Please Do Feed the Cat Read Free

remember how he got landed with her and he’s too much of a gentleman to tell her to get out. In any case, she’s got the hide of a rhinoceros and wouldn’t recognize a hint if he hit her over the head with it.’
    ‘Which, as we know, he’s too much of a gentleman to do.’
    ‘If only he could be more like his character,’ Freddie sighed. ‘Macho Magee would deal with her in ten seconds flat: she’d be sitting in the middle of the road with her suitcase around her neck. Also, since Macho Magee is a gentleman, too, in his own peculiar way, she’d have a one-way ticket out of town and no visible bruises.’
    ‘No such luck with our Macho, though.’
    Mrrrayeeeow! Roscoe’s patience was being tried beyond endurance. He extended his claws and sank them into the plastic bag, ripping it down one side.
    ‘All right!’ Freddie swooped and pulled out a small covered bowl. ‘You needn’t demonstrate your bin bag technique for me. We’ve all seen enough of it.’ She slipped off the cover and placed the bowl on the floor, stepping back hastily to get out of Roscoe’s way. ‘Honestly, he’s turned into the local menace on rubbish collection day since Cressie’s been starving him. Not a bin liner is safe from his claws. Everyone is being very understanding, but he leaves an incredible mess.’
    ‘Poor baby.’ Lorinda stooped to caress him. ‘You’ve been having such a terrible time —’
    ‘WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?’
    They hadn’t heard the light knock at the back door and now the whirlwind was upon them. A blurred figure dashed across the room and snatched the bowl from under Roscoe’s nose.
    ‘I’ve told you not to feed him!’ She straightened, glaring at Freddie, then transferred her fury to Lorinda. ‘And that goes for you, too – whoever you are!’
    ‘This is Lorinda. Lorinda Lucas. She lives here.’ Macho had followed the woman into the kitchen. He gave Lorinda an apologetic glance. ‘Welcome back.’
    ‘And this is Cressie,’ Freddie said pointedly.
    ‘Yes, yes, I’m sorry.’ Macho stood rebuked. ‘This is … Cressie.’
    ‘How do you do, Cressida?’ Lorinda felt that a little formality was called for.
    ‘Cressida? Cressida?’ The young woman snatched back the hand she had started to proffer and looked around wildly. ‘Who’s Cressida?’
    ‘Isn’t that your name?’ Lorinda looked to Macho, who shrugged.
    ‘Cressida? As in Troilus and Cressida? That loser? My parents wouldn’t do that to me.’ She flung back her head proudly. ‘ My name is Crescendo!’
    ‘It would be,’ Freddie muttered.
    Roscoe took advantage of the fact that Cressie’s attention
was fully occupied elsewhere to steal forward and dip into the bowl that she had forgotton she was still holding.
    ‘Stop that!’ She was too late. He backed away swiftly with a long strip of chicken drooping below both jowls, giving him a Fu Manchu look.
    ‘That cat needs better training!’ Cressie snapped at Macho.
    ‘The cat needs better feeding,’ Freddie said. ‘You’re starving the poor thing.’ She glared at Macho accusingly. ‘And you’re letting it happen!’
    ‘He should have done something about the situation long ago!’ Cressie, too, accused Macho. ‘That damned cat was nearly too fat to walk!’
    ‘Mmmm.’ Macho gave them both a craven smile and turned to Lorinda. ‘Have a nice trip?’
    ‘Very nice.’ She took pity on him and went with the change of subject. ‘Tiring, though. Even with the holiday tacked on at the end, there were still lots of bits of work to do.’
    ‘Holidays can be more exhausting than staying home and working.’ Macho sounded as though he’d like to be given that choice. ‘Successful, would you say?’
    ‘Who can tell?’ Lorinda sighed. ‘But New York was fun – what I can remember of it – and I met some awfully nice people along the way. I only hope I’ll know them if I ever see them again …’ She thought guiltily of the small stack of business