After they'd seen the ladies off home, Frodo and Merry went into the High Hay tavern across the green. The townsfolk and neighboring farmers had gathered, as was usual at the end of the working day, and many were murmuring excitedly about the news of the dead body found by the Hedge. The Todbrush brothers had apparently repeated their tale to all who would listen.
"'Tis a pity," an elderly hobbit at a table nearby was speaking as Merry and Frodo came in; there was a small cubby just inside the front door, where patrons could hang their cloaks before entering the common room, and the pair were not immediately seen. "First 'twas Mr. Merimac's lad, then the lass as was lost in the river, then Master Saradoc only this summer past, and now it's this other young gent."
"You might say as the Brandybucks was under a curse," answered another aged hobbit seated beside him. "'Tis more'n any family, particularly one so high-up, should have to bear in so short a time."
"It's Mr. Berilac all over again," a woman at another table said to her companion. "He was hit over the head just the same as this poor lad. And I'll wager Missus Celandine Brandybuck's at the back o' this murder too."
"Missus Celandine?" her companion echoed, scandalized. "Not his own wife?"
The woman nodded knowingly over her mug. "Now, I don't say as she killed him, not the one or the other, but you remember how there was talk about her and Mr. Berry when she was a lass not yet married. 'Twas almost a scandal, and there's been talk since as how her husband an't forgot it. And now where's he? Dead just the same!" She slapped one palm down on the table as if this were a conclusive point.
Although they couldn't hear the conversations at other tables as distinctly, Frodo and Merry caught the names of Berilac and Celie being spoken elsewhere as well. This new tragedy reminded everyone of that old one.
The gossipers fell silent and some even looked embarrassed when they realized that the Master of the Hall had come in. The Todbrushes were seated at the bar in the midst of an enthralled audience as they told their story yet again--"and there he lay, t'blood all over his busted head!"--but they too shut up as Merry approached.
"My sympathies to you and yours, Master Merry," said the tavern-keeper on the other side of the bar, as if he were apologizing for the crowd. "We've all heard the sad news about your cousin, Mr. Merimas."
"Thank you," said Merry graciously. "Your sympathy is greatly appreciated." Then he turned to the Todbrush brothers. "It was the two of you we wanted to speak to. Sherriff Muggeredge tells us that you found my kinsman's body."
"That's so, Master Merry," said the elder brother.
"And you've been telling everyone your story about it."
"Aye, Master Merry," the other brother admitted, and looked contrite.
"You may have heard that my cousin, Mr. Baggins here, is an expert investigator. He's looking into Merimas's murder." Merry spoke loudly enough that others in the room could hear this; he wanted everyone to know that a professional was involved in the case. Frodo, however, felt rather self-conscious at all the eyes upon him. "If you don't mind, we'd like very much to hear your story ourselves."
The Todbrushes didn't mind. Merry bought the two farmers each a fresh half-pint of ale, and guided them toward an empty table at the back of the room where they could talk without an audience listening in.
"Now, lads," he said as he set the mugs down, "let's hear it."
"There's naught much to tell, Master Merry," said Jebro diffidently. Frodo guessed that he and Merry were going to receive a less lurid but hopefully more accurate account of the event than the other patrons of the tavern had. "We was coming up t'lane after a bite o' dinner at t'farm, Ted 'n' me. Sun hadn't gone low yet, and 'twas shining down under Hedge. It was Ted who seen 'm first."
"That's right," his brother agreed. "I saw his feet sticking out from tall grass. Jeb said, ''Tis a gent from t'Hall, fallen down.' We thought he was in a fit or had a drop too much, or sommat of the sort, 'til we went to have a close look. Then we saw t'blood on his head, and how his face was all purple when we turned 'm over and he was cold to touch. 'Twas then we knew as he was dead, killed."
It was a simple story, but Frodo thought there were a few points that needed to be cleared up. "You said that, when you first saw the body, you recognized it as 'a gent from the Hall.' Were you acquainted with our cousin Merimas?"
The two brothers glanced at each other. "Not 'quainted, as such, Mr. Baggins," answered Tedro. "We seen 'm about, but there's lots o' young Brandybuck gents, 'tisn't easy to tell one from another."
"We knew 'twas one o' them," said Jebro.
"Where is your farm?"
"Down south, Mr. Baggins, t'other side o' Hill."
"The Todbrush Farm is south of Buck Hill on the eastward edge of Buckland," Merry clarified the geography. "The lane that runs beside the Hedge takes you directly into Newbury, isn't that right?"
"Aye, that it is, Master Merry," said Tedro.
Frodo had at first been surprised that Merry was acquainted with the Todbrushes, but he began to understand that the pair of young farmers were tenants on Brandybuck property; this would explain both Merry's familiarity with them and their farm, and their servility to him.
Although he and Merry had been home more than six months, Frodo didn't go out much and it was still strange to him to observe the way the local folk now treated his cousin. As Heir to the Hall, Merry had generally been deemed a bit wild but 'a good sort of lad' by the Bucklanders, and they had treated him with a friendly informality. If he entered a pub, he would be greeted with a joke or wink and offers to buy him a half-pint. This new formality and deference to 'Master Merry' took some getting used to--and if it was odd to him, how much odder it must be to his normally easy-going cousin. While Merry seemed to take up his role as Master readily when it was necessary, Frodo had often heard him laugh about it when they were alone.
"Do you come here to the High Hay in Newbury regularly?" Frodo asked the Todbrushes. "Your farm is closer to Bucklebury. Do you ever go to the Buckle's Notch there?"
"We been there a-times," said Tedro, "but 'tis more friendly-like here at t'Hay."
"Not so much o' t'high folk," added Jebro, "and t'ale is worth a longer walk."
Frodo understood. Bucklebury was home to the cadet branch of the Brandybuck family, and the Buckle's Notch pub there was a favorite haunt of the young lads from the Hall. High folk, indeed!
"Is the Hedge lane the usual path you take to walk to and from Newbury?" asked Frodo, and received two nods in reply. "Did you go that way last night? Did you see anything, or anyone, then?"
"I didna," said Tedro, "but Jeb 'n' me didna go at the same time. I had me half as I do, 'n went back t'farm 'bout this hour last night. 'Twas getting on dark, and I mightna see if there was ought to be seen under Hedge. Jeb came home later."
"That's right." Jebro explained tersely, "I stopped in town to see my Missus."
"Your wife doesn't live at your farm with you?" asked Frodo. This was most unusual. Married hobbits very rarely lived apart, even when they didn't get along.
Jebro shook his head, mouth set in a stubborn, tight-lipped line.
Frodo would have pressed for more information about this strange situation, but Merry gave him a look that warned him not to. Frodo asked no more questions about the farmer's family life. "When did you go home, Farmer Todbrush?" he asked instead. "You saw nothing in the lane?"
"Woulda said sommat if I did, Mr. Baggins," Jebro replied. "When Ted 'n' me saw him a-lying there, we went t'shirriffs."
This confirmed what Hob Hayward had already told them. Since there was little more information the Todbrushes could give them, the two gentlehobbits thanked them and left the tavern.
Once they were outside, Merry explained, "I'm sorry I had to stop you, Frodo, but you were about to make an awful blunder. Jeb Todbrush is Milli's husband."
Frodo had had no idea his maid-servant's husband was still alive. Milli never spoke of her marriage, and he'd assumed that she was a widow. "But she goes by the name of Pibble."
"Yes, that's her maiden name. There was an awful quarrel between her and Jeb, and a scandal, and so she took her little boy and went back to Newbury to live with her mother. She used to work as a servant at the Hall before she married, and when I heard she was in need, and you needed someone to cook and sweep for you, I hired her. I do try to look after our people, but it's best not to pry into their private affairs. Neither Milli nor Jeb would thank you."
"I didn't mean to pry," Frodo answered. "Only, I didn't know, and it seemed so curious." He understood fully now why Merry knew so much about the Todbrushes. "It's nothing to do with Merimas's death, and that's all I'm concerned with. You've set me to find a murderer, and I'll do the best I can."
"Your best has always been good enough before," Merry replied, and put an arm around Frodo once they had left Newbury and were out of sight of the town and its gossipers. "Chief Muggeredge means well, but he and his shirrifs are better suited to breaking up alehouse quarrels and catching stray cows than solving murders. They aren't the investigators you are, Frodo, and I'm not the magistrate my father was. There'll be no muddle this time, and no injustices done. Nobody will be locked up in gaol until you name the right person."
Frodo knew just what he was referring to: when their cousin Berilac had been killed and suspicion had fallen upon Merry, Saradoc had allowed his son to be arrested and kept prisoner in the guardhouse, ostensibly in the interests of impartial justice, but also as a punishment for Merry's refusing to give up Pippin and marry a suitable girl chosen for him. Frodo's own efforts to free Merry and find Berilac's murderer had set him on his career as a professional investigator. That had also been the beginning of the irreparable breach between father and son; Merry had never forgiven Saradoc for this unfair treatment and spent little time in Buckland thereafter, eventually leaving the Shire altogether over a quarrel with his father. As Merry spoke, Frodo realized how strongly he still felt about the incident; now that he was Master, Merry was determined not to misuse his authority and allow such a thing to happen to anyone else.
Beyond the southeastern end of the town, the path diverged into multiple tracks across woods, farmlands and meadows; one lead to the path along the Hedge, and another to the Crickhollow lane. For a moment, Frodo considered going to look for the spot where Merimas had been found, but it was now dark and he and Merry hadn't brought a lantern with them. It would have to wait until morning. They headed down the Crickhollow lane and were at his cottage within minutes.
"Will you come back to the Hall tonight?" Merry asked as they stopped at the cottage gate. "You meant to stay for dinner. I doubt there'll be much of one--nobody will feel hungry--but they'll want to hear all about Merimas."
"I'm not terribly hungry myself," answered Frodo, "but I am rather tired. If I'm going to begin an investigation tomorrow, I'll need my rest."
Merry drew him into an embrace, and rubbed his back comfortingly. "I'm sorry, Frodo. I know how you wanted peace and quiet, not another murder to solve."
"It can't be helped. Merimas didn't ask to be killed, but since he has been, I can't turn away from the people who need me to find out who did it."
"You never could, my dear." They stood for a moment in the twilight, holding each other. Once they'd kissed good-night, Frodo went in and Merry went on to the Hall.
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