Geoffrey looked a tad nonplussed, as if the thought had never occurred to him. Devon shook his head. ‘Sorry, Ella, my dad’s warped sense of humour. He likes to run, so he took the dogs with him.’
Ella looked down at Tess, who she had to say was looking a lot slimmer than she had a couple of weeks ago. ‘I guess she’d havevoted with her feet if she wasn’t happy. She’s a lot fitter than when I got her.’
‘Rescue?’ asked Geoffrey.
‘What?’ Ella looked up. Was this some secret dog code?
‘Is your dog a rescue dog?’
‘No, I think she’s just a normal regular sort of dog. A Labrador.’
Devon sniggered and Ella looked up.
‘What?’
‘Dad meant, did you get her from a rescue shelter?’
‘Oh? No, I didn’t. She came with the house. She’s Magda’s dog.’
Geoffrey let out a riotous shout of laughter.
‘What?’ Ella couldn’t understand what he found so funny.
Geoffrey carried on laughing, his eyes shining with tears. ‘Magda!’ He sniggered some more. ‘A dog.’ He burst into peals of laughter.
Ella felt the familiar sensation of being the odd one out and the last to know anything, but where once she would have retreated into herself, she nudged Devon.
‘Spill. What’s the joke?’
Geoffrey immediately stopped laughing, as Devon shook his head, equally bemused.
‘Ella, I do apologise. Tess is a lovely dog. However, Magda didn’t do dogs. She refused to have anything to do with them. Said she’d been bitten as a child and wanted to keep out of their way.’
Ella frowned. ‘Then whose dog is she?’
That didn’t make sense. She thought back, going over the scene of her arrival in her head. Now that she thought about it with a bit of distance, her parents never actually said that Tess was Magda’s dog, just that she needed to look after it while Magda was away.
‘I assumed she was Magda’s, too,’ said Devon. ‘Now some of Bets’ comments make sense.’
‘I must have misunderstood,’ she said, remembering her parents’ sheepish looks. She gave a sudden grin. ‘I think my parents have got a bit of explaining to do.’
Geoffrey shook his head. ‘I’m starting to feel quite sorry for them. There’s a definite look of mischief on your face, my dear.’
‘After all I’ve been through with this damn dog,’ she paused. She stroked Tess’s ears. ‘You’re lovely now, but you’ve had your moments.’
‘Haven’t we all,’ chipped in Devon with a wry twist to his mouth. ‘Thank God she’s not howling the place down. It’s nice getting some sleep.’
Geoffrey did a discreet double-take.
Ella laughed. ‘When I first arrived, Tess cried all night. I thought she was ill, so I phoned Devon. He wasn’t very impressed.’
Geoffrey frowned.
Devon poked her in the ribs. ‘Er, you haven’t mentioned what time you called. Four o’clock, wasn’t it?’
Geoffrey laughed. ‘I don’t miss those calls. In fact, I’m rather enjoying my semi-retirement.’ He looked thoughtful for a minute as if weighing up his next words carefully. It gave Ella the impression that her presence created a handy shield. ‘I’m thinking of training to do the London Marathon next year.’
‘Good for you, Dad. I think that’s absolutely brilliant.’
