Page 29 of Lady Audacious
Odile carried the little dog to the stables and put it down in the stall that Harris had prepared for Patrick. There was fresh straw which she used to rub the puppy’s coat, removing the dirt and grime from the stream. The dog submitted herself to Odile’s attentions readily enough, and by the time she’d dried off a little she was no longer trembling quite so violently. She yawned and tried to crawl into Odile’s lap but whimpered when she put her weight on one of her front paws.
‘What have you done to yourself, little one?’ she asked, picking up its injured paw, from the pad of which a large thorn protruded. ‘Oh, you poor thing.’
‘Best not pull it out immediately.’
Odile started violently, not having heard Harris approach. ‘Why not?’ she asked.
‘I’ll get some warm water and a cloth to bathe it, otherwise it will get dirty and infected the moment she puts her weight on it.’
‘Well, that’s us told, isn’t it,’ Odile said, cradling the puppy again until Harris returned.
‘Here, let me,’ he said.
Assuming he had more experience with animals than she did, Odile handed the puppy over. The dog yelped when Harris removed the thorn but he’d had the foresight to bring some offcuts of Mrs Blaine’s ham with him. The pup wolfed them down and licked his hand afterwards.
‘She must have escaped from Amberley Hall. His lordship’s bitch whelped a couple of months back, and this must be the runt. She’d be bigger by now otherwise.’
‘Well he ought to have taken better care of her,’ Odile replied hotly. ‘It’s hardly her fault if she doesn’t have a lot of courage and her brothers and sisters bully her.’
‘You have a soft heart, Miss Aspen.’
‘Which I’m sure is unpardonable when it comes to the reality of country ways, but there’s nothing to be done about it.’
‘I should return her to Amberley Hall.’
‘No, not tonight. It’s already getting dark. Let’s see if Lord Amberley comes in search of her. I don’t imagine he will even notice she’s gone—and even if he does he will no doubt send a servant to enquire after her. She needs to rest somewhere clean tonight so that her paw can heal. I will take her into the house with me.’
Harris smiled. ‘Thought you might.’
Mrs Blaine was full of sympathy for the puppy’s plight. She fed her lots of titbits and gave her a bowl of water. The creature lapped up the attention and, exhausted by her adventures, eventually fell asleep in front of the range.
‘I’ll take her upstairs with me, Mrs Blaine,’ Odile said once she had done justice to her own supper. ‘I don’t want her to inconvenience you.’
‘Fine, but talking of conveniences…’ Mrs Blaine nodded significantly in the direction of the kitchen door.
Odile smiled. ‘Ah, good point.’
‘You are not made for the life of a racing dog, are you?’ Odile said to the pup later that night, when she was in her bed and the puppy was on top of the covers, curled up against her, drowsy and content. ‘Clever creature that you are, you must prefer a domesticated life, allowing others to concern themselves with your needs. I doubt you have a competitive bone in your body. All well and good, my sweet, but you are not mine and I dare say that the heartless earl will want you back, which is why I shall not give you a name. I know very well from personal experience that it doesn’t do to get too attached to anyone. Things tend to get taken away in the cruellest manner imaginable, leaving one adrift and broken-hearted.’
Odile didn’t often feel sorry for herself, but recollections of a happy family life that she couldn’t…well, recollect, momentarily got the better of her. She brushed aside an errant tear when it trickled down her cheek, wondering how she could be so sure that her lifehadbeen happy when she couldn’t remember anything about it.
The puppy, oblivious to Odile’s momentary self-pity, curled into a tighter ball and began to snore. Odile laughed as she stroked her head, her hand stilling as she experienced a strong sense ofdéjà vu.‘I have done this before,’ she said aloud and with conviction. ‘I once owned a young dog just like you, which explains why there is such a strong bond between us already.’
The memory, the strongest she had experienced since the vision in the garden, filled her with contentment and she fell into the deepest sleep she had enjoyed for as long as she could recall.
‘Ain’t no sign of her, m’lord,’ Musgrove told Reuben when he enquired after the missing puppy late into the evening of her disappearance. ‘Can’t think what made her take off like that, even if she is disinclined to compete with her siblings. I thought she’d have found her way home by now.’
‘Let’s hope she does so before the night is out. Failing that we’ll search for her in the morning. Despite her unsuitability for racing, I’ve taken a liking to her character. Anyway, we are expecting guests this evening so I had best show my face. Send word to the house if the pup shows up.’
‘Will do, m’lord.’
‘What’s wrong, my dear?’ his mother asked when he walked into the drawing room. ‘You look very distracted.’
‘Nothing to concern yourself about, Mother. One of the pups is missing, but I am sure she will turn up.’
Reuben noticed Sarah in the periphery of his vision. She clearly didn’t share his concern—another strike against her aspirations.
‘I hope she does,’ Emily said. ‘You refer to the runt, I assume. Such a shame not to have named her. I think we should call her Willow. It suits her personality.’ Chase whined, making them all smile. ‘You see? Chase approves of the name I have given his daughter.’
