Chapter 10. Settling In

Reginard Took entered the Thain's study with a wide smile on his face. 'The coach with your family is approaching,' he announced.

The Thain looked up from the desk with a grin of his own. 'Truly?'

The steward nodded. 'One of the outriders galloped ahead to notify the Smials of their arrival.'

'Well, then, what are we waiting for?' Pippin rose quickly from the desk and was out the study door, heading for the main entrance. Regi had to run faster than his dignity normally allowed to catch up.

The news had spread through the Smials like puffpenny seeds on a windy day, and a large gathering of Tooks waited in the yard as the coach pulled in, ponies tossing their heads and stepping proud, harness gleaming, tiny bells making music of every motion.

A servant opened the coach door and as the Thain reached the coach a small body launched itself into his arms with a shout, causing the Thain's laughter to ring out above the welcoming cries of the crowd. There was a fierce mutual hug, a moment when eye gazed earnestly into eye, and then with a last squeeze, the father placed the little son on the ground beside him with a 'Wait here, until I properly greet your Mum' and a firm nod from the lad.

Pippin reached into the coach to hand out his wife as many eyes watched, avid for their first glimpse of the Mistress of Tookland. She was simply dressed, as was her wont, and there were many more flashily or extravagantly clad there than Diamond, though the sharper-eyed in the crowd could see the fine material and skilful workmanship that had gone into her covering.

She stepped lightly down beside him, and he smiled into her eyes, murmuring, 'It has been too long, my dear.'

All was in readiness for her arrival. The Thain's quarters had been stripped of all its contents, every surface washed and freshly painted, carpets taken out and beaten clean, the removed room contents evaluated for worthiness and select items put back: with every piece of furniture that could be polished, coaxed to a high glow, and all the soft furnishings re-covered in the colours the Thain had specified as preferred by his wife. The rooms were still spare looking, for much of the decor had been left for Diamond's own finishing touches. There remained not a speck of dust or clutter in the Thain's private apartments.

As the Thain gazed into his wife's face, his sharp ears heard a hissed, 'Farmer's daughter!' and a titter from someone else. Immediately his face changed. He gave his wife's hand a squeeze and stepped slightly away, turning towards the crowd.

Regi stiffened as he might before a fast-approaching thunderhead filled with lightning, and he was reminded of the old Thain's quick-burning fury. The steward braced himself for the shouts of abuse old Paladin had heaped upon his relatives when roused, but the son's anger burned cold, sharp and hard like a blade unsheathed, glittering at the ready, and his voice when he spoke was low, yet clearly heard by each hobbit in the courtyard.

'Who said that?' he said slowly, and then shook his head, contempt dripping from his voice. 'No, I don't want to know.'

He surveyed the crowd, and the nearest stepped back a pace before the intensity of his gaze. 'Did you forget that my father, Paladin Took, was a farmer before he became Thain? He was one of the hardest-working hobbits it was ever my honour to know. I assume that is one of the reasons old Ferumbras III tapped him to become Thain after himself. Give me a farmer any day, who is proud to work at honest labour with his hard-calloused hands, over a rich, spoiled sycophant with soft white hands. You think yourself above a mere farmer?'

He took a deep breath, and continued. 'What would you eat, were it not for the farmers who raise your food? What would you wear? What would you ride, if there were no farmer to breed and train your ponies? Where would the wood come from, that you burn to keep yourself warm and comfortable whilst the farmer is out labouring in his fields and woods?'

There was not a sound from the crowd.

The Thain shook his head in disgust. 'Should I ever hear such a sentiment expressed again... ' he said, letting the threat hang before continuing. 'Anyone who thinks himself above those hobbits who work with their hands is not worthy of the name Took, and your sort is not needed in Tookland.'

He surveyed the frozen faces before him a moment longer, then gave a sharp nod, lightning again hidden, blade once more in the sheath. Turning back to his wife, he took her arm with great courtesy, smiled into her understanding eyes, said gently, 'Welcome to the Smials, my dear. I hope you will be very happy here. We have done all we can think of to ensure your comfort.'

'Thank you, my love,' she answered with a smile of her own, then reached down a hand to young Faramir. 'Come, Son, let us see our new home.'

The crowd watched silently as the Thain escorted his wife into the Smials with as much care as if she were made from rare glass blown by Elven smiths. Regi exhaled, realising only then that he had been holding his breath. He knew now, without a doubt, that just as with old Thain Paladin, he hoped that Thain Peregrin's anger would never in his lifetime be directed at himself.