‘I was.’
‘Why?’
‘To see Hugo. They are training him to give visitors rides, but he’s still a bit skittish when it comes to obeying orders from others. As I mentioned, he wasn’t treated fairly, and he hasn’t forgotten that. I want him to know that the zoo trainers aren’t going to hurt him, and the best way to do that is to be with him while they are training him. Eventually, he’ll learn to trust them, just like he did with feeding him.’
‘Is it safe to ride him?’
‘Men were riding him at the docks, so he’s used to it. They weren’t all bad men. Weren’t all unkind to him, I mean. In fact, it was one of the men working with him, Clem, who suggestedthat I should take Hugo with me when I left. I hadn’t yet seen how he was being treated. I’d simply stopped to admire him and wouldn’t have known of his mistreatment if not for Clem. He was the one who fed him. He pointed out how Hugo’s ankles had grown around the chains they had on his legs and were causing him a lot of pain. The wounds are healed now, but you can still see where they’d been on his hind legs. And he had had no shelter, just stood in the sun and heat, day and night.’
Meridith’s heart ached for the elephant, and the abuse he’d suffered angered her. She was so glad he’d escaped. Or, more accurately, that Drake had rescued him, for it sounded as though, without Drake, he’d never have been saved. ‘They, or Clem, couldn’t have just released him? Let him go back in the wild?’
‘No. Hugo had been born in captivity, started working at the docks as a calf. That’s why he doesn’t have any tusks. They broke them off when he was a baby. He wouldn’t have survived in the wild.’
A warmth filled Meridith’s insides at the compassion in his voice, and she concluded that it was a glow of sincere admiration. ‘Thank you for rescuing him, for giving him a much better life. He’s become the utmost attraction at the zoo.’
‘I couldn’t leave him at the docks, that was for sure, and I’m glad that he’s found a new home. I was relieved when I arrived in London to learn that they still didn’t have an elephant. I’d known that they’d built the enclosure for one and had a couple visit, and that they’d been interested in acquiring one of their own.’
‘They’d had offers to acquire one, but they’d proven too costly,’ she replied, trying not to stare at him. That was hard. He was so handsome and likeable.
‘Well, Hugo is theirs for free. He’s settled in well and I expect him to have a good, long life at the zoo.’
‘It was all very generous of you,’ she said, truly believing that. ‘What other animals do you visit while at the zoo?’
He chuckled, a sound that made her heart beat a little faster, because it was as likeable as the rest of him.
‘All of them, but I make a point of visiting those that I’d delivered in the past. There was a zebra, I called her Stripes, who gave birth to a foal while I was transporting her three years ago. The cutest little thing ever. I named the foal Stripette.’
She giggled at the names. ‘I do not believe they are still named that.’
‘No, they aren’t. Their names have been changed, but they are both still there.’ He nodded towards the window. ‘I believe we’ve arrived.’
She had many more questions and was disappointed that the coach was rolling to a stop. ‘It appears so.’
‘If needed, I can give you a ride home, as well.’
Although the idea shot a thrill through her—or perhaps because of that—she knew she couldn’t accept that invitation, and she shook her head. ‘Thank you. I suspect there will be room in Peter’s coach. He merely needed to leave early to pick up my sister Diana.’
The driver opened the door, and she waited as Drake climbed out, then laid a hand in his as he helped her out of the coach. Even with the heat that rose up her arm from the place he touched, she found climbing out was much simpler than climbing in had been. The extra space beneath her gown gave her plenty of room to move.
As if he knew her thoughts, Drake took a long look at the back of her dress.
‘I can’t tell any difference,’ he whispered in her ear.
She bit her lips together. Now heat was racing into her cheeks at the thought of him examining her backside. ‘Thank you,’ she managed to say.
‘Shall we?’ he asked, holding his elbow out to her.
She took a deep breath in hopes of quelling her nerves and rested a gloved hand on his arm. The touch caused warmth to rise up her arm again, but having him at her side also made her feel something unique as they moved towards the line of people waiting to enter the large, brick, London home. Was it pride at being with someone so handsome, or excitement over arriving with Drake instead of her family? Or perhaps it was contentment over finally being with someone who made her feel like herself?
Cutting off that bustle was something she’d truly wanted to do, but would never have done it with anyone else. She was certain of that. Just as she was certain that whatever she was feeling right now was because of Drake.
They hadn’t yet arrived at the end of the queue when she spotted Peter and Alena, as well as Diana, near the steps of the home.
Peter noticed their arrival and waved them forward.
‘I believe your brother is summoning us to join him,’ Drake said.
‘It does appear that way,’ she answered, feeling quite disappointed that her time alone with Drake had come to an end. That was the second time she’d felt that way, which should concern her, but it didn’t. They shared the same interest in the zoo, a topic she could talk about nonstop, but rarely had someone to talk to about it. There were other things she liked about him, too. Especially the fact that he wasn’t interested in marriage.
