Though still warm, it began to drizzle. Robert put the blanket back in the kennel and crawled in after it. He managed to get most of himself inside, only his feet protruding, and in this manner he dozed fitfully till at last Lady Deborah, clad only in her bathroom robe, came down to unchain him. Upstairs, she told him to shower, then took him into her bed. As he lay on his side she curled up against him, her arm around his waist.
“You’ve been a good boy,” she said. “Sleep a little now.”
He awoke much refreshed. Lady Deborah took a bath and had him wash her back and between her legs, then dry her. She put on a negligee, a blue silk one he hadn’t seen before; she seemed to have a virtually unlimited supply of elegant clothes. There was a knock at the door. “Open it,” she told him.
By now
