Slightly Foxed

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Authors: Jane Lovering
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"Er," I
    began, but Isabelle cut me short by wrapping her arms
    around me and giving me a huge hug.
    "Well, Alys, it's been lovely seeing you after all this time .
    Thank you for coming all this way."
    Leo seemed to be waiting for me. Cautiously I followed
    him to the door. "Goodbye," I said, somewhat quietly, in case
    I wasn't going. "Thank you for dinner."
    Leo was standing outside the door with a torch in his hand.
    I picked up my rucksack and Isabelle closed the door behind
    us with a resounding and somewhat thankful thud. So. Let me
    recap. I was standing in the dark, with a man I desired
    marginally less than I liked breathing, and that man showed
    every sign of wanting to be there. I let out a silent murmur of
    thanks that I'd been keeping my karma shiny and bright. I
    must have been very, very good, probably in quite a lot of
    former lives, to have deserved this.
    "So," I said, as we began to pick our way by the narrow
    torch beam up a dusty track.
    "I hope you don't think I normally do this." He spoke
    without looking at me. "Taking women home when I've just
    met them. But, I don't know, there seemed to be some sort
    64

    Slightly Foxed
    by Jane Lovering
    of connection between us, when I saw you standing there in
    front of the photos of Thistle...and...you seemed...it was
    almost as though you knew me when you looked at me. Like
    a flicker of recognition. I'm sorry. That sounds really pathetic,
    doesn't it? But I knew that I didn't want you to disappear off
    to wherever it is that you come from. Not without my at least
    having the chance to talk to you."
    My foot chose that particular moment to shoot into a rut.
    My leg gave way. I stumbled and lurched forward a couple of
    strides before I pitched to my knees in the dust. Great. I
    wanted to come over suave and sophisticated and here I was
    impersonating Frankenstein's monster's trial run. But there
    was an advantage. Leo lifted me to my feet by my upper
    arms. He was much more muscular than he looked, that black
    T-shirt must contain a decent body. As he placed me back
    upright, his hands lingered for a moment, and I felt the hairs
    along my forearms react. He was so close I could smell the
    scent of hay and horses from him, also something spicy and
    definitely sexy. I was feeling quite ridiculously hot and
    wondered how I was going to talk myself out of this.
    "Oh, look." His voice had the breathless, dreamy quality
    that I normally associated with men when they were about to
    suggest that I might like to dress up in a rubber catsuit.
    "That's Sophia."
    "Who?" We'd emerged from the lane and now the trackway
    was crossing an open field, well moonlit, but I couldn't see
    any sign of anyone else. "Where?"
    "There. Isn't she beautiful?"
    I looked where he pointed. "What? Behind the horse?"
    65

    Slightly Foxed
    by Jane Lovering
    "Pony. Sophia is my champion Section A mare. In foal to
    Cleavers, if everything works out right." We continued
    walking, uphill now, past the grazing pony, towards a
    stupendously lovely house which was gleaming yellow in the
    moonlight. "I'm sorry. I get a little bit carried away about my
    animals, sometimes. They've been everything to me since—
    well, for a long while now." We walked on, around to the front
    of the house, which made me stop for a second and catch my
    breath. It was a large Elizabethan building with high
    mullioned windows and arched doorways. A proper gravelled
    driveway led off between neatly clipped lawns into the
    distance.
    "Gosh. The last time I saw anything like this, it was a re-
    creation on Time Team ."
    "It is rather lovely." Leo pushed open a door which bore
    more metal decoration than your average body-piercing
    enthusiast and led me into an enormous hallway. I followed
    him through into a kitchen. A large range took up most of one
    wall and a huge butler's sink occupied a greater portion of the
    other. A scrubbed table stood in the middle and the corners
    were occupied by dogs' beds, horse rugs, saddlery

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