No one else in my family reads or writes. I reckon even the Thane don't know how. It's just not done in the Riddermark. I don't think I even knew there were such things as letters or parchment until I were in Lake-town a few year back, askin' after the lantern. Even when I did, it just seemed like another odd thing folk do in other lands, and that's been something as I've been made to realize everywhere I been in all the many roads I been on -- if it weren't for that librarian in Dale, don't even know what his name were, what made the cost of his help in finding out about the lantern that I learn proper speechifying and letters. I reckon as he'd be glad that today I am helped by that, on account letters is used by many folk in Bree, leastwise them as do business, and most important, Master Rosewood, what uses them in his ledger what I still can't figure out entire. But if I didn't know letters and such, I wouldn't even be able to try.
Seems ever'thing happening in my life of late, and it's a lot, keeps making me wonder what would be different if I were to read better, and more. There's libraries in places I could get to, not just in Dale. There's one in Bree, on the High Stair, I saw while I were out lookin' for a carpenter for to buy a second bed for my house in Hookworth, but I don’t know what kind of books as they got. Were just talking to Lumina about Rivendell, she were all excited at the possibility as I could bring her there (since Miss Adri introduced me there and taught me the way in -- I wonder how Miss Adri is doing, I miss her), because she might see the same library as I spent some days in but never read nothin' while there. There's the ledger, of course. And I wonder, if I read books, whether as I might be able to know more about Lumina's people, by less fumblesome means.
We'd been spending time together. She'd cooked me a fancy dinner with food made in the way of her lands, and had told me many things about her past, some things as she might keep secret from most folk but trusted me with. Things seemed to be goin' well. I was thinking as I could ask her if she might like to be courting. Which'd be much like what we been doing, maybe, only we'd be promisin' as it'd be only with one another. But which might be all manner of other things, on account there's different ways courting is done for different folk. In some places, the feller has to ask the lass's mother or father for permission; in some there's gifts, or contests, or rules about how much they can see one 'nother. I wanted for to know how it's done amongst Lumina's people so's I could do it with respect for her, and their ways. Maybe if I read, I'd been able to find out and got it right, but instead, with help from Miss Carria, I asked Miss Cesistya.
Which should been better'n any book, as that Elf-maid knows ever'thing, I reckon. But what she didn't know is that I'm a dunderhead, or leastwise she didn't think of that. See, I'd asked her about the ways of the Easterlings, because all the talk I ever heard back in the Mark 'bout folks like Lumina as have darker skin was always Easterlings. There'd been times she'd mentioned being from a place called Harad, but I just reckoned as that were one of the places Easterlings come from, like how some Eorlingas come from the Westfold and some don't. Thing is, there was this confusion on whether they got animals big as houses what should have made me realize I had it wrong, but I didn't. See, if I were someone as reads books about such things I would never made that mistake.
So Miss Cesistya tells me about a tradition involving gifts, them as are to come from conquest, most of the time. And maybe it turns out them wooden whittlings I gave her was already startin' courting without me even meaning to! I were all set to try to find some rich and proper gift suited to a lady of her wealth and station, but I wanted for to ask first if she even wanted to be courtin'. So one day while I were showin' her the house in Hookworth, I tried to ask. Made a mess of that, too, but eventually came around to it. And found out how wrong I were about ever'thing!
Well, not the most important part, which is that she did want to be courtin', so now we are. But took a lot of confusin' part to get to that. See, once I found out Harad ain't Easterling -- it ain't even to the east! -- I found the Harad-folk don't even got a courtin' way, leastwise not in the part of Harad what Lumina's ma is from, and even they did, she didn't grow up in the kind of family as they would do courtin' in. Most folk there get married based on an arrangement made by their parents, like the one my ma and pa made for me long ago (it's done in the Mark too, just not so often). Rich gifts wouldn't been right at all! It's lucky as she's patient with my not knowin' much. Guess I got some kind of charms for her as makes up for it!
Makes me wonder if one day, after I'm not so busy with work (sold one horse, by way of Miss Carria, to Miss Clara, and nearly sold another to a feller named Gregwald), and courtin', and learnin' all I can from Lumina about her and her people and their ways, and makin' friends in Bree (saw Miss Taite and Miss Lena and met a few new folk, a hobbit lass named Gustine and a healer called Dimheim, the night after Lumina agreed to courtin'), and tryin' to learn the ledger, and maybe even becomin' a master in the guild and runnin' my own stable… phew, I do got a lot of things to be doin'! But maybe when I don't so much, I should try to take up reading. Who knows, maybe I wouldn’t make such a dunderheaded mess of things so much on account of knowin' the things other folk know from all them books.
