Leeds had to go on an errand, but he'll be back soon. I'm Annabel Frey. She came to me and offered a hand, and I took it.

This was my first check on an item of information furnished us by Mrs Rackham, and I gave her an A for accuracy. She had said that her daughter-in-law was very beautiful. Some might have been inclined to argue it, for instance those who don't like eyes so far apart or those who prefer pink skin to dark, but I'm not so finicky about details. The man stepped up, and she pronounced his name,

Hammond, and we shook. He was a stocky middle-aged specimen in a bright blue shirt, a tan jacket, and grey slacks-a hell of a combination. I was wearing a mixed tweeds made by Fradic, with an off-white shirt and a maroon tie.

Til sit in my car, I told them, “to wait for Mr Leeds. With the livestock around loose like that.

She laughed. “Duke isn't loose, he's with me. He wouldn't have touched you. He would have stopped three paces off, springing distance, and waited for me. Don't you like dogs?

“It depends on the dog. You might as well ask if I like lemon pie. With a dog who thinks of space between him and me only in terms of springing distance, my attitude is strictly one of trepidant vigilance.

“My Lord. She blinked long lashes over dark blue eyes. “Do you always talk like that? The eyes went to Hammond. “Did you get that, Dana?

“I quite agree with him, Hammond declared, “as you know. I'm not afraid to say so, either, because it shows the lengths I'll go to, to be with you. When you opened his kennel and he leaped out I could feel my hair standing up.

“I know, Annabel Frey said scornfully. “Duke knows too. I guess I'd better put him in. She left us, speaking to the dog, who abandoned his pose and trotted to her, and they disappeared around a corner of the building. There was a similarity in the movements of the two, muscular and sure and quick, but sort of nervous and dainty.