Chapter 25
Glühwein – the perfect drink for after-ski. Use chianti and the juice of a fresh orange. A cinnamon stick and brandy make it extra warming.
M ark picked Livvy up to view Angel the following morning. The sleet of the previous day had hardened into a hoar-frost, coating trees and hedges into a sparkling icy white. The sky, a vibrant blue, dazzled.
‘No problem. If she’s going to be half my dog, I need to like her too,’ he answered.
‘We seem to be spending a lot of time together.’
He smiled easily. ‘I’ve no complaints.’
‘Me neither. And I really did enjoy last night.’
‘It was fun, wasn’t it? I enjoyed it too. Who’s looking after the pub today?’
‘I’m turning into an absentee landlady. Karl’s doing an extra shift. Said he could do with the money. It’s such a relief to have him around. I trust him absolutely.’
A frown flickered. ‘You mean you don’t trust the others?’
‘I do, but I never feel it’s risky leaving the pub in Karl’s hands. I’ve got a good team around me but he’s the best. What about you? You mentioned you were extra busy in the run-up to Christmas?’
‘My turn to play hooky. I mean, look at the weather. It’s glorious. Didn’t want to be sat in front of a computer screen in a stuffy old office on a morning like today.’
Livvy rummaged in her bag for her sunglasses. ‘It’s a skiing day. On days like this I miss the slopes.’
‘Have you skied much?’
‘Most winters. From a child. Do you?’
‘I do.’ He risked a quick look away from the road. ‘Great sunnies. They suit you.’
‘Thank you. Eyes back on the road,’ she instructed sternly.
‘Yes, miss.’
‘Where are we headed to?’
‘Inland. Just beyond Uploders.’
She sat back and let him drive. Independent woman that she was, sometimes, just sometimes, there was real joy to be found in letting the man take control.
Eventually, having bumped their way along some narrow Dorset lanes only wide enough for one car and with grass growing along the middle, they turned into a rutted drive leading to a red brick farmhouse.
Norman, the beater, brought Angel into the yard. He let her off the lead and she sniffed curiously around them all, not showing any fear, stumpy tail wagging.
For Livvy, it was love at first sight. She knew it would be. She even softened towards the gruff Norman, as he spoke about the dog with affection and with the glimmer of a tear in his eye. He wanted her to go to a home where she could live out her retirement lazing by a warm fire and being spoiled.
Livvy thought, as long as she got on with Skip, it wouldn’t be a problem.
She crouched down and the springer came to sniff, cautiously at first and then rewarding her patience with a lick, accepting the treat she offered.
Livvy caressed the spaniel’s silky ears and watched as the dog’s body wagged along with her tail.
‘Think you’ll do,’ growled Norman, coughing to clear his throat, or maybe hide the emotion.
‘You want to take her for a walk, like? Let her off in the fields yonder. She’ll come back on the whistle.
’ He handed Mark an Acme Thunderer on a frayed blue rope.
‘She’s livestock trained so don’t bother about them sheep. ’
They walked through the gate in the furthest corner of the farmyard which led to a muddy field. A small flock of sheep eyed them and then scampered uphill where the frost clung white.
Livvy, with some trepidation, bent down and released Angel. The dog bounded off, nose to earth in true spaniel style. She stopped, gave a short bark as if to say, ‘Come on,’ and then began following a scent trail along the hedge, her tail wagging furiously again.
‘Oh my goodness, Mark,’ Livvy said, as her welly sank ankle deep into something pungent and sticky. ‘I’m so sorry about your car. I’ve brought shoes to change into but we can’t take Angel’s muddy paws off.’
‘Don’t worry. I’ve a towel in the boot. We can clean her off a bit.
’ He shoved his hands into the pockets of his moleskin jacket.
‘It’s good though, isn’t it? Being outdoors on a day like this?
Walking a dog in the countryside.’ The short vowels were becoming apparent.
He sucked in a deep breath. ‘Reminds me of home.’
‘Yorkshire?’
He nodded. ‘Warmer down here though.’
‘You’re joking. It can’t be much above zero today.’
‘Thought you were the experienced skier?’
‘I am. But I’m dressed for it then. Thermal silk underwear, lined salopettes, furry hat. The works.’
‘Silk underwear? Soft southerner.’
Livvy giggled. ‘I’ll claim that. With my childhood, I’ve never felt I belonged anywhere until now.’ Angel raced back to them, and she put a hand down to the dog. ‘Hello, girl. Would you like to be a pub doggie?’ Angel snickered in return and walked obediently to heel. ‘Someone’s trained you well.’
‘Decided then?’
Livvy looked at Mark, a broad grin splitting her face.
She didn’t know if it was the crisp weather, the blue skies, or the simple pleasure of being with a man she liked, but a rush of joy radiated through her.
‘What do you think? Come on, Angel, let’s get to the top of the field and enjoy the view. ’
After another half hour walking Angel around the field and returning to explain their decision, Norman’s goodbye was cursory. He almost ran back into the farmhouse and slammed the door.
‘Oh,’ Livvy said as Angel whimpered after him.
‘I was going to tell him to come over and see her any time.’ She looked down at the distressed dog.
Angel’s tail had gone between her legs, and she was straining at the lead to follow her old owner.
‘Is he going to be alright, do you think? Will Angel be okay?’
Mark put a comforting hand on her shoulder. ‘Pete will have his number. You can ring him. I think it was easier for him to just go. He must have been very attached to her.’
‘Am I doing the right thing?’ Livvy turned to him, suddenly unsure. ‘I just want them both to be happy with the decision.’
‘Absolutely.’ He cupped her cheek and said tenderly, ‘Angel’s too old to work at full capacity. Norman knows that. He also knows she’s going to have a splendid retirement. He just can’t bear to say goodbye.’
‘How did you get to be so kind?’
‘I don’t think I’m all that kind.’
‘Oh you are. The kindest man I’ve ever known.’
Their lips hovered near, tantalisingly close, in search of a kiss and then Angel pawed at Livvy’s leg.
‘Think she’s impatient to go,’ Livvy said, her voice trembling.
‘Best get her in the car then. Hope she fits alongside all the other stuff.’
To Livvy’s surprise, earlier that morning, Mark had gone to a pet superstore in Axminster.
He’d bought the basics: food and bowls, a cosy bed, a few toys.
One in the shape of a Christmas pudding complete with smiley face and squeak.
He’d shown it to her with glee. Norman insisted they keep Angel’s slip lead and had loaned them a crate for the journey.
The purchases were crammed onto the back seat, leaving the boot for the dog.
Angel obligingly hopped up into her travelling crate, turned round three times and settled.
After changing out of their filthy boots and squeezing them in next to Angel, Livvy and Mark got in for the journey home.
‘I hope she’s okay,’ Livvy worried. ‘She must wonder what’s going on.’
Mark switched the engine on and ‘Driving Home for Christmas’ flooded the car making Angel bark. ‘Obviously not a Chris Rea fan,’ Livvy said, as she clipped on her seatbelt.
Mark eased the car down the drive, trying to avoid the potholes.
‘She’s not the only one.’ He joined the lane, driving gently so as not to alarm the dog.
He glanced into the rear-view mirror at the crate.
‘She’s obviously used to travelling by car, or in the back of Norman’s van: she’s lying down now.
’ He flicked a look at Livvy. ‘She’ll be absolutely fine.
She’ll adapt. Dogs do. And I’m on hand to help out.
Although I haven’t got a dog now, we always had them when Nats and I were kids. I’m not a complete novice.’
‘Just as well as I don’t have a clue.’
‘Tell you what, why don’t we stop off at Burton Bradstock?
If you’ve got time? We can take her on the beach.
Wear her out a bit. We can give her lots of fuss and treats – there’s enough on the back seat to keep her going until the next millennium.
We can grab a coffee at the Hive. I might even treat you to a scone and clotted cream. ’
Livvy peered out at the weather. It was still a blue and white magnificently crisp December day, but it hadn’t warmed up at all and she was appreciating the car’s heated seats.
It wasn’t the cold that was bothering her though.
‘Do you think she’ll come back to us if we let her off the lead somewhere strange? ’
‘She should do. She’s trained to the whistle and she was pretty good to heel back in the field. Or we can keep her on the lead until she’s got used to us.’
Livvy watched as the frozen hedges blurred past. There was a lot of us and we in those sentences. Part of her was hugely relieved that Mark was helping her out with the dog, part of her wondered why. And part of her queried what was in it for him.
It was developing into an odd relationship.
A friendship but with an edge of sexual attraction, with the promise of something more and something far more complex.
But it was all so uncertain. She was pretty sure he saw her as a friend and nothing more.
Whereas her feelings were veering in another direction entirely.
Was it ever possible for a man and a woman to have a purely platonic relationship?