With a waver in her voice, Ondine asked, “How did it happen?” All the while she gently stroked Shambles’s soft ferrety head and even kissed him twice. Did his eyelids flutter open? Did he mutter even one saucy comment about kisses? No. Which made Ondine worry even more. “Jupiter’s moons, he’s dying.”
“He’s not dying,” Old Col said, unwrapping the cloth to reveal Shambles’s matted wet neck. His furry body gently rose and fell with his breathing.
“But there’s so much blood,” Ondine said.
“That there is. Fortunately, most of it belonged to Biscuit. That’s the Infanta’s crazy dog, by the way. Thank goodness the dog bite missed anything vital, otherwise Shambles would have bled to death.”
Fresh pain seared Ondine and her tummy curdled like lemon juice in milk. She felt like she might stop breathing. Her strapping, handsome lad was simply lying there in his fragile ferrety state and there was nothing she could do about it.
Old Col related the entire sorry tale to Ondine. About how the champion show dog had gone the full-beserker on Shambles and how she had used ancient magic and ripped the little mutt’s teeth out. Every last one of them.
Old Col looked ashamed. “In the panic of the moment, I wanted Biscuit’s teeth out of Shambles. I must have said the spell not quite right. Maybe I had a senior moment?”
Hope surged in Ondine. If that nasty dog had no teeth left, Shambles would be safe from future attacks. “Will he make a full recovery?” Thinking of only Shambles, not the Infanta’s dog.
“Undoubtedly. He’s sleeping it off. When the dog attacked, Shambles was about to let fly with enough profanities to strip the wallpaper. There wasn’t time to think. I cast a spell to make him appear dead, so that I could get him out of the dining room.”
Relief washed over Ondine like a tidal wave. But there was one more unknown factor in the sorry adventure, not counting all the unknown unknowns.[114]
“Aunt Col, why is he still a ferret?”
Col shook her head, pursed her lips as if in deep thought and said, “We’ll have to wait and see.”
WAITING IS AWFUL. THERE’S the waiting for a meal to arrive when you can smell it cooking, and your stomach is saying “hurry up”. There’s the butterflies-in-the- tummy waiting for a gymnastics score from the fussy judges who are not sure if they should deduct half a point or a whole point for stepping outside the white lines. Then there’s the hopeless I-feel-completely-sick kind of waiting, as a young girl looks upon the hopeless shape of an injured ferret waiting to see if he’ll ever become handsomely human again.
An hour dragged by. When Ondine looked at Old Col’s watch, it lied and said only eight minutes had passed. Fifteen more of Ondine’s hours passed over the next two real hours. There was no change from Shambles at all, just the rise and fall of his furry little tummy as he breathed in and out. Every now and then his paws twitched. At one point, his eyelids flickered and seemed ready to spring open, but it was just his eyes quivering. Dreaming.
“You need sleep yourself, you’ve got school in the morning,” Old Col said.
“But it’s got no roof.”
“Pyotr told me they’ll make do with one of the barns.”
“Do I have to go?”
“Of course you do. If you don’t, the Duke will send you home. By the way, your parents are furious with me for letting you stay and work here.”
Gulp. Hamish had taken up so much of her headspace she hadn’t given a thought to her parents. “It didn’t go down well?”
“You should have heard your mother scream when I phoned her and told her where we were. They wanted you to go home immediately. I told them you’d get a better education here. So you’d better prove me right or we’re all in strife. And another thing, make sure you call them every now and then, just so they know you’re safe and well.”[115]
Rubbing her eyes and finding gritty things in the corners, Ondine agreed to return to her room.
Some people have worried so much about another’s fate they have lain awake all night with the stress of it. Ondine was not such a person. Yes, she fully planned to worry all night about Shambles and whether he would ever be Hamish again. The new bed felt strange and cold; a recipe for further fretting. Her body, however, had other ideas and she fell asleep two pico-seconds after pulling the covers up.
Tasting a mouthful of dust, Ondine half-woke and prised her eyes open. It was dark – hardly surprising as it must have been the middle of the night. The true surprise was trying to swallow. Her tongue felt dry enough to leave splinters in her cheeks.
I must have fallen asleep with my mouth open, she thought. Quickly followed by another important thought: I need a drink.
Eyes adjusting to the low light, Ondine saw no refreshing glass of water on her side table. She attempted to swallow again and felt the ash-dry results. Wincing at the night chill, Ondine pulled her top blanket over her shoulders and did her best to be as quiet as possible so she didn’t wake Draguta the laundry boss, who was asleep in the bed beside hers. She closed the door with a soft click and made her way to the kitchen.
At this time of night, she expected to be alone. No such luck. There in the kitchen, standing at the central galley bench, was a woman dressed in a shimmery satiny nightgown, with a whimpering fluffy white dog. A white dog with soft red gums, full of gouges where his teeth used to be.
The Infanta! Ondine tried to work out the correct form of address to use. Your Grace? My Lady? Her father would have known, but he wasn’t here to help.
“Your Highness.” Ondine quickly dropped into a curtsey. In any case, she couldn’t say much more because her mouth was as dry as week-old bread. The woman smiled and Ondine felt a surge of relief at getting it right.[116]
At first Ondine thought she’d surprised the woman, judging by the Infanta’s shocked expression, but after a while it became obvious the woman’s eyebrows sat up like that permanently.
“Why were you sent to the kitchens at this late hour, child?”
Croak, rasp. “No one sent me. I need a drink of water, Your Highness.”
The Infanta nodded her head towards the taps and put a spoon in the dog’s mouth. For the smallest moment Ondine felt sorry for Biscuit. Straight after that she thought the dog deserved everything he got for attacking her beloved Shambles.
Glass of water safely in hand, Ondine decided to get out of there before she said anything stupid. When she turned around, she saw the Infanta make a quick movement away from the large stockpot bubbling over a low flame.
“What?” The Infanta’s gaze bored into her.
Ondine was hardly going to say she thought the Infanta had put something in the soup. A queef of disgust spread through her at the thought that the Infanta was feeding the dog with the soup spoon. Or was the soup just for the dog? In which case it would be all right, if a little unconventional. However, if it was the communal soup, she should probably warn everyone it had Biscuit slobber in it.[117]
Hot on the heels of that internal soliloquy, Ondine had another thought that pushed disgust aside and let fear in. Maybe the Infanta didn’t put the spoon back in the soup. Maybe she put something else in the soup?
“Sorry, I just . . . my eyes are still half shut. Please excuse me, Your Highness, I must get back to bed.”
Those imperious raised eyebrows made Ondine uneasy. Somehow, Ondine felt sure the Infanta had put something in the soup and she had to tell Old Col the moment she got the chance.
“What are you named, child?”
“Ondine, Your Highness.”
“And what did you see, Ondine, hmm?”
“I . . .” She took a gulp of water and thought desperately for something convincing to say. The dog provided inspiration as it licked the offered spoon. “I’m so sorry to stare, but I saw that your puppy has no teeth. I really wasn’t expecting that.”
No change at all in the Infanta’s expression. It was hard to know if this was deliberate. “No. Earlier this evening I wasn’t expecting my dog to
be mauled either,” she said. “It was my baby brother’s new friend who did it. This had better be set to rights or there’ll be trouble.”
Something else Ondine wasn’t expecting – the Infanta paid no attention to her audience and put that licked doggy spoon back in the soup, confirming her earlier guess at the slurry of dog bacteria swilling in the pot.
Ondine’s face must have betrayed her disgust, because the Infanta said, “He has a better pedigree than anyone else under this roof.”
Yes, but his mouth is still teeming with germs, Ondine thought. How unfair that the Duke had set the health inspector on her parents’ hotel, when all along he should have been paying closer attention to his own kitchen![118]
Again and again, the Infanta spooned soup from the pot to the dog. The dog stood on the galley bench, licking away. A few drops of soup landed on the bench, right where the kitchen staff would be preparing food in the morning. The dog licked that up as well.
The Infanta stopped spooning and looked at Ondine. “You are new here, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Far too many people are being hired of late. I don’t approve, but the Duke won’t listen to me. Work hard and keep out of trouble. Plenty of people think they know what is going on but they don’t. You think you might know something, so you go and tell the Duke. Save yourself the bother. He isn’t interested. If you see anything or hear something strange and you want to know what it means, you come to me instead, you hear?”
Ondine gulped and gave a meek, “Yes,” all the while wondering how she was going to survive living in this crazy place.
Chapter Nine
Morning? Isn’t that when it’s light? No such luck. Ondine woke to find Draguta giving her a gentle nudge on the shoulder and saying, “Time for get up.” [119]
In the distance Ondine could hear people stirring and getting ready for the new day. There were noises of feet scuffing down the hall, the hiss of showers and the scrape of cutlery on crockery in the staff lounge as people had breakfast.
Hamish! Ondine’s mind sprang into action. Some teenage slugabeds cannot get themselves right in the head or body before midday. Ondine surprised herself and her generation by getting dressed, cleaning her teeth and brushing her hair into a tight ponytail in record time. All the while she fretted. What if he had woken in the night and she wasn’t there? Would he think she’d abandoned him?
When Ondine arrived in Col’s room, she found her great aunt looking fresh and lively, ready for a new day. Unfortunately, when she clapped eyes on Hamish, he was still a Shambles-ferret.
“Shambles, you’re awake. Are you OK?”
“All the better fer seeing your beautiful face,” Shambles said as he climbed up on Col’s shoulder so he could be eye-to-eye with a blushing Ondine.
“You two, you’re incorrigible,” Col said.
“Then stop incorriging us,” he said.
Ondine giggled. Even though she was looking at a ferret, in her mind she could see Hamish’s devilish grin and imagined his sparkling green eyes full of fun.
Old Col made a scoffing noise, then said, “I’m glad you’re here. We need to confab.”[120]
“You’ve found out who’s trying to kill the Duke?”
“I’m good, dear, but not quite that good. However, Shambles has discovered that people are helping themselves to silverware and probably anything that can fit in your hand. So please take care when you’re doing the laundry to go through people’s pockets and remove anything valuable.”
“Of course I will,” Ondine said, gazing longingly at the ferret-that-should-be-her-sweetheart and wishing he’d become human again. “And you’re sure you’re feeling OK?”
“Aw yeas, all ticketeyboo. Best sleep in ages.”
He certainly sounded confident. “But, you’re still a ferret, even though I’m right here.”
“Aye, yer a smart lass. Isnae she a smart one, Col?”
Aunt Col rolled her eyes. “Quite.”
Shambles gave the widest grin in a ferret’s arsenal and winked at Ondine. “Sheer willpower. I’ve goat it in spades. Worked it out while I was under the table and ye walked in at dinner. Had tae think on me feet. And it feels bettah staying like this instead of changing back and forth all the time. Sure and the Duke needs me tae be like this on account of being able tae do me job, lass.”
Niggling worries started niggling and worrying Ondine. “But . . . you like being human, don’t you?”
“Aw, I loave being human.” He winked again. “But ye know I have so many responsibilities now, and I cannae very well sneak aboot if everyone can see me. Now, as much as I love tae see yer smiling face, it’s past seven, lassie. Classes start at quarter past. Ye’d best make yer feet yer friends.”
Giddy hope and confusion churned in Ondine’s heart, which wasn’t difficult considering the stress of the previous day, the earliness of the current hour and her bizarre conversation with the Infanta during the night. Which reminded her.
“Don’t drink the soup.” Keeping things short and simple, she explained her encounter with the Infanta, the spoon, the dog and the soup pot.
With a shudder, Old Col said, “I will inform the Duke. Now, best you get to school. I will be taking a stroll near the arch of crepe myrtle trees on the western lawn around three this afternoon. Meet me there.”
“OK. I’ll see you then.” Ondine gave her great aunt a kiss on the cheek and gave Shambles a peck on the top of his head. They walked off in different directions – Old Col and Shambles towards the conservatory for breakfast, Ondine to her new classes. More nagging worries followed Ondine all the way to the school barn. Worries that went along the lines of, I know Shambles needs to be a ferret most of the time, but when nobody else is around, he really ought to be my Hamish.
The barn showed all the signs of a hurried conversion into a classroom. It had a portrait of the Duke on the wall, dusty windows, creaky floorboards and tables and chairs. Enough for a teacher and a dozen students aged between eleven and fifteen. One large, portable white board stood at the head of the room.
A woman who looked about the same age as Ondine’s oldest sister Marguerite came up to her. “Good morning, you must be Ondine. The seneschal has told me all about you. I’m Ms Kyryl. You can take a seat next to Hetty if you like. Let’s begin.”
Ms Kyryl had dark hair pinned tightly at the back of her head. She wore conservative pleated blue trousers, flat black shoes and a buttoned-up white shirt under a v-neck jersey, which matched her trousers. On her hips she wore an intricately braided leather belt, with tassels at the ends and tiny brass bells that tinkled musically as she walked.
Ondine sat down next to the smiling Hetty. Hetty had ramrod-straight black hair, tied in pigtails either side of her head, which made her look about ten, although she was clearly Ondine’s age. Hetty had the tiniest little button nose. When she smiled, her cheeks turned into round cushions and her scimitar eyes almost closed.[121]
“I shouldn’t be glad about the storm, but I am,” Hetty said. “The thing is, I’ve always wanted a pony and now I’ve got one. Just looking after it, of course, until they rebuild the stables. But I’ve finally got a pony!”
“A horse is a lot of extra work,” Ondine said. “Where do you keep it?”
“In our lounge. We’ve moved all our furniture out and laid down straw and it’s so wonderful.”
Ondine’s jaw nearly hit the table.
“Ha ha, got you! We’re keeping it in our barn for the meantime. Sorry to tease you! I’m so glad to finally have a friend my age.” Hetty then fired off a series of questions: “Have you moved here with your parents? What jobs do they have? Are you staying permanently or is it a seasonal contract?”
“I’m here with my great-aunt . . .” Ondine started. She nearly added that she’d also come with Hamish, but she wasn’t sure what to call him. She thought ‘my boyfriend who turns into a ferret at the most inconvenient times’ was a bit of a mouthful. And hard to explain. She didn’t
know how to answer the rest of the questions because she didn’t want to reveal Old Col’s job description, nor how long they would be staying. Hopefully not for that long because she wanted to go home with Hamish and resume her normal life. Hetty looked so pleading, Ondine didn’t want to dash her hopes by saying they wouldn’t be here for long.
“Good morning, class,” Ms Kyryl said.
“Good morning, teacher,” the students said as one.
“I was born here and the whole time there have only been two other children who were my age.” Hetty rolled her eyes as she added, “And they were both boys, who came and went. I’ve always gone to school here. Well, not here in the barn, back in the proper schoolhouse. My parents run the chicken farms. They supply the palechia and most of Bellreeve with poultry. My brothers and sisters were all born here too. I have two older brothers and one older sister. My sister does the accounts for a toy factory in Norange and my brothers are at Venzelemma University.”
Ms Kyryl interrupted them. “Hetty, I know you’re excited, but it’s class time now. Everyone, please stand for the national anthem.”
Scraping chair noises echoed around the room as they all stood, hands on heart as the teacher pressed a button on the portable CD player. The opening strains of Oh Brugel, My Heart rang out.[122]
Everyone sang, even Ms Kyryl (who sounded off- key). Despite the stirring words and rampant patriotism of a people whose spirit yearned to be free, whenever Ondine sang the words “my heart”, she thought of Hamish rather than her country. When she sang about the “young and the strong” she also thought of Hamish. When she sang about “hallowed fields” and “wealth for toil” she had no idea what they meant, so she thought about Hamish for good measure.[123]
Once the anthem finished, they recited the Pledge of Brugel. Ondine ran the words together in a light drone: “I love God and Brugel. I honour the flag. I serve the Duke. I cheerfully obey my parents, teachers and the law.”
Ms Kyryl said, “Thank you, children. Once they fix the roof we’ll move back to our old rooms, but this will do for now. This is always a lovely time of year, because we have the Harvest Festival to look forward to. Once again the Duke has asked us to stage a pageant in the ballroom, to entertain the visiting dignitaries. The great and the good of Brugel will all be there, so I know you will do your very best on the night.”
The Ondine Collection Page 21
