I didn’t see Sarah or Oliver again before the end of the day. And by the next morning, the Palace was far, far too busy for me to even think about getting them together for a quiet talk to sort things out.
‘What on earth is going on here today?’ I asked Willow, as we watched staff members hurrying about the Palace, carrying furniture and silverware and who even knew what else. I’d come down from the Corgi Room for my usual morning explore, and found the State Rooms in absolute chaos. Men and women in Palace uniforms were all bustling about cleaning and arranging tables and chairs. One was even measuring the distance of the table mats from the edge of one of the tables. Another was polishing glassware, before setting out several of them at each place.
This was definitely not just another day at the Palace.
‘Today is a day for staying out of the way,’ Willow said, shifting back a little to sit against the wall behind us.
‘I thought you told me that the rule at the Palace was that the staff had to always get out of our way,’ I reminded her.
‘Usually, yes,’ Willow agreed. ‘But tomorrow is the day of the Buckingham Palace Christmas Lunch. So today, everyone will be more than a little bit crazy getting ready for it. It’s usually safest to just keep out from underfoot for once.’
As if to prove her point, a housemaid came bustling through with a giant silver serving platter – not dissimilar to one of the ones I’d sent flying on my first day in the Palace – and almost stood on me. I gave a sharp bark, and hurried out of the way.
Willow and I retreated to a quiet spot under the curve of the grand staircase, where we could still watch all the comings and goings without risking life and paw. From there, I saw a couple of footmen ferrying in a parade of suitcases. They were followed by a smartly dressed older couple who were carrying nothing.
‘So, what’s the deal with this Christmas lunch?’ I asked. ‘I thought Candy said that the Queen usually went to the Sandy Palace for Christmas?’
‘Sandringham,’ Willow corrected me. ‘And yes, She does, along with us and certain other members of the family. This is a sort of pre-Christmas celebration, for the whole extended Royal Family, before She leaves for Sandringham.’
Of course. Hadn’t Candy said something about a Christmas lunch here at the Palace? This must have been what she was talking about.
‘It’s normally held earlier than this, I feel,’ Willow went on. ‘Presumably it had to be held up until She returns from her current trip.’
The Queen. ‘So She’ll be back for it, then?’ I felt a tight knot forming in my stomach at the thought.
‘Oh, most certainly.’ Willow gave me a knowing look. ‘She’s never once missed it. And once She’s back …’
‘I know.’ The moment the Queen returned, it would be time for me to learn my fate. Would I continue forever as a Palace dog? Or would I be sent away – and if so, where to? The streets? A dogs’ home?
I could hardly bear to think about it.
So I decided not to. At least, not until I had to.
‘Are there good scraps for us to eat at this lunch?’ I asked, instead.
Willow rolled her eyes. ‘You know the rules. No scraps from table.’
I sighed. I did know. But it was Christmas! Amy always let me have a few special bits at Christmas. Some turkey, maybe some stuffing. Gravy, of course – not as good as the Queen’s, but still very tasty. I knew things were different at the Palace, but surely there were allowances?
Besides, despite Willow’s insistence on the no scraps rule, Candy had let slip that the Queen sometimes let them eat scones at afternoon tea. I couldn’t help but hope that maybe I’d get to experience that before I left the Palace …
‘So, who will be here tomorrow then?’ I asked, allowing Willow to let loose on her favourite subject – listing all the Very Important People in the Royal Family that I had never met, and would never be as important as. I zoned out after the first few. It wasn’t like the names meant anything much to me, anyway.
But her distraction let me focus on all the activity without interruption. I watched as housemaids and footmen raced around getting everything ready for what must be a very grand lunch, and an awful lot of guests. Back at the Walkers, it was usually only the four of them, Grandma, Sookie and I for Christmas. Here, they looked like they were preparing for a guest list of a hundred!
‘Of course they won’t be invited again this year,’ Willow said, censoriously. ‘Not after last time.’
I had no idea what she was talking about. But I also had something far more important to worry about: across the way, I spotted Sarah, hurrying about her business. Her eyes were red, all the way around, and her nose looked pink too. Like Claire, when she’d been crying about something some mean girl had said at school. (Amy never let me bite them, as much as I wanted to, though that didn’t stop me barking and growling at them.)
‘Excuse me,’ I said to Willow, cutting her off mid flow. ‘I have to do something.’
I chased Sarah through several rooms – and what seemed like hundreds of pairs of legs – before I finally caught up with her.
‘Oh! Henry!’ She looked down in surprise as I brushed against her calves. ‘I’m sorry there hasn’t been time for a walk this morning. Everything’s rather busy and—’
‘Sarah!’ Someone yelled her name and she stopped, spinning round to attention. ‘Are you honestly wasting time talking to a dog? Today, of all days?’
‘Absolutely not,’ Sarah lied. ‘I’ll see you later, Henry,’ she whispered, as she bustled off again.
I sighed, and slunk back against the wall, out of the way again.
Clearly, corgis weren’t a priority today. For anyone.
It was teatime before Sarah made it up to the Corgi Room. She still looked quiet and sad, and I just knew it had more to do with Oliver than a very busy day at the Palace.
Sarah sank to sit down on the floor and I walked over to sit beside her, my head pressed against her leg reassuringly. ‘Oh, Henry. How did this get so messed up?’
I rested my head in her lap and looked up at her, eyes wide. It was my best ‘tell me everything’ look. It always worked with my family. Even with Jack. Sarah was a pushover compared to that.
‘He sent me a card, you know? Oliver, I mean. Saying he was happy that David and I patched things up, and that he’d enjoyed being my friend at the Palace. My friend!’ She shook her head in astonishment. ‘And the worst thing is, David and I didn’t patch things up. No, wait, that’s the good part. The best part. I made the right decision and it didn’t change a single thing – except for the worse. I’m still here, all alone – and Oliver’s avoiding me.’
She sighed, and scratched between my ears, but I couldn’t even enjoy it, I was too worried about Sarah and Oliver.
‘I really thought we were getting somewhere, Henry. I really did. But I should have known. I shouldn’t have got my hopes up. The likes of Oliver Kinchen-Williams was always going to be too good for me. Friends is more than I should have even expected.’
She was wrong, of course. I knew she was wrong. But how did I make her see that?
‘Maybe I never should have come to the Palace.’ Sarah let out a sob, and suddenly I wasn’t alone on her lap. Candy darted down from her basket, pressing up against Sarah on the other side. And then to my surprise Willow jumped down, making her way across more leisurely, before placing her head directly under Sarah’s hand for petting.
I glanced up at the only still occupied dog basket. Vulcan rolled his eyes at me, then hopped down to pad across to join us and I felt my heart swell towards these dogs, my friends.
‘Oh, you lot,’ Sarah said, her voice full of tears. ‘You four are my best friends at the Palace.’
‘She really is desperate, in that case,’ Willow muttered.
‘But this will help,’ Candy replied. ‘We always make people feel better.’
‘We hardly ever make people feel better,’ Vulcan said, rather more honestly.
‘Well, Henry does, anyway.’ Candy nudged me with her nose. ‘Henry always makes people feel better. It’s a talent he has.’
‘I don’t know how to make Sarah feel better,’ I admitted. I wished I did. I wished there was a way I could talk to her, make her understand that everything would be fine. Make Oliver understand too.
Willow made a small, amused noise. ‘Seems to me the answer to that is obvious.’
‘Really?’ I asked. ‘How.’
‘Fix whatever went wrong.’ Willow shrugged. ‘Simple as that.’
If only it was …
Wait.
Maybe it was.
Just maybe …
I sat up a little straighter, and drew the other dogs’ attention. ‘I’ve got a plan.’