“Where do you get these ideas?”
“By watching animals. Have been surrounded by them all my life. They have their ways. Dogs are pack animals.”
“I know that.”
“This one is testing its place. Snarled at me and I knew what it was about. It was a challenge.”
“And you had to answer a challenge from an animal that probably does not weigh as much as your boot?”
“Laugh if you must, but it is important. We are going to have it with us all along the journey and it needs to know that it should do as I say. And as you say, but that will be no trouble. You just became its dam, you know.”
“By pulling it out of the river?”
“Aye. By picking it up when even its animal mind knew it was going to die.”
“Animals understand death?”
“Why not? Animals understand the fight to survive, the need to procreate and protect that issue, the need to fight for what is theirs whether it be their hunting ground or their mate. This little one was fighting hard to survive and yours was the hand that reached out to help. That is something this dog will never, never forget. Me? I just showed up, although it helps. I was there when it knew it was safe again. And there we go. Submission.”
Primrose looked to see that the puppy had her head down, her eye flicking down and to the side as she obviously tried not to look straight into Bened’s who was calmly eating again. “That is it?”
“Aye. That is acknowledgment of the head of the pack. If it was not so exhausted and in the basket, it would probably show me its belly.”
“Oh. Its weakest spot. How do you know all that?”
“Told you. Spent my life around animals and they fascinate me. Studied them a lot. You should take note. This is why you should always be careful about what dogs you look at in the eye. Look at the snout first and only after you know it is safe should you try a look in the eye, and do not stare into the eyes for long unless it quickly shows you that it is a submissive sort.”
“Or what? What happens?”
“The dog could attack. It will think it needs to protect its place as head of the pack.”
“What about cats?” She frowned when he laughed.
“Cats have other cats they tolerate and a tom can get all puffed up and angry around another tom but they are nothing like dogs. They do as they please. You might think you rule, but I doubt that you do. We had cats and some liked me, but I never took much time to study them as I did dogs and horses. Horses need their herd, dogs need their pack, but cats just need a nice sunny place to sleep in as far as I can see. I just knew it could take a much longer time to get even the most basic rules to how cats live. I sometimes think cats live with us because we make their fight for survival easier but not always because they like us.”
She laughed. “You might be right about that but I like cats. Unfortunately, Papa did not. Not in his house.”
Bened silently promised himself that he would ignore any stray cats and, definitely, any kittens he saw along the way. He would do his best to make sure he led Primrose in another direction. It would cause him a pang or two of guilt if the animal was actually in danger but he would do it. There was no doubt in his mind that Primrose would turn them into some kind of traveling Noah’s ark if he was not careful. Her safety had to take precedence.
The ferocity with which he thought that surprised him. He looked at her feeding part of her own meal to the pathetic little animal in the basket and sighed. It showed a good character that she would be so loving to an animal most people would put down as useless. But it was more than that which stirred such a fierce need to keep her safe. He was not sure he wanted to look at the more right now.
She gave out another very delicate sneeze and he frowned. They would be stopping at the first available inn. Sleeping outdoors was safer, giving them more room to get away, but she should not be exposed to the night chill and damp. The way she glanced at him and then rolled her eyes told him she could see his decision on his face and he grinned.
“That look did not make you head of this pack,” she said as she went to put things away into the supply bag. “It was just a giving up of telling you that I am not sick and probably will not get sick. A sneeze is not proof of that.”
“It was a sign of the plague.”
“Oh, for mercy’s sake, I will not come down with the plague.”
“A sneeze is not something to ignore.” He assisted her in securely attaching the basket to the saddle.
“A sneeze is not enough to think I am headed for an early grave, either.”
Bened just laughed as he mounted his horse and started out to find the next village and a warm inn. Grumbling about men, Primrose nudged her horse to follow him.
Chapter Eight