Dickon held the dog aloft as it struggled and mewed to be put down. “What do you think, pup, shall you and I suit?” An indignant yip made the boy smile and release the animal onto the straw, where it promptly resumed its explorations. “Aye, I believe Master Hood is right, you are a brave one.” He admired the adventurous spirit of the pup as it wandered from its mother, and he turned to the huntsman, his blue-gray eyes shining his thanks. “I shall call him Traveller. May he come to Ludlow with me?”

Master Hood shook his head. “They are too young to leave their dam, my young lord.”

Dickon was indignant. “But I know how to feed a pup with milk on a cloth. You taught me how. And I can carry him inside my jacket so he stays warm.”

“And he’ll widdle on you all day long,” George pointed out. “Certes, we must leave them, Dickon, you milksop.”

“Do not call me that,” Dickon protested, balling his fists, “or…or…”

“Or what, babykins?” George taunted, discarding his puppy. “Try and reach my chin?”

Meg intervened, taking George’s arm and pulling him out of the kennel. “Leave him alone,” she hissed. “He gave you the prime pup. Don’t start a fight.”

As usual Meg mollified him, and George sighed. “I know, I know, I should be more patient, but he is just so annoying.”

John Hood patted Dickon’s head and assured him Traveller would still be there on his return. “Why don’t you keep watch here with Will tonight, if Mistress Anne will allow. Damosel will be happy to have you for company, and you can get to know your pup better.”

Still smarting from George’s slight, Dickon nodded politely, thinking for the thousandth time of one day getting even with his bully of a brother.

For the next two days as the attendants of the York children readied their young charges to travel, Dickon frequented the kennel to play with Traveller, who began to recognize its master’s young voice and scramble towards Richard, its hairy tail waving its pleasure. Dickon fondled the velvet ears, examined the leonine paws and rubbed his cheek against the irresistible softness of the coat, communing with his new friend. Here was a living creature that looked on him as a gentle giant, someone in control, and it gave the boy confidence.

He was determined to take the dog to Ludlow, and use the milk-soaked cloth drip along the way. He had already found a suitable corked vessel to fill with milk from the dairy and would hide it in his chest of clothes. He had not yet thought how he would extract the bottle once the luggage was piled high on a cart—nor that the milk would spoil.