The dog stared at her, tilting her head slightly. Ella looked more closely. Tess was definitely quieter than normal, subdued.
‘Oh, for crying out loud.’ She threw open the door. ‘Come in but stay in your bed. You’re still in trouble.’
Guilt radiated with every movement as the dog sloped in and went straight to her bed, giving Ella sorrowful glances.
‘Don’t try making me feel bad,’ snapped Ella.
Tess ducked her head and looked up, the amber eyes sad.
‘No, I’m not buying it. You’re a bad dog.’
How could a dog look reproachful?
‘Hello, is it possible to speak to Bets?’
‘Who’s calling?’
‘It’s Ella.’
‘Hi, it’s Devon. How are you? No more walk mishaps? Bets is wrestling with an irate Chihuahua at the moment. Can I help? Or can I take a message?’ In the background Ella could heard short snappy barks.
He was the last person she wanted to share her latest dog foul-up with. ‘I’m not sure. I need some advice. Tess has eaten something and I’m a bit worried it might give her food poisoning.’
She explained what the dog had done with a quick rundown of the menu.
‘You really don’t have to worry on that score.’ Devon replied with a restrained laugh. ‘Her nose is a lot more sensitive than ours. She wouldn’t have eaten it if it was really really bad . . . Actually scrub that, she’s a Lab, she probably would. They eat anything. All that food, dodgy chicken and rich pâté, might upset her tummy. Could affect either end.’
Marvellous, another thing to clean up. Ella had never been on such good acquaintance with rubber gloves.
‘You should keep an eye on her.’
Just peachy.
‘But do call if you’re worried about her.’
Ella let out a small sigh.
‘I mean it, Ella.’
His reassuring tone made her feel slightly better and she couldn’t resist saying. ‘Even at four in the morning?’
He laughed. ‘Even at that time. Although if I have to come out to make a house call, make sure there’s a good supply of coffee.’
She shook her head and glanced at Tess, who had her eyes closed and looked pretty sorry for herself.
‘That bit I can do, but what should I be looking for? I don’t want to call you unnecessarily.’
‘Ella,’ the gentle chiding tone he used hit her somewhere in the chest, making her feel suddenly warm. ‘Look, if you need to call, just call. After that lot, I would probably expect her to be sick or have diarrhoea. I’m sure she’ll be fine, but the one thing you should look out for is if her stomach looks bloated or feels hard. That can be the sign of something more serious. So call if that happens. But the foods you’ve described, I think she’s going to be OK. A bit windy and smelly possibly.’
‘Thanks, Devon.’
‘No problem. Oh, hang on.’ Ella heard muffled voices in the background as if he’d put his hand over the receiver. ‘Bets wants a word.’
‘Hi. How are you? Well, that was a bloomin’ performance. Don’t ever believe anyone, especially not your boss, who tells you it’s much easier to get a worming tablet down a small dog. Now, I meant to ring you today. You haven’t forgotten about the church flowers, have you?’
Chapter Eleven
Ella couldn’t believe she’d agreed to this. There had to be better things to do than wandering along a muddy footpath, slipping and sliding all over the place at half past nine on a Saturday morning. At home she would be at the Hackney Grind, eating delicious eggs Benedict, sipping a flat white and scanning the arts pages ofTime Out, with Patrick debating which exhibition they should see. She hunched deeper into the North Face coat she’d pinched from Magda’s coat rack. She was turning into the woman style had forgotten.
