Free Ondine by Ebony McKenna

family. Especially Vincent. He’s got it in fer us.’
    Ondine dropped the soap, ‘Lord Vincent? But he was here with his friends and they had a great time.’ She blushed furiously at the memory. The wrist he’d kissed now propped up the black ferret in the basin. He leant against it for support, and she could feel his small heart hammering away.
    â€˜He was here? Then it’s worse than I thought. Stay away from them, Ondi, they’re bad news. They’re the ones setting the halth inspecta on to us. They want to close us down. I don’t know why yet, but they’ve got it in fer us.’
    Ondine retrieved the soap and scrubbed Shambles’s furry back. Time to change the subject.
    â€˜Shambles, before you became a ferret, how did you like to do your hair?’ He’d look so cute with a big curl on his forehead.
    â€˜Eh? I dunno, lass, I jest brushed it. Why d’ye ask?’
    â€˜Just wondering,’ she said, wondering how he might have done his hair, wondering what colour it had been, wondering whether he was as handsome as LordVincent. ‘I mean, was it really long so you had to tie it back or did you cut it short?’
    â€˜Short like Lord Vincent’s?’
    â€˜Yeah,’ she said before thinking.
    â€˜Aha! So you’re thinking of him while you’re bathing me, eh lass?’
    Mercury’s wings!
‘No, it’s not like that.’
    â€˜Really now?’
    â€˜Shambles, please. I was actually wondering what
you
looked like.’
    â€˜And why might that be? So ye can compare me to Vincent?’
    Yes
. ‘No, not like that. Just that it would be nice if I knew who I was talking to.’
    â€˜All right. I used to be fit, like. I had short hair, and all the bits of my face were where they’re s’posed to be.’
    The description helped. A bit. ‘You’re lucky I didn’t know who you really were, otherwise I might have left you at Psychic Summercamp.’
    A stray thought came unbidden – thank goodness she’d come home early from Summercamp, otherwisewho knows what might have happened. 28
    After she finished washing and drying him, and he looked and smelled like a proper clean ferret should, she made for the dining room and got to work. She carried chairs and tables out to the rear garden – as soon as guests vacated them – so she could scrub them down in daylight. It was impressive how quickly guests chose to leave the premises once you removed their capacity to sit down.
    Shambles ducked under a chair.
    â€˜What are you doing?’ Ondine asked.
    â€˜Gnawing awf thae gobs of chewing gum,’ hereplied, sounding like he had a mouth full of the goo already. ‘Folks have such filthy habits.’
    In the harsh light of day, the timber furniture looked hideous. Many pieces were scratched and dented and some refused to stop wobbling. They looked shoddy.
    â€˜Let’s do some sorting,’ Shambles said. ‘The worst of them go by the back shed. We’ll take the wee stoppers off the feet and use them on the good stuff.’
    â€˜Good idea, Shambles.’
    â€˜Aw, thanks, lass. It’s nice to feel useful.’
    Ondine beamed at the compliment. ‘So, you haven’t filled me in on where you’ve been. Care to elaborate?’
    â€˜I was fair traumatised by the whole thing. I woke up in the Duke’s place. Big and echoey and full of people wearing stompy boots. If I ever go back there, it will be too soon. I found a place to hide and waited for the Duke to return. He did, with Vincent, and all the time I was there, Vincent was saying how they needed to close this place down.’
    â€˜But . . . that doesn’t make sense. If they hated it, why didn’t they say something when they were here?’
    â€˜I don’t know what their motives are either, lass, butI know what I heard, and it was Vincent leading the charge. Hey, how come every time I say