Page 51 of Escape to the Country

Chapter 16

Unfortunately for Eleanor, the journey went by too quickly and they arrived with the stray dog at The Forge before she had a chance to say anything to Tom about her job.

‘Look, you don’t have to come in,’ she said quickly. ‘I mean, we can handle the dog from here.’

More than anything, she was desperate for him not to see what kind of house she lived in.

But Tom was already shaking his head. ‘No, that’s fine,’ he told her. ‘I feel a kind of responsibility, seeing as he dashed under my car.’

He clearly wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He picked up the dog and struggled to carry it down the path. She noticed that he was still hobbling despite the fact that he didn’t have his crutches with him.

As they reached the front door, Eleanor tried once more to put him off. ‘It’s a bit of a mess in there,’ she warned him.

That was an understatement, she thought, as she pushed against the front door and Tom followed.

A couple of cats watched warily as they went inside, which caused the dog in Tom’s arms to shake even more.

‘Mum!’ she called out. ‘I’ve got another stray for you.’

‘In here!’ came the shout from the kitchen.

As they went into the back of the house, Eleanor’s heart sank. The kitchen was a total muddle. Washing-up was piled in the sink. There was animal feed and water bowls everywhere. Papers and books scattered all around the place. And, to top it all, there was a donkey peering in through the window from the overgrown garden outside.

What must he think of me?thought Eleanor in despair.Of us?

She glanced at Tom, who, to her surprise, appeared to be taking the world’s messiest house in his stride. At least he had the decent manners not to look down his nose at the place. But he was probably used to a fancy penthouse and would be horrified by it all, she thought. To be honest, she was pretty horrified most days.

Her mum smiled at Tom as he was introduced, completely oblivious that he was one of the most famous singers in the world. She was more focussed on the dog as she placed it on the kitchen table to check it over.

Another goal for food hygiene, thought Eleanor in despair, as she looked at the dog’s muddy paws.

But her mum was in her animal zone. ‘Hello,’ she said, stroking his fur gently. ‘So, who do you belong to?’

The dog licked her hand in tentative response.

‘There was no collar,’ said Eleanor.

Her mum nodded. ‘Right. Let’s give you a once-over and see what we find,’ she said, beginning to feel the dog over for any injuries.

‘What kind of dog is it, do you think?’ asked Tom.

‘It’s an English setter,’ said her mum. ‘And in a pretty bad way, I’m afraid. Matted fur. Underfed. I can feel his ribs. Poor thing.’

Watching her mother’s soft face and adoring gaze as she looked on the poor dog, Eleanor braced herself for yet another addition to the home. She glanced over at Tom, but thankfully he appeared to be relaxed about the state of the place.

*

In fact, Tom was actually pretty shocked at how Eleanor’s mother lived.

He’d imagined that she’d been brought up in some kind of footballer’s wives mansion or something. What with her fancy clothes and slightly snooty air. But this rundown cottage filled with all sorts of animals was a surprise. A massive understatement of a surprise.

Appearances could most definitely be deceiving, he reminded himself.

Eleanor had disappeared to change out of her muddy trousers. When she came back downstairs, he noticed that she had fixed the mascara that had run underneath one eye and that her hair was smoothed back into a ponytail. He wondered why she felt the need to look so immaculate all the time.

She was in stark contrast to her mother whose clothes had seen better days. She seemed slightly scatty but was kind and gentle as she felt around the dog’s body. ‘I can’t feel any breaks or ticks,’ she said. ‘You should take him to see Ben to find out if he’s got a microchip.’ She looked up and smiled at Tom and he realised she didn’t have a clue who he was. He was thankful for the anonymity, which was a rarity these days.

‘The vet’s only down the road,’ said Eleanor, looking at Tom. ‘I can deal with it, if you need to be somewhere. We can always call a taxi.’