Loretta realized the puppy was chewing on the trim at the neckline of her dress and said, “No, no, little one. We can’t have you swallowing a bead and getting choked.” She pulled the puppy away from her chest. One of Cocoa’s front paws hung in the trim and the other grabbed for Loretta’s neck and a nail scratched her. “Ouch,” she said, feeling the sting as it slashed into her tender flesh.
“Cocoa, what a bad puppy you are,” Lady Adele said. “Are you hurt, Miss Quick?”
“No, I’m fine.” She couldn’t see the scratch, but she didn’t see any blood running down her skin so knew she was all right.
“What ye looking at?”
Startled, Loretta and Lady Adele turned. Farley stood in the doorway.
“Who are you?” Lady Adele asked.
“He’s Farley,” Loretta said softly. “He’s with my staff. Or he is supposed to be. What are you doing here?”
He coughed into his hand a couple of times, and shrugged before saying, “Looking around.”
Loretta handed the puppy back to Lady Adele. “That’s not allowed, Farley. It should have been made clear to you that you aren’t supposed to be in this part of the house. Where is Mrs. Huddleston?”
He shrugged again.
“Let him come see the puppies before he goes,” Lady Adele said. “I don’t mind.”
“No, really. That’s not necessary.”
“Nonsense,” Lady Adele said, brushing aside Loretta’s opinion. “All boys love puppies.”
Farley walked farther into the room and looked down at them. Loretta was surprised the expression on his face didn’t change. Who didn’t smile at the sight of a puppy?
“Aren’t they adorable?” Lady Adele asked him.
Farley didn’t bother to look at her, but without any passion in his voice, said, “They’re dogs. I see dogs in London all the time. ’E looks like the runt of the litter to me.”
Loretta was horrified that Farley had been so disrespectful to Lady Adele, but she hadn’t seemed the least offended by his comment.
“Well, it’s a she not a he and she’s not a runt. She just doesn’t eat as much as the other two. And I’m sure you haven’t ever seen any puppies as charming and playful as these in London or anywhere else you may have been,” Lady Adele said. She then looked up at Farley and with a pleasant tone said, “Would you like to hold her?”
At that, Farley’s eyes lit up like a candlewick that had caught fire. He glanced at Loretta. “Can I ’old ’er?”
At that moment Loretta knew she liked Lady Adele and wouldn’t mind at all if Paxton had fallen in love with her and wanted to marry her. Even after Farley had been rude to her and disparaged her favorite puppy, she brushed it off and was still kind to him.
“Yes, you may hold her.”
Lady Adele lifted Cocoa to him. “Don’t squeeze her too hard,” she prompted as she turned loose.
Loretta watched a look of awe spread over Farley’s face and light seemed to spread into his eyes. He gently cradled the squirming puppy to his chest as if she were a baby. He slowly swung his arms and with one hand stroked Cocoa’s head and back. The dog wiggled and tried again to bark while burying her head in the crook of Farley’s arm.
“Shh,” he whispered as if talking to a baby. “Shh. I won’t hurt you.”
Loretta’s heart melted. It was rewarding to see the softer side of Farley again. She knew she was making a difference in his life. His eyes were bright with wonder, and there was a small, beautiful smile on his face. Loretta decided she would get a dog from somewhere, if Farley stayed at Mammoth House.
“Have you ever held a puppy?” Lady Adele asked him.
Farley shook his head. “But she’s nice.”
Loretta let him rub the puppy a few more times and then said, “We must give him back now.”
She took the puppy and handed her back to Lady Adele. “Thank you for showing them to us. It was lovely to get to hold her.”
Farley looked up at her, and then over to Lady Adele, and said, “Thank ye for letting me ’old ’er.”
