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O The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night  by Lindelea

Chapter 8. Meanwhile

The little stream chuckled and murmured, soothing her wearied guests to half-dream, and soon, warmed by the sun, gladdened by the food and drink, and tired out with so much unaccustomed exercise uninterrupted by the care of older sisters and cousins, mothers and aunts, well... soon the young hobbits slumbered in the soft, flower-studded grass.

Things were not quite so peaceful at Whittacres Farm, however. The hobbits there would not be taking tea after their interrupted noontide meal, and the search was spreading to neighbouring farms. Hobbits tramped the fields and woods, calling and whistling.

Earlier, the hobbit mums and daughters had breezed in on a note of laughter and cheery chatter. They’d had a lovely visit at the neighbouring farm, delicious elevenses, Cousin Lindy having baked her famous berry tarts, and had brought a basket full of the treat back to Eglantine and the lads.

Pearl had laughed at the first, when she and Pimpernel were sent to waken the lads for the noontide meal, on finding the made-up hobbits under the covers. Clever little fellows! I wonder what game they’re playing! She’d remained cheerful as they peeped under the beds and in the wardrobes, coaxing. Come out, now! We’ve brought back with us Lindy’s berry tart for afters!

She’d been stern when they’d pushed open the parlour door, peering into the shadows of the room, kept for best. Do come out of there, lads... Merry, you know better than to play in the parlour... And she’d been frankly a little cross at her mother’s mild scolding, when the lads were nowhere to be found within the smial, and they were sent to the yard and near buildings to look and call. It wasn’t her fault that her little cousins had played a trick on Mum!

It would serve them right to come late to the nooning and have their proper scolding... they’d come out of hiding when they were hungry, after all, which oughtn’t to be long, considering how often young hobbits were hungry.

Uncle Ferdinand joined the search, sure that they’d turn up the lads in “two shakes”, and three hired hobbits put down awl, axe and shovel; and a tumble of sheepdog pups, nearly grown enough to sell away, obligingly joined in with their mother, though they of course had little idea what it was all about.

They searched all the outbuildings and the nearer fields, and then Ferdinand sent word to those bustling about the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on the noontide meal.

And so young Dorry stood in the doorway, awkwardly twisting his cap in his hands. ‘I’m sorry, Missus,’ he said. ‘They’ve not been found yet, not anywhere in the buildings, and Master Dinny’s sending to the neighbours for more to take up the search.’ He bobbed a short bow to the gentlehobbit visitors, and hastened away.

After a moment of dumbfounded stillness, Stelliana sank to the well-swept flagstones of the kitchen floor with a shriek on realising that her tiny lad was not just playing “I hide and you seek me”, had not been in the haybarn playing with the kittens or tumbling with the puppies, had not been following his father about, had disappeared from his bed. Eglantine, more worryingly, stood as if struck, her habitual smile fading away into bewilderment, before she put a hand to her head and swayed.

And her, only up out of bed a week ago, Esmeralda thought, catching her and pushing her into the rocking chair. She turned to snap out orders, her voice raised above Stelliana’s maundering. ‘Nell! Fetch your Uncle Dinny, I don’t care if he’s still looking! Pearl! Send someone for the healer! Now!’

She’d been too worried about Eglantine to think about her missing Merry, though worry gnawed about her edges as she put on the kettle to brew some tea, and returned to Eglantine to take hold of her hands and urge her to breathe, slow steady breaths, that’s right, Aggie...

Eglantine, who’d lost a girl-babe, born too early a few weeks before, with a worrisome amount of bleeding on Eglantine’s part... She’d been on the mend at last, but now... what ill effect might this happening have?

And so Esmeralda pushed down her worry, explained it away. Merry was adventuring, that was all. He was playing “Bilbo’s Journeying” and was likely in the copse at the end of the potato field, pretending himself to be in Mirkwood, hiding from spiders. He’d been quite taken with the Mirkwood part of the tale, thinking it perhaps another Old Forest like the one at their back gate.

She’d gone so far as to send one of the hired hobbits (who'd been crossing the yard when she looked out, upon hearing the clattering of pony hoofs that meant someone was riding to fetch the healer, as she'd ordered) to the copse, to find the lads.

Ferdinand came in and seeing that Esmeralda had Eglantine in hand, he took charge of Stelliana. ‘Come now, my love...’ To no avail. He lifted her bodily in his arms and bore her to her bed, to await the healer’s coming.

What a worry you were to your mothers!

And sisters, and cousins...

Aye, and while all the worry and stir you were sleeping peacefully by the stream... There’s no justice in it.

No justice at all... but I imagine there were some consequences when they got home again!

Well, there would have been, had they found us then and there, but of course, they didn’t...

Well I should say there were plenty of consequences to be had, and before they found us...

Such that they didn’t punish you afterwards for scaring them out of their wits? O my!

O my, indeed...

Well, don’t stop there! Tell on, I say!

***
7/2/07





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