Chapter Ten
Mr. Knightley had looked everywhere - He had gone back to all the places where Miss Taylor had been and the ones that she had not. He had even gone to the market, the Ford's, Mrs. Goddard's school, the vicarage - no one had seen Miss Woodhouse anywhere. Over the years, Emma had discovered herself many hiding places, but Mr. Knightley had uncovered all of them either through coaxing her or finding them himself. He had gone to all her hiding places, and wracked his brain thinking where else she could be, but everywhere he looked there was not a trace of her. He was beginning to come to the dire conclusion that wherever she might be, she must not be there at her own will! The thought that she was abducted had shaken him so much that he quickly shoved it to the back of his mind. Nevertheless, she had been gone for over five hours now, the possibility of abduction was increasing by the hour; and what if it was not ransom that her abductors wanted… what if they hurt her, took her away from Surrey… what if they sold her to the highest bidder – the daunting thoughts afflicted him, it felt like someone was ripping him apart!
But - to find his friend, he must think rationally and keep calm - Yes - keep calm! He inhaled a deep breath, uncluttered his mind, and resolved: He must look further out in the vicinity and summon the constable for help, and if he must, he would call for peace-officers and magistrates in other regions to search for his friend. But first, he must go back to Donwell to retrieve General, his riding horse, to ride out farther into the night.
When he reached Donwell, the sun was beginning to set. Perhaps, he thought, if he hastened even more, there would still be some light left when he searched further out in the region. He hurried to the stable, but was surprised to find that the door was left ajar – it piqued him, for Joseph would never neglect to latch the stable door. What happened? He wondered. He pushed the door open and walked in; an odd sense that something was amiss came over him.
It was quiet, except for the blowing and snorting noises of the horses. He walked to the stall where General was standing contentedly. The horse nickered as soon as he saw his master coming at him, pleading for tender affection that his master was always very generous to give. But, today, Mr. Knightley had no time nor spirit to oblige his horse; he gave one helpless pat on General's neck as he turned to reach for the saddle – that was when he heard the noise.
Did General make that noise – that soft, weak noise? Impossible! His horse was a robust beast; even his snorting was stronger than that, the noise sounded like the whimper of a puppy, not a beast. He looked around, but the ember light of the setting sun was too weak to light the entire stable, he could not see the stalls at the far end.
He heard the whimper again! It was certainly not coming from his General – he saw his horse nickering at him when the whimper came. It was maddening! He had no time to waste, but whatever it was, he must ascertain that there was not a disaster waiting to happen in the stable. He hushed General and listened carefully. A very soft whimper came again and this time he caught the direction of where it came from. The whimpers lingered and he traced the sound. It came from one of the stalls down at the end of the stable. He walked down the long row of stalls cautiously and very quietly, did not wish the intruder (if there was one) to notice him and fled. Each stall he walked past seemed to make his steps even quieter and heart beat faster. He came to the second to the last stall - it was empty! Very slowly - he proceeded forward.
He grasped his walking stick even tighter and lifted it up preparing to defend himself. One more step and he reached the last stall. Nothing! - could have prepared him for what he saw next.
There SHE was!
The very person he had spent the last three hours searching for, the same person for whom he nearly launched a massive search in the region, the precious friend whom he thought was abducted and would have chased to the end of the earth to find! And – this person happened to be curling up cosily with a golden puppy sleeping like an angel on a bed of hay in his stable!
There was a conglomerate of feelings he could have burst out had Emma not been sleeping sweetly in front of his eyes. Had she been hiding in his stable all these hours? Was this her notion of a game of hide and seek? Outrageous! Unbelievable! Was he mad? Oh No! Furious - He was furious at her! Did she have the slightest inkling of the devastation she had put her father, Miss Taylor… and… and him through? Did she know that he had spent the last three hours searching for her like a mad man, and would have kept searching whatever it would cost him until he found her? And to think that she was abducted by some despicable villain and be lost forever was like plunging his soul into the eternal fire of hell!
Oh, yes! He must let her have a piece of his mind. He would not be deficient in his scolding, and he would lecture her till her face turn purple – he would do that, he promised he would as soon as she awoke!
The gentleman backed away quietly from the stall and began to pace up and down the stable waiting for Emma to awaken. It had been twenty minutes and finally there were sounds of movements. He peered into the stall and saw that the spaniel pup had rolled away from Emma's embrace and stumbled back to the slumbering angel, sniffing and licking at her hand.
Emma was slowly waking up to the wet tickles, she stretched out her back and limbs like a little kitten, and a lazy yawn broke out of her face. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, and when she opened them, her luminous smile beamed, "There you are!" Clasping the golden fur-ball to her cheek, she gave him a tender kiss, all without noticing that her grown-up friend was standing only couple yards away.
Mr. Knightley was preparing himself for the lecture of Emma Woodhouse's fourteen-years-lifetime. His arms crossed vehemently in front of his chest, his lips compressed to a severe arch, and his frown was so harsh that a deep crease was formed between his brows; at any moment he was going to let his mind spilled all over this young lady!
But - when the object of his scolding looked up and saw him, the innocence in her eyes utterly caught him without his guard! Could such mischief have come from the owner of those innocent eyes? Could the person, whom he had known all her life, who loved harmless pranks but with a heart so kind that she would not even step on an ant, capable of conjuring up such atrocious scheme? And when he saw her brilliant, entrancing smile beckoning at him… all he managed to say was...
"I have been looking all over for you for the past three hours, Emma!"
He wondered what happened to his scolding, where his lecture that would turn Emma's face purple had gone! He sighed – perhaps the most important thing was that she was safe and everything else did not signify!
"For the last three hours!" astounded Emma. "Have I slept that long?"
"You have been missing from Hartfield for more than six hours, Emma!"
"Six hours!" She was mortified, her sleepy eyes were no longer sleepy, "Oh no, oh no, oh no! Papa must be worrying sick!" Emma was in a panic, which Mr. Knightley could not help but thought she was well-served.
"Where have you been, Emma? Why were you sleeping in my stable? And where did that puppy come from?" He asked calmly, sitting down on the bed of hay next to his once-was-lost friend.
"It is a very long story, Mr. Knightley..." Emma said guiltily.
"And I have all night to listen, Emma! Miss Taylor said you went for a walk after you returned from the Andertons and you told her that you would not be long. Tell me what happened after you left Hartfield, how could a short walk last six hours long?" Mr. Knightley folded his arms, fully expecting a satisfactory explanation (or anything less would not do!) from his ever amusing friend.
"Ah... actually... it was not a simple walk, Mr. Knightley..."
"That - I reckoned," Mr. Knightley nodded patiently, "Go on."
Emma took a deep breath before she began. "After I left Hartfield, I went back to the Andertons" she saw the quizzical frown on Mr. Knightley and hurried, "you see, Mr. Knightley... I had to go back to fetch the puppy" she pointed at the spaniel on her lap, "that I bought from Agnes."
"Who is Agnes?" asked Mr. Knightley.
"She is the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Anderton."
"Why did she sell her puppy to you?"
"No, the puppy was not hers. Agnes found it in the field this morning."
"Did she endeavour to seek the owner of the pup?" Mr. Knightley questioned.
"I do not know, but even if she did, it would have been no use!"
"Why so?"
"Because the puppy was abandoned, Mr. Knightley, he is blind, his owner did not want him!" Emma said softly, feeling sad for the puppy. Mr. Knightley reached a hand for the spaniel and held his small head still gently to examine his blue-tinged eyes. He concurred.
"Why did Agnes not keep the puppy to herself?" asked Mr. Knightley, in a serious tone.
"Her Papa would not let her!" Emma was taken aback by the dryness in his voice.
"And she wished to sell the blind puppy to you instead?" Mr. Knightley looked sceptical.
"No, Agnes wished to give the puppy to me!" Emma said ardently, making sure the truth was told.
"But you said you bought it from her."
"Yes, I did!"
"How much did you pay for the puppy, Emma?" Mr. Knightley thought something was amiss, he hoped not much was swindled out of his very trusting friend.
"Two guineas," Emma replied simply.
"Two guineas!" Mr. Knightley cried indignantly, "Emma, I fear that you have been defrauded!"
Emma looked bewilderedly at him, but then suddenly realized Mr. Knightley had completely misunderstood her tale.
"No, oh no! Mr. Knightley, pray do not think ill of Agnes. She was the honest one in the tale; it was me who was the contrived one!"
He narrowed his eyes at her, waiting for an explanation.
"You see, Mr. Knightley, Agnes did not wish the puppy to die, surely he could not have survived on his own out in the field, so she brought the puppy home. But the Andertons are poor, they barely have enough food for themselves, Agnes could never have kept the puppy. And that was why she wished to give the puppy to me. And Mr. Anderton dislikes charity, if not because of his new infant daughter, he would have never accepted anything from anyone, particularly money!"
Mr. Knightley could now see where her story was going; he was silently pleased.
"So I contrived a scheme which I insisted on buying the puppy from her. Agnes did not even wish for a single farthing, but I insisted on giving her the guineas or I would leave without the puppy. You see, Mr. Knightley, by buying the puppy I was able to give a little help to the family, and as this was a business transaction, I doubted that Mr. Anderton would disapprove!"
"A business transaction?" Mr. Knightley raised an amused eyebrow, stifling his laughs.
"Of course!" lifting her chin and looking the other way, the young lady was annoyed by the gentleman.
"Ahem," the gentleman cleared his throat, "My apology. Yes it was a business transaction," nodding approvingly, "one that was very well done indeed! That was very clever and kind of you, Emma!"
Emma's annoyance was gone, but she looked up at Mr. Knightley and lamented, "Unfortunately, I have myself a dilemma now!"
"You cannot take the puppy home!" Mr. Knightley inferred.
"No, I cannot! Papa would never approve of having a puppy in the house. But Mr. Knightley, Wobble..."
"Wobble?" The name amused him so much that he interrupted Emma abruptly. "I always find the names you give your animal friends amusing. Pray tell me, why the name?"
Emma's face lit up and a giggle slipped out of her. She placed the puppy on the ground to let him stand. The spaniel was so young that his legs were still feeble, and no matter how much the little golden pup tried, he kept sliding and tumbling flat on his furry stomach. But when the puppy did finally manage to stand and took a step or two, the little creature shook and wobbled before tumbling down in the most endearing way!
"Is not he adorable, Mr. Knightley?" Emma asked brightly and Mr. Knightley smiled warmly to agree.
"As I was saying" Emma continued, "Wobble is blind; he cannot defend himself, not just yet. He cannot stay outside on his own, foxes and wolves will snatch him away! Besides, he is so young, he needs his mama... or someone like his mama to take care of him..."
"So you came to Donwell… because…" Mr. Knightley patiently prompted.
"Because..." Emma was abashed, looking at Mr. Knightley through her lashes, "because... I thought … ah… I thought... you might be… willing to take Wobble in, Mr. Knightley!"
Mr. Knightley's mouth quirked, "I wonder why that did not surprise me!"
Emma smiled sheepishly up at him. "Will you, Mr. Knightley? Will you take Wobble?" She put her own hazel puppy eyes to work.
Mr. Knightley was quiet, which made Emma very nervous – what if he said no, then where could she take Wobble?
Now it was time to put Wobble to work – Emma lifted him off her lap and held him up close to Mr. Knightley's face. The little furry sniffed at the gentleman for a brief moment, then immediately attached his tiny slippery tongue to the gentleman's face and gave him some very serious affectionate tickles.
Mr. Knightley chuckled and let the puppy tasted his face thoroughly. Removing the pup from his face and Emma's hand, he let the little warm fuzzy lay in his lap.
"He likes you, Mr. Knightley! Wobble likes you! Would you pray take him, Mr. Knightley, would you?"
"You know, Emma," Mr. Knightley said, running his fingers through the fine coat of the spaniel, "you said Wobble needed his mama, or someone like his mama, but Donwell is a bachelor estate," repressing his smile, "are you certain that this is where you wish him to be?"
"To be sure!" The fourteen-year-old was radiant. "I cannot think of a better home for Wobble, Mr. Knightley. I promise I shall come to Donwell everyday to take care of him, to play with him, and to teach him tricks!"
"What do you know about teaching dog tricks, Emma?" Mr. Knightley was amused.
"Of course I know! I used to watch you teach Bull's Eye commands." Emma lowered her voice imitating from memory, "Sit, Bull's Eye or Steady, Bull's Eye or Down, Boy!"
Mr. Knightley laughed, "How could you remember all that? You were barely three when I taught him those commands!"
"Oh, I remember everything, Mr. Knightley! I loved Bull's Eye, he was my friend as much as he was yours; I still remember the great joy I had playing with him and riding on him every time I came!"
"Hum," Mr. Knightley reflected fondly, "Bull's Eye was a great friend!"
His mind wandered off to the image of his Harlequin Great Dane. Bull's Eye was Mr. Knightley's friend, companion, and faithful servant, from the day he was born till the day his health failed him. He used to follow his master everywhere, from every corner at Donwell Abbey, every walk, every wild run and hunting expedition, to every tenant visit and stroll in the fields examining crops. While William Larkins was known as Mr. Knightley's right-hand man, Bull's Eye was the Donwell Master's left-hand guard. The Great Dane loved children, and like many of his human counterparts, little Emma was his favourite of all. Though he stood taller and larger than most children, the hound was a gentle giant at heart. Little Emma had always insisted that Bull's Eye was her horse (not a pony or a dog!) boarding at Donwell. She used to insist on riding him around the estate whenever she visited, and the giant would let her willingly and be delighted at her service. He would wrestle with the happy child, be mindful of not crushing her with his powerful jaw or robust frame, and he would lick the precious child with his slobbery tongue till she giggled silly. And when the bundle of joy was exhausted and fell asleep on a whim, Bull's Eye would lay down quietly next to the sweet little angel to keep her company and guard her with his life - much like his own master would do for the very child!
Emma noticed Mr. Knightley's absorbed countenance. She laid her hand on his arm gently and asked, "Do you miss Bull's Eye, Mr. Knightley?"
Mr. Knightley nodded slowly. "Yes... I do..."
"I do, too..." Emma looked Mr. Knightley in the eyes sincerely, "do you think Wobble could be your friend... like Bull's Eye used to be... and keep you company at Donwell?"
Mr. Knightley's contemplative face broke into a delightful smile, "I think that could be arranged."
Emma smiled luminously!
"But," he looked mischievously at her, "you cannot ride on him like you used to with Bull's Eye!"
She wrinkled her nose at him. "I think I have grown a little too big to even ride on a Great Dane, Mr. Knightley!" She said saucily, "Perhaps I shall let Wobble ride on me instead!"
"Humph – that would be an amusing sight, would not it?" Mr. Knightley chuckled.
"Very well," the gentleman handed Wobble back to Emma and stood up. "I'd better take you back to Hartfield before your father thinks I have abducted you!"
Emma looked at him quizzically.
"I told Miss Taylor to tell your father that you were at Donwell – while – I was looking for you like a mad man!"
Emma blushed guiltily.
"Come," Mr. Knightley reached his hand to help Emma up from the hay.
"Owwww!" Emma cried out in pain.
"What is the matter, Emma?" Her scream shocked him to a start. He knelt down immediately to look at the ankle that her hands were rubbing.
Her face turned pale as the sharp pain was too much to bear. She pulled the hem of her dress a little above her ankle for Mr. Knightley to have a better look at the source of her pain. Even under her silk stocking, the swelling and black and blue bruises were prominently displayed. She screamed, "It hurts... Mr. Knightley... it hurts!" even at his gentlest touch.
"Dear Emma! What happened? How did you hurt yourself so badly?" Mr. Knightley asked earnestly.
"I have not finished my story, Mr. Knightley..." Holding back her tears of pain, Emma continued her tale, "Wobble was thirsty when we came near Donwell. So we came into the stable to let him have some water from the trough. Then we played for a while in here until we both became fatigue. I thought we would take a small rest before we'd go to the Abbey. I was distracted by Wobble and tripped over the rake." She pointed at the rake lying near the bed of hay. "I fell, could not move... I must have fallen asleep while waiting for someone to come to the stable!"
"Ah! That was why you were sleeping when I saw you!"
Emma nodded sheepishly.
"Humph – in that case, I shall take you back to Hartfield on horseback."
"Can we take Wobble to the Abbey first? He must be hungry by now!"
"Very well. We shall take him to Mrs. Hodges and she will take great care of him for you."
Mr. Knightley went off to saddle General, who was snorting, nickering and getting all excited at his master.
"Ah..." Emma called out. Mr. Knightley turned to look at her curiously.
"Could we ride on Lady Dupree instead?" the young lady made her request to the gentleman, who was wondering what was wrong with his magnificent horse.
Emma read Mr. Knightley's mind, and she explained, "Lady Dupree is sweeter, Mr. Knightley. General is so spirited that last time my stomach nearly turned inside out when you insisted that I rode on him!"
"Fine, Emma!" The gentleman shook his head in amazement and then turned and shrugged at his horse, "Sorry, General! No outing tonight. The young lady" inclining his head toward Emma "wants to ride on your sweetheart instead!" Mr. Knightley rolled his eyes at Emma, only to be returned with a smile that was as saucy as it was brilliant.
Once Lady Dupree was saddled, the gentleman came to the young lady and asked reverently, "Do I have your permission to carry you to the horse, Emma?"
Emma smiled up at Mr. Knightley most satisfactorily - ever since her 'Cattle Breeding Lesson', she had enjoyed being treated like a lady rather than a child by her grown-up friend. "Yes, you do!"
With much care, Mr. Knightley lifted Emma, with Wobble in her arms, off the ground placing her on Lady Dupree, and led the horse and her passengers out of the stable. He then mounted the mare placing himself behind his precious cargos; together they rode off to the Abbey and to Hartfield.