He set El Cid’s basket aside and stepped out of the carriage, extending his hand to Camilla. After helping her to the sidewalk, he called for Gladys, who refused to budge and tucked her head underneath her paw instead—until Camilla mentioned something about a treat, which had the poodle leaping out of the carriage, her pom tail wagging furiously as she turned hopeful poodle eyes on Camilla, who was now rummaging through her reticule, pulling out what seemed to be a piece of a biscuit.
“I’m not above bribery to get her moving,” Camilla said, tossing the biscuit to Gladys, who snapped it out of the air.
Owen grinned. “Bribery appears to work.”
“Of course it does, but it’s rather embarrassing to have to resort to such tactics, as well as keep biscuits stuffed in my reticules, which can make a bit of a mess, something Bernadette complains about often.” Camilla looped Gladys’s leash around her hand before she directed her attention to his home. “This is yours?”
“It is.”
“It’s quite lovely, but...” She gestured to the front steps. “Why are those so steep?”
“Practicality,” he said. “The foundations on most of the houses on the island are raised a half story before you reach the first floor because of potential flooding.” He nodded to the house next to his, and then to one across the street. “When the river rises, our furnished floors don’t get ruined, and we have drainage systems in place that allow us to get rid of the water that seeps into our basements just as soon as the river retreats.”
“How clever,” Camilla said as her gaze traveled over Zane Street, her brow furrowing a second later. “Forgive me, but I have to ask—is it an usual circumstance for people to walk pigs down this street?”
A sense of foreboding began crawling through him the second he directed his gaze to where Camilla was peering and caught sight of his sister, Luella, who was in the process of trying to haul a pig up Zane Street—and not just any pig but one that went by the name of Esmerelda, a menace to the world if there ever was one.
The foreboding turned to downright alarm when he noticed that the beautiful spring flowers that usually flanked the brick sidewalk leading up to his house were nowhere in sight. All that was left of them were a few stalks, and the ground where they’d once been planted looked as if something had been rooting around in it, searching out the bulbs.
His gaze darted to the Murchendorfers’ house next door, hisalarm increasing when he noticed Mrs. Murchendorfer’s flowers were mutilated as well.
His attention swung back to Esmerelda, although what she was doing on the island was a question in and of itself, but given the destruction he’d just noted, it was a foregone conclusion that the pig, one that was surly during its every waking hour and weighed almost three hundred pounds, had been on a bit of a rampage.
He moved closer to Camilla, wanting to get her into the house before Esmerelda got too close because the pig was questionable around people and downright nasty when it came to other animals, especially dogs.
Before he could take Camilla’s arm, though, Gladys’s fur stood on end, the dog having taken note of Esmerelda, who was now squealing in what could only be considered a menacing fashion. A mere heartbeat later, Esmerelda bolted forward and headed directly for Gladys, straining against the rope Luella was trying to hang on to.
Gladys didn’t hesitate to turn and dash in the opposite direction, dragging Camilla behind her as she raced through the Murchendorfers’ front yard, right as Esmerelda slipped from the rope restraining her.
As if sensing the approach of a now unrestrained pig, Gladys changed directions and dashed toward Owen’s front porch, her abrupt about-face causing Camilla to launch forward, looking for the briefest of seconds as if she were flying through the air, quite like a kite, but one that was tethered to a frantic dog.
Unfortunately, the flying state wasn’t meant to last, and in the span of a split second, Camilla plummeted to the ground, landing in what had once been a lovely garden of tulips but could now be considered more along the lines of a pigsty.
Ten
Considering she once again found herself in the most perplexing of predicaments, Camilla could no longer deny that her once-predictable life had taken a decidedly unexpected turn.
Not only had she been chased by would-be abductors, had raccoons rain down on her, took an unintentional dip in a river, agreed to assist a young lady who was apparently known as a ragamuffin secure a bit of polish, and been informed that Lord Shrewsbury was returning to the States, she now found herself face-down in what she was afraid might be manure.
It wasn’t much of a stretch to realize that most of these events were a direct result of her becoming acquainted with Owen.
One would have thought, given the concerning direction her life was taking these days, that she’d want to put as much distance as she possibly could between herself and a man who’d introduced sheer chaos into her life, but oddly enough, that wasn’t exactly the case.
For some reason, she found herself drawn to the man, which was curious to say the least, because unlike every other gentleman of her acquaintance, except for Gideon, Owen seemed to spend a lot of his time disagreeing with her. He also didn’t fawn over her,and certainly didn’t attempt to impress her by lavishing compliments on her like most members of society did. Truth be told, the compliments hethoughthe was extending her were usually more like insults.
However, even though he frequently insulted her, the very idea that he had absolutely no interest in her fortune was remarkably refreshing, considering that the majority of gentlemen who’d tried to court her—Lord Shrewsbury included, of course—might have found her company pleasant but her fortune downright enticing.
Granted, there were occasions when Owen spoke his mind without a second thought, and left her itching to throttle the man, but even though he had the ability to aggravate her, there was something about him that she found ever so slightly ... appealing.
It was an odd circumstance to be sure, and even curiouser was that she was contemplating his appeal while Gladys continued to strain against the leash because there seemed to be a mad pig on the loose.
The reminder of the pig sent Camilla flipping over on her back just as Gladys jerked the leash straight from her wrist, dashing away before Camilla could stop her.
“I’ll get her,” Camilla heard Lottie yell before she went rushing by, Edward following in her wake as Camilla pushed herself to a sitting position. Her hands immediately sunk into inch-deep muck, but any thoughts of muck disappeared straightaway when she realized that the pig was only five feet away from her and was releasing deep, guttural-sounding snorts.
“Is it rabid?” she managed to get out of a throat that was now somewhat constricted, due no doubt to the imminent threat of being attacked by a mad pig.
“She’s not,” Owen said, moving in front of her to shield her from the pig in question.
