Chapter 12
A flagstone path bordered by woods on the right led to the stables. Tae walked along, admiring the splendid vista of rolling, clipped lawns and a lavish garden on his left, when a sudden movement a few yards away on his right made him stop and stare. At the perimeter of the woods, a huge gray animal was foraging about in what appeared to be a small compost pile. The animal caught his scent and raised its head, its feral gaze locking with his, and Tae's blood froze. Wolf! His mind screamed.
Paralyzed in terror, he stood rooted to the spot, afraid to move or make a sound, while his benumbed brain registered haphazard facts about the terrifying beast. The wolf's heavy gray coat was mangy-looking and thick, but not thick enough to hide its protruding ribs; it had terribly large jaws; its eyes were fierce... Judging from the animal's grotesque gauntness, it appeared to be nearly starved to death. Which meant it would attack and eat anything it could catch - including himself. Tae took a tiny cautious step backward toward the safety of the house.
The animal snarled, its upper lip curling back, baring a set of huge white fangs to his view. Tae reacted automatically, hurling his apples and carrots to him in a desperate effort to distract him from his obvious intention of eating him. Instead of pouncing on the 'missiles' he'd thrown at him, as he expected him to, the animal jerked away from its garden feast and bolted into the woods with its tail between its legs. Tae spun on his heel and raced into the house via the nearest back door, then ran to a window and peeked out at the woods. The wolf was standing just inside the perimeter of the trees, hungrily staring at the compost pile.
footman
"Is something wrong Sir ?" a footman asked, coming up behind him on his way toward the kitchen
Taehyung
"I saw an animal," Tae said breathlessly.
Taehyung
"I think it was a-"
He watched as the gray beast trotted stealthily back to the garden and gobbled the apples and carrots; then it ran back into the woods, its bushy tail still between its legs. The animal was frightened! He realized. And starved.
Taehyung
"Do you have any dogs around here?" he asked
suddenly wondering if he'd been about to make a mistake that would make him appear exceedingly foolish.
footman
"Yes, Sir - several of 'em."
Taehyung
"Are any of them big, thin, and black and gray in color?"
footman
"That'd be his lordship's old dog, Willie," he said.
footman
"He's always around here, begging for something to eat. He ain't mean, if that's worryin' you. Did you see him?"
Growing angry as he remembered how the starved creature had been gobbling spoiled vegetables from the compost pile as if they were beefsteaks.
Taehyung
"And he's nearly starved. Someone ought to feed the poor thing."
footman
"Willie always acts like he's starved," the footman replied with complete indifference.
footman
"His lordship says if he eats any more, he'll be too fat to walk."
Taehyung
"If he eats any less, he'll be too weak to live," Tae retorted angrily.
He could perfectly imagine that heartless man starving his own dog. How pathetic the animal looked with his ribs sticking out like that - how gruesome! He went back to the kitchen and requested another apple, some carrots and a plate of table scraps.
Despite his sympathy, Tae had to fight down his fear of the animal as he neared the compost pile and spotted the dog watching him from his hiding place just inside the woods. It was a dog, not a wolf, he could see that now. Remembering the footman's assurance that the dog wasn't vicious, Tae walked close to him as he dared and held out the plate of scraps.
Taehyung
"here, Willie," He said softly.
Taehyung
"I've brought you some good food".
Timidly, he took another step forward. Willie laid his ears back and bared his ivory fangs at him, and Tae lost his courage. He put the plate down and fled toward the stables.
Tae dined with Seojoon that night, and since your grace Jungkook was again absent, the meal was delightful; but when it was over and Seojoon retired, he again found himself with time on his hands. Other than his trip to the stables and his adventure with Willie, he had done nothing today except wander aimlessly around with nothing to do. Tomorrow, he decided happily, he would go to work. He was used to being busy and he desperately needed something more to fill his empty hours. He hadn't mentioned to Seojoon his intention of earning his keep, but he was certain that when he found out, he would be relieved that he was carrying his own weight and sparing him future tongue-lashings from his ill-tempered nephew.
He went up to his room and spent the rest of the evening trying to write a cheerful, optimistic letter to Sunoo.
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