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Old 02-28-2005, 12:08 PM   #1499
Nurumaiel
Vice of Twilight
 
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: on a mountain
Posts: 1,121
Nurumaiel has just left Hobbiton.
"Well, now!" said Falco, folding his arms and surveying the little thief sternly. He had noticed her steal the dress, and had only refrained from making a scene because he didn't want Marigold to realise so soon that one of her dresses was gone. Now he stood in the kitchen door, gazing at this young Camille, and shaking his head.

"I don't know what else she has in that bag, Miss Ginger, Miss Buttercup," he said, "but I know that for one thing she has one of Marigold's dresses." He strode forward and stood over the girl, and looked very gravely into her face. "I, my young lassie, am the one who bought those dresses."

"You'd best get the shiriff," she said again, dropping her head to avoid his stern gaze.

He looked her up and down, and saw how thin and ragged-looking she was. He had no patience for hobbit thieves, and neither for Big Folk fellow thieves, and he didn't mind scolding a hobbit boy, caught while snatching an apple from the marketplace. But for the hobbit boy thieves, he always showed more kindness, for they were such young little things. And with a hobbit girl thief... his face became more kindly, and his tone less gruff, as he bent down to speak to her.

"Now, I don't think it's necessary to call the shiriff," he said. "You've returned the dress, and whatever else you stole, and I fancy you're a little too young to be taken in by the shiriff. Miss Buttercup, may I have the bag?" She passed it to him, and he opened it, and brought out the dress. It was one of the prettiest dresses, and one that would have looked splendid on Marigold with its rich blue colour. "Well, now, my young lassie," he said, glancing from Camille to the dress, "I don't see why I shouldn't let you have this dress after all. Marigold will be unhappy, no doubt, but she's a kind-hearted girl, and she'll feel a little better about it when she hears about you. But I'll only let you have it, mind, if you come get a bite to eat and tell me what you're doing here."

He glanced towards Buttercup and Ginger, and though they made no open move to stop him, he held up his hands and said: "Ah, now wait, before you try to say I shouldn't. I'm a well-to-do hobbit, and have more than enough money to spare buying a poor hungry wee lass a meal. I've always had a softness for little girls. When I was just a mite myself, only about five or six years of age, my mother told me I must always be gallant and protect and watch after the ladies. So I spent many hours of my days making things easier for the wee lassies of three or four, and taking care of the older girls as I got older. Whenever in a situation like this I always hear my mother telling me to watch out for the little girls." He smiled fondly at the memory. "I hope, misses, that you have no objections to what I propose? I think a good, hearty meal would do her much more good than a gruff old shiriff."
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