Part XV With headscarf and Hasselblad in the glens.
Louise had chosen to penetrate the castle, wisely in my estimation
though I would have as easily accepted her picking the lock of the
carriage porch with her tines and establishing herself in the entrance
hall, from the kitchen court where we had discovered the late toilers
at their work. Perhaps she was correct in obtaining admission by
subterfuge as we had the advantage of having avoided surveillance
so far as we knew, though Bumbart herself confronted us at the exit
from the kitchen area. I had to admire this majestic feline's unruffled
composure, so much in contrast with Muscletone's, but for a moment
I was concerned lest she raise the alarm and call the seekers back
within, perhaps even scamper chamberwards to pat the royal cheek.
I cannot tell whether it was that the arrival of cervid corpses en route
from moor to spit was so familiar a sight to her, or whether she
accepted fellow quadrupeds of any sort unquestioningly within her
territory, provided they did not fall within her prey-target definition,
but after exhibiting transient arching and incipient hissing, both almost
instantly suppressed, for we must have presented an unusual
silhouette against the kitchen lights, she approached near enough to
conduct a formal cheek rub on Louise's left fore hoof. This act, a
complimentary marker, was followed by a brazen lateral ascent
conducted with all the confidence and skill of an accomplished
furniture mounter, and once dorsally situated she began to knead, or
depsite as I prefer to describe it, within a few inches of my face. I had
acquired a companion rider! And one well acquainted with the
labyrinthine interior of the building. After her initial demonstrations of
affection, Bumbart took up a position between Louise's antlers where
she could communicate directions with paw pats and be clear of swift
antler furls that might have sent her tumbling ignominiously to the
flagstones. For Louise, much to our peril, had once more extended
her antlers to their full span which even in the larger interior areas
risked scooping objects of all sorts from vertical and horizontal
surfaces, with the added greater risk of ensnarement with pendant
objects. I could not help but anticipate an inextricable involvement
with an antler chandelier, with which the castle was known to
abound, and was afraid that Louise in her progress would acquire a
whole train of trophies, conversation pieces, soft furnishings,
electrical appliances, trugfuls of goji berries, even the odd duchesse
