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Lea stared helplessly at the rainbow of flowers before her. Master Baggins had been quite explicit in his instructions. She would not fail him. And yet.
“I beg your pardon, madam,” she said hopefully, addressing the tall woman in the smart brown apron who kept the stall.
“Just a moment dear,” the woman said, “feel free to pick out whatever you like, and then we can discuss price.” Turning back to her friend, the florist continued, “Did you see that horse they gave King Bard? Beautiful thing. Just as good as any of theirs.”
“Oh aye,” the man she was talking to agreed. “Very noble. I've never seen horses to match, and you know I did a little traveling in my day.”
“Indeed you have! Pity you went East instead of South.”
Lea ignored them.
After all, she had a list. Master Baggins had sent her to find six yellow roses, and she was not to mind about thorns or a stem so long as the blossoms were nice and full. She was to buy goldenrod, a few stalks would be plenty. If she could find black-eyed-susans, she was to buy more than she might otherwise deem necessary. That instruction had been far too vague and she'd been forced to beg clarification. Apparently more than she might deem necessary was ten stalks. “I want the stems, you see,” Master Baggins had explained, though she had no idea what he wanted them for. Celandine would be welcome, though he did not think she would find it. Yellow daisies would similarly be welcome, but only if she could not find anything else on Master Baggins's list, and even then she should not bother with white daisies.
Lea stared at the rows of flowers on display by the bushel. It might help if she had any idea what differentiated one flower from the next. As it was, she stared.
Roses should be easy. She'd seen roses before. Master Baggins occasionally had some in a vase on his dining table and the people of Dale spoke of them as a flower to be prized more than other flowers. Hesitantly, she selected a few of the full, yellow blossoms. At least they seemed to have nice long stems, and hopefully Master Baggins would be able to use them well.
Turning to the stall keeper, Lea confirmed her guess. “These are yellow roses?”
Both the woman and the man stopped to blink at her for a moment. Then the woman said, “Those are yellow carnations, Mistress Dwarf. You will find the roses over there.”
Lea followed her pointing finger. The roses had shorter stems with sharp little spikes upon them, obviously the thorns which Master Baggins had told her not to mind. Examining them closely, she could see why one might favor them over the carnations in her other hand. The roses had a smoother petal than the crinkly edge of the carnations, and their scent was sweeter. After returning the carnations to their proper bucket, Lea selected six roses.
Really, that was enough. Master Baggins had ordered her to return to him as quickly as she could with anything she could find. Speed was more important than thoroughness, and he was also searching the other flower stalls, likely with more luck. However, emboldened by this first success, Lea continued. She saw a flower with black petals alternating with yellow petals in a lovely spiral. Lifting it, she addressed the proprietor once more.
“Is this a black-eyed-susan?”
The woman laughed, quickly shoving a hand over her mouth to silence the reflex. The man was not so kind. He simply continued to laugh.
“My apologies, Mistress Dwarf,” the woman said. “That is a paper flower. My daughter makes them to decorate the stall. I do not have black-eyed-susans in stock today, but Lily Ann over near the west end of the market should. She goes to the daisy fields more often than I do.”
“Thank you, Madam,” Lea said, choosing to overlook the laughter. “Master Baggins is looking there, so I trust he will find what he seeks.”
“Oh!” The man stopped laughing and the woman straightened up. “You are running errands for Master Baggins? He is one of my best customers. Why did he not come himself? I should have liked his opinion on these Rohirrim.”
“It is because of the Lady of the Horses that he does not come,” Lea said primly. If they were willing to give Master Baggins the respect he deserved, perhaps she might even forgive the laughter. In any case, mentioning his business seemed likely to speed things along. “He wishes to make her a present of flowers, but he is desirous of very specific blossoms.”
“Ah yes, that mood takes him sometimes,” the woman said knowingly. “A very discerning gentlehobbit, Master Baggins is. Well, as I said I cannot help him with any daisies, and you have found the roses. Was there anything else he wanted?”
“Celandine and goldenrod,” Lea recited dutifully. “Though the goldenrod more than the other, I think.”
“Then he is in luck.” The woman smiled. “I have no celandine today, but these six bushels here are goldenrod. I use it to fill out bouquets.” Taking the roses, she wrapped them in the goldenrod and bound the lot with string. “No doubt he'll rearrange them himself, he always does, so just you run along.”
The price for the whole bundle was half a crown, which the man seemed to think a very good deal indeed. Lea considered bargaining, but as she did not know the underlying worth of the flowers and she was in a hurry, she simply paid what was asked. Indeed, it seemed she was right to do so. As she was walking away, she heard the man scolding the woman for giving away the goldenrod for nothing.
The woman's voice was soft, but firm. “After all he's done for us, I'd give Master Baggins the whole lot for free, but I know I must make a little something my roses. Besides, he'd never accept them for free. Probably send that poor girl back with a full crown if I didn't ask for anything. That's why it's an honor to be of service to him, after all.”
Lea smiled. She knew the feeling.