Frodo waited until midday for the Council to disperse. When they did not, and noon was long past, he left the citadel and returned to Gandalf's house. He hadn't had a bite to eat since breakfast, so he went in through the kitchen door; he was looking through the larder when Merry came in and offered to make lunch for him. "I'm not so good a cook as Sam is, but I've learned to make a decent meal for myself," said his cousin. "I'll cook something for you."
'Something' turned out to be toasted bread and cheese, and they sat together at the table to eat it while Frodo told Merry about his morning's work, and how he had felt when he faced the Council.
"For all Aragorn's and Gandalf's taking my part, I'm not so sure that they're wrong to wonder if I'm fit for this job. I feel as if I've accepted a task that's much too big for me."
"Not for the first time," Merry said, smiling in sympathy.
"Yes, and look how that ended!"
"You succeeded, against all hope. You'll do as well this time, Frodo, and it won't be as hard on you."
"No, nothing could ever be." But Frodo was encouraged by Merry's faith in his abilities. Everyone who knew him seemed to believe he could do this... perhaps he really could. "All the same, this isn't like my investigations at home. I don't know where I am here--I've barely begun, and already I feel lost. These Big Folk are strangers to me. I can't speak with them as I can with other hobbits. Their manners and language are more formal than we're accustomed to. I need a way inside, to learn about them. I can't go about as I did in the Shire, visiting people, and asking my family to help."
"What about Strider? He's not a stranger, and he could tell you a lot about the people in the citadel, if you asked. He's promised to give you whatever help you need and he meant it sincerely."
"I'm sure he did, but I'd hate to bother him more than I have to. After all, he is the King, and he must have other business to attend to." Frodo thought of how long he had waited today to try and speak to Aragorn, but he knew that Merry was right.
"You have me," Merry offered. "I'm not busy. I'll help."
"Can you?"
"Yes, if you'll tell me what you need. I've been here among the Big Folk longer than you have, and I know them and their ways a little better. What can I do?"
Frodo thought about this while he nibbled his bread and cheese. "Are you familiar with the people in the King's court?" he said after a minute.
"I don't have much to do with the Council members, if that's what you mean. They're all much too stuffy. But I'm friends with some of the citadel guards. I knew Caradan, though not well enough to call him a friend."
"And the cousin, Cirandil?"
Merry shook his head. "He's been away in Ithilien since midwinter, and hasn't been out with the other guards since he came back."
"What about the court ladies?"
"Oh, I get on very well with them, especially Queen Arwen's attending maids."
Frodo's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Do you?"
"Lady Eowyn's my friend, and she misses woods and green hills as much as I do. We go out riding together, or for walks on the mountain paths. When we don't go out, I'll sit with her and the other ladies in the Queen's chambers. If I were a young Man, three feet taller, and spending so much time in the company of the Steward's Lady, it'd be quite a scandal, but no one thinks anything of it. They don't think of us in that way, you know. We might as well be children."
"Ten years old," said Frodo, recalling what Cirandil had said.
He'd experienced something like this already in the Shire, when older hobbits who had heard of his reputation as an investigator met him for the first time, and were surprised to see a young hobbit-lad only a few years out of his tweens. To the eyes of Big Folk, he must appear tiny and childlike. If he looked older and wiser like Uncle Bilbo, or had boots and a beard and an undeniable voice of authority like Mr. Grimmold, who was shorter even than a grown hobbit, he might be taken more seriously.
But perhaps his youth and size might be used to an advantage here? If the Big Folk thought him a child, they might speak to him less guardedly than they would to a Man like Captain Beregond.
Merry grinned. "It's a pity I don't take an interest in ladies, Big or hobbit-sized. I could have such fun."
"The next time you go to see the ladies, may I come with you? I saw a lady today I'd like to know more about."
"Really?" His cousin looked curious. "Which one?"
"I don't know her name--I only saw her for a moment outside the council-chamber with Cirandil. Her face was hidden beneath a veil, but I think she was rather young. Tall, even for a Big woman. She has long, black hair, and was dressed all in black."
"Oh, her. That's Tharya. Yes, you'll want to talk to her. Will tomorrow do? I'll tell Eowyn and the Queen you'll be coming."
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