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stood upright, his mouth no more than a few inches from my bare foot. Standing like this, he was massively tall and terrifying. I could see every little bristling hair on him, each one silver tipped, shading to gold. I could see his teeth and the glistening saliva on his tongue. I had never fainted in my life, and I told myself I was not going to now. I had to be strong.
    “Lamb?” I murmured. I tried to speak softly, kindly, but the dryness in my mouth and throat produced only a croak. “It’s Josie. Remember? Minnie is my aunt. She likes me.”
    The low growl was louder now.
    I dared not move even slightly. I dared not speak again.
    Why had he changed? A few moments ago, he’d been quiet, lazy, not threatening.
    When the knock came on the door, my heart soared. Someone! Did I have the courage to shout for help?
    I didn’t have to.
    The door opened, and I saw Eli Stuart.
    And at the same time, something inexplicable happened.
    Lamb’s paws slid down from the chair where I stood numbed with fear, and he slunk, belly down, whimpering instead of growling, and squeezed himself into the corner by the hearth.
    I was so stupefied that I swayed and grasped the back of the chair for support.
    Eli came toward me.
    “You can come down now,” he said. “I am here.”
    I was not about to faint, but I might have been about to cry. Relief flooded me.
    He stood by my chair. “Take my hand.”
    I turned slightly to look at Lamb. He was watching Eli, drooling. Long drips of saliva hung from his bottom lip. And he was whining.
    “Are you sure it is safe?” I asked.
    “Yes. Lamb knows me.”
    I was still doubtful.
    “Come!”
    I reached out my hand, and he took it and helped me to sit and then stand, wavering a little. I kept Eli between me and the dog. His hand was rough and warm and reassuring. I clung to it, all reservations gone.
    “Thank you,” I said. “Lamb was permissive with me and then he threatened me. I do not know why.”
    “Perhaps he has been told not to let anyone touch that high cupboard,” Eli said.
    “What could be in there that needs to be so protected?” I asked.
    He released my hand, then took hold of my arm.
    There was no point in decorum. I let him guide me to another chair.
    He set the one I’d stood on back in its place by the table.
    “I was searching for a salve or a balm to soothe the bite,” I said. “I am afraid it is contaminated.” I cast another nervous look at Lamb, who lay motionless, making strange groaning noises in his throat.
    “That is why I came in search of you,” Eli said. “I went to my grandmother’s house and talked with her. She says you must have the bite seen to at once. I do not wish to frighten you. But she told me of a disease called lockjaw.”
    “What is that?”
    “It is what it sounds like. And it is fatal. You cannot wait for your uncle to return. He and your aunt are out on the Sisters, where they go each day at low tide. They will not come back till much later.”
    “The Sisters? What are they?” I did not wait for an answer and did not care. I was talking because, now that I was safe from Lamb, I had other worries.
    Lockjaw?
    “The reef that is uncovered at low tide is called the Sisters.” He cupped my foot in his hand and bent over it. “I am instructed by my grandmother to convince you to come to her. At this moment, she is mixing herbs and other potions to spread on the bite and draw out the poison. I have told her I cannot make you come if you resist. But I can advise you.”
    I retrieved my bare foot. Unthinkable that he had taken hold of it like that. I struggled for a minute between propriety and alarm.
    “I will go with you. But I will need to get another stocking and my shoe,” I said.
    There was that smile again, that dazzle that seemed to me filled with amusement.
    “Of course you must go alone,” he said. “It would never do for you to be improper.”
    Was he making mock of me?
    “I do not like the tone of your voice,” I said,