They took two rooms at the inn--the Dis took one and Frodo shared another with Pippin and Isigo. After last night's tricks, he was determined to keep an eye on them. Isigo and Diantha remained opposed to Diamond's sudden acquiescence, and Frodo thought they might succeed in changing her mind before morning.
He wrote one last letter to Sam, asking him to escort Odonto to Brandy Hall. Merry's letter to Pippin had said that he would meet them at the ferry and give them a haven, so it seemed more reasonable for them to go on and make whatever arrangements were necessary from there rather than stay on at the Golden Perch.
All the young hobbits were accounted for at breakfast the next morning. Diantha was sullen and rebellious, Isigo pale and nervous; Pippin, cowed after his scolding, seemed willing to do as Frodo wanted. Diamond, on the other hand, was calm. There was little conversation over the table, and no one protested when Frodo said it was time for them to leave. He saw them out to the stable and onto their ponies, then led the party out of town.
The day was warmer than the one before and a mist lay low on the ground as the snow began to melt. The road between Stock and Bucklebury Ferry ran upon a raised earthwork causeway above the marshlands to the west of the Brandywine River; the mist grew thicker over the water and rose like white walls on either side of their path.
As they approached the ferry, Diantha hissed to her cousin, "You don't have to do this, Di. It's still not too late to turn back. You and Isigo can ride off into the woods, fast as you can, and me 'n' Pip will keep Frodo here 'til you're far away."
Frodo was relieved to see Diamond shake her head, rejecting this suggestion. He didn't know how he would deal with a rebellion at this point.
"Why should we do what Frodo says?" Diantha made one last attempt. "What does he know? He's so clever about investigating murders and such things, but he's not married. How can he tell how hard it'll be for you? Maybe, once you're married, everything will work out fine. You don't know. If you see Odonto, he'll only want you to go home with him."
"I won't go home with him," Diamond answered with surprising firmness. "I want him to carry a message back to Mama and Papa. It'll be all right, Di. You'll see."
"But-"
"Hush," said Pippin. "Somebody's coming."
The group fell silent; they could all hear the steady clip-clop of iron-shod hooves on a wooden surface and the hollow echo of it across the marshes. They were very near the river now and the ferry landing, but couldn't see it nor the rider who must be upon it. Stopping their own ponies, they peered into the fog ahead of them with nervous anticipation. It couldn't be Odonto; they all knew that he couldn't possibly have received Frodo's instructions yet, let alone ridden all the way from Hobbiton. Perhaps someone had been sent from Brandy Hall...
A cloaked figure on a dark pony loomed out of the misty white bank. Pippin smiled. "Merry!" He jumped down from his mount and went to him. "How did you know we'd be here?"
"I didn't," answered Merry, also dismounting and giving Pippin a quick hug. "I didn't know how long it'd take you to cross the Wood in this miserable weather, but I thought I'd better come out and try to meet you somewhere along the way. Did you get my letter? I sent it to the Green Hill Inn, just as you asked."
Pippin nodded and patted the breast of his coat, which made a crinkling sound.
"It sounded like a matter for secrecy," Merry went on. "If you don't want to be seen at the Hall, I can take you 'round a back way to Crickhollow. I hope there'll be enough room for you all..." He turned to scan the others and count them, then realized that there were five hobbits instead of the four he'd been expecting. "Here- Oh, it's you, Frodo. Hello! What're you doing with this lot?"
"Spying on us," Diantha said bitterly.
"I am not," said Frodo. "I've been perfectly honest about my intentions since I first found you."
"Not since you first found us, Frodo," Pippin said with a grin.
"Well, after that. If I'd told you I was working for the North-Tooks, you would never have told me where you were hiding Diamond and Isigo."
"Spy," Diantha said again.
"Your family wanted me to find Diamond. I agreed, and I've fulfilled my obligations and done just as they asked. Now, I intend to convince them to let Diamond marry Isigo."
"They must," Diamond said so softly that none of the others took notice of it.
Merry laughed. "It sounds very complicated, but if anyone could manage it, Frodo, it would be you."
"There's no need for them to hide," Frodo told him. "We'll be expecting company in a day or two, and I think both Dis will be more comfortable at Brandy Hall. Diantha's banged her knees falling off a pony. Perhaps your mother or one of the aunties could look at them for her."
As they went to the ferry and crossed the wide sweep of the Brandywine, Pippin told Merry all that had happened since he'd first heard from the runaways--how he'd hidden them at Noddy's, and how Frodo had found them and traced them to Stock. The others piped up with details and their own view of their adventures, interrupting this narrative so that Pippin only just finished his story by the time they landed on the opposite side of the river.
"I don't know how Frodo did it, but he's convinced Di to see things his way," Pippin concluded. "Me too. I suppose he's right about some of it. They can't hide away for years and years, and I can't help Isigo by giving him a job."
"If he wants work, I might be able to help with that," said Merry, and turned to address Isigo. "You worked as an agent for the old Thain, didn't you? Would you be willing to do the same for me? My cousin Marleduc works as my secretary and agent. It's part of his job to ride up and down Buckland to visit the farms and collect the rents, but since his wife Celie is expecting a baby soon, he doesn't want to be away from her for days at a time. You could take over that part of his work if you want to."
"I'd be happy to," Isigo said gratefully. "But I wouldn't like to be away from Diamond for so long either."
"I'm sure we could work that out, if the two of you end up married. There are plenty of cottages all around Buckland suitable for newlyweds. Would you mind living in the north of Buckland, you two?" They had arrived at Brandy Hall, and went inside.
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