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Oliver turned his attention towards the road. “How much longer before we arrive at the cottage?” he asked.
“It isn’t much further,” she replied.
“I couldn’t verywell have left it alone,” Emmeline declared as she reached for her glass on the table.
Oliver chuckled. “Of course not.”
“My mother was rather furious that I brought the rabbit home, though. She didn’t seem to care that it was hurt.”
“How silly of her,” Oliver teased.
“I thought so, as well.”
“Whatever became of the rabbit?”
Emmeline took a sip of her drink, then said, “My mother wouldn’t let me call the doctor, but she did finally relent and let the grooms keep the rabbit in a box in the stable until it healed.”
“That sounds like a fair compromise.”
“When the rabbit was well again, we released it back into the wild.”
Oliver leaned to the side as a footman placed a dessert plate in front of him. “I think it is admirable what you did for that rabbit.”
“It was a trivial thing,” she replied as she returned the glass to the table.
“I disagree. Most people wouldn’t have even noticed a rabbit in distress.”
“Perhaps, but I have always loved animals,” she said.
Picking up his fork, Oliver asked, “If that is the case, we could always get a dog as a pet.”
Emmeline’s eyes lit up. “Are you in earnest?”
“I am.”
“I would love a dog!” she exclaimed. “I have always wanted one, but my father was adamant that dogs were only meant for hunting.”
He smiled at his wife’s excitement. “Then I shall see to it.”
“Oh, thank you, Oliver,” Emmeline gushed. “You are a wonderful husband.”
“I daresay that you are rather easy to please.”
Emmeline smiled broadly as she glanced down at her plate. “I am too excited to even eat my dessert.”
“That is a shame, since dinner was superb,” he said. “I shall have to give my compliments to the cook.”
“Mrs. Davies is an extraordinary cook.”
Oliver glanced over at the window and noticed that the full moon was bright in the sky. “Would you care to take a walk along the water’s edge?”
“That sounds lovely.”
He pushed back his chair and rose. “I just hope we don’t see a fish in distress,” he joked. “I have no desire to get wet this evening.”
Emmeline laughed as he hoped she would. “One day, you will tire of teasing me.”
“I don’t believe that to be the case,” he replied, extending his hand to her. “It is becoming my favorite thing to do.”
