Christmas at the Dog & Duck

by Jill Steeples

  As the front facade of the house came into view for the first time, I gasped in wonder. Until now, I’d only seen snatches of the house from a distance, but up close you couldn’t help but be overawed by the sheer magnificence of the classical Georgian property. Approached by a tree-lined drive, the sight was breathtaking, a classic English country house that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a period drama like Downton Abbey.

  Come on, Ellie! I chided myself. Now wasn’t the time to be hanging around admiring the architecture.

  I just hoped to God Max was at home or else I didn’t know what we would do next.

  Breathless and flustered, I reached the imposing front door and rapped hard on the brass knocker, putting any embarrassment aside at seeing Max again for the moment. When there was no answer I knocked again, more urgently this time. Finally, after what seemed like an interminable wait, I heard footsteps approaching the door.

  ‘Oh, thank…’

  ‘Hello. Can I help you?’

  It certainly wasn’t Max who answered the door and it didn’t look like the hired help either. The woman who was standing in the threshold, framed by the imposing Georgian entrance, must have been about twenty-eight years old. She was taller than me, slimmer too, and her hair, in a luscious chestnut hue, fell in loose, but perfectly formed waves onto her shoulders. Cheekbones to die for, brown intelligent eyes and clear flawless skin completed the look of perfection.

  ‘Oh er hi,’ I said, my mind doing mental gymnastics trying to work out who this woman might be. ‘Is Max around?’

  ‘No, I’m afraid he’s not. He’s away at the moment on business. Is it something I can help with?’ she asked, her gaze travelling over me. ‘Or can I leave a message for Max?’

  There was something about the way she said his name in a warm caressing tone that made me suspect she knew Max very well. An uneasy sensation stirred in my tummy. She looked relaxed and totally at ease in her expensively cut designer jeans and tight fitting white T-shirt that showed off a firm, high embonpoint. Very firm, very high, very distracting. I dragged my eyes away, not wishing to appear rude. I could just imagine what a glamorous couple they made though; Max with this gorgeous lady on his arm. I thought back to that night in France when I’d asked him about his love life, recalling how coy he’d been on the subject. Remembering how I’d been all too willing to take things further made me shudder with embarrassment now. No wonder Max had shown no interest in me when he had this beautiful woman waiting for him at home. How desperate I must have seemed.

  ‘It’s just… my dog,’ I said, remembering what I was doing here. This wasn’t about Max. I couldn’t care less about him now, but I did care about Amber. ‘She was having a run in Max’s field, he said it would be okay to use it, but she’s had an accident. She’s got a big gash to her side. I need to call for the vet but I’m not getting any reception on my mobile. Could I use your phone please?’

  ‘Oh no, poor little thing,’ she said to Amber, running a beautiful manicured fingernail under the dog’s chin, and then looking for herself at the cut in the dog’s side. ‘Come on,’ she said, dashing back behind the door and returning a moment later with a jacket thrown over her shoulders. ‘I’ll drive you to the vets, it’ll be much quicker.’

  ‘If you’re absolutely sure,’ I said, as the woman took Amber from my arms and walked the short distance over to the jeep, opening up the back doors and laying Amber down gently on a pile of blankets.

  ‘No problem at all,’ she said, with a wide generous smile that lit up her face.

  She started the car and set off, turning the car around in the gravel turning circle surrounding an ornate water fountain. ‘I’m guessing you’re Ellie,’ she said with a sideways grin, looking perfectly at home in the driver’s seat of Max’s jeep.

  ‘Yes, that’s right,’ I said, feeling a mix of relief that we’d be able to get Amber to the vets very soon and curiosity about the woman sat beside me. What had Max told her about me? That I’d made a pass at him. Had they laughed together over a glass of wine at my ridiculous behaviour? So many questions, but knew I couldn’t ask any of them. ‘Sorry, I don’t know your name.’

  ‘I’m Sasha,’ she said in a way that suggested it would make things much clearer, but it didn’t. Perhaps sexy Sasha was Max’s sister or his cousin or his business partner or his neighbour from down the road or…

  ‘Max’s girlfriend?’ she added helpfully, as though she’d heard my unasked question.

  ‘Oh right, yes of course,’ I said, as though I’d had a momentary lapse and Max had told me all about her and I’d forgotten about it, when, of course, he hadn’t said a word. If he had, then my stomach might not have plummeted now to the bottom of my wellies and my heart wouldn’t be sulking around about my knees somewhere. Not that he’d had any reason to tell me, it was his private life and if he wanted to keep it private then that was fair enough. I couldn’t help wondering though, as we rumbled along the narrow country lanes in the jeep, why Max had been so secretive about his lovely girlfriend. There had been plenty of opportunity for him to tell me about Sasha; he could have dropped it in naturally when I’d told him about me and Johnny or he could easily have said something when he’d been waxing lyrical about his teenage French girlfriend, but for some reason he’d chosen not to. Hell, I’d even asked him outright if he had anyone special in his life and he’d fobbed me off by saying ‘nothing serious’. I took a sneaky sideways look at the lovely Sasha and wondered how she might feel being described that way. To my eyes, she looked absolutely serious, absolutely gorgeous and very much of the here and now.

  Cramping pains twisted in my stomach. Anxiety probably over Amber… and the realization that Max had a very real and gorgeous girlfriend. Could I really have expected anything less?

  At the vets, we were rushed inside into a consulting room while Sasha sat in the waiting room. I thanked her for her help and told her there was no reason for her to wait, but she insisted on staying, and to be honest, I was grateful for her support.

  When I emerged from the consulting room half an hour later with a tentative Amber at my side, Sasha jumped up to greet us, concern etched upon her lovely features. If I’d been hoping that my first impression of Sasha had been mistaken and that she wasn’t as totally gorgeous as I’d first thought, then sadly I was wrong.

  ‘How is she?’

  ‘She’s fine, thankfully, although I think she’s probably feeling a bit sorry for herself right now.’ Me too, I could have added. ‘She’s had her fur shaved off and eight staples put into her side, poor little thing. They’ve given her a course of antibiotics and some painkillers. She’ll be on restricted exercise for about a week until the stitches come out, but other than that they think she should make a full recovery.’

  ‘Oh thank goodness for that, Amber.’ Sasha dropped down on her haunches and put her arms around the dog’s neck. ‘You had us worried there for a moment.’

  ‘Thanks, Sasha, for everything. I’m really not sure what I would have done if you hadn’t been at home.’

  ‘Honestly, it was no problem. I was only too happy to help out. Come on, I’ll give you a lift back,’ she offered.

  Ever since I’d met Sasha, admittedly only an hour or so ago, I’d been trying to find something to dislike about her. I mean, no one could be that perfect, could they? She was impeccably groomed with a catwalk figure, had beautiful skin and eyes, an open friendly nature and was kind to small animals and anxious frazzled strangers who turned up unexpectedly at her door. I gave her a surreptitious glance and sighed inwardly. Really, knowing that she was Max’s girlfriend, I wanted to hate her, but try as I might, I just couldn’t.

  ‘Max told me the trip went well,’ she said, turning to look at me as she clipped her seatbelt on.

  ‘Oh yes,’ I said, wondering what else Max might have told her. ‘It was really kind of him to step in like that to drive me over there.’ I forced a smile. ‘It seems that both you and Max have come to my rescue in recent t
imes. I really can’t thank you enough.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it. I know Max was very impressed by the way you organized the pub’s charity appeal. And Max always like to help out for a worthy cause.’

  I smiled ruefully, wondering if that was how Max viewed me – a worthy cause. I cringed inwardly thinking of our moment of intimacy. We’d kissed for heaven’s sake, lips and tongues and everything, although that had been at my instigation admittedly, and now I was sitting here next to his unsuspecting girlfriend. Guilt washed over me, especially as Sasha had been nothing but kind to me. Although in fairness, I would never have even attempted to kiss Max if I’d known he’d had a girlfriend in tow, but he had failed to mention that little snippet of information. I’d thought, stupidly, that Max had been similarly attracted to me as I’d been to him – surely I hadn’t imagined the way he looked at me with longing in his eyes – but obviously it had just been a moment of madness.

  Our emotions had been running high. The intensity of the day we’d spent together; visiting the camp, sharing a cosy meal, and being alone in a beautiful hotel bedroom together had created a false intimacy. It would have been all too easy to give into the moment and we nearly had, only Max had finally come to his senses, presumably when he’d remembered his beautiful girlfriend. Or perhaps he’d never forgotten about her in the first place. Perhaps Max had felt sorry for me and hadn’t wanted to reject me, knowing what a bad day I’d had and had given me a kiss by way of consolation. Ugh. Not expecting me to want to take things further. Double ugh. Taking a sideways glance at Sasha it seemed unlikely that he could have forgotten her even for a moment. She was a natural beauty. Kind and compassionate too. I felt slightly sick.

  ‘Thanks again,’ I said, when she pulled the car up outside the house of Amber’s owners. I’d already rung to tell them about the accident so hopefully they wouldn’t be too shocked at seeing their lovely pet with a fresh wound in her side.

  ‘No problem,’ Sasha said, leaning across the passenger seat and smiling at me through the window. ‘I’ll make sure to tell Max what’s happened and I hope it hasn’t put you off using the field in future.’

  I laughed, returning the bright smile. ‘No, not at all.’ Although Amber’s accident wasn’t the reason I wouldn’t be using the fields or going anywhere near Max’s property from now on.

  Fifteen

  Thankfully, Cathy Harvey, Amber’s owner was really lovely and understanding when I sat down with her over a cup of tea and explained to her exactly what had happened.

  ‘Honestly Ellie, don’t beat yourself up over it. It could have happened at any time and it might just as easily have been me walking her. You know what she’s like. She’s a little daredevil. If there’s a scent or an interesting bush to explore, then she’ll be in there. She’s a fearless little thing. I was only grateful that you acted so quickly and got her to the vets in time.’

  ‘Well it was lucky that Sasha was at home.’

  ‘Sasha?’

  ‘Oh, she lives at Braithwaite Manor with Max Golding. I hadn’t met her until today, but when I couldn’t get any phone reception I went straight there, it was the nearest place we could get to. Thankfully she was in and drove me straight to the vets.’

  ‘That was good of her. I’ve never really had much time for that Max Golding, but maybe I’ll have to reassess my opinion. Eh, Amber?’ she said, joining the dog on the carpet in front of the hearth for a cuddle.

  ‘She doesn’t look too distressed by her unplanned visit to the vets,’ I said, feeling relieved that Amber was thumping her tail on the floor, enjoying Cathy’s attentions.

  ‘No, she’ll be fine in a day or two. I have a feeling it might take you a little longer to get over it.’

  I laughed, nodding in agreement.

  ‘So?’ Despite my best efforts at letting Cathy’s comment pass, my curiosity had got the better of me. ‘What is it you don’t like about Max Golding then?’

  ‘Well have you seen him swanning about the countryside in that ridiculous coat and hat of his as if he owns the place? He’s an arrogant upstart.’

  I suppressed a smile, thinking back to the first occasion when I’d met Max in the lanes. With his clipped tones, and the way he held his head high, his chin jutting forward, I could see exactly where Cathy was coming from. He’d been wearing the same hat then too. I called it his country gentleman gear, but was that the real Max Golding? In France I thought I’d seen a different side to his character, but now I wasn’t so sure.

  ‘Have you seen what he’s done in the valley?’ Cathy went on. ‘Building all those houses. Little Leyton doesn’t need that sort of development.’

  ‘No, but I suppose it’s happening everywhere, not just in Little Leyton. Besides, I didn’t think they were too bad. I’ve not been inside any of the houses, but from the outside they look lovely and in keeping with other properties in the area. I suppose it provides housing for the local community. As far as estates go, it’s rather a nice one.’

  It sounded as though I was defending Max, but I could tell Cathy wasn’t convinced.

  ‘Hmm, but where will he stop? I’ve heard he’s already put in a planning application for a further development. I spoke to him once. He’s very charming and can talk the talk, I’ll give you that, but I’m not sure I trust him. He’s an outsider wanting to make some money out of our beautiful piece of countryside.’ I nodded, tight-lipped, wondering if she had a point. ‘Still,’ she went on, ‘I’m very grateful to his girlfriend for helping you out today. I should thank them both.’

  ‘Well, I’ll make sure to pass on your thanks when I see them.’

  I wondered if Cathy was being unfair about Max Golding, but then how much did I really know about him myself? I’d certainly experienced his charm at first hand, but was it possible I’d been so seduced by his good looks and easy manner that I hadn’t seen beyond that. Oh God, I hoped not! I like to think of myself as a good judge of character, but finding out that Max had a girlfriend who he hadn’t deemed to tell me about had left a bad taste in my mouth and the sneaky impression that I might have made a fool of myself in front of him.

  For some reason I couldn’t get it out of my head and I was still thinking about him later that night when I made way to the pub. I wasn’t working a shift, thank goodness, the events of the day had put me in a reflective frame of mind and I was more in the mood for drinking beer than serving it. So I was meeting up with Johnny and Polly and I suspected we might be dragged along on another of Polly’s dates.

  ‘What do you recommend then?’ asked Johnny, as he and Polly pored over the menu of craft beers.

  ‘Well, we have the new range of summer beers in. There are some really special ales on here and they all have their merits,’ I said, with a sideways grin. Although I wasn't working, I couldn't help giving the sales patter. ‘This one’s lively.’ My finger travelled down the menu, landing on a description of one of the beers. ‘Crisp and tangy with the hint of lemon peel and a touch of spice. Thirst-quenching and perfect for a summer’s evening like tonight. Or, you could go for this lovely fruity beer. Strawberries and cream ale. It has a wonderful golden colour, a delicious aroma and is very smooth on the palate, very quaffable. Or else…’ I worked down the list of ales.

  ‘Oh, how on earth are we expected to choose?’ said Polly. ‘You make them ALL sound totally delicious. I think we should start with the lemony one and then move onto strawberries and cream. What do you reckon, Johnny?’

  ‘Summer fruits galore, I can’t think of anything better,’ said Johnny, whereupon they both dissolved into giggles. My gaze travelled from Johnny to Polly, who were both completely oblivious to my bemusement, and I got the distinct impression I was missing out on some hilarious in-joke. Either that or they were a few glasses ahead of me on the alcohol front.

  ‘Look why don’t you two go outside and grab us a bench. Make the most of this sunny weather while we can. I’ll be out in a moment.’

  I went up to the bar and order
ed the drinks from Dan, who was single-handedly manning the bar.

  ‘Let me know if it gets any busier and if you need any help, Dan. I’m only out the back.’

  ‘Will do, but it should be fine, thanks. Eric’s around here somewhere.’

  As Dan pulled our beers, I wondered if he was aware that the pub might soon be sold. Eric would have mentioned something, I felt sure, but I didn’t like to say anything just in case he hadn’t. I felt a pang of sadness standing there in the heart of the pub I loved so much knowing that our tight-knit family might soon be disbanded. Dan lived on a narrow boat on the canal with his girlfriend Silke and I knew his shifts at the pub helped to fund their bohemian lifestyle. What would he do if he found out there was no longer a job for him at The Dog and Duck anymore? I suppressed a sigh. It was all too much to think about now. I’d come out this evening to get away from my worries, not to add to them.

  With my tray of drinks, I wandered through the pub and out the back doors. The pub garden was at its finest in the summer with its array of hanging baskets and tubs, full of billowing pink petunias, fuchsias and geraniums, supplied and lovingly cared for by Polly. Tonight the air was fragrant with their heavy scent and surprisingly warm too.

  ‘So,’ I said, placing the drinks down on the bench, ‘how have you both been? Seems like ages since I saw you.’

  ‘Good,’ said Polly.

  ‘Great,’ said Johnny.

  They turned to look at one another and beamed in unison, as if they were the holders of a treasured secret. My smile dropped and a feeling of unease crept up on me. I really hoped to goodness that they hadn’t signed me up for some awful double date scenario again and were working their way up to telling me about it.

  ‘Did you ever hear from Rob again?’

  ‘Rob?’ They both looked totally baffled. Honestly, what was the matter with them tonight?

  ‘How can you have forgotten about Rob? The carpet man?’