A Suitable Bride by Fenella J Miller

only nineteen years of age but she ran the household as well as his mother had ever done. Madeline would make some lucky gentleman an excellent wife, but hopefully not for another year or two. Her debut had been postponed because of the death of their father and until the coffers were refilled she refused to contemplate going to London for the Season.
    It would help him find the animals if he knew their names, but he supposed he must make an effort anyway. He walked through the shrubbery into the edge of the wood and whistled loudly. Immediately there was crashing and snapping branches, and then he was surrounded by three tail-wagging dogs.
    ‘Sit. Stay.’ To his astonishment they did as he bid, their eyes fixed on him, their long pink tongues lolling and their ears pricked. The gentle swish, swish in the leaves indicated their tails were still moving.
    He moved away expecting them to follow but they remained put, waiting for his instruction to move. ‘Come.’ They were at his feet and sat down without being prompted.
    He wanted to dislike them but they were in fact delightful creatures. The animals were obviously from the same litter, and identical in shape and size, but they were quite easy to distinguish as one was grey and black, the next a reddish colour and the third a mixture of the three.
    ‘Well, if you promise to behave perhaps I won’t banish you after all. However, I’ll take it up with your mistress when she’s recovered as to why she thought it permissible to bring her pets to visit.’ He grinned and they smiled back. ‘Come with me, boys, I’ll show you your new home.’
    They followed him, not barking or misbehaving, and he was impressed. He met an anxious groom as he was about to enter the stable yard. The man bowed.
    ‘I’ve been looking for them varmints this past half-hour, my lord, and beg your pardon if they’ve been causing further trouble. They’ve never been away from home before and are a tad overexcited.’
    This was certainly a day for surprises. Bennett was unused to being spoken to so informally and at such length by a minion. The dogs had sat in a row at his feet. ‘What are their names?’
    ‘That’s Ginger, the grey and black’s Buster and the other’s Toby.’ The man hesitated and then continued. ‘Begging your pardon, my lord, but I’m Peterson and it’s my job to take care of these three.’ He scratched his head. ‘I ain’t ever seen them so quiet and well-behaved. They must know they ain’t popular.’
    Bennett was warming to this garrulous groom. He reminded him of his sergeant who’d spoken to him in a similar fashion. ‘I like them, but they must be kept away from the guests and certainly not come into the house. In case you haven’t heard, your mistress is not seriously injured and will be up and about as usual tomorrow.’
    The man’s delighted expression said it all. ‘Thank you, my lord, we’ve been that worried. The lad who was riding Rufus has broke his arm, but it weren’t too bad and I’ve set it for him. I reckon Miss DuPont will want to know.’ The man touched his cap, snapped his fingers and walked off, the three dogs trotted behind him.
    *
    When Grace eventually woke up the room was dark but she was still in her petticoats. She was also ravenously hungry. She waited a few minutes for her eyes to become accustomed to the darkness and was then able to see enough to scramble out of bed and pull on her bedrobe.
    She crept across to the shutters and pulled one back letting in a shaft of moonlight. From this she found her way to the dressing room where the commode was situated.
    When she was comfortable she searched for a tinderbox and located one on a shelf. She was adept at using this and soon had several candles lit and the room bathed in a flickering, golden glow. Now she saw that the time was just after midnight – small wonder she’d been abandoned.
    Her head was sore but apart from that she was perfectly well. Having slept for the