Chapter 36
Merry's Valley of Humiliation
The summer season ended much too soon for hobbit lads and lasses, and not soon enough for their parents, for academic lessons were to begin again the very first week of September. The wealthier children studied at home with private tutors while the less fortunate were stuck in the town's schoolhouses. Meriadoc Brandybuck happened to have the luxury of sitting through his lessons at home, but that did not make the situation anymore pleasant.
"Can you believe we're starting school again tomorrow, Merry?" Mentha asked as she sat on the edge of the barn loft, looking down at her cousin who was lying in the hay, a single piece sticking out of his mouth as he gazed at the cracks through the ceiling. It was raining hard outside, so they were confined indoors for the time being. "Dear me, it does seem like such a shame to pick up our packs and move on again."
Merry grunted an incomprehensible reply as he rolled over on his stomach. She certainly was right about that. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in a stuffy room for half of a perfectly wonderful day, and fight the urge to fall asleep listening to Old Arlo Smallbottle who came from Bywater, drone on and on and on.
"And it came much too quickly for I am dreadfully in debt again."
Merry stared at her in shock. "Dreadfully in debt? You had plenty of pocket money this summer.what did you do with it all?" He cried in disbelief, sitting up, bits of straw clinging to his hair, which he of course, ignored.
Mentha sighed dramatically as she slid down to join her elder cousin, and walked in the direction of the barn doorway. "Because if you must know, I owe at least a dozen, pickled limes."
"Did you say limes?" Merry was very amused.the things girls did with their time these days! "You've been buying limes?"
Mentha nodded, her unruly auburn curls bobbing along with the motion of her head. Merry folded his arms, one foot stuck out, making him look a great deal like his father with his "poker face" as some of his cousins told him at times. "Yes, Merry.and you needn't give me such a face."
"What exactly do you do with these limes?"
Mentha smirked as though he'd been hiding under a rock all this time, not to know what one did with limes. "Well, it's the fashion now.at the end of each summer we buy a fair share of them and trade the fruits for beads and other pretty things.and I've found them to be quite refreshing as well."
Merry found this new information hysterically funny, and he doubled over with laughter. Mentha's face turned a brilliant shade of red, and she glared at him angrily. He had no right to laugh at her expense, and when she told him so with a stomp of her foot, it only made him laugh harder. "Stop, stop!" She ordered, tackling him to the ground, and pinning his arms and his legs so he could not move. He gaped at her, wide-eyed, stunned at her strength. The two of them remained in that position for a few moments, and Merry was quite relieved when Mentha at last let him up again. "Please, Merry, I am always helping you when you need it!" She wailed, latching onto his arm, a pitiful expression of woe on her face.
"What do you want me to do about it?" Merry snapped back, irritated. He peered out through the doorway, to see if the rain had let up, but it hadn't.
"Let me borrow a copper.that should more than do it, and still leave enough leftover for you!"
Merry could not believe his ears. His cousin was actually trying to weasel money from him. Even Pippin did not do such a roughish thing! Merry turned his back on her immediately, refusing to give into her pleads. After all, she had spent all of her pocket money on ridiculous nonsense.at least he knew how to save for the most part, and still had three coppers left in a box on his desk. Mentha glared at him.
"Oh please, Merry! Please? I won't ever ask you again, I promise.just this once!"
Merry whirled around. "Absolutely not! I refuse to meddle with the affairs of a bunch of girls, whose heads are so filled with air they could float away if they chose!" He stormed out of the barn, ignoring the enormous raindrops that smacked against his forehead and cheeks. Mentha stood watching him, her face turning red with fury.
"You just wait, Meriadoc Brandybuck! You inconsiderate dolt! You'll regret this!"
"STICKLEBACKS!" Merry shouted over his shoulder before running the rest of the way into the house.
The next morning, Esmerelda woke her son, receiving a few absentminded kicks in the process. "Come now, Merry dear, or you'll be late for your lessons." She told him calmly, knowing how much he hated the first day of work.
Merry slid out of bed, his curls sticking out every which way as he blindly felt his way around the room. Did the sun truly come out this early? He found his clothes and pulled them on, before making his way down to the kitchens for breakfast, his books under one arm and his slate in the other. He took his usual seat between his father and Uncle Rory, noticing that Mentha was sitting with Angelica at the far end of the table. Both girls were whispering about something, but Merry could have cared less, for he was more concerned about the food in front of him than female gossip. If he had been paying attention, their sly expressions and glances in his direction every so often would have been cause for concern.
Once breakfast was over, the girls leapt up and flew as fast as they could in the direction of the schoolroom, while Merry dawdled along the corridors, trying to take as much time as possible, until Mia spotted him and threatened to slap him with her towel if he was late. "Go and make the best of it, Mr. Merry." She encouraged, giving him a nudge.
In fact, he was just barely on time when he entered the classroom. Everyone was there already, including the teacher, who gave him a warning look as he went to sit at his desk. Merry blushed a bit before opening the top to pull out his quill and a tiny ink well. What caught his eye instead made his stomach lurch. His writing supplies were there, but so were a dozen perfectly fresh green limes in the corner. He sat staring, his heart pounding. Food or drink in the classroom was absolutely forbidden, resulting in punishment, which normally consisted of slaps on the palm with a ruler and not being allowed to participate in recess.
"What do you find so interesting inside of your desk, Master Brandybuck?" Mr. Smallbottle asked in a loud voice, causing Merry to jump and accidentally slam the top of the desk against his hand. He yelped and pulled it out, feeling hot tears fill his eyes as he heard the sniggers around him. Merry glanced around to find Mentha sneering at him, before she turned her attention to Mr. Smallbottle, who shook his head gravely and went to the blackboard.
While the teacher's back was turned, Merry quietly opened his desk again, staring at the limes, when he was suddenly hit with a pang of realization. This was clearly Mentha's form of revenge. Yet how would she have gotten the money for the limes had he not given it to her? Perhaps she had swindled a copper out of one of his other cousins or something in that nature. Merry decided that he would just have to remain as calm as possible, not to show that anything out of the ordinary had occurred. He sat very still at his desk, listening to the teacher, scibbling things down on his slate every so often. He wondered how Pippin was doing now that school had started again.if only he lived at the Great Smials instead.
The first half of the lesson seemed to drag on forever, and Merry was quite pleased when when Mr. Smallbottle started to announce that they could break for lunch for a half an hour. Just before he gave the final dismissal announcement, Mentha raised her hand high into the air, and he called on her. "Yes?"
"Sir, I did not want to interrupt earlier during class, but Merry has limes in his desk."
Merry felt his cheeks grow warm. How dare she.his head snapped around, and his eyes were flashing with anger. She just smiled sweetly at him, and watched with pleasure as Mr. Smallbottle came over to Merry, his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed. "Is this true, young Master? For you know they are forbidden and you perfectly well know the consequences."
Merry turned a bright shade of crimson as several of his friends began to chuckle. His mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out, as though he had lost his voice. All he could really do after a bit was just nod. Mr. Smallbottle snapped his fingers and pointed at the desk. "Open it and take those things one by one and dispose of them out the window, if you please."
Angelica raised her eyes in horror and stared at Mentha. She had not expected to loose her limes! Fuming, Merry did as he was told, quite glad to be rid of the retched things, but not looking forward at all to the pending punishment. He was half tempted to blame Mentha for the incident, but he refused to sink to her level. So when Mr. Smallbottle told him to stand and go to the front of the classroom, he did so without complaint. Merry stood facing the rest of the class, his mouth in a thin, tight line, as Mr. Smallbottle took his ruler. "You know what to do, Master Merry."
Taking a deep breath, Merry held out his hand, his palm facing upwards. He set his teeth and threw back his head, bearing each blow without a single cry of pain. The blows were neither many nor heavy, but this concept did not matter to Merry. He was taking the punishment for someone else's foolishness. When the whips were through, Mr. Smallbottle set his ruler down, and Merry found himself staring at a large red welp on his palm, and he chewed on his lower lip, wondering how he would explain this to his parents when they saw it.
"There now.I don't suppose you'll be disobeying me again, will you? You may remain here on the platform through recess then. The rest of you may go," Mr. Smallbottle announced, and the other students immediately stood up, quickly hurrying out of the room as fast as they could, some glancing at Merry sympathetically. Mentha rushed past without giving him a second glance. Merry refused to move from his spot at all, not a single toe.
When class ended for the day, Merry stormed out of the room with his books, clutching his stinging palm and grumbling under his breath. Mentha hurried up to him, her eyes wide. "Oh Merry.I didn't."
"You did! You knew perfectly well what would happen," Merry yelled at her, stomping his foot. "You stupid girl."
"I'm not stupid, Merry! It's your fault anyway.if you had lent me the money for the limes."
"It's not my fault you wasted all of your money!" Merry added, feeling as though steam could come out of his ears if it were possible. Mentha glared at him, holding her books tightly to her chest. She was just about to shout another nasty retort, when Esmerelda came down the hallway.
"Now, what in the name of the Shire is going on between you two?" She asked, looking from one child to the other. Merry quickly hid his hand behind his back, and put on his calmest expression.
"Nothing, Mama."
Esmerelda frowned, not quite convinced. "Merry, why are you hiding your hand behind your back, dear?"
Merry blushed. "I'm." he cleared his throat. "I'm not."
Esmerelda put her hands on her hips and gave him a look of disapproval, which he hated more than anything else, and at last Merry pulled his hand out, revealing the marks on his palm. Esmerelda gasped, taking his hand in hers. "Oh Merry, what happened?" She cried in disbelief.
"Nothing, Mama."
Esmerelda narrowed her eyes even futher. She was not going to let him off this easily. Mentha, however, stepped forward.
"Auntie, it's my fault."
Merry gasped. Had he heard her correctly?
"What?" Esmerelda asked, puzzled.
"Mr. Smallbottle punished him for something I did."
Esmerelda shook her head. "Please, explain."
Merry stood watching as his cousin told his mother about the limes, how she had tried to convince Merry to allow her to borrow a copper, how he had refused, and how she had gotten revenge on him by putting Angelica's share of the limes in his desk. Esmerelda glanced at her son from the corner of her eye before turning back to Mentha. "That was very naughty in deed, Mentha," she agreed.
Mentha looked down at her feet, a slight blush tinting her cheeks. "Shall.shall I go and take my punishment from Mr. Smallbottle now? I deserve more slaps than Merry got." her voice was trembling a little.
Esmerelda chuckled, and gave the young one a pat on the head. "No dear, I think this time I will let you off with a warning. All that I would require is an apology to Merry, and then you may go."
Merry raised his eyes. He was not necessarily disappointed that Mentha had gotten off without punishment. In fact, he hoped that this entire matter would be resolved, and that they could continue their friendship as usual. "I'm sorry, Merry," Mentha began, fiddling with her books. "I really am. I hope you'll forgive me." She opened her large, brown eyes hopefully. After a moment of awkward silence, Merry gave Mentha a small, half-smile.
"You are forgiven, Mentha." He replied, using his good hand to give her's a shake. Esmerelda nodded in approval.
"Very good. Now then, run along and play, both of you. Tea is in an hour, and I'll send one of the maids out to fetch you."
Mentha grabbed Merry's arm in excitement. "Let us go and see if we can not recover the limes that were thrown out the window! Perhaps they aren't ruined."
Merry groaned, but complied all the same.
Merry's Valley of Humiliation
The summer season ended much too soon for hobbit lads and lasses, and not soon enough for their parents, for academic lessons were to begin again the very first week of September. The wealthier children studied at home with private tutors while the less fortunate were stuck in the town's schoolhouses. Meriadoc Brandybuck happened to have the luxury of sitting through his lessons at home, but that did not make the situation anymore pleasant.
"Can you believe we're starting school again tomorrow, Merry?" Mentha asked as she sat on the edge of the barn loft, looking down at her cousin who was lying in the hay, a single piece sticking out of his mouth as he gazed at the cracks through the ceiling. It was raining hard outside, so they were confined indoors for the time being. "Dear me, it does seem like such a shame to pick up our packs and move on again."
Merry grunted an incomprehensible reply as he rolled over on his stomach. She certainly was right about that. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in a stuffy room for half of a perfectly wonderful day, and fight the urge to fall asleep listening to Old Arlo Smallbottle who came from Bywater, drone on and on and on.
"And it came much too quickly for I am dreadfully in debt again."
Merry stared at her in shock. "Dreadfully in debt? You had plenty of pocket money this summer.what did you do with it all?" He cried in disbelief, sitting up, bits of straw clinging to his hair, which he of course, ignored.
Mentha sighed dramatically as she slid down to join her elder cousin, and walked in the direction of the barn doorway. "Because if you must know, I owe at least a dozen, pickled limes."
"Did you say limes?" Merry was very amused.the things girls did with their time these days! "You've been buying limes?"
Mentha nodded, her unruly auburn curls bobbing along with the motion of her head. Merry folded his arms, one foot stuck out, making him look a great deal like his father with his "poker face" as some of his cousins told him at times. "Yes, Merry.and you needn't give me such a face."
"What exactly do you do with these limes?"
Mentha smirked as though he'd been hiding under a rock all this time, not to know what one did with limes. "Well, it's the fashion now.at the end of each summer we buy a fair share of them and trade the fruits for beads and other pretty things.and I've found them to be quite refreshing as well."
Merry found this new information hysterically funny, and he doubled over with laughter. Mentha's face turned a brilliant shade of red, and she glared at him angrily. He had no right to laugh at her expense, and when she told him so with a stomp of her foot, it only made him laugh harder. "Stop, stop!" She ordered, tackling him to the ground, and pinning his arms and his legs so he could not move. He gaped at her, wide-eyed, stunned at her strength. The two of them remained in that position for a few moments, and Merry was quite relieved when Mentha at last let him up again. "Please, Merry, I am always helping you when you need it!" She wailed, latching onto his arm, a pitiful expression of woe on her face.
"What do you want me to do about it?" Merry snapped back, irritated. He peered out through the doorway, to see if the rain had let up, but it hadn't.
"Let me borrow a copper.that should more than do it, and still leave enough leftover for you!"
Merry could not believe his ears. His cousin was actually trying to weasel money from him. Even Pippin did not do such a roughish thing! Merry turned his back on her immediately, refusing to give into her pleads. After all, she had spent all of her pocket money on ridiculous nonsense.at least he knew how to save for the most part, and still had three coppers left in a box on his desk. Mentha glared at him.
"Oh please, Merry! Please? I won't ever ask you again, I promise.just this once!"
Merry whirled around. "Absolutely not! I refuse to meddle with the affairs of a bunch of girls, whose heads are so filled with air they could float away if they chose!" He stormed out of the barn, ignoring the enormous raindrops that smacked against his forehead and cheeks. Mentha stood watching him, her face turning red with fury.
"You just wait, Meriadoc Brandybuck! You inconsiderate dolt! You'll regret this!"
"STICKLEBACKS!" Merry shouted over his shoulder before running the rest of the way into the house.
The next morning, Esmerelda woke her son, receiving a few absentminded kicks in the process. "Come now, Merry dear, or you'll be late for your lessons." She told him calmly, knowing how much he hated the first day of work.
Merry slid out of bed, his curls sticking out every which way as he blindly felt his way around the room. Did the sun truly come out this early? He found his clothes and pulled them on, before making his way down to the kitchens for breakfast, his books under one arm and his slate in the other. He took his usual seat between his father and Uncle Rory, noticing that Mentha was sitting with Angelica at the far end of the table. Both girls were whispering about something, but Merry could have cared less, for he was more concerned about the food in front of him than female gossip. If he had been paying attention, their sly expressions and glances in his direction every so often would have been cause for concern.
Once breakfast was over, the girls leapt up and flew as fast as they could in the direction of the schoolroom, while Merry dawdled along the corridors, trying to take as much time as possible, until Mia spotted him and threatened to slap him with her towel if he was late. "Go and make the best of it, Mr. Merry." She encouraged, giving him a nudge.
In fact, he was just barely on time when he entered the classroom. Everyone was there already, including the teacher, who gave him a warning look as he went to sit at his desk. Merry blushed a bit before opening the top to pull out his quill and a tiny ink well. What caught his eye instead made his stomach lurch. His writing supplies were there, but so were a dozen perfectly fresh green limes in the corner. He sat staring, his heart pounding. Food or drink in the classroom was absolutely forbidden, resulting in punishment, which normally consisted of slaps on the palm with a ruler and not being allowed to participate in recess.
"What do you find so interesting inside of your desk, Master Brandybuck?" Mr. Smallbottle asked in a loud voice, causing Merry to jump and accidentally slam the top of the desk against his hand. He yelped and pulled it out, feeling hot tears fill his eyes as he heard the sniggers around him. Merry glanced around to find Mentha sneering at him, before she turned her attention to Mr. Smallbottle, who shook his head gravely and went to the blackboard.
While the teacher's back was turned, Merry quietly opened his desk again, staring at the limes, when he was suddenly hit with a pang of realization. This was clearly Mentha's form of revenge. Yet how would she have gotten the money for the limes had he not given it to her? Perhaps she had swindled a copper out of one of his other cousins or something in that nature. Merry decided that he would just have to remain as calm as possible, not to show that anything out of the ordinary had occurred. He sat very still at his desk, listening to the teacher, scibbling things down on his slate every so often. He wondered how Pippin was doing now that school had started again.if only he lived at the Great Smials instead.
The first half of the lesson seemed to drag on forever, and Merry was quite pleased when when Mr. Smallbottle started to announce that they could break for lunch for a half an hour. Just before he gave the final dismissal announcement, Mentha raised her hand high into the air, and he called on her. "Yes?"
"Sir, I did not want to interrupt earlier during class, but Merry has limes in his desk."
Merry felt his cheeks grow warm. How dare she.his head snapped around, and his eyes were flashing with anger. She just smiled sweetly at him, and watched with pleasure as Mr. Smallbottle came over to Merry, his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed. "Is this true, young Master? For you know they are forbidden and you perfectly well know the consequences."
Merry turned a bright shade of crimson as several of his friends began to chuckle. His mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out, as though he had lost his voice. All he could really do after a bit was just nod. Mr. Smallbottle snapped his fingers and pointed at the desk. "Open it and take those things one by one and dispose of them out the window, if you please."
Angelica raised her eyes in horror and stared at Mentha. She had not expected to loose her limes! Fuming, Merry did as he was told, quite glad to be rid of the retched things, but not looking forward at all to the pending punishment. He was half tempted to blame Mentha for the incident, but he refused to sink to her level. So when Mr. Smallbottle told him to stand and go to the front of the classroom, he did so without complaint. Merry stood facing the rest of the class, his mouth in a thin, tight line, as Mr. Smallbottle took his ruler. "You know what to do, Master Merry."
Taking a deep breath, Merry held out his hand, his palm facing upwards. He set his teeth and threw back his head, bearing each blow without a single cry of pain. The blows were neither many nor heavy, but this concept did not matter to Merry. He was taking the punishment for someone else's foolishness. When the whips were through, Mr. Smallbottle set his ruler down, and Merry found himself staring at a large red welp on his palm, and he chewed on his lower lip, wondering how he would explain this to his parents when they saw it.
"There now.I don't suppose you'll be disobeying me again, will you? You may remain here on the platform through recess then. The rest of you may go," Mr. Smallbottle announced, and the other students immediately stood up, quickly hurrying out of the room as fast as they could, some glancing at Merry sympathetically. Mentha rushed past without giving him a second glance. Merry refused to move from his spot at all, not a single toe.
When class ended for the day, Merry stormed out of the room with his books, clutching his stinging palm and grumbling under his breath. Mentha hurried up to him, her eyes wide. "Oh Merry.I didn't."
"You did! You knew perfectly well what would happen," Merry yelled at her, stomping his foot. "You stupid girl."
"I'm not stupid, Merry! It's your fault anyway.if you had lent me the money for the limes."
"It's not my fault you wasted all of your money!" Merry added, feeling as though steam could come out of his ears if it were possible. Mentha glared at him, holding her books tightly to her chest. She was just about to shout another nasty retort, when Esmerelda came down the hallway.
"Now, what in the name of the Shire is going on between you two?" She asked, looking from one child to the other. Merry quickly hid his hand behind his back, and put on his calmest expression.
"Nothing, Mama."
Esmerelda frowned, not quite convinced. "Merry, why are you hiding your hand behind your back, dear?"
Merry blushed. "I'm." he cleared his throat. "I'm not."
Esmerelda put her hands on her hips and gave him a look of disapproval, which he hated more than anything else, and at last Merry pulled his hand out, revealing the marks on his palm. Esmerelda gasped, taking his hand in hers. "Oh Merry, what happened?" She cried in disbelief.
"Nothing, Mama."
Esmerelda narrowed her eyes even futher. She was not going to let him off this easily. Mentha, however, stepped forward.
"Auntie, it's my fault."
Merry gasped. Had he heard her correctly?
"What?" Esmerelda asked, puzzled.
"Mr. Smallbottle punished him for something I did."
Esmerelda shook her head. "Please, explain."
Merry stood watching as his cousin told his mother about the limes, how she had tried to convince Merry to allow her to borrow a copper, how he had refused, and how she had gotten revenge on him by putting Angelica's share of the limes in his desk. Esmerelda glanced at her son from the corner of her eye before turning back to Mentha. "That was very naughty in deed, Mentha," she agreed.
Mentha looked down at her feet, a slight blush tinting her cheeks. "Shall.shall I go and take my punishment from Mr. Smallbottle now? I deserve more slaps than Merry got." her voice was trembling a little.
Esmerelda chuckled, and gave the young one a pat on the head. "No dear, I think this time I will let you off with a warning. All that I would require is an apology to Merry, and then you may go."
Merry raised his eyes. He was not necessarily disappointed that Mentha had gotten off without punishment. In fact, he hoped that this entire matter would be resolved, and that they could continue their friendship as usual. "I'm sorry, Merry," Mentha began, fiddling with her books. "I really am. I hope you'll forgive me." She opened her large, brown eyes hopefully. After a moment of awkward silence, Merry gave Mentha a small, half-smile.
"You are forgiven, Mentha." He replied, using his good hand to give her's a shake. Esmerelda nodded in approval.
"Very good. Now then, run along and play, both of you. Tea is in an hour, and I'll send one of the maids out to fetch you."
Mentha grabbed Merry's arm in excitement. "Let us go and see if we can not recover the limes that were thrown out the window! Perhaps they aren't ruined."
Merry groaned, but complied all the same.