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Snaveling put out a hand as though to stay the hobbit lass. “No, do not go. It is true that my queries have to do with matters beyond the borders of the Shire, but I would not have you leave on that account. I have been to this land before and I am well acquainted with the folk of it. One of them,” he decided it best not to name Toby, “I account my greatest friend. And if these are not reasons enough to prevent my discourtesy to you, I have been urged by my King to seek out the company of Halflings whenever possible, for he feels that I have much to learn from you.”
Caity looked surprised at this. “The King said that, did he?” she asked. “Well I can’t imagine what the likes of us could have to teach a Man like you. Are you really kinsman to the King?”
“We are of the same lineage, I am told, but the connection is one so distant in time that it hardly bears the title of kinship. The King could easily forswear me, but for his nobility and the honour of his line. I have myself only recently become aware of the relation. Do not let the richness of my clothes – travel-stained as they may be – fool you into thinking that I am a grand Man of the Court. I am from somewhat more…humble circumstance. My own land is not all that different from the Shire, really, although it has been long since I lived there. But do not let me interrupt your conversation, my own questions can wait. You were, I believe speaking of the handfasting that is to take place today?”
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