To Bree and the Prancing Pony
It was in Bree that the enormity of what she had undertaken truly settled on Diamond like a heavy quilt that was several sizes too large for her small hobbit shoulders. Bree was not much further than a day's journal from the Brandywine Bridge, yet for the hobbits of the Shire, it marked the true beginning of world Outside: "Inside", of course, being the Shire, and "Outside" being the world of the Big Folk, a place where most hobbits never set foot or even could imagine. Diamond, fair travelled as she was due to her marriage to Pippin, still always felt as if she were setting on a grand adventure each time she crossed the Brandywine Bridge into the world of the Big Folk. It wasn't until she had done it alone for the first time, that she realized just how much she had counted on Pippin's presence to give her comfort.
Old Barliman Butterbur had been as gracious as always on seeing her. 'Why if it isn't little Goldenrod Took!' he'd said on seeing her. Diamond was certain that he remembered her only because of the unusual color of her hair, not that she minded, especially on night such as this, overcast and dripping with rain as it was when she arrived. He'd fixed her up in a hobbit-sized room on the ground-floor of his inn. The room contained a cozy parlour and a fire already lit so that it was warm and welcoming as could be. Besides the bed, there was a writing desk and chair, perfectly sized for a hobbit. Diamond sat at the desk and recorded her thoughts, as always addressing them to her husband.
Pippin my love, I thought for sure that I would find you waiting for me at Buckland. I know that I did not do a good job of hiding my confusion and disappointment from Merry and Estella when I arrived there and saw that you were not there at all. You see, when you did not join me in Long Cleeve, I thought it was surely because you had decided to meet me at Buckland. But Merry and Estella had received no word from you at all. Merry thought that I was mad to be setting off to do this thing, either with or without you. He wanted to come with me, but of course there was Estella, six months pregnant, just like Tig's wife Clover. I wouldn't have him leaving her to come with me. He said that he would send a messenger back to you right away, but I told him all about the letter, and assured him that if you weren't here with me it was because you had chosen not to be. Merry did not seem to set well with that thought at all, and neither did Estella. They urged me to stay on with them, but I knew that I couldn't. T'would have been too tempting to stay a day and then another and another. Best to be on my way, I think, so that I can be home to you all the sooner. --Your loving wife Diamond, who misses you something fierce.
Diamond set aside her journal and went into the pub to get a bit of supper. Barliman had done himself proud by his meal that night, for there was hot soup, roast mutton, fresh bread, and as lovely a strawberry tart as Diamond herself might have baked at home. With a pot of hot tea and mug of crisp hard cider on the side, Diamond felt almost as if she were back home in Tuckborough. As she ate her supper, she studied the men -- for it was all men that evening and no other hobbits to be seen -- with great interest. She wondered, as she always did on seeing strangers, who they were and where they were from and what their lives were like. Where were they going, and what had brought them all to the Prancing Pony on the same night as her?
Old Barliman Butterbur had been as gracious as always on seeing her. 'Why if it isn't little Goldenrod Took!' he'd said on seeing her. Diamond was certain that he remembered her only because of the unusual color of her hair, not that she minded, especially on night such as this, overcast and dripping with rain as it was when she arrived. He'd fixed her up in a hobbit-sized room on the ground-floor of his inn. The room contained a cozy parlour and a fire already lit so that it was warm and welcoming as could be. Besides the bed, there was a writing desk and chair, perfectly sized for a hobbit. Diamond sat at the desk and recorded her thoughts, as always addressing them to her husband.
Pippin my love, I thought for sure that I would find you waiting for me at Buckland. I know that I did not do a good job of hiding my confusion and disappointment from Merry and Estella when I arrived there and saw that you were not there at all. You see, when you did not join me in Long Cleeve, I thought it was surely because you had decided to meet me at Buckland. But Merry and Estella had received no word from you at all. Merry thought that I was mad to be setting off to do this thing, either with or without you. He wanted to come with me, but of course there was Estella, six months pregnant, just like Tig's wife Clover. I wouldn't have him leaving her to come with me. He said that he would send a messenger back to you right away, but I told him all about the letter, and assured him that if you weren't here with me it was because you had chosen not to be. Merry did not seem to set well with that thought at all, and neither did Estella. They urged me to stay on with them, but I knew that I couldn't. T'would have been too tempting to stay a day and then another and another. Best to be on my way, I think, so that I can be home to you all the sooner. --Your loving wife Diamond, who misses you something fierce.
Diamond set aside her journal and went into the pub to get a bit of supper. Barliman had done himself proud by his meal that night, for there was hot soup, roast mutton, fresh bread, and as lovely a strawberry tart as Diamond herself might have baked at home. With a pot of hot tea and mug of crisp hard cider on the side, Diamond felt almost as if she were back home in Tuckborough. As she ate her supper, she studied the men -- for it was all men that evening and no other hobbits to be seen -- with great interest. She wondered, as she always did on seeing strangers, who they were and where they were from and what their lives were like. Where were they going, and what had brought them all to the Prancing Pony on the same night as her?