Chapter 18
‘Well, at least something came out of that visit,’ said Briony, walking down the road towards Cobblers Yard. It was Monday. She’d visited the hospital again, this time bringing along a book she’d picked at random from her grandmother’s extensive collection of romance paperbacks on the bookshelves in the alcove of her lounge.
She had sat and read to her grandmother, as the nurse had suggested, but it hadn’t done any good. Luna had sat attentively by the bed, watching Blythe. Briony had no doubt that Luna would have alerted her if there was any movement, any twitch at all.
She smiled at Luna, who was walking by her side, getting a lot of looks from people on the high street. They were probably wondering what type of dog she was.
‘Well, haven’t you made a lot of new friends?’ she said to Luna, thinking of all the fusses and cuddles the wolfdog had got from the older ladies on the ward, yet again. Word had spread of the new therapy dog, even though Luna wasn’t officially registered. Even the nurses had asked if she wouldn’t mind visiting the Children’s Day Unit and the Children’s Ward.
Briony hadn’t been sure at first. Unlike Wilbur, Luna was a big dog. Would the children, especially the younger children, be afraid of such a big dog? Especially one that looked like a wolf. And would Luna mind having inquisitive little fingers poking and prodding her?
Briony realised that she needn’t have worried. The little boy they’d bumped into on their first visit together had proved that Luna was good with children, and they in turn were fascinated, getting up close with a real wolf. That was what the children on the ward believed she was.
Although Briony had corrected them, and tried to explain that she was a wolfdog hybrid, the mention of the word wolf was all it took. Briony smiled. Why were children so fascinated with wolves?
Briony was on her way to The Bookshop of Memories to see if she could find a children’s book about wolves so she could share some interesting facts about them and perhaps learn a little herself about Luna’s wolf ancestry.
She’d had to promise all the patients at the hospital that she’d be back with Luna to visit them. And she’d made another promise before leaving, to one lady in particular – her grandmother. She’d whispered in her ear, ‘I’m going to find Frank, if it’s the last thing I do.’
Briony turned down the lane between the shops into Cobblers Yard. Although she wanted to visit the bookshop, there was something she needed to do first. She headed straight for Joss’s little office. She didn’t have an appointment, but she hoped he would have time to see her.
Although she was friends with Joss and Emily, Briony wasn’t expecting to jump the queue. She’d just get a ticket and wait her turn.
She glanced at the bookshop across the yard and decided that this time she wouldn’t risk missing her turn by making a visit there.
She happened to see Mabel, who was crossing the yard towards the bookshop, and waved. Mabel smiled and waved back, pausing at the bookshop door, Briony noticed, to watch her walk inside Joss’s office.
The waiting room wasn’t as busy as it had been the first time she’d visited. Cheryl wasn’t there either, so Briony took a ticket from the dispenser machine and made herself a cup of tea. There was hot water in two large thermos flasks, milk, sugar, and biscuits – obviously the type Luna liked, because she discovered that Luna had whipped a digestive off the plate while she wasn’t looking. Briony was surprised; Luna had been so polite around biscuits previously.
‘Luna!’
She took a seat as far away as possible from the other people who were waiting and tried to keep Luna in check. Luna was acting like a Labrador. If she wasn’t after more biscuits, she pulled on her lead to go and say hello to other people.
‘I thought you were a good dog!’ Briony whispered, feeling annoyed. She thought of her grandmother, keeping herself to herself, fostering kittens, doing private piano lessons at The Beach House, and realised that Luna had probably led quite a sheltered life. Apart from her stint at Emily’s pet hotel, this was probably the most she’d ever got out and about, meeting other people.
Briony realised that Luna, getting used to all the attention, was coming out of her shell.
‘Luna!’ The dog pulled so hard, that the lead dropped from her grasp. Briony realised her mistake in allowing Luna to meet all those ladies and the children on the wards. Now, she thought she could do the same here. Not everyone liked dogs. And the size of her could be intimidating.
Briony got out of her seat to fetch the dog from across the room, apologising to everyone for bringing her along. ‘I’ll take her outside.’ She’d have to take her back to the car.
To Briony’s surprise, everybody wanted Luna to stay. The waiting room had been silent when she had first walked in, with people looking downcast, lost in their own thoughts and problems. Then the atmosphere had changed, with people smiling as they petted Luna and asking questions about her breed as she walked freely around the waiting room. She even got offered a biscuit or two.
‘Now you’re all spoiling her,’ said Briony, smiling.
A door opened at the far end of the room. Briony wasn’t surprised when Luna ran over to Joss. ‘Hey, girl. What are you doing here?’
Briony waved from her seat, and said, ‘I didn’t know whether to come. You might not have any … news.’ Briony glanced around the room at the strangers. They appeared nice people, but she didn’t know who was trying to hound her grandmother out of her house, so she didn’t want to say anything about why she was there.
She couldn’t imagine the person behind the solicitor’s letters was local. Everyone she’d met since she’d arrived in Suffolk seemed so friendly and welcoming.
It was some big developer, she imagined, who’d stumbled on this beautiful part of the world and thought they’d take advantage of an old lady, and take her land. It really was reprehensible. She hoped Joss had discovered something.
Joss gave the excited dog a fuss. Luna then barged passed Joss into his office.
‘For goodness’ sake, Luna.’ Briony rolled her eyes. What had happened to Luna’s manners? Briony got out of her seat at the same time as an older man stood up.
The older man said, ‘Oh, I thought it was my turn.’
‘Yes, it is. I just have to get the dog.’
‘I don’t mind if she sits in with me. Actually, I’d quite like it.’
‘That’s okay with me,’ said Joss. ‘If you don’t mind, Briony.’
Actually, Briony didn’t. Perhaps Luna would get up to less mischief in the office, where there were fewer distractions, and hopefully no biscuits in plain sight.
The older man said with a straight face, ‘As long as she has been trained in lawyer client confidentiality.’
Briony stared at him, and then smiled when he winked, realising it was a joke.
‘Can she sit in on my meeting too?’ another client asked.
By the time Joss opened his door, and the last of the people waiting in the waiting room with Briony had left, Luna had sat in with every one of Joss’s clients. In fact, Briony found it rather funny that every time Joss opened the door, and the next person got out of their seat, Luna went over to fetch them, leading the way back to Joss.
Luna came running over. ‘Well, long time no see,’ commented Briony as she stood up. There was no one else still waiting to see Joss that morning. ‘I see you’ve made more friends.’
‘She’s been fantastic,’ said Joss, standing by his door. ‘People come into my office, often quite unhappy, weighed down by their problems, and quite apprehensive about the appointment and whether I can help them. Well, I’ve never seen so many smiles this morning. She’s quite the calming influence. She just puts people at ease, and I’m sure as a consequence they find it easier to open up and talk. I might have to hire her services, you know, take her on as a … well I don’t know – legal assistant?’
Briony laughed. ‘Well, you’ll have to get in line. She’s already been quite the hit at the hospital. I’ve promised the staff and patients I’ll take her back.’
‘You took her to see your grandmother? How is she?’
Briony’s smile faded. ‘She’s still not awake.’ She didn’t want to use the word coma, or even entertain the possibility that Blythe might not wake up. That just wouldn’t be right; not when she’d only just found her, and hadn’t had the chance to get to know her.
Briony followed Luna into Joss’s office while he put the ‘Closed’ sign in the window. ‘Feels like déjà vu – doesn’t it?’ he commented as he walked into the office and closed the door.
Briony thought so too. This was about the time she’d seen Joss on her last visit – just when he was about to close for lunch. She probably shouldn’t have popped in again. It was only Monday, and she’d barely given him any time to look into the case of the missing deeds.
‘Do you want to go for lunch?’ Briony asked. She glanced at Luna and thought of trying to leave her outside the café, and how she would howl to be let in when she caught sight of all those people she’d want to make friends with.
Joss shook his head. ‘I think we’re better off talking in my office this time.’
This time. Did that mean he’d found something?She hoped it was good news.