Penny smiled at Gabby's obvious fondness of her dog. Most people didn't pay attention to Lucky at all and her mother always insisted that he not be in the house, though generally that just meant Penny kept him out of sight when she was around. It was probably because her mother would have preferred her to have a yappy lapdog but as much Penny tried to please, this was the one thing she never yielded on.
"I am certain my mother doesn't exactly approve of my having a pet hunting dog," Penny confessed with a slight smile. "He came into my life by accident. My father has hunting dogs and I like to play with the puppies. When Lucky was born, he was so weak, no one thought he'd survive but I couldn't let him die so I raised him myself. Now I can't imagine life without him." Her smile grew fond as she talked of the dog that had become the closest thing she had to a friend.
Penny wanted to be polite and say she had heard of the tea shop but her limited experience in town would have made it a lie and she was reluctant to tell a lie. So she shook her head slightly. "I rarely go into town," she admitted, biting her lip. "What is your shop like?" Penny enjoyed tea, after all, and now that she was learning how to get to town on her own, she might even find the courage to go visit this tea shop.