Sheepdog's Excerpt from Forever Shales

 (This 472 page historical novel was written for grown-ups, even though it is about a dog. Shales tells his life's story and that of his Victorian family between the years 1879 and 1901)

Introduction to partway through chapter 3: Shales, a Border collie, attends a Victorian garden party.

A little further off to the side was another group of gentlemen. Their talk was about horses and gambling. A strong smell of liquor pervaded the air about them. This strange smell was not new to me, but I wondered if it was responsible for making them act so silly. They had laid on a bet: would Thomas and Algernon return, sober or not, and as well, would they return at all, before dawn? They guffawed loudly; their laughter was in half-sober tones. Shivers went down my spine, as I was momentarily taken by surprise by their lewd behaviour – it was ungentlemanly. They reminded me of Toothless George, when on Sunday nights he eagerly attacked his small bottle of rum, which he received as part of his wages. Sunday nights were a good night to keep quiet in the kennel and not rouse George’s wrath, which was wont to strike out at any moving animal, and with little cause.
     The gentleman who liked to take photographs noticed me, and spoke kindly to me. It is only now, years later as I tell you this, that I realise he had had a camera with him, and that he took my picture – without Jessie, as she was nowhere to be found. I recognised him right away as being a visitor to our farm. He was my master’s brother, Herbert. He was another one who lived in that far-off place called London. Herbert Bowyer seemed pleased to see me, and spent a lot of time getting me to sit or stand without moving. He was a very handsome man, with dark, short-clipped hair and longish sideburns, and like his oldest brother Rowland, looked fit and tanned from the summer’s sun.
    I liked him; he was genuine.
    I began to feel more comfortable amongst these people. Rowland didn’t seem to mind if I moved about on my own, so I continued to trot about the estate and mingle at leisure. I soon found the doorway to the kitchen. It was situated at the rear of the residence; that, which was built of black beams and plaster, and it being Tudor-like, unlike the front and the newer south wing, both of which were brick. There, in the kitchen, I found the cook. Bless her! She was nice and friendly, and she fed me some meat and vegetables with gravy. It had been freshly cooked and flavoured with herbs, and it was much better than anything George ever fed to Toby and me.
     On a full stomach, I then trotted off to the large parterre garden and found some ladies at the far end, seated around a lace-covered table. It hadn’t yet got dark, so they were enjoying the last of the warm evening sunshine, filtered through the trees’ leaves lest they should burn their pale skin, though the sunlight was diminishing quickly and the shadows had begun to lengthen. Behind them, another very large pasture, Church Field, created a gentle backdrop. The ladies welcomed me with much affection, and served me tea and cakes. I had never had tea before, and I readily lapped it up out of a delicate china teacup. The tea was tasty and it slaked my thirst, and from that day onwards I had a taste for it.

      “Shame, isn’t it?” said an elderly lady with greying hair.

     “What is that, Emily?” asked another elderly lady, seated at the same table.

     “The dogs. I’m talking about dogs. The men always want them to be kept outside or in the stables, but we women would like to have one in the house as a faithful companion. Isn’t that correct, Anne?” said Emily.

     “Dear Emily, I agree with you wholeheartedly, but men always take charge. What do we really do? What influences do we have in our own homes, other than telling the cook what to prepare for our meals?” replied another lady, named Julia. She was much younger than the greying Emily.

     “Oh... Please let us talk about something else,” said Jane impatiently.

     I knew who Jane was, because she visited Mildred at our farm all the time. Their husbands were brothers.

     Emily fanned her face with rapid movements of her wrist, looked at Jane, and responded wisely, “If you haven’t discovered this by now, then you soon shall. Your William may be my nephew, but he is still a man. I’m sure we can all agree around this table, that all men don’t like women to get the better of them, even when it comes to having a dog or a cat as a pet. I have noticed you don’t yet have a dog as a house pet, nor a cat. I remember you saying, just last year, that you were going to get a cat and keep it as a pet. Every time you have mentioned it William has changed the subject, and now you don’t even bother about it. You haven’t mentioned it in months.”    

      I ran up to Emily in excitement and sniffed her fan – it was just a fan and not a bird of prey. My immediate interest in it waned. She reached out to stroke me with her free hand. “Well, hello there.You must be Rowland’s dog, Shales,” she said affectionately. She offered her fan for me to sniff. “It’s just a fan; it isn’t a bird,” she said humorously. Her hand lingered; she continued to caress my ears.

     “William says they make him sneeze,” answered Jane petulantly.

     “You need to be more cunning,” replied Emily, as she once again fanned her face with vigour. “And they don’t make him sneeze! He’s my nephew. I ought to know.”

     The ladies’ various conversations carried on and on. They were mostly about subjects I had no knowledge of. It had been a champion day, so interesting and entertaining. I had become exhausted from all the activity and I wondered when it would be time to return home to the kennels. I was also very full. Full to the beam, and I didn’t think I could eat another morsel of food without bursting at the seams. The sweetness of the cakes had settled a bit heavily on my stomach – I desired, yet again, another nap.

Eventually, it became dark, and everyone went inside the large house, and a short while later the servants came outside and cleared away the remains of the food and clutter. There were discarded plates and wine glasses everywhere, placed upon tables, chairs, or on the grass by the partygoers – wherever the opportunity had arisen. I had woken up feeling better, my stomach having settled, so once again I sought out the aromas of the party food. I searched for the discarded plates and glasses in a mad dash to get to them before the servants could whisk them away. They were mostly clean though, as I had already gone round and made sure no food was left on them. Their smooth surfaces gleamed from my washing up – clean enough to put back in the cupboard. There had been no sign of rain, but even so, the servants had removed all the tables, chairs, and umbrellas to the safety of a building near to the stables. I followed them about as they tidied up, merely out of interest.
     Afterwards I sat down upon the soft grass beneath an ancient tree, just across from the main entrance to the house, and waited patiently for my master and mistress to emerge. Still, I felt so full that I could barely move. I’d had what I considered to be a very busy and exhausting day. My brain was nearly filled to bursting point with the knowledge of new experiences, and my stomach felt overstretched from my culinary indulgences. The sounds of music and laughter poured out into the night, and through the large windows I could see people dancing within the bright, candle-lit interior of the house.
     Shortly later, our carriage appeared, driven by Jenkins. Its lamps cast a golden glow upon the pink gravel as it was driven out from the stable yard and around to the front of the house, alerting me to the fact that we would be leaving before very long. I continued to wait in anticipation, not wanting to be left behind.
     After some time they emerged into the warm night air, and my master whistled for me. Mildred spoke excitedly as she walked from the house to the waiting carriage. Her voice carried upon the night air and the smooth gravel crunched noisily beneath their feet. I ran up to them in greeting, and they were pleased to see me. It was a lovely summer’s night, and both warm and light; lit from the moon and stars in a silvery glow that happens only in the countryside.
     Thomas and Algernon had not returned by the time we left. I heard my master telling Mildred that more bets had been wagered as to the time of day or night they would return. As our carriage made its way back to our farm upon the lonely, narrow highway, she spoke to her husband in a quiet but serious tone, “They are not boys any longer; even Algernon has grown out of boyhood, and I think his father should send him off to some place such as the army. It will do the boy some good.” My master nodded in agreement, but before he could say anything of importance, she continued, "As for Thomas, well, he is not yet of age, but he is so charming and handsome, that it is as if he has already had all the experiences of life.”
     I listened to their words, not fully understanding their meanings, nor knowing anything about whom they were talking. I simply wanted to soak up every word I had listened to, like a sponge, and file it away for future use.
     Rowland knew his younger cousins well. “They’re both full of life, the two of them. Even if I were a bit younger, I don’t think I could keep up with them. I certainly can’t ride like they do. They’re both either very brave, or very stupid.”
     Mildred laughed, and as I glanced across at her I could see her eyes glistened with wet tears of mirth. “My dear, the lads are true gentlemen, and whether they be brave or stupid, I think they are very attractive, and I assure you they shall break many a young woman’s heart before long, if that hasn’t already happened.”

 * * * * *

I had to tell a lie. No two ways about it. I did not have the heart to tell Toby all that he had missed. When he asked me about my day out, I told him it had been very long and weary, and that I was ignored and went hungry, and I even had to beg for a few paltry morsels of food. I did say, though, that with more outings like that, one would eventually get used to it, and the boredom could be looked upon as a form of relaxation. I had not wanted to hurt his feelings by telling him all of what he had missed. As I spoke to him, I secretly hoped that there would be more days such as this. Sadly, he believed me, and I felt rather guilty for having enjoyed what was up to then the best day of my life."

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Or in Windsor, NS, at Our Mother's Keepers - located at 85 Water Street.