, "but I didn't like the sound of it all the same myself. I thought it best if Sancho was out of his sight for awhile."
"What on earth did Sancho do to make him so angry?" Pippin wondered. He knew that Sancho was capable of some remarkable stunts. One of the reasons why Merry and Frodo had sent him on this errand alone was because the last time the two of them had seen Sancho, they had tossed the boy bodily out of Bag End; during the confusion the day after Bilbo's birthday party and mysterious disappearance, they had found Sancho digging holes in the pantry, searching for the hidden hoard of Bilbo's legendary dragon's gold.
"I couldn't say," answered Odo. "I only know that the boy had been off around the Sackville-Baggins place that evening--it was weeks ago now. Lobelia was away, and Lotho was home alone. Pru, when did Lobelia go off to visit your relations in Hardbottle?" Prunella, like Lobelia, was a Bracegirdle by birth.
"The first week of April," Mrs. Proudfoot replied. "It's been nearly two months."
"That long?" Odo looked surprised, and a little sad, that Sancho had been away for so many weeks. "Well, Pippin, as I said, it was after dark, and Sancho was late for supper, so I thought he must be up to something! We were just looking out the door for him, when all of a sudden, he comes tearing home fast as his feet could carry him, with Lotho running at his heels, shouting his threats and cursing fit for no decent hobbit to hear. Pru got the lad safely into the house before Lotho could catch him, and I stood firm before the door, and wouldn't let him pass. When I asked what it was all about, Lotho wouldn't tell me, beyond that the boy had been where he shouldn't--'prying and spying' was what he said. Sancho must've seen or heard something that Lotho didn't like, but if he did, Sancho never told us what it was either. The boy was too scared after what Lotho said to open his mouth about it. We sent him to the Brockholes up in Brockenborings, right afterwards. He's been nice and safe there."
"And maybe having to behave himself for the Brockholes will teach the boy a thing or two about making mischief!" Prunella added.
"But, you know, Pru dear," her husband observed, "now that Lotho's gone off, there's no reason why we can't have our Sancho back."
Pippin rushed back to Bag End to report this interesting piece of information. As he entered the house, he heard the murmur of low voices in the study and hesitated before going on, reluctant to interrupt what sounded like a private conversation... although he was also itching to know what Frodo and Merry were talking about.
Venturing quietly toward the study, he could see Frodo seated at his writing-desk, but not writing, and Merry leaning earnestly forward. Pippin only caught a few softly spoken words--
"-haven't you told him?"
"No. I've tried, but it only upsets him. Merry, please don't say-"
--and then Merry looked up find him in the doorway; Frodo turned to see what Merry was looking at.
"Pip!" Merry cried. "Back so soon?"
"You're just in time," said Frodo, and picked up his quill. "Merry's told me his tales. Why don't you give us your news, and then you can tell me all about your adventures in Minas Tirith before lunch."
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