The Groom's Daughter by Natalie Fox

Author:Natalie Fox [Fox, Natalie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780373187430
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 1997-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

‘Come on, Carlo, don’t sulk,’ Nina pleaded as she unbolted his run.

He was usually at the wire mesh waiting for her, hearing her steps from way off. It was the first place she had thought to come after leaving Lorenzo fuming in the garden. She needed to be far away from him, to collect her thoughts, to repress everything he had said and made her feel. The picture had shocked her, he had shocked her, but she was calming down now. It was all impossible and she had to put it behind her. Later she would have to think about it, though. She couldn’t stay any longer, not now. She had to leave.

She crossed the grassed area, nervously gabbling to Carlo as she approached his kennel. ‘Yes, I did momentarily forget you, but then Lorenzo said you weren’t allowed in the secret garden and he had a point.’ She shrugged. ‘You wouldn’t have liked it anyway. It’s a spooky place. I didn’t think so at first, but then it got all sort of shadowy and gloomy. You didn’t miss anything.’

Carlo was having none of her excuses. He lay in his kennel, his head lolling out of the open door, panting slightly.

Nina crouched down beside him with sudden concern. ‘Hey, fella, what’s wrong?’ And something was wrong, she sensed. He was hot, unnaturally so; she could feel the backs of his ears burning through the thick coat of hair.

Nina pulled at his collar to try and get him to his feet and drag him out into his run, so she could take a closer look at him. Carlo helped her, tried to get to his feet, but only managed to sidle his way out into the open on his belly.

Nina saw the problem straight away. His front left paw was swollen alarmingly. Early this morning she had taken him for a run down to the cliff edge and along the wall for a kilometre or so. The land had been rough and uncultivated and Carlo had raced like the wind, but she had seen no sign that he had injured himself.

Now she saw the problem. The pad was hot and swollen with infection and she suspected it was cut.

‘Come on, darling,’ she encouraged, hiding her concern from him. ‘Make an effort to get up because I haven’t the strength to carry you to the house.’

Carlo obeyed reluctantly and managed to get up onto three legs. The hurt paw hung loosely in front of him and his eyes looked so pained and sad Nina wanted to cry for him.

With Carlo limping slowly behind her, and Nina giving him encouraging sounds, it still took for ever to get back to the house. With a sigh of relief Nina saw Lorenzo standing on the terrace gazing out over the gardens, deep in thought, not seeing her and Carlo approaching.

All thoughts of the afternoon and Lorenzo’s burning insult faded from Nina’s thinking with the urgency of Carlo’s suffering. She called out to Lorenzo and waved her hand at him.

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