Free Different Tides by Janet Woods

waiting.’
    ‘I think not, Mrs Mason. We’d best get on before the children burst out of their skins.’
    The woman filled a bowl with warm water and picked up a clean cloth. ‘We’ll wash those hands and faces before you see the pups lest you get dog hairs stuck to them. I’ve put two aside that I thought might suit. They’re the smallest of the litter and just the thing for young children … But that’s not to say that they’re not strong and lively.’
    Edward reached for Clementine’s hand and clung to it with a sticky tightness. He wasn’t ready to trust strangers. ‘I’ll wash their hands, Mrs Mason,’ she said. ‘Perhaps you could fetch the pups in.’
    The dogs were plump little creatures, with pointed ears and soulful faces. The brown one had white socks and a matching patch on its back. It immediately pounced on Iris, full of energy.
    ‘It looks as though that one’s chosen you,’ Zachariah said.
    Iris began to giggle as she fought a losing battle with her pup trying to lick her face. She tickled its belly.
    The second one was black and wiry-haired, and one of his ears flopped. ‘He has long legs so I do reckon he’s going to be a gangly dog that can run like the wind.’
    The pup gave growling yaps when Edward picked him up, but it was all for show because its thin tail wagged furiously.
    Clementine exchanged a smile with Zachariah at the sound of laughter coming from the children.
    ‘My dog smiles so I’m going to call him Happy,’ Iris said. ‘What will you call yours, Edward?’
    Still absorbed with his puppy, Edward gazed at it, his head to one side, his expression contemplative. It was a look he’d adopted from Zachariah. The boy was going to miss his uncle when he returned to London.
    ‘Well?’ Iris said.
    ‘Shush, Iris. I’m thinking.’
    ‘You spoke,’ she said.
    He gazed round him, gave a secretive little grin and lowered his voice. ‘Of course I did … how else can I call my dog to heel? I’m going to teach him to bite Jonas.’
    Iris gasped. ‘You’re not to say that name in case the orphanage comes to take us away … remember?’
    Fear came into Edward’s eyes. ‘I forgot. I’ll call him Wolf because he looks fierce.’ He placed the dog on the floor a few inches from his feet and crouched, his hands held out. ‘Here, Wolf … come.’
    The pup wobbled along for a few steps and flopped on to Edward’s feet. ‘See, it’s easy. They can’t hear me from where they are.’
    ‘Who can’t hear you?’ Zachariah asked him. ‘Who is Jonas?’
    Edward’s voice was a murmur as he answered, ‘Nobody.’
    Iris said, ‘How did you make Wolf do that?’
    Edward gave a modest shrug.
    Determined not to be outdone, Iris copied him. ‘Come to me, Happy.’
    Happy rolled over on his back and waved his legs in the air.
    When Zachariah exchanged a smile with her, Clementine realized how clever he’d been by finding a practical method to trick Edward out of his state of solitude. First the mind-reading trick, then a gift that demanded he use his voice … and all done so casually. She wondered if Zachariah had noticed the exchange about the name. Of course he had; he didn’t miss much.
    ‘I should congratulate you for helping Edward to find his voice,’ she said, when he escorted her to the carriage. ‘Was it planned?’
    ‘The dog was. The mind-reading … well, let’s call it a gift.’
    She laughed.
    ‘You don’t believe me?’ He placed a hand on her forehead and gazed into her eyes. ‘Think of something.’
    She tried to but could only think how blue and guarded his eyes were and wondered why the wry twist to his mouth was just one-sided. Her breath seemed to leave her body as her glance was suddenly absorbed into his, as if a window had opened and invisible forces had pulled her through it. Her mouth tingled and she wished he’d kiss her, though she knew he wouldn’t. She wondered desperately what it would feel like if he did.
    Panic filled her and she