CHAPTER 9

For breakfast, Cook makes Evie her favorite eggs, “Dunkeld Eggs”, according to an old Scottish family recipe. She tears a slice of bread into pieces, soaks it in a beaten egg then panfries it until it’s golden brown. Evie devours it and she sees the look that passes between Grandpa and Cook. They’ve also noticed the return of her appetite. Cook often accuses Evie of eating like a bird. Well, she’s not pecking at her food this morning!

As Evie spreads toast with apricot jam, a loud ruckus errupts outside. There’s mooing and bellowing and calling out and carrying on.

“What on earth . . . ?” Grandpa and Evie jump up from the kitchen table and hurry outside.

There in the garden are Rhino and Dominique. It’s the first time Rhino has ventured out of the stables since his arrival.

At last. He’s feeling better! thinks Evie.

Rhino and Dominique’s meeting involves a great deal of sniffing, snuffling, circling, and loud mooing.

Everyone at Lunar House hears the racket and runs to see what the commotion is. The ladies appear, squawking and squarking. Claudette and Florette are roused from their slumber in the study and arrive squinting in the morning light.

And Francie and Freddie bound into the scene, barking and whining as they pace around Dominique and Rhino.

Evie can see Cook watching from a distance, her apron trembling.

“Oh, dear,” Cook wails. “Look at that bleedin’ horn.”

“Will it harm the daft cow?” asks Mr Duffer, who appears with a pitchfork in hand.

Evie moves to Rhino’s side, placing her hand on his neck.

“No. No. I don’t think so,” says Grandpa, standing close to Evie to show Cook and Mr Duffer there’s nothing to fear.

“Bloomin’ circus ’round ’ere,” mutters Mr Duffer, retreating slowly from the garden and into the kitchen to make Cook a cup of tea.

Soon the noise and excitement reach fever pitch. Evie smothers a giggle. It’s as if Rhino and Dominique are trying to “out moo” each other.

Evie and Grandpa watch in fascination as Rhino and Dominique weave around one another, nose to nose, in a strange dance. They trample through the garden, churning the lawn into mud. Finally, Dominique, who never moves quicker than a saunter, breaks into a gallop and bounds off into the house paddock with Rhino in hot pursuit.

“Well, I never.” Grandpa dabs his forehead with his handkerchief. “If I didn’t know better, Evie, I’d say it’s love at first sight.”

Evie and Grandpa grin at one another.

For the rest of the morning, Evie keeps an eye on Rhino and Dominique. They graze together like old friends, easy in each other’s company. They touch noses and flare their nostrils, blowing air. Dominique snuffles Rhino’s face and ears. She licks his eyes clean and Rhino stands still for her, his eyelids fluttering as he sways with the attention.

After a time, they meander across the paddock and soon arrive at a gate that leads down to the creek. Evie opens it and lets them idle through.

Quite suddenly, Rhino stops dead in his tracks. He lifts his head high and sniffs the breeze; his ears flicker and rotate and his tail spins in the air. Snorting, he inhales.

A soft, swirling breeze that tickles the hairs in his ears brings him a brackish whiff of stagnant flood-water with rotting reeds and bullrushes.

Memories from long ago wash over him. Fish-tainted green water, moss-covered rocks, loamy soil, and silt. It’s been so long since his last wallow. His skin tingles at the very thought and now that he thinks about it, he feels decidedly itchy. His body twitches at the delicious memory of the delightful foulness of cold, black, silky mud. His ears flicker; he can hear the tinkling flow of water, frogs croaking and beetles clicking. But it’s the sweet stench of the decay of tidal marshes that gets to him. It’s too much. It’s irresistible, and with that Rhino bellows and tears off down the paddock toward the delectable, tantalising smells.

Evie and Dominique glance at each other and chase after him.

When he arrives at the creek, Rhino takes an almighty leap. He lands in the bog, burying himself with a loud squelching noise. He’s covered in thick, black glossy mud. Evie can’t see anything until he blinks, opening his little eyes. She laughs. He bounces around on all fours, splashing with his feet, stamping and sloshing. He turns back to curl his lip at Evie, and she can’t stop grinning at his antics.

Rhino swims out to the depths of the creek where he completely submerges himself. He resurfaces, spraying water everywhere. He bellows and swims in a wide circle. Paddling back to them, he bellows again, as if he’s inviting them into the water. Dominique inches forward, eager to go in but not quite brave enough.

Evie smiles. She now knows how Rhino survived the shipwreck – he’s a fine swimmer.