‘But the sides are quite steep.’
‘They’ll scramble out, don’t worry.’
‘Really?’ Ella didn’t believe her.
‘Yes – come on, they’ll follow us when they get bored. Or give them a call.’
Yeah, right. ‘Tess! Come here.’
Nothing. Ella gave Bets a look.
‘Pitch your voice a bit higher. Like this: Tess!’
Of course Tess immediately looked up and came splashing towards them, her tail spraying drops of water.
‘Dogs hear things on a higher register.’
‘Oh.’ Ella felt more useless than ever. She cast a look back at the two wet dogs with dread.
‘You’ll soon get the hang of it, a bit like living here. Magda said you were going to fit in just like magic.’
Ella had no idea why Magda would think that.
‘There’s plenty going on for you to do. Although word of warning. The WI are always on the lookout for new members. If Audrey comes anywhere near you, make a run for it.’
‘And how will I know who Audrey is?’
‘You’ll know, believe me. You’ll know. Think Barbara Cartland crossed with Margaret Thatcher and you’ll be sprinting faster than Usain Bolt.’
Ella suspected that she’d be barricading her door once she got home and not venturing out into the village again.
By the time they’d walked what seemed like the entire length of the Grand Union Canal and returned to stand by the small gate at the front of Magda’s cottage, Ella’s legs were doing a fair impression of jelly and her knee ached while Bets was still full of beans.
‘Now, is there anything else I need to tell you?’ mused Bets, running her hand along the top of the gate.
Surely not? Ella almost shuddered.
‘I must go,’ she said quickly before this girl thought of anything else she had to get involved in.
She opened the gate and let the filthy dog pad a few steps ahead of her. With a look over her shoulder, Tess paused and then let loose with an almighty shake of her rounded barrel belly, sending spatters of water arcing up into the air.
‘Yeuw,’ Ella screeched as gritty drops hailed across on her face and covered her pale pink jeans in muddy splodges.
Bets burst out laughing. ‘You gotta love ’em.’ She ruffled Dexter’s ears affectionately. ‘Pains in the butt and just adorable.’
Hmm, the jury was most definitely out on that one. Gritting her teeth, Ella tried to make it appear as if being drenched in stagnant smelly water was an everyday occurrence while fighting hard to block the easy tears that threatened. What was that hideous smell? Eau de Canal mixed with the odour of wet sweaters. Avoiding breathing through her nose, she grabbed Tess’s collar, intending to drag the dog straight into the kitchen.
‘This has been great. I enjoyed having the company. I’ll knock again later in the week and we can go out with the dogs again. Oh, and there’s a darts match coming up. You must come to that. It’ll be a great way to meet some of the people in the village.’
Ella gave her a weak smile.
She was never answering the door again.
Chapter Seven
‘Will you keep still?’
Tess wriggled out of reach before doing a neat about turn, right under Ella’s nose, as she made another grab to towel dry the last muddy paw. They’d been out for their daily walk, a quick circuit around the village – and so far Ella had successfully avoiding running into Bets again.
