Last week I posted the Epilogue of my Tolkien crossover fanfic A Shire Romance, and with that it was finished. As the blurb for it says, this was the very first novel I actually completed (I’ve written craploads of unfinished stuff before it), and while I know it has shedloads of flaws, as a story in itself I quite like it, hence my decision to post it in episode format.
Missed the start? All installments can be found here.
Or go back to part thirty-one.
This was first posted on Silk Screen Views.
EPILOGUE
“Mother, where are my riding trousers?”
Tamsyn sighed and stretched her back, wincing at the stabs of pain shooting upwards. “I’m washing them, dear,” she called back, pulling the last of the garments through the wringer attached to the washtub, then placing them in the basket next to her.
Missed the start? All installments can be found here.
Or go back to part thirty.
This was first posted on Silk Screen Views.
PART THIRTY-ONE – THE WEDDING
The weeks passed like lightning, and the wedding drew ever closer. It took several days before Tamsyn and Perry could stand to be away from each other for more than a minute at a time, but they steadily got accustomed to each other’s presence again, even if their desire for each other did not lessen one whit. Perry only needed to give Tamsyn one smouldering look and she’d be ready to jump him, and he seemed determined to exploit this to the full. They stole quick kisses between the jobs they had to do in preparation for the wedding, or made quick, passionate love in unlikely places, such as the mathom room where Perry’s livery was stored. Their evenings in bed were spent exploring each other’s bodies in a more leisurely fashion.
Missed the start? All installments can be found here.
Or go back to part twenty-nine.
This was first posted on Silk Screen Views.
PART THIRTY – WELCOME BACK
When Tamsyn and Perry walked into the kitchen, hands clasped tightly, it contained not just Esme, Sarry and Diamond, but also Faramir, who looked uncommonly shaky when he stood up.
“Tamsyn,” he said. “They said you were here, but I could barely believe it. Are you… are you here to stay now?” He looked from her to Perry, taking in his son’s glow of intense, utter joy, and breathed a sigh of relief before Tamsyn could even answer.
Missed the start? All installments can be found here.
Or go back to part twenty-eight.
This was first posted on Silk Screen Views.
PART TWENTY-NINE – REUNION
Tamsyn was even further out of breath before she was even halfway up the hill, but she pushed on, craning her neck to try and catch a glimpse of Perry. He had chosen to face away from the path though, and only when she finally got to the top could she see someone leaning with his back against the trunk. This was a different hobbit, though, with the same bright auburn hair as Diamond’s baby, and she guessed that this was Sarry Brandybuck.
He noticed her and stared at her in surprise while she caught her breath, but then recognition flashed in his eyes and he gave her a wide smile.
Missed the start? All installments can be found here.
Or go back to part twenty-seven.
This was first posted on Silk Screen Views.
PART TWENTY-EIGHT – BACK TO THE SHIRE
With the truth now out, Tamsyn spent all of her remaining time in a frenzy of activity with Andy, planning her departure down to the minutest details. She made sure that to the public and the paparazzi she still presented the same melancholy image of the past months, but as the twenty-second of May came ever closer, she became jittery with anticipation.
Much as she hated to fake something as traumatic and serious as suicide, Tamsyn had not been able to think of any other way to accomplish her disappearance, and she and Andy had decided that it would ‘take place’ at Beachy Head on the south coast of England. Sadly enough it was a popular location for it, but the lack of a body could be attributed to it being washed away with the tide. Tamsyn would leave her car there with a suicide note, then disguise herself and take public transport to Somerset, paying in cash all along the way.
Missed the start? All installments can be found here.
Or go back to part twenty-six.
This was first posted on Silk Screen Views.
PART TWENTY-SEVEN – TAMSYN’S PLAN
Several months passed, with Tamsyn dividing her time between library visits and long sessions in her office at home, during which she locked the door and refused to speak to anyone, even Andy. He was getting increasingly worried about her, especially since on those rare occasions when she wasn’t in her study, she went back to sitting on the window sill in her living room, staring out the window without seeing anything.
Missed the start? All installments can be found here.
Or go back to part twenty-five.
This was first posted on Silk Screen Views.
PART TWENTY-SIX – NOW WHAT?
With the hurdle of the endangered species out of the way they returned to London and waited for Radagast to recover once more. It took four days this time, and Tamsyn spent most of that time with her lawyers, since Jim McMurphy had made good on his threat and had taken her to the employment tribunal for unfair dismissal. The lawyers warned Tamsyn that her outlook was bleak, but she refused to give the case her full attention until the Somerset site was protected.
Missed the start? All installments can be found here.
Or go back to part twenty-four.
This was first posted on Silk Screen Views.
PART TWENTY-FIVE – RADAGAST’S MAGIC
Andy shut down his laptop and detached it from the docking station, then he and Tamsyn went back to the penthouse, where they found Radagast awake and nibbling on a custard cream. Tamsyn smiled when she saw him and indicated the biscuit. “You must be doing well, you’re eating something.”
Radagast smiled back. “I do appear to be recovering faster than previously. Esmeralda’s food likely has a lot to do with that.”
Missed the start? All installments can be found here.
Or go back to part twenty-three.
This was first posted on Silk Screen Views.
PART TWENTY-FOUR – THE BOARD MEETING
The following morning Tamsyn dressed with extra care, using make-up to hide the dark circles under her eyes and the pallor of her face. Andy nodded his approval, though he still shook his head at her lack of shoes, and she felt as ready as she’d ever be to face her executive board.
On the trip to the office she found herself wondering why she had never thought to modernise her board of directors – bring in some new blood and some more women – but deep down she knew she had never even thought to mistrust her father’s old friends. Now she was on her way to face seven white, fifty-something males who apparently didn’t trust her as much as she’d trusted them.
Theft and Sorcery 