Oh, thank you for such a lovely Pippin/Diamond moment! I love how Estella knew and elbowed Merry to watch. And your descriptions were, as always, spot on. You give so vivid details that I can envision the entire story so clearly from your descriptions. It's wonderful not only that Merry now has someone besides Sam that he can share his interest in herbs. I could easily envision the two couples sharing a smial for the rest of their lives, were it not for one becoming the Thain and the other the Master. You write Merry and Pippin so well!