I woke the next morning from a deep sleep, after doggy dreams about chasing rabbits through puddles of gravy.
The other dogs were already awake, so I hopped down to stand beside Willow.
‘So?’ I asked, nudging her side to get her attention. Because even though they weren’t the friendliest I wasn’t ready to give up on finding some allies in the palace who at least understood me. ‘What’s the plan? You said you were going to let me join in with your Palace Dogs routine today, right?’
Sighing, Willow turned slowly towards me. ‘Fine. But really, without Her here, it’s a pale imitation of the real thing.’
‘Well, I’ve never spent a day with Her Majesty, so I doubt I’ll really notice the difference.’ I was just excited to be included. I’d spent a lot of the previous day trying to imagine what the other dogs might be doing – what adventures they were having. Did they spend time chasing rabbits in the gardens? Or taste-testing the gravy? Were there Royal Pet duties I knew nothing about, like greeting important guests? Or special meals I’d missed out on somehow, like the afternoon tea Amy took Claire to with Father Christmas when she was smaller?
I wanted to know it all.
‘First, we have breakfast,’ Willow said, turning away again. ‘I trust you can remember how that goes?’
I did, and this morning, when a new housemaid came to feed us, I waited patiently for my turn before eating. I didn’t want to give Willow any excuses to shut me out again.
‘Now what?’ I asked, the moment the housemaid had gone.
Willow, Candy and Vulcan all exchanged annoyed looks.
‘Are you going to be like this all day?’ Vulcan asked.
‘Like what?’
‘Vulgarly excited,’ Willow answered. ‘And yes, I rather suspect he is.’
Candy rolled her eyes. ‘It doesn’t do, you see, to get too excited about things here in the Palace. Apart from anything else, you’re supposed to be used to this sort of life, remember?’
‘Oh. I see.’ I supposed Candy had a point – I wanted to fit in here well enough for no human to notice that I didn’t belong, at least until Amy could find me. ‘So, what? I just sort of wander around looking superior?’
Vulcan laughed at that. Rather unnecessarily, I thought.
Willow, however, decided to continue with my instruction. ‘Soon it’ll be time for our morning walk,’ she said. ‘If we wait here, someone will come and fetch us, soon enough.’
Waiting. One of my least favourite things to do.
But a walk sounded fun, at least, so I hunkered down until a footman appeared with four leads – and some sort of jacket things.
‘Cold outside today,’ he said, as he manoeuvred Willow, then Vulcan into their padded jackets. They looked like something Claire would make Sookie or me wear to take videos of us and post them online.
I did not approve.
‘Do we have to wear those ridiculous things?’ I whispered to Candy.
She shrugged. ‘They keep us warm, outside in winter.’
‘I prefer to keep warm by running around,’ I said.
But apparently my fate was sealed. Soon enough I found myself outside in the Palace gardens again, this time wearing a stupid coat.
‘Come on, let’s make this quick,’ the footman said, shivering, as he led us around the garden on the path.
I’d hoped for a chance to explore the gardens again – to run wild and stick my nose in every interesting scent I could find. Instead, the other dogs sedately stuck to the path, only departing onto the grass to take care of business. We were back at the doors to the Palace again in no time.
‘Is that it?’ I asked.
Willow looked at me like I was crazy. ‘It’s cold. Of course we don’t want to stay out there too long.’
I looked longingly back out of the window at the gardens. All those pigeons left unchased. All those fascinating smells unsmelt. It seemed such a waste.
Still, maybe the next part of the corgis’ agenda would be more interesting.
‘So, what’s next?’ I hopped up the stairs beside Candy. She seemed like the more relaxed of the three dogs, so far. Willow just wanted to make sure I did everything the way she thought it should be done, and Vulcan just wanted rid of me as soon as possible. But Candy, although she followed the others’ leads, seemed just a little more friendly.
And friendly was what I needed right now.
‘Next?’ Candy looked surprised. ‘Well, I suppose we usually stay with Her as she goes about her business – keeping Her company in Her study, or following Her to meetings and the like. Then in the afternoon, we take tea with Her – sometimes we even get some scones. Then She might brush us, or walk us again before dinner. That sort of thing.’
Candy seemed to be missing one very important point. ‘But She isn’t here.’
‘No,’ Candy agreed, sounding forlorn. ‘She isn’t.’
I thought about Amy, Jack and Claire – I understood how Candy felt, but I didn’t want her to feel sad so I gave her a nudge. ‘So what do you do when She isn’t here?’
Willow, passing us on the stairs, replied, ‘We behave in the manner She would expect us to.’
‘But by doing what?’ I asked, chasing her towards the Corgi Room.
The answer, it seemed, was Not Much.
Without the Queen at the Palace, the other dogs were at a total loss for what to do.
‘You could give me a proper tour of the Palace,’ I suggested.
Willow shook her head. ‘It all looks much the same after a while.’
‘Well, we could find the kitchens. See if we can figure out the recipe for that brilliant gravy they serve at dinner.’ That would definitely be a memento worth taking home from the Palace.
‘Why would we do that?’ Vulcan looked down his long nose at me. ‘They already make and bring the food for us. Why on earth would we need to know what’s in it?’
‘Fine.’ Sighing, I sank down to my paws, and watched as the others curled up in their baskets, apparently ready for a nap.
I’d really thought today was going to be more fun than this.
Well, if I wanted fun, I’d just have to find it myself.
‘Where are you going?’ Willow asked, sleepily, as I passed her basket.
‘That footman last night said we’re allowed to go wherever we like in the Palace, right?’
Willow nodded. ‘That’s right.’
‘Well then,’ I said, lifting my nose to take in the air outside the room, ‘I’m going everywhere. I’m going to explore every inch of this Palace, find all its secrets and seek out adventure!’
Vulcan snorted inelegantly at that. I ignored him.
‘Who’s with me?’ I asked, directing my words at Candy in particular. If any of them were likely to come on an adventure with me, it was Candy the Dorgi.
But Candy looked between Vulcan and Willow, both of whom were rolling their eyes, then back at me. She gave a small, apologetic shrug, and settled down into her basket.
‘Fine.’ I could adventure on my own. ‘Don’t wait up for me.’
And with that, I strode off into the Palace corridors, an intrepid explorer. I wouldn’t come back until I’d seen every last room in the Palace. (Or until it was time for another meal. Whichever happened first.)
Of course, when I made my plan, I hadn’t realised quite how much of the Palace there really was to see. The parts I’d seen so far were, apparently, just the start – the top of the rabbit hole, so to speak. (Rabbit holes always looked interesting until you realised they went much deeper than you thought, and the rabbits were always out of reach. Of course, by that time your muzzle was well and truly stuck, and Sookie was sitting on the grass beside you howling with laughter.)
I padded through corridor after corridor, and room after enormous room, all of them lavishly decorated with huge paintings on the walls, surrounded by golden frames. And everywhere, there were Christmas decorations, sparkling in the winter light like snowflakes.
I saw a few people – mostly men wearing the same uniform as John had the night before, and the grumpy man the day before that. I snuck up on a few of them, hoping to make friends, but mostly they just jumped back and swore when I got close. I learned a few new words, anyway. (I could guess their meaning easily enough!)
The funny thing was, every time, after I’d been sworn at, the men would look around, like they were checking no one had seen them.
In one long, long room, lined with huge paintings hanging on a rail at the top of the red flocked walls, I came across some other people – a small boy with blonde hair, riding a wooden trike over the creamy patterned rugs, his little sister toddling after him, trying to catch up. At the far end, their mother stood laughing, her dark hair hanging around her pretty face.
They looked like a nice family. I wondered, if the Walkers never came back for me, if those three needed a pet.
But then the boy on the trike came careening towards me, and I hopped through a doorway into another room to avoid being squished.
This room was even more magnificent than the ones I’d seen before. Decked out all in red and cream, everything about it was extravagant – oversized and made to impress. Huge crystal chandeliers, with white candles placed in them, hung from the ceiling along the length of the room on both sides – plus another giant one in the middle.
At the far end of the room there were three red carpeted steps up to a raised platform – with two ornate chairs with red cushions and backs, gold legs and gold embroidery on the backs. Behind the chairs hung a dark red velvet curtain.
I looked around. No one else seemed to be watching, and those chairs did look particularly comfy.
Willow had said we were allowed anywhere we liked. Surely that included the furniture?
I padded up the steps, my paws a little sore from all my exploring. I was sure no one would mind if I just had a little rest on one of the big chairs …
As I was drifting off, I heard an amused snort from the doorway. I opened one eye to see a red-headed man standing at the other end of the room. ‘Granny really does let you dogs rule this place, doesn’t she?’
I snuffled my agreement as I fell asleep.
When I awoke from my impromptu nap, my stomach was rumbling. Hopping down from my seat, I set out again – this time, following my nose, hopefully towards some food. The footman, John, had said that all the dog food was prepared in the kitchens – including that fabulous gravy. This Palace might have a lot of unfamiliar rooms – like the Big Chair Room or the Painting Room, never mind the Corgi Room – but even I knew what a kitchen looked like.
All I had to do now was find it.
Fortunately, corgis are in possession of an exceptionally fine sense of smell. Even in a Palace of this size, I could find a scent trail to follow. (The smell of the rabbit from last night was very memorable.)
My nose led me down a different staircase from the one I’d used before – one at least twice as big. It was as grand in its way as the Big Chair Room.
From the landing where I stood, awed, I could see that the stairs split into two, each set curving around to the ground on either side. The banister was twisty, patterned gold, and the carpets – of course – were red. And there were more huge paintings of people. I wondered if all the people on the walls were the people who lived here – and where they’d all gone. There were enough rooms in the Palace for all of them, for certain.
I pondered the question as I padded down the stairs, still chasing the delicious scent of food. Maybe they were all the people who’d lived here over the years. The family of the Queen, I supposed. Just like all the photos Amy kept on the wall by the stairs at home.
I was still thinking about Amy, and my family, as I trotted into another huge room, and stopped, staring.
There, placed at either side of another small set of stairs, and at the top of the stairs, were three enormous Christmas trees – at least fifteen dogs high – all decorated with bright lights and tiny red and gold crowns.
Stepping closer to the nearest tree, I tilted my head to look up at it.
Most years, Jim went out with Jack and Claire, a few weeks before Christmas, while Amy made mince pies ready for when they came back. They would always return with a big, bushy green pine tree to put up in the lounge, and I’d dance around their feet as Jim unravelled strings of lights and Claire ate too many mince pies.
But even the biggest of those trees wasn’t a patch on these three.
This year, Amy had brought back a not-real tree from the supermarket, along with a couple of boxes of mince pies. Jack had refused to help decorate it, and Claire had declared that she didn’t like those mince pies, so the tree was still in its box when we left for London the other day.
I looked up a little further, and spotted something else – a big bunch of green leaves with white berries. Mistletoe. Amy always used to hang a bunch of it by the front door at Christmas, and Jim would always kiss her under it, every time he left the house, and when he came home again.
When had they stopped doing that? Was it last year? The year before? I couldn’t remember.
I wondered again how they were all managing without me.
I hoped it was better than I was managing without them.
No. I wasn’t going to mope. I was going to explore. Have adventures.
And besides, the smell of the pine was blocking out the scent of the kitchens, so I carried on my way to find the food.
No point pining on an empty stomach.