‘I don’t think I’m ready to say goodbye to him.’ Sarah knelt on the floor before me in the Corgi Room, stroking my fur over and over, like if she was still touching me, I couldn’t leave.
Oliver placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘No one is ever really ready for goodbye.’
‘He’s right,’ Candy said. She was sitting nearby – not in her basket, not right next to me, but close. ‘Goodbyes are the hardest.’
‘When we had to say goodbye to Holly, last year …’ Willow shook her head. ‘She was the Queen’s other last Corgi, until Monty – and, well, you. When she died, we knew we probably wouldn’t be getting another brother or sister. That the three of us were all that was left.’ I could hear the pain in her voice – and I knew Vulcan must be feeling it too. Candy had said he was closer to Holly than any of the others.
‘And then you came along,’ Candy added. ‘And everything was different.’
‘It’ll be different with Monty, too,’ I said, feeling a little embarrassed by all the emotion. Monty hadn’t been shown to the Corgi Room yet, he was being brushed by the palace staff first.
‘He’s not you,’ Candy said, simply.
Vulcan rolled his eyes. ‘What they’re both trying to say is, the Palace won’t be the same without you. Now, as to whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing … that probably depends on who you ask.’
I barked a laugh. Trust Vulcan to cut across all the mushy stuff.
‘I’ll miss you too,’ I said. ‘All of you.’
‘Even Vulcan?’ Candy asked.
‘Even Vulcan.’
I rested my head against Sarah’s knee, and whined a little to show her that I’d miss her, most of all. We’d looked after each other, when we were both new at the Palace, and a little scared and unsure. The thought of never seeing her again made my heart hurt.
‘Do you know, if it wasn’t for Henry, I don’t think I’d have ever had the courage to really talk to you,’ she told Oliver.
‘If it wasn’t for Henry, I know we wouldn’t have such a romantic story about our first kiss,’ he replied, and Sarah laughed.
‘I’m serious,’ she said. ‘He gave me a confidence I couldn’t find on my own. Made me believe I belonged here.’
‘And here I was thinking I did that.’ Oliver pretended to look hard done by, until Sarah reached over and squeezed his hand.
‘You, too,’ she said. ‘You made this place home for me. Made me believe I could stay – made me want to stay! But Henry … he made me believe in myself.’
‘Then we all owe him a lot,’ Oliver said. ‘Because I can’t imagine not having you in my life. But I know that it wasn’t all me, or even all Henry, that helped you find your place here.’
‘No?’ Sarah asked, confused.
Oliver shook his head. ‘You did that. Yourself. You worked hard, you were your lovely, loyal self, and you won people over. Me and Henry included.’
He leant in to kiss her, lightly, on the lips, and Vulcan rolled over onto his back in disgust.
‘This is unbearable,’ he said. ‘When are you leaving? And are you taking these humans with you?’
‘Unfortunately not,’ I replied, just as the door opened to reveal a footman, already dressed in a warm, winter coat. ‘But I think the answer to your first question is: now.’
Sarah and Oliver got to their feet, Sarah holding me in her arms as she stood.
‘Goodbye, Henry,’ she said, against my fur. ‘I’ll miss you.’
‘Maybe we can see if we might be able to visit him, back at his home,’ Oliver suggested. ‘After the holidays.’
My ears perked up at that, and I barked my approval.
Sarah laughed. ‘I think Henry loves that idea. And so do I.’
She dressed me in a warm jacket, and clipped on my lead, before placing me on the floor and handing the lead over to the footman.
‘Bye, Henry.’ Oliver scratched between my ears, then stepped back to hold Sarah’s hand as I was led out of the room.
To my surprise, all four other dogs followed.
‘You can’t all go to Surrey,’ the footman told them. ‘Her Majesty would miss you too much.’
Still, they all traipsed down to the side entrance with me, where they sat and waited.
As the footman tried to encourage me out of the door, I took a moment to look back at my friends. Willow, who had taught me everything I knew about the Palace and the Royal Family. Candy, who had cheered me up when I was sad, who I’d grown closer to than either of the others. Vulcan, who had … well, been generally nasty the whole time, but who looked genuinely sad to see me leave, now it came to it. Even Monty, without whose absence I’d never have been allowed into the Palace in the first place.
‘Goodbye, everyone,’ I said. My eyes felt itchy. Like I’d been rolling in cut grass in summer. Maybe it was the snow.
‘Goodbye, Henry,’ Willow said.
One by one, they each stepped forward (in order of seniority, of course) and touched my paw.
‘Good luck,’ Vulcan said, his voice a little scratchy.
‘I’ll miss you,’ Candy whispered.
Monty didn’t say anything, just gave me that same bemused look he always seemed to have.
I glanced up and saw Sarah trying to hide her tears, with Oliver’s arm around her shoulder. Even though I would miss Sarah a lot, I was glad she had Oliver, they were going to be fine now they had each other.
And then, it was time to go.
My heart was a little heavy as I took my last look at the Palace, from the car, as we drove away. It was lit up in the darkness of the winter night, glowing like Christmas lights on the tree of London. There was, I knew, no other place quite like it in the whole wide world. And even though I’d never set paw in there again, I had a lifetime’s worth of stories to tell about the Christmas I became the Queen’s corgi.
In no time at all, though, Buckingham Palace, and all my friends, were out of sight – and I was speeding towards the only other place in the country I wanted to spend Christmas.
Home. With my family.
At last.
I was almost asleep by the time we reached Redhill. Outside, the night was black and cold, with the glistening snow lying over everything. But as we started to approach my neighbourhood, I sprang up to try and see out of the window. There was Claire’s primary school, that I used to walk her to in the mornings, when she was smaller. There was the doctor’s surgery where Amy worked. There was the local park where I had such excellent walks. There was the corner shop where Jack took me on a Sunday morning to buy the papers. And there …
There was my front door, a shiny, silver number seven on the front.
I was home.
As the big, black car came to a stop, the front door opened and my heart lifted. There they were – Amy, Jack and Claire, all dressed in their Christmas pyjamas from last year, waiting for me.
I hopped down the moment the driver let me out of the car, and dashed towards them. Jack swept me up into his arms, holding me close against his chest while Amy and Claire petted me and told me how much they’d missed me.
I wished I could tell them the same, but I think they knew.
‘Excuse me, ma’am?’ The footman who’d brought me spoke to Amy.
‘Thank you so much for bringing our Henry home!’ Amy reached out to hug the surprised footman. ‘I can’t tell you what it means to us.’
‘It was, uh, our pleasure,’ the footman said. ‘He’s certainly livened up things at the Palace, by all accounts.’
‘I bet he has,’ Amy murmured, but she was smiling at me as she said it.
‘We actually have a few things here for you,’ the footman went on. ‘From the Palace. Sort of a thank you for letting us borrow your dog.’
‘Borrow?’ Jack said, but Amy shushed him.
‘Oh, well, that’s very kind. But you didn’t have to …’ Amy trailed off as the driver appeared, almost completely hidden from the waist up behind a giant wicker hamper. The footman rushed to help him with it.
‘Wow.’ Claire stared at it, eyes wide. ‘Henry must really have made an impression on the Palace.’
‘Looks like,’ Jack agreed. ‘But are they rewarding us for letting him stay there, or for taking him away again?’
Amy laughed. ‘I don’t care. I’m just glad to have him home.’
Not as glad as I was to be there.
The footman and the driver placed the giant hamper on the kitchen table, gave Amy strict instructions that it wasn’t to be opened until the next day, then left again, driving back through the night to the Palace.
And then, it was just us Walkers – all except Sookie, who I hadn’t seen at all since my return.
‘So, what do we do now?’ Jack asked, sitting on the stairs to pet me some more.
‘It’s Christmas Eve,’ Claire pointed out. ‘And Henry is home. We should do something as a family.’
Amy grinned. ‘Hot chocolate and a Christmas movie? And doggy chocolate drops for Henry.’
‘Perfect!’ Claire raced for the lounge. ‘I’m getting the best seat though. Come on, Henry! You can sit with me.’
I barked my approval, and trotted after her.
Yes, it was good to be home.