Duchess Read Online Free Page A

Nibbles, which came in a big yellow bag. Oh, well. Every cat was different. That was part of the fun of fostering. She got a can from the fridge and grabbed a spoon. “Here, Duchess,” she said as she plopped a heaping spoonful of Savory Salmon Stew into a bowl. Duchess didn’t move. Mia tapped the spoon against the bowl the way she’d seen people do on commercials. “Yummy salmon for you,” she sang. “Doesn’t it smell delicious?” Actually, Mia thought it was the stinkiest stuff she’d ever smelled, but she knew cats liked fish.
    Duchess glared at Mia with ice-blue eyes and flicked her silky tail back and forth.
    Cat food. Ha! I don’t want cat food. I want what the woman is cooking. I’m sure she’s making it for me.
    “It’s time for breakfast. Just leave her food by the water bowl and wash up, Mia.” Mom patted the bacon with a paper towel and put it on a platter. “Dad had to leave early, so all this bacon is just for us.”
    “Yum,” said Mia. She loved bacon.
    Duchess followed Mom to the table, walking right past her savory salmon. Mia frowned.
    Duchess sat next to Mom’s chair and stared up at her. “Your food is in the kitchen, Duchess,” Mom said as she ate a bite of oatmeal. She smiled at Michael, who had just joined them, then turned back to shake her head at Mia. “And, Mia, remember you can’t play with Duchess while you’re at the table. It’s time to eat.”
    Mia sighed and slumped down in her seat as she nibbled a piece of bacon. Mom always came up with lots of rules when they had a foster cat. Mia looked at the kitty, who was winding herself elegantly around Mom’s legs. Even if she couldn’tplay with Duchess, she could talk about her. “Want to hear what Logan said about Duchess?” Mia asked. She told Mom and Michael everything she had learned.
    “So she’s used to lots of attention,” Michael said.
    Mia nodded. “At least she used to be. But remember while we were there, Mom? Abby was always leaving to check on the twins.”
    “So maybe Abby’s been too busy lately,” Mom said.
    Mia nodded. Then she saw Duchess jump up into Dad’s empty chair. Surprised, Mia stared at the cat. Uh-oh. Mom wasn’t going to like that! Slowly, the white cat put her front paws on the table. Her long white whiskers twitched as she sniffed the air with her pink nose.
    Oh, that smells so good. Where is mine? I’m so hungry, and they aren’t sharing. That’s not very nice.
    “Oh, no you don’t.” Mom waved her hand at Duchess, who quickly jumped to the floor. “That’s right. Go eat your own food,” Mom said.
    “She might be royalty, but she has horrible manners,” Michael said. Duchess walked straight into the kitchen, her tail whipping back and forth.
    Mom looked as if she wanted to giggle as she watched Duchess sashay away. Then her face got serious again. “No cats at the table,” she said.
    Another rule,
thought Mia. Wouldn’t it be better to spend their time figuring out how to make Duchess happy, instead of making up rule after rule?
    That day at school, Mia spent a lot of time daydreaming about Duchess and thinking about what Logan had told her. By the time she met Michael by the stairs, she was sure she had figured out what to do to make Duchess feel at home.
    “We have to brush her,” Mia said as soon as she saw her brother. “She loves it. Plus it’s superimportant to keep her long fur from getting knots in it.”
    “I was thinking that, too,” Michael said.
    Mia looked at him doubtfully.
    “I was!” he said. “Didn’t Logan tell you that Abby made a big deal out of brushing her all the time?”
    “Right,” Mia said. “So we should make a big deal out of it, too.”
    As soon as they got home, Mia found three brushes and two combs in Duchess’s bag. Next she found Duchess in the dining room, sprawled out on Dad’s chair. “Sorry, girl,” Mia said as she scratched Duchess under the chin, “you’re not allowed on there.” Mom was working in the