He hops off the bench, takes a few steps, and looks back at her, head tilted.

She follows.

Around the side of the house there's a pathway that splits, one path staying close to the house, the other leading the way under the dappled shade of an orchard. Esca pauses, looking to see if Denice has a preference.

She does pause to take a long look at the orchard, but she's more interested in the immediate environs of the house today.

Well. They can have another adventure another day!

The house is made of stone, of a variety of different weathered colours. The house isn't as deep as it is long, and there's a wide veranda at the back again, this one looking out over a variety of well tended gardens - some flowers, some herbs, and what looks like it might be a hedge maze. Directly beside the veranda is a patio, with black cast iron patio furniture.

There's people visible in the distance, either tending to the gardens, or playing, it's hard to tell, and in the shade beside the stairs down from the veranda is a bucket of iced water with a variety of bottles of juice and water.

It's a little overwhelming. She retreats to the veranda; having a little bit of a wall between herself and everything else will help.

He directs her towards a ramp again, and then towards a bench that has a narrow set of steps next to it, and then plants himself firmly between her and what he obviously thinks is the route people are most likely to approach from.

Such a good dog.

She doesn't stay for very long; out of the sun, it doesn't take much for her to get chilly. She tries the door.

Apparently they have a thing against locking doors, at least the external ones, and this one leads into a kitchen.

There's a woman in the kitchen, by one of the benches, mixing things together in a bowl. She turns slightly at the sound of the door opening, although her attention is still mostly on her bowl.

"Yes?" she says, sounding distracted.

...uh.

Esca seems perfectly relaxed, and starts to pad into the kitchen, but realises that Denice isn't following him, and turns to look back at her, looking ready to follow her back out if she wants to go back in another way.

It's probably fine, if he's comfortable. She follows him in, keeping an eye on the woman.

She looks up properly, looks a little surprised to see Denice, and then gives a small smile, and a slight nod. "Hi, you must be our guest, I'm Angelique. Just so you know."

With that, she turns her attention back to the bowl, poking thoughtfully at the contents.

Esca nudges at Denice's hand, pointing his muzzle towards the door into the main house.

Yeah. She continues following.

He leads her through the halls again. The first two doors down the hall from the kitchen are closed, but the third - a set of double doors - one of the doors is wide-open revealing a room that appears to be lined in bookshelves.

She hums, negatively and a little sadly.

He tilts his head a little at her, but then continues leading her along the corridor and back into the main hall from earlier. He looks at her, a little inquisitively.

She knows how to get back to the bedroom from here; she heads that way, pausing after a few steps to let him catch up.

He hadn't immediately followed, but catches up quickly when she pauses, tail wagging, obviously happy at the implicit invitation.

Back at the room, she bundles up in bed and goes back to sleep.

(She leaves the door half-open; it doesn't bother her, and shutting Esca in is... well, she's not going to do it.)

He joins her on the bed for a little while, cuddling up to her bundled form, until there's a low whistle from outside the door.

He nuzzles her slightly, jumps down from the bed, and leaves.

When he returns about an hour later, there's also the sound of a tray being slid through the open door.

Esca meanwhile jumps up, and lays along the end of the bed.

None of that is enough to wake her; she sleeps on.