and raucously vulgar cries. It was an impressive duet and the sound echoed far and wide across the peaceful countryside.
‘For God’s sake!’ said Hugo disgustedly. ‘I can’t bear it. You’ve won, the three of you. Deborah, you can take that parrot on your knee, and the dog can run alongside. Hold the horses, Potts, while I release that misbegotten hearthrug.’ Autolycus who had apparently regarded this last remark as a compliment of no mean order, stood wagging his tail and very ready to oblige. ‘Right!’ Hugo released the dog and walked to the curricle. ‘Now, sir! Come here!’ This command was obeyed with such enthusiasm that Hugo staggered under the onslaught. ‘Down, sir!’ he roared, brushing his previously immaculate coat. It was evident that cattle had recently sought shade under the tree. Autolycus grovelled with an anxious look up at his new friend. Hugo took the rope and tied it to the side of the curricle. ‘That dog needs a few lessons in manners, I don’t trust him to behave properly. Let’s hope that somewhere in the general medley there’s carriage-dog ancestry.’
‘He’s half Dalmatian,’ Deborah informed him. ‘And half Irish wolfhound. I think.’
‘I suppose that might account for his…unusual appearance,’ said Hugo.
Deborah fired up in defence of her pet. ‘He’s lovely!’ she said fiercely. ‘And he’s been out quite often with Mrs Dearborne’s gig.’
‘Good! Potts, if the dog starts pulling away, let him loose—understand? He could pull the lot of us over.’ Hugo got into his seat. ‘Let them go, Potts!’ The curricle moved slowly off, the horses, impatient at the delay, kept to a moderate pace under Hugo’s iron hand.
All went well, though the sight was now curious, rather than stylish. The driver was, as before, blond, tall, handsome and still reasonably immaculate. But the pace was considerably less dashing. Other than a tattered straw hat leaning out to the side, nothing could be seen of his passenger, hidden as she was behind a large, duster-covered cage. The groom’s upright posture in the rumble seat was somewhat spoilt by his nervous hold on a rope knotted round the rail. And at the end of the rope was a dog, clearly having the time of its life, as it loped alongside the curricle, waving its tail like a banner. It was hard to say what colour it was, for its coat was half plain, half a patchwork of white, brindle and fawn with touches of black. But though so large, it looked amiable enough, a large black patch over one eye giving it a comically rakish air.
As the combination approached Abbot Quincey, the duster slipped off the parrot’s cage and the bird woke up again. It mistook the motion of the carriage for the movement of a ship and began to cry raucously, ‘Belay, there! Avast, you lubbers!’ with other comments of a similar but less polite character. Miss Staunton had some difficulty in covering the cage again, and long before she did so half the population of Abbot Quincey was grinning at Hugo and his load. It was a relief when they reached the drive up to the Hall on other side of the village.
‘You’ve done it again, Deborah,’ said Hugo grimly as they came to a halt in the courtyard.
‘What do you mean?’
‘You’ve made a laughing stock of me. Just as you did in London.’
‘Oh no, Hugo! That wasn’t nearly as bad as what happened in London. I thought those people in the village were enjoying it in a…a friendly kind of way. They like you.’ Miss Staunton shuddered. ‘That was nothing like what happened in London.’ Then after a pause she said wistfully, ‘I so hoped you had forgotten that episode. That we could begin again, and be friendly as we were in the old days, when we were children. You didn’t seem to mind so much when I got into scrapes then. But you’re still angry, aren’t you? Even after four years.’ When he frowned, she added, ‘I was very young, Hugo…’
He looked down at her with a reluctant twinkle in his eye. ‘It took me a long time to regain credibility with my friends after wading out of that lake.’
‘But I didn’t mean to upset the boat, Hugo!’
‘Oh, I know you never mean to. But you never seem to learn, either! I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been the victim of your not meaning to! You were only in London for a month, but I spent a small fortune getting you out of trouble one way or another. And in the process you managed to get me bitten by a dog, set upon by footpads, accused of abduction… I can’t remember the rest. Falling into the lake was the last straw. And it was all brought about without your meaning to!’
‘That last time you were so angry. You said you never wanted to see me again.’
‘Did I? Well, if I did, it was probably prompted by an instinct of self-preservation. I didn’t like to imagine what you might do next!’ He looked at her crestfallen expression. ‘But you’re right. That’s all in the past and should be forgotten. I’m not angry any more, Deborah.’
‘I’ve grown up a lot since then, Hugo.’
Hugo cast an eye over the dog and the parrot. ‘Have you? I’m relieved to hear it.’
‘I swear I’ll be more careful in the future! Are we…are we friends?’
He got down, untied Autolycus, then came round to take the cage from her. ‘I suppose so.’ He smiled at her. ‘I can’t be at odds with my little cousin, can I?’ His face was on a level with hers.
‘I…I’m not your cousin,’ she stammered. ‘I’m a cousin of your cousins, remember?’
‘I’ve always thought of you as a cousin of mine, too. And now you’ll be living with them at the Vicarage, won’t you? Come, we must arrange for one of the men to pick Nanny Humble up. Will he need to take some money with him? Have you any other debts?’
Miss Staunton, somewhat out of breath, got down and followed her rescuer through the courtyard, hurrying to keep up with Hugo’s long strides.
‘It would be a good idea to pay the landlady at the Traveller’s Rest something… She was quite upset about Autolycus and the meat. But you must keep a careful account of what you spend. I shall pay it all back.’
Hugo looked down at her with a certain amount of sympathy. The sum was insignificant. But how was Deborah Staunton, who was as near destitute as made no difference, planning to pay back anything at all?
‘We’ll sort all that out later,’ he said. ‘Meanwhile I shall put you into the hands of the housekeeper, while I see to things. I propose to put your canine friend in an empty stable. He must be tired and thirsty after that run. He’ll probably sleep. Will he want more to eat?’
‘Autolycus always wants more to eat. It would help him to settle down if you gave him something.’
Hugo handed Miss Staunton and the parrot over to the housekeeper, then disappeared. Mrs Banks, who had been with the Perceval family since before Hugo was born, accepted without comment the advent of an exotic new pet, saw it settled on a table in the small parlour, then turned her attention to Miss Deborah.
By the time Hugo came into the parlour Miss Staunton was looking a lot more respectable—she had had a wash, her dress had been shaken and pressed and her hair had been brushed and tied up again.
‘That’s all settled. Autolycus has had a good meal, and is now snoring off his exertions of the day. I’ve despatched a carriage to collect your nurse and possessions. They should be back within the hour, and we can all go over to the Vicarage when they arrive. Meanwhile I think we would both like some refreshment. It’s very hot—would
