Hidden Chronicles Chapter 8
‘It’s All About the Dress’
(as narrated by me at The Green Dragon Friday roleplaying event, 10th October 2025)
It was springtime in Hidden and, as is only natural, the thoughts of the hobbit villagers turned to weddings. Now you will know only too well that at such times gossip and tittle tattle abound. Folk love to speculate about who might be sweet on who and why young Master So-and-So found it necessary to visit the home of pretty Miss Whatshername quite so frequently. At such times taking a moment longer than needed over a hug of greeting, or one too many glances across a crowded room, can spark rumours that spread like wildfire! But in one case this springtime there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Watchman Dudo Underfoot and Amber Bloomblush, the pretty barmaid at the Singing Badger, were meant for one another. The only speculation was about when the bashful young Dudo would get round to popping the question, and landlord Jago Brockhouse was secretly taking bets from patrons of the Badger on the date when the announcement would be made.
Amber lived in one of the Old Smials with her grandmother, old Gammer Bracegirdle, who had been the village schoolmistress until old age caught up with her and my own cousin, Filibert Diggle, was dragooned into taking on the role. Amber’s parents had died in a tragic fire when she was just a baby – their cottage was burned to the ground, and the baby Amber was rescued from the blaze by a very brave hobbit – but that is another story. Amber was cared for and raised by her grandmother and now it was she who cared for the old lady, as is only right and proper.
When she was not caring for Gammer or working at the bar in the Singing Badger, where she was very popular, for she was not only pretty but had a sweet and welcoming nature, Amber spent much of her time with her two very best friends, girls of her own age, twin sisters Opal and Topaz Goodbody. The twins were identical and quite inseparable, and they shared a cottage and small workshop in the village, but they were frequent visitors to the Smials for their old da, Izaak Threadgold, lived alone there. The old boy spent most of his days at the Fishing Pool, but the girls looked in to make sure he had regular meals and to do his laundry and keep the place clean. The girls, of course, took a close interest in Amber’s courtship, and they were always asking her when she thought Dudo would ask the question and gently teasing her that it was taking so long.
Even at such a young age Opal and Topaz had become highly regarded as dressmakers by the girls and women of the village, especially by the younger ones. Opal was a skilled seamstress, and she was always ready to experiment, coming up with imaginative new shapes and designs and transforming what might have been an ordinary garment into something special with the addition of a touch of lace here or a frill or gather there. Topaz had learned the arts of dyeing and printing, and she gathered plants, insects and minerals from all around the village which were crushed and mixed to produce dyes in the brightest of colours. She would carve blocks of wood in all manner of attractive patterns and designs which could be applied to the fabrics she acquired for her sister to sew. It had become the height of fashion among the village girls, and indeed some of the older village women too, to be seen wearing an Opal and Topaz creation.
Now I expect some of you are waiting for me to describe in detail that moment when Dudo finally did overcome his shyness and got down on one knee before Amber. Well, I believe that the words spoken on such occasions are very special and private between the two individuals concerned so I will just tell you that it did happen, that Dudo presented Amber with a silver ring forged by the dwarf blacksmith, Durnir Ironhammer, and that Amber blushed, shed a tear and threw her arms around Dudo, showering him with kisses by way of answer to his question. When at last they parted she ran straight away to her friends’ cottage to give them the news and following a great deal of hugging and excited squealing and whooping the girls promised that they would make Amber a beautiful wedding dress the like of which the village had never seen before.
On the following day Opal and Topaz asked Amber to visit them during her break. It seemed they had been up all that night planning and designing a dress for their friend and they brought Amber to their workshop where, laid out on a table, they showed her drawings of the dress they would make for her. Amber was amazed at what she saw. The images depicted a high-waisted gown with a close-fitting bodice and a full, gathered skirt which flowed elegantly to the ground. It would be made from finest ivory linen on to which Topaz would print an intricate pattern of bluebells and marigolds while the neckline, sleeves and hem were trimmed with gauzy lace. Amber couldn’t thank her friends enough and she could barely contain her excitement and delight, for the dress would be truly beautiful and she wanted to look her absolute best for Dudo on the day. She planned to bring Dudo home with her that very evening for she wanted him to be with her when she gave Gammer her news.
So it was that the two of them arrived at Gammer’s house hand in hand and Amber told her that they planned to marry and Dudo bowed low before the old lady, who knew him all too well from his schooldays. She fixed him with a piercing stare and said, “Well lass, I s‘pose you could do worse!” Amber was about to tell her about the dress, but before she could speak the old lady said “Wait here. I’ve got something to show you.” She left the room for a moment or two and returned holding a small painting in a frame. It depicted a couple, a hobbit looking very smart dressed in the uniform of a Bounder and a hobbit girl wearing a plain white dress and holding a small bouquet of violets. Amber gasped, for although she had never seen the painting before she recognised her mother and father from the few pictures and sketches that her Gammer had shown her. The old lady smiled. “That was painted on their wedding day. And I’ve another surprise for you – I still have the dress!”
Gammer led them down the hall to a dusty storeroom with a closet smelling strongly of lavender. There, from behind a curtain at the back, she withdrew the white wedding dress. “I’ve aired it regular and checked for moths.” she said proudly. “I knew ye’d marry one day and it is my dearest wish that you should wear your mother’s dress. If it doesn’t quite fit, I’ll get my old friend Cora Goodenough to come round and measure you and make some adjustments.” Cora was their next-door neighbour and Gammer’s closest friend. For many years she had been the only seamstress in the village. Her dresses were well-made but plain and functional and she was not a little jealous of the success Opal and Topaz enjoyed, dismissing their colourful creations as ‘that immodest modern stuff’.
Dudo bowed once more and bade farewell to the old lady and Amber followed him outside. “I’m afraid her father’s tunic was lost in the fire, but you can wear your own best uniform,” called Gammer as they left. Once outside Amber burst into tears. “Oh Dudo,” she cried, “what can we do? I can’t let my gammer down, but I so wanted to look my best in the dress the girls are making, and they would be so disappointed. We’ll just have to call the wedding off,” she exclaimed, and ran back into the burrow in a fresh flood of tears.
Dudo stood devastated. It had taken so long for him to find the courage to ask Amber for her hand, he had been so happy when she said yes, and now the thought that there would be no wedding left him quite heartbroken and close to despair. He could not face returning to the Watchhouse alone, so instead he made his way to my own cousin’s burrow, which lies close by, and he found Filibert at home with a pipe and a book. That kindly fellow did all he could to calm the young hobbit down and, with the help of a small brandy, he got him to tell the reason for his misery. Filibert pondered a while then sent Dudo home telling him that he should get a good night’s rest, and he promised that he would visit him the following evening with some suggestions as to what he might do. Dudo departed, seemingly reassured, and Filibert wished that he shared the young lad’s confidence in his ability to resolve this particular problem.
Cousin Filibert’s personal experience of weddings was as limited as my own, for like me he is a confirmed bachelor. However, he was a keen student of hobbit history and customs, and we come from an extensive family back in Woodhall where weddings are a regular occurrence. So he knew that hobbit weddings could take many forms and that while they all include the consumption of copious quantities of food and drink they can range from very small and quiet affairs where the couple might promise to always love one another quite privately, perhaps with just one or two friends or family members present, to very grand occasions indeed where the couple plight their troth in a very public setting accompanied by very lengthy speeches and with the whole community in attendance.
Filibert barely slept that night but thought long and hard and as the following day was not a school day. he set off the following morning to visit his friend Araminta Digroot who, as the village healer knew just about everyone, and most of their business too. When he told her what he was looking for she said that she knew just the person and together they made their way to a tumbledown shack which lay at the centre of a wildflower meadow behind the inn. This was the home of Mungo Scribbins – poet, musician, singer, beekeeper and most importantly, for Filibert’s present purpose, painter. This remarkable fellow is worthy of a tale all to himself, and perhaps I shall tell it here one day, but right now it is enough to say that some silver changed hands and Mungo accepted Filibert’s commission of a painting to be undertaken at a time of his choosing.
Filibert visited Dudo and told him of his plan and shortly afterwards Dudo and Amber spoke to Gammer and told her that they wished for a quiet ceremony with just a few friends present. Amber tried on her mother’s dress and Cora came round to make a few adjustments and Dudo washed and pressed his best uniform and a few days later, there among the flowers at the back of the inn, with only Gammer and her friend Cora, Opal and Topaz and Filibert and Araminta present, Amber and Dudo made their promises accompanied only by the sound of buzzing bees. Mungo Scribbins set up his easel and painted a fine portrait of the couple by way of recognising the union and to serve as remembrance of that day for years to come. You see, Filibert had remembered that it was a custom, especially where the marriage ceremony was a small affair with but a few witnesses, for such a painting to be made and he guessed that the painting of Amber’s parents had been made for that reason. The couple proudly presented the new painting to Gammer and it hangs now in her parlour alongside the one of her own late daughter and her husband on their wedding day.
Of course, two weeks later Dudo and Amber once more made their vows on The Green, where the whole village was assembled. Amber wore the beautiful dress the girls had presented her with, while Dudo sported a bright green tunic and a feathered cap. There was much music and dancing and many speeches were made before the company set about the splendid feast, beneath which the tables of the Singing Badger groaned, and I will leave you to imagine all the fine fare and liquor which was consumed on that day.
