Frodo's aunt Asphodel Burrows was very like his memory of his mother. Her formerly dark hair had now turned white and she was growing frail as she approached her century, but she still maintained the elegant poise and sharp wits of a true Brandybuck lady. She had lived on a limited income after the death of her husband, but remained fiercely independent. In spite of her frequent allusions to her relationship with the Brandybucks at Brandy Hall, Aunt Asphodel rarely visited her old home in Buckland. Her personal pride was stronger than her sense of family allegiance and she hated to appear at all dependent on them. Frodo knew that her son Milo had been sending her money since his own fortunes had improved; Asphodel could take a more spacious cottage now if she chose, but she'd grown attached to her tiny-but-comfortable smial in the Budgeford high street.
Frodo reached Budgeford shortly before midday and immediately went to his aunt's smial, but wasn't able to have a confidential conversation with her right away, for her tiny home was filled with visitors. His cousins Ilberic and Estella Brandybuck, their two little girls, and Estella's Aunt Beryl were visiting Estella's brother Fatty Bolger and his family for the summer; Frodo had seen them briefly on his journey from Hobbiton to Buckland, when he'd made the acquaintance of Fatty's and Flora's new daughter Federiga, They were all now apparently having luncheon with his aunt. The group was surprised to see him again so soon. He was invited to join them, and Asphodel made room for another place at her table.
It was mid-afternoon before his cousins departed for the Bolger house to put their small daughters down for their naps. Aunt Beryl would've remained with Asphodel until tea-time, but the elder lady showed her guest firmly to the door with hints that her niece and nephew and their respective spouses must need help with the children. "For you know that they don't have your experience with babies yet, Beryl."
Once Beryl had gone and Asphodel's maid had shut the front door, Frodo's aunt turned to him with a wry smile. "I could see you didn't come all this way merely for luncheon, my dear," she said. "Now, what can I do for you?"
Since Frodo had no wish to disturb Aunt Asphodel any more than he wanted to disturb his aunts at the Hall, he didn't mention the letter he'd found nor the suspicions that had arisen because of it. Instead, he told her a story similar to the one he'd told Hilda and Melisaunte: the discovery of his mother's pearls had led him to take a larger interest in his family history and his parents' lives. He told her that he'd been reading his mother's poems and journals, and had already spoken to the older Brandybucks at the Hall. "I'd hoped you could tell me what they can't, Auntie."
"If I can, Frodo dear, but I don't see what I can tell you. I wasn't there at Brandy Hall when they died, you know. I hadn't seen my sister for months, and didn't hear the terrible news until three days afterward. Your Uncle Rufus and I hastened to Buckland as soon as we'd learned what had happened and we were just in time for the funeral. There was a great deal of discussion over what was to be done with you, dear boy," Asphodel added in an attempt to provide some useful information. "Rufus and I offered to take you home with us--I daresay you don't remember that at all--and Merimac said you ought to be sent to live with Dora Baggins, but in the end my brother Rory said it was his duty to see that you were properly cared for in his house. Well, he was quite right. You were better kept at the Hall, and Esmeralda was prepared to look after you just as poor Primmie would've wanted."
Frodo hadn't been aware of any of this. Except for the funeral ceremonies, he'd spent the days following his parents' deaths up in the nursery with the other children. Lost in his own bewilderment, he'd paid no attention to what the grown-ups were doing. Brandy Hall had been the only home he'd ever known, and it had seemed natural at that time that he should go on living there. While Asphodel's story gave him another fascinating glimpse into those days, it wasn't what he had come to his aunt for.
"I understand that you can't tell me much about that night, or what happened immediately before or after," he said, "but I thought you might tell me more about my mother. You were closer to her than the aunties at the Hall even when you lived far away."
Aunt Asphodel nodded in agreement. "We were always confidantes as girls, since our own days in the Brandy Hall nursery. We wrote to each other regularly once I left the Hall upon my marriage, and did so until the end of poor Primula's life."
"There's one question I want to ask you particularly. Will you answer honestly? I can't ask anyone else. Even if I did and they knew the truth, I rather suspect that they'd try to hide it from me, since it might tarnish the memory of my mother or make her marriage sound unhappy."
"Darling, what is it you expect me to tell you?" his aunt asked, and regarded him with growing concern.
Frodo presented the idea that had brought him here: "There's one thing everyone's said that strikes me as curious: the Brandybucks were all surprised when Mother decided to marry my father. They say that they didn't believe she would ever marry at all, and she didn't until late. She was two-and-forty when she wed my father. It's odd for an attractive young woman to wait so long to choose a husband--don't you agree?"
"Yes," Asphodel agreed. "But you must bear in mind that our elder sister never did marry, and she set the example for Primmie and me. I'm sure the family was equally astonished when I married Rufus Burrows. They never understood my choice and I daresay they still think I made a bad match."
"But if a lady from a prominent family with her own wealth and beauty, who might have whomever she likes, refuses to marry, she usually has a good reason of her own for it," Frodo went on. "Either she has no interest in acquiring a husband at all, or there's something in the state of matrimony that doesn't suit her. I think that neither of these applies to my mother, since she did wed eventually. The third reason such a lady might have is that she can't marry whomever she likes. The one she truly wants is the one she can't have. Is that how it was, Auntie? Tell me, please. You would know, if no one else does. Was there some lad my mother was sweet on before she met my father? Someone she wasn't able to marry?"
"There was our cousin, Iselgrim Took," Asphodel answered after a moment.
"Iselgrim?" Frodo repeated. He didn't remember hearing this name before, and found it extremely unattractive for the romantic figure he'd imagined his mother being in love with.
Asphodel seemed to understand this, and smiled. "He was a very handsome youth in his day, Frodo. One of our Uncle Isenbold's innumerable sons. He was of an age with my sister Amaranth, older than Primmie and I, but both of us were rather sweet on him when we were girls in our tweens. If he'd shown any partiality for one of us sisters over another, there might've been tears or else a dreadful quarrel over it. But Iselgrim went away, left the Shire in search of Uncle Hildifons."
"Is that the Old Took's son who went to sea?" Frodo asked.
"No, that was Uncle Isengar, a younger brother. He came home again after his travels in the Big world, bringing us all sorts of marvelous gifts. Hildifons never returned. Iselgrim and some of his brothers decided to go on a quest of their own to see if they could find Hildifons or at least discover what had become of him. Not long afterwards, I met Rufus Burrows and ceased to think of Iselgrim and his beautiful chestnut curls, but I rather think it broke Primmie's heart when he went away. She was just coming of age, you see. Girls can be unusually romantic at that time of life, and a love affair that goes wrong can strike one especially hard. I'm sorry to say, Frodo, that your mother didn't confide in me on this point. I only know what I saw. She wept after he went away and went about looking sad and pale for awhile, until Aramanth told her not to be so foolish. After that, Primmie kept her feelings to herself. Whatever she truly felt for Iselgrim, I do know that Primula never looked at another lad for years, not until she went to visit our cousin Bilbo in Hobbiton and met your father."
"Did Iselgrim and his brothers ever return?"
"Oh yes, many years later. They never found a sign of Uncle Hildifons, living or dead. I remember that Iselgrim went to pay a call at Brandy Hall soon after he returned home again, but Primula was married to your father by then. This would've been a year or so before you were born, Frodo. If Iselgrim had had thoughts of her while he was away, he would've done better to speak up before he went. He certainly couldn't have expected a girl like Primula to wait for him indefinitely without a word!"
Frodo had intended to tell Aunt Del about his mother's poem, but now he didn't feel it was necessary. This Iselgrim Took sounded as if he must be the person it had been written for; he had certainly been far away from Primula for a very long time. He could imagine her as a young girl, putting her feelings down on paper once her eldest sister had scolded her about making an exhibition of them. After that, Primula had never expressed her deeper feelings again. Had she waited so many years for him, Frodo wondered, and only married elsewhere once she'd given up hope of seeing him again? "Is Iselgrim still alive?" he asked his aunt. "Can I speak to him?"
Asphodel shook her head. "No, my dear. He's been dead for nearly thirty years. He didn't live very long after your parents died. The last time I ever saw him was at their funeral."
Site Info
We are the home of 1292 authors from among our 2552 members. There have been 2904 reviews written about our 3820 stories consisting of 10734 chapters and 29400445 words. A special welcome to our newest member, Rosamundeb.Categories
Skin Change
Donate
Help us keep one of the oldest running LotR archives available to all. Even the smallest donation helps!
Many thanks to our previous donors!
Many thanks to our previous donors!
