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Authors: Teresa McCarthy
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she
would have thought the odious dog was playing with her as if the entire affair
were a peekaboo game.
Exasperated
and shivering from the cold, she sat back on her heels and sighed. She hated to
admit it, but the dog had been outwitting her at every turn. "Nigel,
dear." She took off her gloves, reaching out her hand. "Give Emily
the book."
The dog
lifted its wet nose and gave a disagreeable howl. Before Emily could stand, the
book was clamped between a large set of teeth, and Nigel quickly disappeared
around an old oak.
"Odious
beast!"
She
threw her hands to her hips, stared up at the sky, and frowned. The warmth of
the afternoon sun seemed to come and go, as if it had devised a similar plan
with Nigel, taunting her with promises of comfort, then turning on her,
changing from hot to cold in mere seconds.
Another
chill snaked through her as she dropped her gaze to her wet gown. She fisted
her hands in rage. She had bested some of the smartest men in France, and no
mere dog was going to make a cake of her. Short of shooting the creature or calling
his master for help, she realized that following the abominable canine was her
only recourse. But the wretched beast was becoming more annoying than all her
brothers put together.
"Dash
it, Nigel. I won't hurt you. All I wish is my book." To Emily's surprise,
the dog dropped the book and wagged its tail, as if consenting to her plea.
Triumph at last. She leaned forward, her slim fingers grazing the cover of the
book with the ease of a Captain Sharp at his best game of whist. But before she
knew it, a huge ball of brown fur tumbled toward her, shoving her onto her
back. The damp ground reached up to meet her. Next thing she knew, the dog
swiped the book into his mouth and ran. "Nigel, you come back here this
instant!"
Emily
jerked upright and stomped her foot as the beast turned the corner of the
garden and bounded into the fields. Her eyes narrowed on her enemy. This was no
longer a game, this was war. She picked up the pace, striding across the grassy
pastures where Nigel had fled. Glancing over her shoulders, she dismissed the
overcast sky. Hemmingly Hall, its cozy façade of evergreens stretched at least
a quarter mile behind her.
"Nigel,
you wretched creature! Give me that book!"
The dog
stopped and turned to stare at her. There seemed to be a faint glimmer of humor
exuding from those two brown eyes that set Emily's nerves on edge. "Enough
of these games, you odious dog. I know what you're up to, and it won't
work."
With the
book still in its mouth, Nigel gave a whine and made his way toward Hemmingly's
overgrown maze ten yards away.
Emily
gasped in outrage. "Don't you dare go in there, you beast." The dog
defiantly backed up into the maze.
However,
Emily refused to be goaded. The maze was said to be the place of Agatha's first
kiss with her one and only true love. But since the man's death at the Battle
of Trafalgar, no care had been taken to keep up the grounds. Jane had made a
point of telling Emily more than once never to enter the overgrown web of vines
and trees lest she become lost.
Emily
glared at Nigel's mischievous expression. Though many a day curiosity had
begged her to investigate the mysterious maze, now was certainly not the time
to do so.
"Nigel,
I forbid you to go in there with my book!"
Her
warning seemed to fall on deaf ears. For as soon as she took another step, the
dog spun around and padded into the maze with the bravado of a young
bullfighter.
"Nigel!"
She hurried forward and ducked her head beyond the tunneled opening into a nest
of gnarled vines and overgrown evergreens. Her heart thudded with unease.
Nothing.
"Nigel,
come here immediately."
A
chilling silence filled the air as she waited for an answer. But seconds turned
to minutes as the sky thundered above her, bursting forth with a bone-chilling rain.
She hesitantly inched forward onto the matted path, the cold droplets falling
against her back. Guilt immediately burnt any traces of
would have thought the odious dog was playing with her as if the entire affair
were a peekaboo game.
Exasperated
and shivering from the cold, she sat back on her heels and sighed. She hated to
admit it, but the dog had been outwitting her at every turn. "Nigel,
dear." She took off her gloves, reaching out her hand. "Give Emily
the book."
The dog
lifted its wet nose and gave a disagreeable howl. Before Emily could stand, the
book was clamped between a large set of teeth, and Nigel quickly disappeared
around an old oak.
"Odious
beast!"
She
threw her hands to her hips, stared up at the sky, and frowned. The warmth of
the afternoon sun seemed to come and go, as if it had devised a similar plan
with Nigel, taunting her with promises of comfort, then turning on her,
changing from hot to cold in mere seconds.
Another
chill snaked through her as she dropped her gaze to her wet gown. She fisted
her hands in rage. She had bested some of the smartest men in France, and no
mere dog was going to make a cake of her. Short of shooting the creature or calling
his master for help, she realized that following the abominable canine was her
only recourse. But the wretched beast was becoming more annoying than all her
brothers put together.
"Dash
it, Nigel. I won't hurt you. All I wish is my book." To Emily's surprise,
the dog dropped the book and wagged its tail, as if consenting to her plea.
Triumph at last. She leaned forward, her slim fingers grazing the cover of the
book with the ease of a Captain Sharp at his best game of whist. But before she
knew it, a huge ball of brown fur tumbled toward her, shoving her onto her
back. The damp ground reached up to meet her. Next thing she knew, the dog
swiped the book into his mouth and ran. "Nigel, you come back here this
instant!"
Emily
jerked upright and stomped her foot as the beast turned the corner of the
garden and bounded into the fields. Her eyes narrowed on her enemy. This was no
longer a game, this was war. She picked up the pace, striding across the grassy
pastures where Nigel had fled. Glancing over her shoulders, she dismissed the
overcast sky. Hemmingly Hall, its cozy façade of evergreens stretched at least
a quarter mile behind her.
"Nigel,
you wretched creature! Give me that book!"
The dog
stopped and turned to stare at her. There seemed to be a faint glimmer of humor
exuding from those two brown eyes that set Emily's nerves on edge. "Enough
of these games, you odious dog. I know what you're up to, and it won't
work."
With the
book still in its mouth, Nigel gave a whine and made his way toward Hemmingly's
overgrown maze ten yards away.
Emily
gasped in outrage. "Don't you dare go in there, you beast." The dog
defiantly backed up into the maze.
However,
Emily refused to be goaded. The maze was said to be the place of Agatha's first
kiss with her one and only true love. But since the man's death at the Battle
of Trafalgar, no care had been taken to keep up the grounds. Jane had made a
point of telling Emily more than once never to enter the overgrown web of vines
and trees lest she become lost.
Emily
glared at Nigel's mischievous expression. Though many a day curiosity had
begged her to investigate the mysterious maze, now was certainly not the time
to do so.
"Nigel,
I forbid you to go in there with my book!"
Her
warning seemed to fall on deaf ears. For as soon as she took another step, the
dog spun around and padded into the maze with the bravado of a young
bullfighter.
"Nigel!"
She hurried forward and ducked her head beyond the tunneled opening into a nest
of gnarled vines and overgrown evergreens. Her heart thudded with unease.
Nothing.
"Nigel,
come here immediately."
A
chilling silence filled the air as she waited for an answer. But seconds turned
to minutes as the sky thundered above her, bursting forth with a bone-chilling rain.
She hesitantly inched forward onto the matted path, the cold droplets falling
against her back. Guilt immediately burnt any traces of
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