Page 72 of In Compromise with the Earl
“A young parishioner is leaving to school, and she cannot keep him in boarding so she asked me if I knew someone who would take care of him,” Leo smiled. “I thought of you.”
The puppy was licking her finger and rubbing at her chin. “Oh, I love him already. What is his name?”
“Dust ball,” Leo teased.
“Liar,” she accused him while letting the pup squirm in her arms.
“Yes, I had, but if you let him run around this place too much that is what you will have,” Leo grinned. “She named him Biscuit. He is housebroken and listens to simple commands.”
“Ah,” Aphrodite smiled. “Biscuit, such a lovely name. Thank you, Leo. I am so happy now.”
He quirked a brow. “Meaning that you were not happy before?”
Rubbing the puppy’s belly, she admitted, “Oswald is working all the time and while we share nights together, he is absent all day and so is his mother. She won’t speak with me, matter of fact, I have not even seen her in the last five days. I’m all alone most days.”
Leo’s face contorted. “It seems that my cousin is falling into his old routines. He used to work all day and Claire grew bored to tears.”
“And we knew how that ended,” Aphrodite replied solemnly while fondling the dog’s ears. “Be assured, no matter how wearied I get, I will not look forentertainmentelsewhere.”
“That’s good to hear,” he replied. “But Claire was tired of being alone for many days on end. She was a social person and lived for the attention of other people. My cousin can happily go through months with himself as company. They were not a good fit, but they still married.”
“Eventually, she began to take these solitary trips to London, telling Oswald that she was going shopping, or having tea with other ladies, even visiting her parents, but they were all lies,” Leo said. “When they found her dead in her carriage, they found a peculiar dagger in her heart.”
“What was so peculiar about that dagger?” Aphrodite asked.
“It was ceremonial dagger,” Leo replied. “One of an ancient Jewish make, used for ceremonial sacrifices. When it was found out, we realized it was one of a pair. We searched for the second one but did not find it,” Leo said. “The chase died after a month, and we all are forced to live with the unsolved mystery.”
“Oh, no,” she sighed. “That had to be horrible.”
“I know,” Leo replied, reaching out to pet the dog. “I know it is a sensitive issue, but you might want to talk about Oswald how bored you are so you can make a plan around it. It might help if you peeled my cousin away from his desk now and then.”
Looking into the happy eyes of the pup, Aphrodite smiled. “I will.”
“Wonderful,” Leo brushed his hands over the pup’s muzzle, accidentally bumping into hers then laughed, “Oh, sorry.”
His eyes met hers and something—a hint of warmness—flashed across his eyes. Smiling back, Aphrodite stood thanked him again and with the puppy in her arms and managing to hold her book headed to the Hall.
She entered just as the Dowager was going up the stairs, took one look at her and said, “You will not have that flea-bitten mutt in my home.”
The joy in her heart shriveled to nothing while she held the innocent puppy.
“Aunt, please,” Leo said from behind her. “This Hall is big enough to hold a single lap-dog.”
She sniffed. “Where is my son?”
“In his study,” Leo said. “Where he always is.”
Without another word, she turned and climbed the stairs, taking a corridor and disappearing around a corner. Leo stood in front of her and rested both hands on either shoulder. “Don’t worry too much about it.”
She hung her head while he managed to hug her, even with the puppy between them. “It will be fine, I promise. Just have some faith,” he said quietly before pulling away. “I must leave now, but give my regards to my cousin later this evening.”
As he left, Aphrodite took the stairs and went to her chamber, putting the pup on the floor and closing the door behind her. Weakly, she sank to a chair and watched with a half-smile while the puppy ran around the chamber, sniffing here and there.
When he came back to her, she petted him, “What do we give you to eat, Biscuit?”
“Aphrodite?” Oswald asked as he came into the chamber. She looked up while he came closer. His eyes dipped to the puppy then back to her, “Are you all right?”
“No.”
