Page 26 of The Mistress of Ashmore Castle

‘Josh has to worry about you. It’s his job.’

‘I know. It’s annoying, though. I brought you something.’ She reached back into the trap. ‘It’s not a present, I’m afraid, just to borrow. A book.’

He wiped his hands down the back of his trousers before taking it carefully, almost reverently, and read out the title and author from the cover. ‘The War of the Worlds. H. G. Wells.’ He looked up, an inscrutable flash of blue. ‘I read his book The Time Machine. It was grand – exciting.’

‘This is too – about invaders from another planet.’

‘Well, now. I shall enjoy that. Thank you.’

There was an embarrassing silence as they each found it hard to meet the other’s eyes. Alice broke it by asking, ‘Have you got any new animals?’

He seemed glad of the change of subject. ‘Got some rabbit kittens. Found ’em in a hollow ’mong some tree roots. They were hungry. I reckon a fox must’ve got the mother.’

‘What will you do with them?’

‘Feed ’em till they’re bigger, then eat ’em.’

‘Oh, no! Not really?’

‘That’s what rabbits are for. Not much on a wild rabbit, but they make a nice stew.’

She examined his face and the little enigmatic smile at his mouth corners. ‘You’re teasing me. You won’t really eat them, will you? You didn’t mean it?’

He had meant it, but he knew how tender-hearted she was about animals. ‘Maybe I won’t, then,’ he said. ‘Though if I let ’em go, a fox’ll get ’em anyway.’

‘If I give them names, you won’t be able to eat them,’ Alice said. ‘Like the Red Queen said, it isn’t etiquette to cut anyone you’ve been introduced to.’

‘Which queen is that, then?’

‘It’s in a book, called Through the Looking-Glass.’

‘Not come across that one.’

‘We have it in the library. Anyway, it’s a joke, really, but it’s true all the same. You wouldn’t eat an animal with a name. Like Dolly – you wouldn’t eat Dolly.’

‘Dogs aren’t good eating. D’you want to see the rabbits, then?’

‘Yes, please.’

‘I got a barn owl, too. Young one. Hurt its wing. Been feeding it on mice.’ He smiled at her. ‘Never gave them names, so you don’t need to worry.’

She fell in beside him. ‘You think I’m silly.’

‘No. I think you’re female. Females think differently about things. That’s all right. That’s the way the world wags.’

After the rabbits and the owl, she went to see Della and Cobnut, and was entranced to find one of the cats, the tortoiseshell, couched on Della’s broad rump, white paw tips folded in, dozing.

‘She doesn’t mind,’ Alice marvelled.

‘Horses like cats. They know they keep the mice away,’ Axe said. ‘Always have a few cats around stables. Same as spiders. Never clear away spider webs from stables.’

‘Because they catch the flies that would bother the horses?’

He nodded. ‘’Sides, if you cut yourself, you c’n clap a handful of spider web on it, and it won’t go bad.’

‘Is that true?’

He nodded again. ‘Got something in it, spider web, that kills off germs.’