A Country Affair (25 page)
After the two of them broke apart, Adolf strutted up the corridor into reception and shook himself all over Mr. Featherstonehough, and Perkins did the same to Mungo, then grinned at him and wagged his tail.
Mungo, dressed ready for an evening out, was steaming with temper. “Bert!” he roared. “Bert!”
Mr. Featherstonehough peered cautiously around the door into the back.
“If it weren’t for the fact that you’ve been a faithful client of ours for years, I’d tell you to take that bloody Adolf home and never come back. He’s a menace. An absolute menace. If it hadn’t been for Kate having that bucket ready, heaven alone knows what damage would have been done to Perkins. Have a care in future.”
Mr. Featherstonehough began to smile. Mungo, pausing in his attempt to brush some of the water from his suit, glanced at him and saw the smile. “If I’m about when they have a return match, and there’ll definitely be one because Perkins has a long memory, I’ll . . . I’ll . . .”
“Do what? They’re both as much to blame. Just happens this time Adolf got in there first. That’s Graham calling my name; I’ll go and keep my appointment if you’ll excuse me, for which, I might remind you, I pay you good money.” With great dignity Mr. Featherstonehough took hold of Adolf’s lead and marched to Graham’s consulting room.
Mungo caught Kate’s eye and when he saw her trying hard not to laugh, he succumbed to amusement himself and gave her a broad grin. “Where did you learn that trick, then?”
“The first morning I was here.”
“Well, aim more carefully next time.” Mungo took hold of Perkins’s collar, gave her another grin and disappeared up the stairs. The clients still waiting gave her a round of applause and a mild cheer, so Kate bowed to them all and disappeared into the back to fetch the mop, with a beaming smile on her face.
By Rebecca Shaw
THE BARLEYBRIDGE NOVELS
A Country Affair
Country Wives
Country Lovers
Copyright © 2001 by Rebecca Shaw
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Three Rivers Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Three Rivers Press and the Tugboat design are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Originally published in Great Britain by Orion, London, in 2001.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shaw, Rebecca, 1931–
A country affair / Rebecca Shaw.
p. cm — (A Barleybridge novel)
1. Veterinarians—Fiction. 2. Yorkshire (England)—Fiction. I. Title.
PR6069.H388C68 2006
823'.914—dc22 2005025251
eISBN: 978-0-307-34706-0
v3.0
