I slept most of the way back to the Palace. Racing around Windsor Castle all day had been tiring enough, but the added tension of fearing being found out to be a fake Royal Dog had really worn me out.
Of course, that meant that once we’d got home (and when had I started thinking of the Palace as home?) and been fed our dinner, I wasn’t in the slightest bit sleepy.
Sarah took us all back to the Corgi Room after dinner, and the others curled up in their baskets quickly enough. Sarah petted me for a while when I made it obvious I wasn’t going to head for my basket, just yet.
‘Sounds from Quentin like you four have had quite the adventurous day,’ she said, stroking my smooth fur. ‘And a lot of pampering too. Your coat is beautifully shiny.’
I preened a little at that.
‘And you didn’t miss much here,’ she went on. ‘Just the usual dusting, cleaning and so on. I didn’t even get a chance to meet Oliver for his morning break today.’
That was a shame. I’d hoped that even without me here they’d have carried on their fledgling relationship. But it seemed like they still needed me to push them along.
Or maybe not. Even as I had the thought, the door to the Corgi Room opened, and Oliver’s head appeared around the edge of the door, followed swiftly by the rest of him once he saw Sarah.
‘I thought I might find you here,’ he said, smiling. ‘Catching up on all Henry’s adventures?’
‘Something like that,’ Sarah replied. ‘What about you? Come to hear all the latest gossip from Windsor from our furry pal?’
‘Actually, I came to invite you to a party.’
Sarah’s eyes widened. ‘A party?’
‘Absolutely!’ Oliver shut the door behind him, and came in to perch on the edge of the table that held our food bowls and so forth. ‘Every month or so, the staff throw a corridor party – so called because it literally takes place in the staff corridor, outside our rooms.’
‘So this party is basically at my house, and you’re inviting me to it?’ Sarah asked, grinning.
‘Well, it is in the men’s corridor not the women’s, this time …’
Sarah laughed. ‘I’m kidding. And I’m pretty sure no one else here would have thought to tell me about it, so thank you.’
She was right, I realised. If it wasn’t for Oliver, Sarah would have been left out, again. And then she’d have headed back to her room from here and walked straight past it, knowing she wasn’t wanted there.
Thank goodness for Oliver.
‘Anyway,’ he went on. ‘Everyone brings a bottle of something alcoholic to drink, and someone tends to bring speakers to play some music, and we all just chat and get to know each other a bit better.’
‘Sounds nice.’ Sarah sounded dubious, though. Probably because she was sure that none of them wanted to get to know her better.
But they should, I realised. If they knew Sarah like I knew her, like Oliver knew her, they’d have to like her. How could they not?
Which meant we had to get her to this corridor party.
‘It’ll be a great chance to get to know the other staff here,’ Oliver said. I caught his eye, and I could see he knew Sarah was wavering too.
‘I’m just not so sure it’s a good idea,’ Sarah said.
Not good enough. I had to do something.
I jumped up to my four paws with a sharp bark, and bounded to the door, ducking behind Oliver, and pawing at the wood.
Maybe Sarah would go to the party if I went with her.
‘Looks like Henry wants to join the party,’ Oliver said. ‘But I’m sure he’ll only go if you do. You wouldn’t want to let a dog down, would you …?’
Sarah rolled her eyes. ‘Henry’s had plenty of adventures already today.’
I barked again, and she laughed.
‘Come on,’ Oliver said, obviously sensing she was weakening. ‘Never mind Henry – I’d really like it if you would go to the party with me. Please.’
She looked up, and I saw their gazes lock. For a long moment, they just stared at each other.
Then, Sarah whispered, ‘Well, when you put it like that …’ and I knew we were in business.
I hadn’t had cause to visit the staff corridors of Buckingham Palace before; Sarah didn’t seem to spend all that much time there anyway, so I just caught up with her out and about around the Palace and its grounds. Still, I was interested to see where she and Oliver lived – and if it was nicer than the Corgi Room (I suspected not).
There wasn’t much chance to see inside the rooms, though. When we arrived, the party was already in full swing, and the corridor rang with music and conversation, people shouting over each other to be heard. There were plenty of bottles and glasses laid out too – apparently a lot of fun was being had.
‘While the cat’s away,’ Oliver murmured, close to Sarah’s ear, just loud enough for her – and my excellent ears – to hear.
‘Looks like everyone is enjoying themselves.’ Sarah sounded more nervous than I’d heard her since I arrived at the Palace.
‘And we will too. Come on.’ Oliver grabbed her hand and dragged her into the crush. I followed behind, keeping as close to their heels as I could.
‘Who brought a corgi to the party?’ someone cried upon seeing me.
‘What, are you worried he’s going to report back to Her Majesty?’ someone else asked, and everyone laughed.
Clearly they didn’t know the sort of corgi they were dealing with. I knew how to party: Amy and Jim used to hold New Year’s Eve parties every year, and I would dance and jump and celebrate with the best of them.
Oliver had brought drinks for them both, although as far as I could see neither he nor Sarah did much more than sip at them. They stood off to one side, chatting between themselves more than actually joining in the party.
Every now and then, though, someone would stop by to talk to Oliver, and he would introduce them to Sarah. Oliver was clearly a well known and liked member of the household staff, I realised. Hopefully just being his friend would be enough to convince the others that Sarah was worth getting to know. She certainly seemed to be relaxing, the more and more people she said hello to. And they all seemed to be smiling and friendly to her.
Obviously this had been a brilliant idea. Good of Oliver and me to come up with it, really.
‘I just need to go talk to Russell, over there,’ Oliver said, after a while. ‘Will you be okay here with Henry?’
Sarah gave him a half-smile. ‘I think I can hold my own without a guard dog.’
‘Of course you can.’ Oliver smiled and started moving away. ‘It’s Henry I’m worried about,’ he called back over his shoulder, making Sarah laugh.
The moment he was out of sight, though, lost in a sea of people, Sarah tensed up again. I knew she didn’t feel comfortable with the other Palace staff yet – the same way I didn’t feel truly comfortable around Willow, Vulcan and Candy. It’s hard to be somewhere you know you’re not wanted.
But Oliver wanted Sarah here. And so did I.
Hopefully that would be enough, in the end.
But then, Harriet from the Post Office came over to say hello, on her way to fetch another drink. And then another housemaid stopped for a quick chat before being whisked off to dance by one of the footmen. I sat happily at Sarah’s feet, watching her gaining in confidence by the moment.
She could do this – even without Oliver. And she was finally starting to realise that. Brilliant.
‘You’re Sarah, right?’ A red-haired woman who looked just a little older than Sarah approached us. She had a smile on her face, but it was the sort of smile I didn’t trust, not entirely. Not like the smiles of the others who’d stopped by to chat. I shuffled a little closer to Sarah, just in case she needed me. ‘You’re here with Oliver.’
‘That’s right.’ Sarah turned towards the voice, returning the bad smile with one of her brilliant ones. ‘On both counts, I suppose.’
‘I’m Jessica.’ Her smile twisted, just a touch. Just enough to tell me that I was right to trust my instincts.
This one was up to no good.
‘Oh. Yes, I think we met on my first day,’ Sarah replied, her smile fading and her voice a little tight. Was this one of the people who’d been making fun of her? I wondered.
‘You seem to have settled in just fine,’ Jessica said, glancing over Sarah’s shoulder to where Oliver was talking to his friend. ‘Getting Oliver on your side is a big coup.’
‘He’s not … it’s not about sides.’ Sarah’s brow creased up with confusion. ‘He’s just my friend.’
‘Of course he is. And you’ve even befriended the Queen’s dogs.’ She glanced down at me with visible disgust.
Not a dog person, then. Good. We wouldn’t want one like her, anyway.
‘Henry’s a very friendly dog,’ Sarah said, neutrally.
‘Well, I suppose that will stand you in good stead with Her Majesty,’ Jessica said, suddenly all smiles and friendliness again. ‘She loves it when other people dote on her dogs. Especially when the dogs love them back. You should definitely make a show of your closeness with Henry when the Queen gets back.’
‘Hello, Jessica,’ Oliver said, appearing suddenly beside us. I was glad. I didn’t know exactly what Jessica was up to, but I was sure it wasn’t nearly as friendly as she wanted us to believe.
‘Oliver.’ Sarah smiled up at him, relief glowing from her face.
‘I was just saying hello to our new girl,’ Jessica said, already edging away.
‘Yes, she was telling me how much the Queen loves it when her staff get on well with her dogs,’ Sarah elaborated. ‘She suggested that I make a fuss of Henry in front of her, when she gets back.’
Oliver’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Jessica. ‘Did she now.’
‘It was a joke!’ Jessica burst out, stepping back again. ‘A prank – you know, like we always play on the newbies. Just the usual hazing for new staff members. Or have you forgotten, now you’re a high and mighty senior footman? You used to like making an apple pie bed, or putting food colouring in someone’s toothpaste, just as much as the rest of us.’
‘A prank?’ Sarah asked, obviously confused.
‘The Queen is very particular about her pets,’ Oliver said. ‘Remember, I told you how normally no one else is allowed to pet them, except her? Henry is obviously the exception, but you still wouldn’t be very popular if you made a fuss of him in front of Her Majesty.’
‘So you were trying to get me into trouble,’ Sarah said, looking at Jessica with disappointment.
‘It was a joke,’ Jessica muttered again.
‘Not a very funny one.’ Oliver glared at her again, until Jessica decided to take the very sensible course of getting away from him. He turned back to Sarah. ‘I’m sorry about her.’
Sarah shrugged. ‘I told you they didn’t like me.’
‘It might be my fault too,’ Oliver said. ‘Ever since I got promoted to senior footman … I think a few people feel I’ve forgotten where I started. I haven’t, of course, but … sometimes that’s how it is around here.’
‘Well, I’m right on the bottom rung, and they can still find a reason to dislike me!’
‘They’re not all like Jessica,’ Oliver insisted. ‘Most people who work here are lovely. Like family, even, once you get to know them. But it does take a while to settle in.’
Sarah straightened her shoulders. ‘Well, I’m in it for the long haul. So they’d just better get used to me.’
Oliver beamed. ‘Good for you.’
‘But for now … maybe I should just head back to my room. I think I’ve had enough partying for one night.’
Oh no. That would absolutely not do. I had to find a way to keep Sarah at the party. If she left now, then that Jessica would have won. And that was unacceptable.
‘We haven’t even had a dance, yet,’ Oliver said, but Sarah shook her head.
‘I’m not great at dancing.’
Well, I was. And I was going to get Sarah dancing one way or another.
The music blaring from the speakers changed to something I recognised from one of Amy’s movies – and apparently everyone else there knew it too, because a lot of them got up to dance. I barked my approval and then, with a quick glance up at Sarah, dove into the crowd of dancers, ready to shake my furry stuff.
‘Is Henry … is he dancing?’ I heard Oliver ask, over the buzz of the music. I was too busy making my paws move in time and shaking my stumpy tale to look over, though.
The dancers around me spread out a little, giving me room to move, clapping along in time as I danced. Then, as the song reached my favourite bit, I darted over to Sarah and barked up at her, encouragingly.
‘I think he wants us to join him on the dance floor,’ Oliver said.
Sarah was shaking her head again, but this time I had the crowd onside. ‘Come on, Oliver! Come on, Sarah!’ people were shouting.
Laughing, Oliver pulled Sarah onto the designated dancing area to join me, and she buried her head against his shoulder as his arms came up around her.
Then, just as if I’d orchestrated it, the music changed again – this time, to a slower, softer song. I backed away and sat on the sidelines, watching as Sarah and Oliver swayed in time to the music.
Perfect. Like a happy ever after in a movie.
Just like I’d planned.