Chapter 55. The Hand that Rocks the Cradle 

~ In Family Matters, Tolibold Took, Thain Peregrin's head of escort, went missing, having apparently drowned in a bog. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, his wife continued to insist that he was still alive. As the days passed, even after Meadowsweet had moved out of the Great Smials to live with Tolly's older brother, a healer, while awaiting the birth of her second child, an increasing number of Tooks and Tooklanders began to express the same sentiments. ~  

'You want... a cradle?' Sandy, the Thain's personal hobbitservant, sounded uncharacteristically befuddled. The Head Holekeeper had summoned him to deal with Rusty's unreasonable insistence in the face of realities.

'For the new babe, born today,' Rusty Stubbletoes answered matter-of-factly, leaving his listeners shaken.

'But Meadowsweet's gone away! And Tolibold...'

Lifting his chin higher, Rusty interrupted. 'He's alive. My mistress says so.'

Though Tolly had been gone for more than a month now, Meadowsweet still refused to mourn.

Now their hobbitservant Rusty had lost his wits. 'They'll be back,' he added. 'And so I need a cradle for their little daughter.'

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Background: from Family Matters, Chapter 26. Coming Home

The babes were both asleep, their tiny son in the cradle that had already been in their apartments, and their baby daughter in the cradle that had appeared since Meadowsweet had left the Smials to stay with Mardi's family in Tuckborough. She walked idly around the sitting room, with its cheerful fire on the little hearth, the teakettle just beginning to steam on the hob, and the brightly shining lamps, polished wood and brass, well-swept floor and soft rug underfoot. Vases of fresh flowers stood on either end of the sideboard, and a gleaming silver bowl on the shining table held a tempting assortment of fruit. 

Every room displayed the same loving care, seeming too much for a single hobbit to manage, especially considering that Rusty had charge of two families, Meadowsweet's and Pimpernel's. Though Meadowsweet knew the hobbitservant could – and had, in the past – obtain help from the Head Holekeeper to lighten his load, she wouldn't be surprised to be told that all the small touches of care she saw about her had come from Rusty's hand alone. She dashed a tear from her cheek and blessed the hobbit. She and Tolly would have to talk about finding some tangible ways to express their thankfulness...

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