Page 14 of A New Family at Puddleduck Farm (Puddleduck Farm #6)

Phoebe looked at him in surprise. ‘A cat problem? I didn’t even know you had any cats.’

‘Emilia’s got two. Or she did have. That’s the problem.’ He fidgeted. ‘They’ve both disappeared.’

‘Oh, my goodness.’ Mind you, it must be hard to tell if a cat went missing from Beechbrook because they had a huge estate to play on. ‘When you say they’ve gone missing, do you mean from the garden?’

‘I mean from everywhere.’ Archie spread his hands wide. ‘We thought at first they’d probably just wandered off into the grounds and got lost, but we’ve had quite a good look and they’re not there. And it’s been a week,’ he said, pre-empting her next question.

‘That does sound strange. How old were they?’

‘They were kittens. Posh ones. They looked like little tigers. I think they were called Savannahs.’

Phoebe frowned. ‘Yes, I remember Maggie talking about Savannahs not that long ago. Weren’t they originally bred by crossing an African serval cat with a Siamese?’

‘I’m not sure. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they were. They were amazing looking.’

‘So what happened? Had Emilia had them long?’

‘Hardly any time at all. It was about a week after they were allowed out. You know, like, after their first injections. I think she brought them here for those. So you might have seen them.’

He looked hopeful. Phoebe hadn’t seen Emilia for months. Not that this meant anything. Max might have done the vaccinations.

‘I don’t think I did, but I’ve been on maternity leave. I’ve only just gone back to work.’

‘Oh, yeah.’ Archie rested his chin in his hands. ‘It’s weird about the kittens going missing, though, don’t you think? I wanted to check with you if anyone has brought them in, thinking they’re lost.’

‘I’ll check first thing tomorrow. Are they microchipped? We usually scan just in case we have any strays turning up. Especially pedigree strays.’

‘I thought you would say that. Emilia did too. Yes, they are microchipped. So you’d have found out they were ours, I guess.’

‘I think we would, yes. But have you got any pictures of them on your phone? Could you maybe make a poster that we can put up in the surgery? We could put one up in Puddleduck Pets too.’

Archie nodded. ‘That would be good. Thanks. I’ll get Emilia to help me. Although it didn’t help last time.’

‘Last time? Are you saying this has happened before?’

‘Yes, the first two kittens Emilia got disappeared as well. Minka and Charly. Dad got her them for her birthday in February. She’d always wanted Savannah cats and she wanted them to grow up around Chesska.

So he bought them for her. She was really upset when she let them out and they didn’t come back. ’

‘Oh, my goodness. I bet she was. So she’s lost four kittens?’ Phoebe felt a jolt of sympathy for Emilia. They’d not got off on a very good footing when they’d first met, but they’d resolved their differences a while ago and Phoebe had grown to respect the younger woman a lot.

‘Do you think a fox would kill a kitten, Phoebe? That’s what Harrison thought must have happened and he was keen to go and shoot all the foxes on the estate, but Dad wouldn’t let him.

’ He looked worried. ‘I was glad. I don’t like the idea of foxes getting shot. I know it has to happen sometimes but…’

Wow, he was growing up fast. Although Phoebe seemed to remember that Rufus wasn’t keen on foxes being destroyed indiscriminately either. He’d certainly stopped the hunt from crossing his land since his father had died.

‘It’s possible a fox might take one. But Savannahs are bigger than your average kitten. I am so sorry, Archie.’

‘What’s this about foxes?’ Sam came back with their drinks on a tray. He’d brought biscuits too, and he set the tray on the coffee table and sat on the other sofa facing them.

Phoebe told him what had happened, and like Phoebe, he was shocked. ‘Two kittens are possible, but four is very odd. We can definitely get posters up.’

‘And I’ll check with Natasha tomorrow, just in case,’ Phoebe promised.

‘Thanks.’

For a while they talked about how things were going up at the big house.

Emilia was revelling in motherhood by the sound of it.

‘She takes Chesska to Turtle Tots at the pool every Wednesday,’ Archie told them cheerfully.

‘And they go to mother and baby yoga days twice a week too. She says it’s good for development. ’

Phoebe hadn’t got organised enough to do any of that with Lily yet, and she felt a twinge of envy. But then again Emilia didn’t have anything else to do, and she’d had plenty of practice with babies and children, having been a nanny in her former life.

‘She’s sleeping through the night too,’ Archie went on obliviously. ‘Emilia says it’s just a matter of getting into a good routine.’

‘Of course it is. It’s the same with Lily.’ Phoebe had no idea why she felt the need to lie to Archie. But she did. ‘I expect it helps with getting her figure back too,’ she added wistfully.

‘I don’t know. She seems pretty thin to me.’ Archie frowned. ‘You do, too, Phoebe.’

‘Thank you.’ Phoebe flushed, aware that Sam had just shot her a curious look, and, feeling guilty for fishing about how Emilia was getting on – she was regretting that already – she changed the subject.

She told him about the new dog field. ‘It’s for fundraising for the rescue.’

‘Sounds brilliant. Not that Chloe and Spot are ever likely to need a dog field,’ Archie said, ‘when they’ve got the run of Beechbrook. But I’ll definitely pass the word round to any other dog owners I meet.’

‘Thanks, and I’ll check with Natasha about lost kittens.’

‘I’d better get back,’ Archie said.

‘I’ll drop you,’ Sam offered.

* * *

‘That was a nice surprise,’ Phoebe said when Sam got back again from Beechbrook. ‘It does sound odd about those kittens, doesn’t it? I wonder if a fox did take them. What do you think?’

‘I’d have said yes if it was just one, but not two. And even more unlikely as it’s now four. I’m surprised Emilia let the second lot out so soon.’

‘Maybe she thought lightning wouldn’t strike twice.’

‘Yes.’ He looked at her thoughtfully. ‘You know you shouldn’t go comparing yourself with Emilia, honey. They have a completely different life to us.’

‘All the money in the world, you mean.’

‘And a lot more time,’ Sam said gently, and for some reason Phoebe couldn’t fathom, a tear ran down her face.

‘Hey.’ He thumbed it away, before holding her gently by the shoulders. ‘What’s up? Talk to me.’

‘Nothing’s up. I’m being stupid. You’re right. I was comparing myself to Emilia – unfavourably, of course. But like you said, they do have a lot more time than us. They don’t have an animal rescue and Emilia doesn’t have to work full time.’

‘Neither do you. You don’t have to go back as quickly as we’ve planned. I’m fine to carry on at Hendrie’s. We’ll manage financially. We don’t need a lot of money.’

‘Thanks, Sam.’ She hesitated and fumbled for a tissue from a pack on the table and blew her nose. ‘But it’s fine, really it is. I want to go back properly. I don’t think we’re rushing it. And if it turns out that we are, then we can just step back a bit, can’t we? Nothing’s set in stone.’

‘Of course we can. And I can start taking Lily to Turtle Tots if you like when she’s old enough. She won’t miss out. Although I’m drawing the line at going to yoga.’

They both smiled.

‘It’s a deal.’

Beyond the window, a flicker of light caught Phoebe’s attention and she moved across to look out.

In the far distance a shower of coloured stars lit up the night sky.

Thankfully, the firework display was too far away to upset any of the animals on Puddleduck Farm.

They were a long way from the nearest organised firework display, and fireworks were prohibited in the New Forest except between certain hours on key days like 5 November and New Year’s Eve.

It was 6 November today so the legal zone had passed.

Phoebe dropped the curtain. Most people in the forest were very responsible. They were too aware of the dangers to livestock.

* * *

Later, when they were getting ready for bed, Sam’s mind flicked back to that conversation. He’d felt a surge of hope when Phoebe had hesitated about going back to work. Just for a moment he’d thought she might have changed her mind about going back full time.

But he’d realised almost immediately that this wasn’t the case. And of course it made the most sense that it was Phoebe who was full time because she was the main breadwinner.

He’d been tempted to tell her he missed his horse.

He missed giving riding lessons too. Earlier on, he’d dearly wanted to tell Archie that he’d be happy to tutor him again.

He’d had a brief fantasy about them doing some lessons in the donkey field.

Private lessons were lucrative. He wouldn’t even have to pay Brook Riding School now they had their own land.

He could make a far bigger contribution by doing that than working at Hendrie’s, especially if his pa was now helping out there too.

Not that there was a lot of space left for tutoring now, thanks to the dog field. Sam felt sometimes as if he were floundering about in this strange new world of parenthood looking for an exit sign. But every time he thought he saw it, it disappeared again.

Of course he wasn’t looking for an exit sign, he berated himself. He loved Lily and he adored Phoebe. But fatherhood was just so different to what he’d expected. And no matter how hard he tried, he was still occasionally plagued with doubts that he was really up to the job.