Page 42 of To Bed the Bride
Chapter Seventeen
Eleanor was up before the rest of the household, so she was able to take Bruce out, then grab a quick breakfast before dressing. She and Bruce slipped out of the house via the servants’ stairs, heading for Queen’s Park.
It was early, too early to expect Logan to be there. That’s what she told herself when she entered the wrought iron gate and closed it behind her. They walked a little farther than their normal route, heading for a more populated area. They only encountered one couple walking arm in arm and two men on horseback.
The day was a brisk one, with an icy tinge to the breeze. She’d only worn a shawl this morning, but she didn’t return to the house for her coat. The cold was all she smelled. Gone was the lingering scent of late-blooming flowers or even the dust stirred up by the horses.
Bruce investigated an insect, caught a twig, and barked at the wind stirring up falling leaves.
She found a bench alongside one of the paths, sat, and went through Bruce’s training. He didn’t seem ready to listen, but the lure of the liver finally convinced him to demonstrate what he’d learned.
An hour passed and there wasn’t a sign of Logan. She was foolish to be disappointed and even sillier to be here at all. Her nose felt as if it would be permanently cold, and her fingers were getting numb.
She’d told Logan about Queen’s Park only because it was important that they meet. She needed to ensure he knew two things, namely that she was engaged to be married. He shouldn’t single her out in any way should they happen to meet in the future.
Second, she wanted his word that he wouldn’t say anything about what had happened in Scotland. She didn’t want to have to explain her momentary lapse in judgment to anyone. Besides, she already had more than enough complications in her life.
One of them was trying to chew on the toe of her shoe right now.
She pulled back her foot and tried to interest Bruce in a twig instead.
Bruce was no longer a fluffy little ball of fur. The shape of his face was changing. His nose was elongating and he was acquiring an impressive amount of very sharp teeth. In a matter of months he would be nearly the size of Peter and Paul, the dogs that had guarded the sheep. Even now he had some behaviors that confused her until she realized that one of his parents must have been a herding dog. He would sometimes circle her as if trying to move her in a certain direction.
If Logan had shown up she was going to ask him about Bruce’s parents. He didn’t look exactly like Peter or Paul, but she suspected that he was still part border collie.
She stood, calling out to Bruce, and gently tugging on the end of the lead.
“We might as well leave, Bruce.”
When the puppy returned to her side, she bent down and petted him from his pointy ears to his fluffy tail.
“It’s silly to be disappointed, isn’t it?”
Michael was her fiancé. She should keep that thought uppermost in her mind. Anything she felt for Logan McKnight, be it curiosity or compassion, should be squashed immediately. As should the memory of his kiss.
Up until then Michael was the only man who had ever kissed her. He’d done so almost like a brand, as if to say, “There, you’re mine.”
Logan’s kiss, on the other hand, had been light and quick, almost teasing.
She’d spent entirely too much time last night thinking about him, putting everything she’d learned about Logan into place, like he was a puzzle she was solving.
Bruce strained on the lead.
“We’ll come back, I promise,” she said. “You can investigate whatever you’re interested in later.”
It was no use. He was pulling and he never did that. Even worse, he twisted his head back and forth. She didn’t realize what he was doing until the lead completely slipped off. In a flash Bruce was running.
“Come back!”
She grabbed her skirt with both hands, grateful that she’d worn one of her older dresses this morning. She hadn’t needed more than two petticoats with it. Nor did it require a bustle.
She made it across the road and saw Bruce jumping up excitedly on Logan’s pant legs. She stopped where she was, watching as he bent and corrected the puppy.
“Down. Sit.”
To her amazement Bruce did exactly that. But his tail still wagged so fiercely that it shook his entire body.
A minute later Logan looked over to see her. “You need to stop him from doing that. One of these days he’ll be capable of knocking someone down.”
