"You spoke of your chief suspects," Beregond said after he and Frodo had left the tavern and were walking up the steep streets toward the citadel. Merry had gone on ahead, to stop at Gandalf's house and leave off the bakery goods Frodo had given him before also going to the citadel to make arrangements with Eowyn. They would meet again after Frodo had finished a few errands of his own. "Who is it you suspect, Frodo? Cirandil, I can guess, and some persons within the Council. Who is there that you haven't met?"
"I've learned that there were councilors expelled after the King's return," Frodo replied. "Something to do with their actions during the last day's of Denethor's stewardship. You served under Lord Denethor--do you remember them?"
"I was there to see it all," Beregond answered reluctantly. "How do you know of it?"
"The King told me, but of course it happened before he came to the city. Can you tell me more about it, Captain?"
"You mustn't judge these Men too harshly, Frodo. Denethor was our Lord Steward, ruler of this city, and we were his to command in those days before Mordor's fall. His word was law. All obeyed him. It is often the way with soldiers, to do as we are bid even if our hearts disagree."
"But for some, it was more than an unpleasant duty, wasn't it? Aragorn spoke of a Man named Broneron. Tell me about him, please. What did he do, exactly?"
"Very well," said Beregond. After a moment, he began to explain: "Broneron was Head of Council, favored of Lord Denethor. His loyalty led them to stand by his lord, even to the ruin of the city. Minas Tirith would surely have fallen before the armies of the Enemy if it hadn't been for the intervention of Mithrandir. It was he who directed the defense upon the city walls when Denethor would have us surrender, and held the gates as best he could until aid arrived."
Frodo nodded; he'd heard this story before, primarily from Pippin.
"We saw long before Sauron laid siege to the city that such an assault would come one day. There was much that could have been done to prepare for it, but Lord Denethor would do nothing. Time and again, when the councilors advised him to make the city ready for the coming war, he said that any defense would be useless. He said that whatever efforts we made were doomed to fail."
"But he'd gone mad by then," said Frodo. "He'd looked into that seeing-stone, and Sauron showed him only death and defeat, and destroyed all his hope."
"Yes, we know that now. Then, we saw only his despair, and we despaired. There were those among the Council who stood beside him."
"That was Broneron? Surely he did more than stand by Denethor. As you say, everyone obeyed--they had no choice."
Beregond nodded. "You've guessed rightly, Frodo. Broneron did more than obey the Lord Steward's edicts. He saw that none spoke against them. If any in the Council argued for preparations, he said that they were standing in opposition to the Stewart, and called them traitors. His followers in the Council said the same. Soon, none dared speak. In the final months of Lord Denethor's stewardship, the Council did not meet at all."
"But Carathir opposed them? Aragorn said that Carathir and other members of the Council planned for the city's defense."
"Yes, that's so. Their plans must be made in great secrecy, for there were spies everywhere in those dark days, but they did what they could."
"You knew of it, didn't you, Captain?"
"I knew," Beregond admitted, "but I did not speak of it. I was no spy."
"Do you know where Broneron is now?" asked Frodo. "The King said he still lives in the city. Is it possible for me to speak with him?"
"He may not agree to see you without the force of the law behind it, but he will see me. I will try to arrange an interview for you."
When they reached the citadel, the Council had just concluded its business for the morning, and the councilors were leaving the great hall. Frodo was not yet ready to question Larengar about his quarrel with Carathir--although what he'd seen at the tavern this morning had given him an inkling of what it had been about--and he had no desire to speak to Imatibin. Instead, he sought Hilabar.
"A minute, only," Hilabar consented when Frodo requested a moment of his time. "My wife expects me home at midday, and I mustn't tarry."
"I've heard she's expecting a baby," said Frodo.
"Your investigation's brought that out, has it?" asked Hilabar, but he was smiling toothily as he said it.
"It was Dame Thressildis who told me."
"Yes, this will be our third child. We have two little boys. So many of the old families are dying out for lack of heirs--it's the duty of the rest of us to have as many as we can."
"You're not from one of the old noble families then?" Frodo asked.
Hilabar was still smiling. "I've no claim to a prestigious ancestry. My wife Imadene, however, is a kinswoman of the late Lord Carathir. It was he who recommended me for a place in the Council when several seats became vacant."
"Was that when the King dismissed Garamant, Bifilir, and Broneron?"
"It was. You have unearthed quite a few secrets, haven't you? The King has engaged a most effective investigator."
"That remains to be seen," Frodo replied modestly, "but I've learned quite a lot. I know that the herbalist Bregilde also served as a midwife to the ladies of the court. She delivered your sons, didn't she? And she was tending Lady Imadene before she died."
"Yes..." Hilabar began to regard him cautiously. "Bregilde was a skilled healer. She'd delivered many children of courtiers in the last twenty or thirty years."
"Your wife is Mistress of the Wardrobe. Would she see Bregilde here in the citadel?"
Hilabar's brows came together sharply and he suddenly looked less pleasant. "Do you imply that my wife-?"
"No, not at all," Frodo hastened to assure him. "I only thought that the lady's condition might have brought the healer here. Bregilde must have come here, you see."
Hilabar didn't see, but this was enough to reassure him that his wife was not threatened by Frodo's question. "The Mistress of the Wardrobe has chambers within the great hall, so that she may attend the Queen, but Imadene does not live in them," he answered. "We have our house below, on the fifth level. I will ask her, but so far as I know, she never summoned Bregilde to her here. If you will excuse me, I must go."
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