The Family Jewels by Kathryn Ramage

"Where do we go now?" asked Sam as they headed back to Hobbiton.

"Right now, we'll go home for lunch," Frodo answered, "but I think that I shall pay a call on my cousin-by-marriage Ruby Chubb this afternoon. You needn't come with me, Sam, if you don't wish to." He had tried to bring Sam up a step or two in hobbit society by introducing him to some of the prominent local families, but he knew how awkward and out-of-place these social calls made Sam feel. "Nor you, Sherriff Smallburrows," he added to Robin. "We've already taken you away from your regular duties for too much of today."

"It's been a pleasure seeing you work, Mr. Baggins," Robin assured him, "but I do have my usual rounds to do."

"Then why don't you go on, and we'll meet at the Dragon this evening. If I have anything to tell you, I can do so then."

Robin agreed to this and, with a tug on his cap, went on his way.

After lunch, Frodo put on one of his best velvet jackets and walked over to the Old Place on the other side of Hobbiton. He meant to visit the Chubbs, but he thought he would need some assistance in getting into their house without making them suspicious of his purpose. He was not a close acquaintance of the couple, for they were older than he--both about fifty, grown and married while he was still a boy in Buckland--and he had never paid a call on them before--but Wilgo and Ruby were friends of Milo and Peony Burrows, with whom Frodo was now on good terms, especially since he had apologized to them for suspecting Milo of Lotho Sackville-Baggins' murder.

Milo was not at home when Frodo arrived at the Old Baggins Place, but Aunt Dora, who answered the door, told him that Peony was in. Milo and Peony lived with Dora, in part to look after the old lady, and in part to give their four children a larger home than they could otherwise afford. They hoped that Dora would leave the house to them when she died--a hope that had increased since Dora's previous favorite, Peony's niece Angelica, had fallen out of favor by defying her family to marry Lad Whitfoot this past summer.

Before he could seek out Peony, Frodo was obligated by politeness to spend a few minutes with his elderly aunt. Angelica's marriage had been a enormous disappointment to Dora; the old lady had much to say about her great-niece's duplicity.

"I always thought her such a sweet, pretty child. How she fooled us all! You're fortunate not to have been here, Frodo, when she told us how she'd been sneaking out of the house at night to see that boy, and how they absolutely had to get married as soon as possible to avoid a disgrace. A disgrace was exactly what it was--but what could her poor parents do but give their blessings and see her married to him. Well, she's got just what she wanted, and I hope she'll be happy with her foolish choice." Dora gave her nephew's arm a sympathetic pat. "I do hope that she hasn't broken your heart, dear boy." It had always been Dora's fondest wish that Frodo and Angelica would marry one day, even though Frodo and Angelica didn't like each other very much.

"No, Auntie," Frodo assured her. "I knew that she preferred Lad to me."

"Preferred Lad Whitfoot!" Dora repeated incredulously. "I wonder that any sensible girl could possibly prefer that thick-headed Mayor's son over a bright, handsome boy like you! But you mustn't be discouraged by Angelica's fickleness, Frodo. You'll find someone else--I'm certain of it. There must be dozens of girls in the Shire who'd be happy to marry you."

When Frodo excused himself and slipped away from Dora at last, he found Peony in the kitchen, half-dusted in flour as she made currant buns for the children's tea.

"You want to visit Ruby and Wilgo Chubb?" Peony said once Frodo told her why he had come to her. She clapped her hands briskly to brush off the flour before she put the buns in the oven to bake. "Why? Are you conducting another investigation, Frodo?"

"Yes, but it's no murder."

"Well, thank goodness for that! What have they done?"

"Nothing that I know of, but I've been given a very odd puzzle to solve." As Frodo explained the curious incident at the Fairbairns' cottage and his visit to the Taggarts' house, Peony grew more interested.

"I remember hearing about the missing jewels after Mrs. Taggart's death," she said. "There was a great to-do about it--you were away from Hobbiton, off on your adventures, at the time. I've always wondered what became of them. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could find them?"

"Then will you help? Will you come with me to the Chubbs' house?" Frodo asked her. "I'm not in the habit of calling on them, and it would look rather odd if I appeared on their doorstep... unless I were with a friend of theirs, like you or Milo."

Peony laughed. "What subterfuges you must get up to in these investigations of yours, Frodo! But I suppose it would be fun to be on the investigator's side for a change, instead of being one of the people you suspect." Even though she was a Baggins by birth and as solid and respectable as any hobbit in the Shire, Peony had enough sense of adventure to see some appeal in solving a mystery. "As a matter of fact, Ruby's been asking me to call on her. She has a sister visiting who she's eager for us to meet."

"Can you go this afternoon?" Frodo asked.

Peony agreed, and after changing her dress and asking Aunt Dora to give the children their tea, they went.

"The Chubbs may have already heard about what's happened at the Fairbairns' cottage, but I would rather not have them or anyone else connected with the late Mrs. Taggart know that I'm looking into it," Frodo explained to his cousin on their way to Bywater. "We mustn't mention the Fairbairns unless someone else speaks of them first."

Ruby Chubb, who was a plump little lady with mousy curls and a pleasant, apple-cheeked face, looked surprised to see Frodo with Peony when she answered the door, but Peony explained her escort easily. "Milo's very sorry he wasn't able to come today, but Frodo was kind enough to accompany me. You don't mind if he joins us, do you, Ruby?"

"Not at all," Ruby answered. "We don't see much of you, Frodo. Come in, please, both of you. There's already quite a crowd in the parlor, but I'm sure we can squeeze you in."

Ruby showed them into her best parlor, where Wilgo and their two small daughters were seated with several visitors: Prunella Proudfoot; Poppy Bolger, who was a mutual cousin of Frodo's, Peony's, and Wilgo's, and her husband Filibert; to Frodo's surprise, Mrs. Broadbelt was also there. In the center of the room, as guest of honor, sat another plump little lady of about sixty who bore a strong resemblance to both Ruby and Nettie Broadbelt. On either side of this lady sat two sturdy-looking girls with black curls, one in her late teens and the other in her early twenties, whom Frodo had never seen before.

"This is my sister, Mrs. Opal Windle," Ruby made the introduction, "and her daughters, Pola and Pella. I daresay you won't remember when Opal was here last. She married away five-and-twenty years ago and went to live at Haysend in the far south of the Shire, and hasn't been home again since."

"How long are you staying in Bywater?" Peony asked.

"For another week or two," said Opal. "We've been here since the beginning of the month, and my husband is awaiting our return--but I did want to see my family again after so long. Everyone's so changed from when I last saw them. I've missed so much."

"She even missed both Father's and Mother's funerals, poor dear," said Mrs. Broadbelt.

"My daughters have never been to this part of the Shire before." Opal indicated the two girls who sat beside her, "Ruby's done her best to see that they have the chance to meet everyone they can during this visit."

"I'm eager for them to meet all the people around Bywater and Hobbiton," Ruby agreed. "Especially the young folk." She gave Frodo a speculative look that he had often seen from the mothers, grandmothers, and aunts of young girls--even if the girls were, like Opal's daughters, not yet of an age to marry. He knew that he was considered an extremely eligible bachelor.

"And have you girls made many friends here?" Mrs. Broadbelt asked her nieces. "I believe Medora's taken you around and introduced you to some of her friends."

"Oh, yes, Medora's been quite nice to us," said the younger girl, Pella. "She knows such a lot of people, and it seems as every one of them is a cousin!"

"Has she taken you to meet your cousin Florabel yet?" the lady continued.

"I don't think so..." Pella looked to her mother for assistance.

"There was a cousin we were meant to meet yesterday," her sister, Pola, said with a laugh. "Aunt Ruby invited her and her new husband to tea, only they never arrived. Was that her, Auntie?"

"Yes, that was Florabel," said Ruby. "And I must say that I'm quite disappointed. She promised most faithfully that they would come. You girl were late to tea yourselves-"

"We were out with Medora, Aunt Ruby," said Pola, "and we lost sense of the time. But at least we made haste once we realized we were behind."

Ruby turned to her eldest sister. "Do you know what happened to Florabel, Nettie?"

"I heard that they had some trouble at the cottage," Mrs. Broadbelt answered.

Peony glanced at Frodo; he was watching Mrs. Broadbelt worriedly, afraid that she would give everything away.

But, with a knowing twinkle in her eyes, Mrs. Broadbelt added, "Rats, I believe. It's that old cottage of Mother's, you know," she told Opal. "I'm afraid it sat empty for far too long after Mother passed away."

"How unpleasant!" said Opal with a small shudder. "I know Mother treasured the old place, but I wouldn't live there for anything."

"You don't wish to go and visit the old cottage while you're here?" asked Mrs. Broadbelt. "Your daughters might like to see the home where you grew up."

"No, indeed. I'd rather remember it the way it was when we were children. It's been so long, I'm sure I wouldn't know it anymore. If the girls would like to see it, I'm sure their cousin Medora will take them."

"It's a pity you haven't had a chance to meet my niece, Angelica," Peony said quickly to the girls to try and divert the conversation. "But she married away a few months ago."

"How is Angelica?" Poppy asked pointedly. "We've heard that she's expecting a baby already."

"Yes, she is," Peony confirmed. "Isn't it wonderful! It's just what she wanted." Peony and the rest of the Baggins family--even those who approved of Lad--had not been so delighted when Angelica had announced her pregnancy, but gossip about her hasty marriage was spreading around Hobbiton, and the Bagginses were determined to put the best face on the situation.

"It seems that so many young people are marrying lately," said Prunella. "You've just been to another wedding, haven't you, Frodo? Your cousin Melly Brandybuck and one of the Took lads."

"Yes, that's right," Frodo answered. "It was Everard Took. He and Melly are on their honeymoon now."

"Wasn't there some scandal in Tuckborough before they married?" asked Filibert. "Something to do with a boy who was killed, and Everard was suspected."

"The boy was a friend of Everard's," Frodo admitted, "but Everard wasn't responsible for his death. The wedding was delayed for a few days, but it all came out right in the end." He told the group about Melilot's and Everard's wedding, but did not mention the part he'd played in finding Toby Clover's murderer. The conversation had already draw too close to his previous work as an investigator, and he did not want questions about his present case. Aside from Peony, Mrs. Broadbelt was the only one here who knew of it, and he didn't know if he could rely on her to keep it secret. What did she mean by deliberately bringing up Florabel Fairbairns and the goings-on at the cottage? If only he knew what she was up to!

As he was telling his tale, the front door burst open and a hurried patter of bare feet came running down the hall. Ruby's fifteen-year-old son Wilcome came into the parlor with his best friend and partner-in-mischief, Frodo's young cousin Sancho Proudfoot.

"Sit down, boys! Sit down and behave yourselves," Ruby urged them. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Yes, Ma," Wilcome replied, and headed straight for the tea-table to gather up a handful of little seedcakes. Sancho tweaked one of the little Chubb girls' curls in greeting; when Wilcome tossed a couple of cakes to him, he caught them, then sat on the hearthrug at Prunella's feet. Wilcome plopped himself down on a tuffet to munch on the rest. "Sancho's Grandpa gave us a good tea, so we're nearly full up," he reported through a mouthful.

"Young hobbits are never full up," said Wilgo, and everyone laughed. "Still, I suppose it's better that you lads go from house to house stuffing yourselves with jam and cake than getting into trouble."

"What naughtiness have you lads been up to today?" Sancho's grandmother asked indulgently.

"Nothing particular, Granny Pru," Sancho answered. "We've just been about the town, looking for fun." When he noticed that Frodo was staring at him, he ducked his head and looked abashed.

"We all know your idea of fun," said Filibert. "Who was it that stopped up Mrs. Goodbody's chimney last week with old bird-nests? Who let the Gammidges' cows out of the pasture, and then ran off with an armload of pumpkins while Farmer Gammidge and his sons were busy chasing the cows? And who left those same pumpkins smashed on half a dozen doorsteps around Hobbiton?"

"Not us, Uncle Fil!" Wilcome protested, which set up another round of laughter around the room. No one believed him.

"Nonsense, lad," replied his father. "If there's any mischief hereabouts, no surprise if the two of you are at the heart of it."
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