Willie Banks was quite surprised to receive another visitor to his house midway through elevenses. A knock on the door, he said out loud to his house guests, and who could that be at this hour? He was certainly not prepared to serve for another guest, to come in like this, unannounced, tsk-tsk. Willie almost never had any visitors, and now it seemed like the whole Bree-land and half the Shire suddenly wanted to pay him a surprise visit. Willie hated surprises, and he wasn’t too keen on visitors either, but he didn’t mention that to cousin Eglantine or her husband, Paladin. That’s why he had moved into Archet in the first place, to get rid of his nosy neighbors and his always hungry relatives.
Willie was even more surprised when he saw that his visitor appeared to be one of the Big Folk. A watchman, but not any watchman of Archet, of that Willie was mortal-certain. Willie knew everyone in Archet, but this man he had never seen before.
”Who is it, Willie?” Paladin’s voice asked from the dining room.
”A watchman”, Willie replied. ”From Bree. Says his name’s Constable Calamint. Says he’s here to see you, Paladin.”
”Me? But I haven’t finished my mid-morning meal yet!”
”I can wait”, the visitor rumbled. Willie was wringing his hands.
”Awww! I wasn’t prepared for another dinner guest! How can I…?”
”It’s all right”, the visitor interrupted. ”I already ate down at the inn. I’m not hungry.”
”Not hungry!” Willie exclaimed in a high-pitched tone, as if the visitor had just claimed to be made out of cheese. ”But do come in, do come in! Please sit down to wait in the living room! Let me get you some tea at least!”
It was almost noon when Paladin finally appeared from the dining room, frowning slightly. He recognized Calamint as one of the Bree watchmen who had questioned him after the assault in Staddle yesterday.
”Well?” Paladin asked. ”Something you forgot to ask me yesterday? I thought I made it clear we don’t need extra protection from the Watch, but thank you kindly for the gesture.”
”Mr. Took”, Calamint said, sipping his tea. ”It was decided in the Bree Watch officer’s meeting to send one Constable to look after you and your family anyway. Just for a precaution.”
”But why? Didn’t you say yesterday that the whole thing was in all likelihood an isolated incident? The man was a known miscreant of Bree, known for that kind of behavior, that’s what you told me.”
”I’m not so sure anymore”, Calamint pondered, rubbing the stubble on his chin. ”Roddy Twinspur was a known associate of Bill Ferny, and there has been all kinds of folk frequenting Bill Ferny’s house these past few weeks. We found evidence in Staddle that Roddy had been camping there on a hill for days, hiding behind the bushes, keeping an eye on you. Now why would he do that?”
”I don’t know these people or why they do what they do”, Paladin said.
”Are you sure you didn’t take any valuables with you, Mr. Took?” Calamint asked.
”No, like I told you already yesterday”, Paladin replied. ”It would not be sensible to travel with your valuables, unless you are moving to another home. And we are only visiting Bree-land.”
Something flashed briefly behind Calamint’s eyes, as an idea started to form in the back of his mind. ”Mr. Took, would you be kind enough to tell me more closely about your traveling plans? How long will you be staying in Archet, what route will you take on your way back to the Shire and when?”
”What for, if I may ask, Constable Calamint?” Paladin’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.
Calamint smiled. ”I’m not sure, Mr. Took. But perhaps there was a reason for why Roddy attacked you yesterday. Perhaps somebody else put him up to it. And perhaps that somebody hasn’t quite given up on their plan yet, whatever the plan is.”
”I see”, Paladin said, the frown on his forehead deepening. He started pacing around the room, hands clasped behind his back. ”Well, it is quite simple really. We are planning to stay right here in Archet as Willie Banks’ guests throughout the weekend. On Sterday morning we’ll start back home. We will ride through Bree without stopping there but we must spend one day camped by the East Road as Buckland is at least two days’ ride from Bree. We should arrive in Buckland by Sunday evening and meet my cousin, Thain Ferumbras III there. Monday morning we will all cross the Brandywine on Bucklebury Ferry and head back home from Stock.”
Calamint glanced at Paladin and put the tea cup away. ”Ferumbras? He’s in Buckland?”
”Yes”, Paladin nodded. ”We all came to Buckland together. Ferumbras has some official business there, mostly attending to feasts and celebrations I suppose. Cultivating relationships between the Shire and Buckland. We agreed that Ferumbras will stay in Buckland until we return from our tour to Bree-land and then we will all return to the Shire together.”
Calamint was impressed. It was a rare occasion when the traditional military leader of the Shire – the Thain – went to Buckland for any reason.
”Look”, Paladin said, turning to look the Constable in the eyes. ”I appreciate your concern, really I do. I think you are overreacting, but if it really means so much to you, I wouldn’t mind to know you’re around somewhere close-by. But please be discreet about it if you decide to stick around! I don’t want to make my family any more scared than they already are with this nonsense. I’m afraid they may have had enough adventure to last for a lifetime already.”
