Frodo was so full of news and excitement when he arrived at home, talking of what he had seen going on in the Shire during his visit to the Stone, that it was some time before he finally came to a breathless stop.

Bilbo chuckled. "I swear, Frodo, you sounded almost like Pippin!"

Frodo blushed. "It was wonderful to see them," was the response. A hint of wistfulness touched his voice, now that the news had been shared he felt the sting again of not actually having been there with his cousins and Sam. He blinked at Bilbo and chuckled ruefully. "I suppose you had a nice quiet day then, Uncle?"

Bilbo raised one eyebrow, and smiled. "I had company. Adamanta called on me."

Frodo's jaw dropped. "Mirimë? And I missed seeing her!"

"If you had been here, you would have missed your chance to see the others at Yule. Besides, she was not here long-- but she invited herself to supper tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Frodo leaned forward in dismay. "We will have to work quickly to--"

Bilbo interrupted him with a wave of his hand. "Actually, she proposes to cook for us. She says that it is something she has missed doing for a very long time. I believe she has in mind something with mushrooms. I told her if she wished to do so, we would be honoured, but that we would provide the bread and a salad course, and naturally the sweet for afters."

"Good heavens! That still leaves us with a good deal to do!" Frodo gave Bilbo a very sharp look. "Is there something going on I ought to know about, Uncle Bilbo?"

Bilbo laughed. "No, Frodo. But I do think that we will, at last, get a chance to ask some of our own questions."