Page 19 of Ella’s Desire

“Not so well for a hunting dog, I’m afraid.” Hardy appeared at that moment and dropped the stick on the ground in front of Bronson.

Leila gently laid her clippings in the basket with the other leaves and blooms and got to her feet. Hardy leaned his head back to watch her approach, his long, pink tongue lolling from his mouth. His tail thumped wildly on the ground.

She regarded the stick. “May I?”

Bronson lifted it from the ground and handed it to her, dry end first. “If you do, you may just become his favorite person. Mind the bits where pieces have been snapped off, they’re sharp.”

Leila smiled quietly and took the stick with a nod of thanks. Before he could offer a word of advice, she hurtled it through the air with surprising force. Hardy leapt with excitement and dashed after his prize in a blur of gray.

“Do you want some help with your basket?” Bronson asked.

She hesitated as though intending to decline his offer, and then thought better of it. She nodded as Hardy approached with the stick jutting out of his mouth like a tusk. He dropped it in front of her and sat expectantly, filling the silence with the rapid thumping of his tail.

Bronson hefted the basket into his arms. “I told you you’d have a friend forever.”

When she didn’t throw the stick, Hardy wriggled closer to her and nudged his head under her hand.

“You need to remain patient, Hardy.” Bronson scolded the dog like a child before he caught himself.

Leila smothered a giggle. “Do you talk to animals too?”

“Not all the time,” Bronson started defensively. “Only when I need to tell them something.” He winked at her and this time she didn’t bother to hide her amusement.

He indicated the basket with his chin. “Where am I carrying this?”

“Just outside the kitchen. I’ll show you.”

He issued a sharp whistle and the other two dogs ran toward him. Hardy trotted after Leila with the retrieved stick in his mouth, his eyes bright with adoration.

“Ella can be hard to manage sometimes.” Leila twisted her lips and flicked a shy glance in his direction. “She’s been allowed to do what she likes.”

“And now she’s being forced to marry me,” Bronson stated.

“And you’re being forced to marry her.” Leila shielded the sun from her eyes with one hand and found Hardy’s head with the fingertips of her other. “You didn’t choose her either.”

Bronson gathered from the comfortable quiet settling between them that he didn’t need to reply. Not with this young woman who was barely out of girlhood and yet saw more than most adults.

“Over there.” Leila pointed to a small stone building with a thatched roof.

He ducked into the hut attached at the back of the castle and found various herbs and flowers hanging from the rafters, shelves, and anywhere else bits of string could be strung. The sweet perfume of drying herbs scented the air as they spun about by an unseen breeze. He set the basket on a stone table.

“Is that all you need?” he asked.

Leila nodded, her fingers still working over Hardy’s ears. Hardy, for his part, was laying against Leila’s legs in his attempt to be closer to her. The two were quite a pair to be sure.

“Mayhap he should stay here with you.” Bronson indicated Hardy. “Until you come back to the keep.”

Leila ducked her head, but not before he caught her small smile. “Are you certain?”

“Aye, Hardy hasn’t had this much affection in years.”

The dog didn’t even bother to lift his ears at the sound of his own name. Besides, he would be good protection for little Leila, though Bronson sensed it was best not to mention that last part aloud.

“I’ll bring him with me to supper this evening,” Leila said.

Bronson nodded and made to duck out of the small stone hut.

“She’s always dreamed of being wooed,” Leila called after him.