Chapter 48. Thain: Waiting and Watching

'Falling asleep in the bath would not be the wisest course, Mr Baggins, or so I deem.' Frodo jerked awake at the double shock of his chin touching the water and the dry observation spoken close at hand.

'Er ­– ah – what?' he said, pushing himself upright and blinking to clear away the mists that had enveloped him. The water, though a little cooler than it had been when he'd eased his aching body into the tub, was still wondrously warm and soothing.

'Well said,' his companion drawled. 'Short. Succinct. To the point. Why, should you ever come to the end of Bilbo's gold, you might be able to find work speechifying at various celebrations or events.' Belatedly, the speaker added, 'Sir.'

Frodo tried to rise, but a steadying hand came to rest on his shoulder, and the voice said, 'Now, Mr Baggins, I should advise against wasting the warmth of the water. I should stay in the bath until it cools a bit more, were I you.'

'You're not the one in the bath, so I'd like to see how you'd expect to stay in it!' Frodo answered, to be answered by a chuckle. At last, his eyes focused. 'Baragrim!'

'At your service!' Ferumbras's head of escort said, nodding his head instead of bowing since he was seated on a low stool beside the bath. 'Sir,' he added.

Frodo swivelled his head on his neck as far as he could to scan the rest of his surroundings. 'Ferumbras?'

'He's sitting by the lad in the inn's finest room,' Baragrim answered.

'Which is not here, I take it,' Frodo said.

Baragrim inclined his head.

'Then why are you being so deucedly formal, cousin?' Frodo grumbled.

'Just keeping in practice,' Baragrim answered. 'I must keep my toes well-brushed, especially when the Thain might appear at any instant.'

Sitting by the lad, Baragrim had said. 'How is he?' Frodo demanded, sitting up a little straighter in the bath.

The head of escort laughed. 'Thain Ferumbras is in fine fettle,' he answered. 'O' course, it helps that we're in the best inn to be found in Waymoot and its environs, with a reputation for setting the best table, into the bargain...'

'Not Ferumbras,' Frodo said impatiently. 'Pippin!'

Baragrim's grin widened. 'Why Frodo,' he said. 'I nearly had you there! You may not know there's a conspiracy of sorts going, amongst your cousins, to see who can draw a cross word from you! I dare say I'm close to taking the prize!'

'Prize?' Frodo said, wondering whether this Tookish cousin was having him on.

Baragrim shrugged. 'It's worth only a half pint,' he said, neither confirming nor denying that the conspiracy was real or merely a jest. 'For – o' course – you're an awfully hard nut to crack.'

'The water is cooling,' Frodo said abruptly, abandoning the topic, 'so may I have your leave to quit the bath?'

'You have my blessing, sir,' Baragrim said, and he bent to one side and then stood up, holding a large, soft towel. 'If I may do the honours...?'

Holding his tongue, lest he be tempted to snap at his cousin and win Baragrim his bet – if there was such a wager going – Frodo hoisted himself to his feet and allowed the head of escort to envelop him in the bath sheet. Baragrim's close attendance was just as well, for Frodo wobbled as he stepped out of the bath, and his cousin's steadying arm quite possibly kept him from a fall.

'Upsy-daisy,' Baragrim said as he helped Frodo gain his feet which, admittedly, felt a bit tender after the long hike, first to find Pippin and then to carry him to Waymeet.

'Indeed,' Frodo said, shooting a look of "thanks" at his cousin which Baragrim answered by sketching a bow as he stepped back.

'Fresh clothing,' the head of escort said, indicating a neatly-folded stack of clothes on a chair that had been placed between the tub and a cheery fire on the little hearth. 'It may come a bit short in the sleeve and the leg, seeing as how you're taller than most. But the innkeeper took away your own clothes to be washed and dried by the fire, and you'll have them by the time the Sun kicks off her bedcovers in the morning.'

Frodo glanced at the window, but the shutters were closed. 'What is the time?' he asked.

'It's well into the evening,' Baragrim answered. 'You tumbled into your bed and slept like the dead soon after our arrival, and when I tapped on your door, bringing with me a summons from the Thain, I looked in to see if you were still asleep and noticed you falling asleep in the bath...!'

'Your timing is impeccable, as always,' Frodo said. 'I can see why they made you the head of the Thain's escort.' 

Baragrim saluted him with a wry smile. 'Have no fears; I'm on the job,' he said. 'And I can assure you, even now, someone will change your dusty bedding as soon as you leave this room, to be nice and fresh when you lie yourself down for the rest o' this night. And empty the bath and take away the tub, into the bargain.' Then, with a keen look, he said, 'I'll leave you now to your dressing... unless you're still feeling a bit unsteady...?'

'I am well,' Frodo said, and indeed, he was feeling better by the minute. The bath had been wonderfully warming, easing the last of the shivering feeling that had set in as the temperature had dropped below freezing – was it only last night? The ache in his legs from long walking through rough country had also eased somewhat. I've grown fat and lazy since Bilbo's been gone, Frodo thought to himself. I need to get out and about more, for certain! Perhaps Saradoc will agree to my taking Merry on a walking holiday...

'Very well,' Baragrim said, 'then I'll leave you to it. But the Thain requests your attendance – next door, he is – as soon as might be convenient.'

'I'll hurry,' Frodo said, correctly interpreting the escort's diffident phrasing of his message.

'My thanks,' the head of escort acknowledged, and then he slipped out of the room, closing the door silently behind him as of from long practice. Frodo seemed to remember that Mistress Lalia had come down hard on servants and working hobbits for what she had called an "undue racket", and he wondered if Baragrim carried her influence with him, even all these years after her death? From the scattered gossip he'd heard, along with snippets of conversation with hobbits he knew well such as Saradoc and Paladin, he suspected the scars Lalia had left behind ran deep.

Frodo did not have to guess whether "next door" was to the right or left of his room, for as he emerged into the corridor, he saw Baragrim stationed outside the adjacent room.

'We meet again,' he murmured as he approached.

'Well met and well come,' Baragrim replied in an undertone, then tapped at the door and cracked it open. 'The Baggins to see you, Sir!' he announced.

'Enter!' Ferumbras rumbled within.

'The Thain bids you enter,' Baragrim said formally, pushing the door wider open.

So he does, Frodo thought to himself, but he couldn't chide his cousin for his formal manners, not when the Thain held the power of discipline over the hobbit's head. Though Frodo might find Ferumbras an affable fellow, he did not know how closely the Thain followed in his late mother's footsteps, so far as discipline and – frankly – harsh consequences for minor offences went. The Tooks' clannishness had kept general knowledge of Lalia's most egregious wrongs inside the borders of the Tookland. Frodo had only known of some of them because of his friendship with Pippin's and Merry's fathers.

'Cousin Ferumbras!' he said brightly upon entering. He was barely aware of the door closing silently but firmly behind him.

'Cousin Frodo!' Ferumbras replied, returning to his interrupted meal. He was obviously half-way through clearing the well-filled plate sitting on the small table before him. 'I trust you have no complaints about the accommodations.'

'To be truthful, I've sampled only the bath and the change of clothes the innkeeper so thoughtfully provided,' Frodo said.

'Well then, sample the food as well before you render your report,' Ferumbras said, gesturing to a well-filled sideboard on the side of the room that boasted comfortable seating around one of the two hearths warming the room, along with the table and chairs where the Thain was currently dining. 'For I'm paying the fellow well enough.' 

But Frodo moved to the other side of the room, where Pippin occupied one of the beds flanking the hearth on that side. 'How's Pippin?' he asked.

Bittersweet looked up from where she sat beside the tween. 'He's in and out,' she said. 'Hasn't spoken a coherent word yet, which is concerning.'

'But can he see?' Frodo said urgently. When he'd wakened sufficiently this morning, finally feeling warm from the blankets they'd wrapped him in and having swallowed a mug and a half of steaming tea fortified with large dollops of honey, he'd recounted to the Thain and the Head Healer all the details he could remember from finding Pippin the previous day.

Bittersweet sighed. 'Not so much as I can determine at this point,' she said, flashing a glance at Ferumbras before looking back to Frodo. 'But I think he's gained at least a little ground since we arrived at the inn.' Her gaze sharpened. 'I must say, you're looking better than you were.'

'I am well,' Frodo assured her.

Ferumbras broke in abruptly. 'Now, Frodo, I insist you fill a plate and proceed to fill yourself,' he said, and aside to the healer, he added, 'You heard him. He's not eaten yet. And while he's at it, why don't you take yourself off for a bath and a rest, Bittersweet.' From the Thain's tone, it was more command than question. 'I'll send Barry for you immediately if the lad wakens, or if we see any change.'

'Yes, Sir,' Bittersweet said, rising from her chair. From her quick acquiescence, Frodo deduced that Pippin was not in immediate danger, and something wound tight inside him relaxed enough to allow him to turn away and walk to the sideboard, where he picked up a plate and began to fill it from the chafing dishes arrayed along its length.

'They set a generous table here, indeed,' he said over his shoulder to Ferumbras.

'They do,' the Thain mumbled around a mouth half-full of food.

Frodo sat down with Ferumbras, having chosen a chair that gave him a clear view of the sleeping Pippin, and applied himself to his meal. 'Good mutton,' he said. 'Surprisingly mild in flavour.' He continued to praise the virtues of the food, which wasn't difficult in this case, thankfully. Hopefully, Ferumbras would see fit to add a little extra on top of the innkeeper's set charges as a reward for services rendered.

When Frodo was halfway through the meal, Ferumbras startled him with a sharply spoken, 'Report!'

But a stirring in a shadowy corner conveyed to him that the abrupt order was not directed at him.

Young Ferdibrand emerged from the shadows with an empty plate in his hand which he deposited on the waiting tray at the end of the sideboard. 'Sir,' he said, coming to stand before the Thain.

'Very well,' Ferumbras said. 'Let's have it.'

Frodo wondered. From his earlier interactions with the fellow, as they'd set out to follow Pippin's trail, he'd had the impression that the tragedy that had befallen Ferdi's family not long after Bilbo's infamous Birthday Party had stolen the tween's wits.

'Go ahead,' Ferumbras snapped. 'You may speak freely before this particular cousin, I deem.'

'I find Mr B-Baggins a t-trustworthy hobbit,' Ferdibrand began, astonishing Frodo further with the smooth flow of words, barely marred with a stutter. 'He followed my lead, d-did not try to t-take charge of the search, and showed a great d-deal of sense when we found the lad.'

Frodo looked from Ferdi to Ferumbras, to find the Thain's narrowed eyes fixed upon him. 

'Don't look so surprised,' Ferumbras rebuked him mildly. 'You know that, to keep my feet amongst the fast-moving and sometimes treacherous water that is the Tooks, I must have eyes and ears to discern fact from folly and truth from Talk.' The Thain's reference to the rapids of one of the wild cataracts to be found in the back-country of the high Green Hills, considering the Tooks' aversion to untamed water, only underscored the seriousness of the topic.

'I knew that,' Frodo admitted. But Ferdi...

Ferumbras smiled faintly. 'You must agree, I should think, the lad does a marvellous job of playing the half-wit and the fool,' he said. 'Tongues wag freely around him, and people pay him no more mind than they would a fly on the wall. Less, even, for flies are so oft in danger of finding themselves swatted...'

'Even I misjudged him,' Frodo said quietly, with a nod for the tween.

Ferdi returned the nod, then looked to Ferumbras again. 'I find him w-w-w...' he struggled, but the Thain waited patiently. At last, the word came out. '...well-spoken and patient,' the tween said. 'D-discreet, but surprisingly observant and quick to act.'

'Not surprising at all,' Ferumbras corrected. 'Bilbo had a keen eye, and I'm sure he taught the lad well.'

Ferdi nodded in response.

'Very well,' Ferumbras said, but now he was addressing Frodo. 'Young Ferdi-here confirms my impressions of you.' He cocked his head, and his gaze intensified. 'As I hope you remember, though your own wits might have been affected by nearly freezing to death in the night...'

'I am well,' Frodo interrupted. But then, he could do so with impunity since he did not fall directly under The Took's authority as someone living in the Tookland would.

Ferumbras chuckled. 'I' truth, I believe you!' he said. 'Bold as ever! In any event, as we made our way here, dealing with the difficulties of bearing a litter and safely negotiating the trackless back-country until we reached the more gently undulating foothills and fringes of civilisation...'

Ah but how the Thain liked to hear himself talk, Frodo thought to himself, and not for the first time. From long practice, as well as Bilbo's example, he maintained a pleasant, interested expression, even as he wondered how long it would take the hobbit to get to the point. But his mind had wandered, and he was in danger of being caught up short.

'...would like to take you up on your offer to take the lad in at Bag End until he recovers,' Ferumbras was saying, and then the older hobbit paused.

Frodo's polite smile remained fixed as he absorbed the words, and then he sat up straighter. 'Truly?' he said.

'The offer still stands, I hope?' Ferumbras said. 'Or have you had second thoughts on the matter?'

'Not at all!' Frodo said. 'I meant the words when I said them, and I stand by them now!'

'Bilbo always said you were steadfast and dependable,' Ferumbras said, 'though few could see it. "One of the worst young rascals of Buckland" was not the darkest I heard said against you, but it was a common enough sentiment for years after the old hobbit took you on.'

There seemed no good way to answer that observation, so Frodo remained silent.

'Discreet, too,' Ferumbras said. 'Ferdi-here seems to think you know when to speak, and when to hold your tongue.' Ferdi himself knew well enough to speak when spoken to, and hold his tongue otherwise, and so he wisely added nothing more to the Thain's words.

'Bittersweet tells me the lad is in no way well enough to travel, not even in a coach,' Ferumbras said. 'But I cannot leave the Tooks to their own devices, for fear of the mischief they'll get up to. Thus, Barry and I will be returning to the Smials first thing in the morning. If you wouldn't mind taking charge of the lad...?'

'I don't mind at all,' Frodo said. For some reason that Ferumbras had not seen fit to make clear to him, the Thain did not want to send Pippin back home to Whittacres Farm, to the care of his parents and sisters, until the tween recovered enough to return to the Smials and the Thain's supervision and control. It occurred to him at this moment that Pippin was a hostage of sorts, being held by Ferumbras to guarantee Paladin's good behaviour. It was a curious thought, one that might never have occurred to a hobbit of the Shire, but Frodo had the benefit of Bilbo's translations from the Elves and thus some knowledge, at least, of the turbulent history of the seemingly remote and imperturbable Firstborn.

His sudden understanding only served to strengthen his resolve: Pippin needed an advocate, and Frodo was only too willing to serve as such for his young cousin. He had been careful to cultivate the Thain's good opinion for the sake of Paladin and his family to this point. Now he resolved to redouble his efforts for the unfortunate tween's sake. Pippin would not exist as a mere pawn on the game board, not if Frodo had any influence in the matter. And considering the situation, he had a lot more influence than the lad's own father as things stood. 

Ferumbras had been studying his face; as far as Frodo could tell, he'd successfully hidden his thoughts from the older hobbit, for the Thain's expression did not change as he added, 'I'll leave Bittersweet here with the lad, o' course. D'you want her to accompany the three of you to Bag End?'

'The three of us?' Frodo asked, keeping his tone mild, almost dismissive.

'I'd send Ferdi, o' course, to watch o'er the lad,' Ferumbras said.

Frodo managed a chuckle. 'D'you think it'll take the three of us to sit on him and keep him abed?' he asked.

Ferumbras found the thought equally humorous.

When the Thain finished guffawing, Frodo said, 'Honestly, I think he'd heal faster with fewer folk around to worry him. It's just me, rattling around Bag End these days, and so I can promise him plenty of quiet and rest, just as Bittersweet told us he'd need, as we were hiking along earlier today...'

'You have a point,' Ferumbras said. 'Well then, I'll leave Ferdi here to escort Bittersweet back to the Great Smials, just as soon as she tells you the lad can travel safely in a coach to Bag End. He's a competent archer, even at his young age, and so they can take a short-cut through the back-country and arrive sooner, I should expect.'

Frodo spared a nod and smile for the tween and received Ferdi's solemn nod in return. No doubt the Thain's "eyes and ears" would be keenly observing Pippin's interactions with Frodo and Bittersweet and rendering a full report to the Thain upon his return.

But all he said was, 'That plan seems sound enough to me. And I can escort him to the Smials myself when he's well enough, or I can send word to you if you prefer, that you might come and fetch him yourself or send one of your escort to do the honours.'

'Very well,' Ferumbras said, with finality in his tone this time. 'Ferdibrand, take bedside watch with your cousin whilst I catch a few winks. And if you're quite finished with your supper, Cousin Frodo, then I will bid you good night and a restful sleep before we bid each other farewell in the morning.'

Frodo took the hint and stood up from his chair. He wiped his mouth, folded his serviette, and laid it on the table. 'My thanks for your hospitality, Cousin,' he said. 'The meal was delicious, the bath was large and perfectly warm, and I am about to confirm that the bed is as comfortable as I remember it from my arrival.'

Ferumbras gave a genial laugh. 'Not to worry!' he returned, even as he walked with Frodo to the door. 'For I hope to be thanking you for your hospitality in future, hopefully sooner than later in hoping the lad will make a swift recovery under the "peace and quiet" you've promised.'

'I'll have him so bored, he'll get well in spite of the tweenish tendency to shirk whenever possible. Why, I expect he'll be begging me to be allowed to return to the Smials in no time,' Frodo said. 'But to preclude him from falling on his head on the way home, from getting up too soon, I'll also subject him to the tender mercies of Healer Grubb – son of the old healer, I think you might remember her? – at the least.'

Ferumbras laughed again. 'Ah, Healer Grubb!' he said. 'I remember her well! She stirred up the foulest draught I've ever had the, er, pleasure to swallow! If her son is anything like...'

'He won't let Pippin up beforetimes,' Frodo promised, 'but he'll also encourage the lad to heal so quickly as possible, as you might imagine!'

'I can imagine quite a bit!' Ferumbras guffawed. He opened the door and gestured to Baragrim. 'Come in, Barry, and lie yoursel' down. I feel no need for further escorting or message-sending at the moment.' To Frodo, he said again, 'Good night, Cousin.'

'Good night,' Frodo answered. He suppressed his sigh of relief until he'd safely gained the privacy of his own room, had closed the door, and had leaned against it.

'I did my best, Pip,' he whispered to the air. 'And I'll keep on "keeping on" to the best of my ability, you have my promise of that.'

***