A Visitor at the Palace
GEORGIE CRAWLEY

Copyright

Published by AVON

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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2017

Copyright © HarperCollinsPublishers 2017

Cover design © Alison Groom 2018

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A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

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Source ISBN: 9780008263133

Ebook Edition © October 2017 ISBN: 9780008263140

Version: 2018-04-27

Dedication

For every family, and their pets, this Christmas

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Day 1

HENRY

AMY

HENRY

AMY

Day 2

HENRY

AMY

Day 3

HENRY

AMY

HENRY

Day 4

AMY

HENRY

AMY

Day 5

HENRY

AMY

HENRY

Day 6

HENRY

AMY

HENRY

Day 7

HENRY

AMY

HENRY

Day 8

AMY

HENRY

AMY

Day 9

HENRY

AMY

HENRY

Day 10

HENRY

AMY

HENRY

Day 11

HENRY

AMY

HENRY

Day 12

HENRY

AMY

HENRY

About the Author

Keep Reading …

About the Publisher

Day 1
Saturday 14th December

HENRY

The thing about humans is, they take an awful lot of looking after. Oh, I’m not saying that they’re not worth it. Just that, really, without us dogs, I don’t know what would happen to them.

Take my family, for example. The Walkers.

Ever since I arrived here as a puppy, it had always been the five of us. (Okay, six, if you include The Cat. I don’t, generally.) Jim, Amy, Jack, Claire and Me: Henry. (Fine, and Sookie. If you must.)

That is, until Bonfire Night, five weeks ago. (I remembered the date clearly, because it all happened in amongst the bangs and the flashes.) I was hiding under the chair in Jim and Amy’s bedroom (like any sane creature would be on Bonfire Night) so I saw Jim shoving clothes and things into his bag. And I heard Amy sobbing, asking Jim why.

Sometimes, I think maybe she didn’t understand what was going on any better than I did.

All I knew for sure was that Jim left that night, and he hasn’t really been back much since. This wasn’t like when he went out to work and I missed him, or even when they all went on holiday and left me at the kennels.

This was different. And I didn’t like it one bit.

After Jim had left, I’d curled up beside Amy as she cried herself to sleep on the bed. It was only after her sobs had subsided and I was sure that she was asleep that I risked jumping down to check on the others. Jack and Claire were both still outside, watching the fireworks from the nearby school field. I braved the noise and the lights to check that they were okay, then headed back in to my basket to have a think about what was happening – and how I could fix it.

It was then that Sookie had slinked out from behind the sofa and looked at me with that awful, superior gaze that all cats seem to have.

‘Well, that’s you done for,’ she’d said. I hadn’t understood, and she wasn’t willing to explain. But ever since, I’d been looking for clues, something to explain what was going on – and ideas on how to make things better.

The next morning, Amy had sat Jack and Claire down and explained things to them. I’d listened in, of course, but all I’d managed to understand was that Jim had gone away, and we all needed to help out and do our bit to keep things together.

Well. That was easy! I would be the most helpful dog they could ever wish for.

I started by checking in on Jack and Claire at bedtime. Sometimes, Claire would be crying when I stopped by her room, so I’d jump up on her bed and snuggle for a while, until she felt better, or fell asleep. (I wasn’t really supposed to go on the beds, but I figured these were special circumstances. Besides, Claire’s bed is really comfy.)

Next, I made a point of helping keep the place clean and tidy by eating up any scraps of food that found their way onto the floor. But then I decided that wasn’t helpful enough, so I started jumping up onto the kitchen chairs to clean off the plates that got left there after meals, sometimes. They were always very clean by the time I’d finished licking them.

Amy didn’t seem to appreciate this as much as I thought she would, and after a while, Jack started putting all the plates in the dishwasher as soon as they’d finished eating. So I started looking for other ways to help, instead.

One big worry I had was that there were a lot fewer walks for me. Jack would take me out to explore the park sometimes, but he usually met up with his mates and made me sit around on my lead while I waited for him to finish chatting. Claire was only allowed to take me as far as the local shop and back on her own, and I already knew all the scents along that route, so it was a bit boring. Also, sometimes Sookie followed us too – I always suspected that she was Claire’s favourite.

Amy didn’t seem to have time for walks at all, any more. But I knew that she always felt better after we’d been out for one, so I started grabbing my lead from the hook in the hallway, then dashing out the front door whenever it was opened, so she’d have to follow and chase me. By the time she caught me and clipped on my lead, and we’d walked home again, we’d both got some exercise and fresh air. Amy never seemed very grateful for it, but I knew it was helping, really.

Still, overall, the atmosphere in the Walker household was not as bright and cheerful as I was used to – and Jim hadn’t been back once. Despite my best efforts, my family were suffering.

But then this morning, everything changed.

Amy sprang down the stairs with a sense of purpose, shoving things into her bag and making sandwiches by the loaf. Something was happening – and I really wanted to know what.

‘Jack! Where’s your blue rucksack?’ Amy yelled up the stairs. I pressed closer to the table by the front door as I watched.

‘Can I take my tablet?’ Claire asked, holding up her electronic device.

‘Definitely not,’ Amy replied. ‘Why don’t you take that new book Gran bought you?’

‘What blue rucksack?’ Jack appeared at the top of the stairs, still wearing his pyjamas.

‘Jack! You’re not dressed!’ Amy’s face was turning a little red.

‘Because I don’t want to go,’ Jack said. ‘I told you that.’

‘Well … tough. We’re all going. It’s going to be an adventure.’ Adventure. I liked the sound of that word! ‘Now, find that rucksack.’

‘What rucksack?’ Jack asked again. ‘And why do I have to go? Take Claire.’

‘I’m taking both of you,’ Amy said. ‘So go and find the rucksack I bought you for your Duke of Edinburgh trip and get dressed.’

Jack stared down at his mother for a long moment. I knew that look. He was deciding if he could push her any further.

Apparently he decided he couldn’t.

‘That rucksack is red,’ he said, grumbling, but he headed back to his room to get ready, all the same.

Which just left me wondering – getting ready for what? Amy hadn’t said. She’d said they were all going on an adventure – but did that include me? I hoped so. And if not … well, maybe I’d just grab my lead and follow after them! I wasn’t going to miss out on what could be the most fun any of us had had in weeks!

‘Well. This looks interesting.’ Sookie brushed up beside me as she sat herself in her usual spot, next to the radiator. ‘What do you think is going on?’

‘We’re getting ready to go somewhere,’ I said, watching Amy as she bustled about between the kitchen and the hall, gathering things together.

‘Obviously.’ Sookie swept her fluffy tail from side to side on the wooden floor. ‘But where?’

‘An adventure.’ I couldn’t keep the excitement out of my voice.

Sookie rolled her eyes, and headed off towards the kitchen. ‘Bo-ring.’ Cats. They have no sense of adventure at all.

Amy reappeared in the hallway again, Claire trailing along behind her.

‘If I had my own phone, I could play on that on the train,’ Claire said. ‘I mean, I am twelve now. All my friends have them, you know.’

‘We said we’d talk about a phone when you’re thirteen.’ Amy didn’t even turn to look at her as she replied. Given how many times they’d had this argument, I wasn’t very surprised.

‘I’m just saying, I’m almost thirteen.’

‘You turned twelve in October. Two months ago.’

‘And a phone would make a brilliant Christmas present,’ Claire went on, oblivious to her mother’s attempt to use logic against her.

Sighing, Amy turned back to look at her daughter. ‘Claire, we’ve talked about this. You know Christmas is going to be a little … different this year. And big presents like that, they’re just not on the cards right now, I’m afraid.’

Claire’s expression turned stormy. She often got that look just before she clipped on my lead and dragged me down to the shops full pelt. I like a walk as much as the next dog, but when Claire is on a full speed sulk there’s no time to enjoy it.

‘Fine,’ she said, folding her arms over her chest. ‘I’ll just ask Dad, then.’

Amy looked away, a sudden sadness in her eyes. It made me want to go snuggle up against her, for comfort. ‘You do that.’

The tension continued as Amy finished packing her bag – and Jack’s red rucksack, after he tossed it down the stairs. Claire sat at the kitchen table, just within eyesight of the hallway, still glaring. Sookie wandered past to weave between Claire’s legs as they dangled down from the chair, but Claire didn’t even reach down to pet her.

I went to sit by my lead. We really needed this adventure. All of us.

‘Right,’ Amy said, sounding decisive again. ‘Coats on, everyone. It’s time to go!’

Jack thumped down the stairs and yanked his coat from the rack. Claire shrugged her puffy red jacket on, too, and Amy buttoned up her old duffle coat. The she picked up her rucksack, handed Jack his to carry and …

Yes! She lifted my lead off its hook and clipped it onto my collar!

A warm, peaceful feeling settled over me. Wherever my people were going, they wanted me with them. That was all that mattered.

‘Guess you’d better just hope they bring you back with them, too,’ Sookie murmured, as she brushed past us to run up the stairs.

I didn’t pay her any mind. Of course they’d bring me home again.

I was an integral part of the family. Let’s face it: they’d all be lost without me.

AMY

This was a good idea, Amy decided, finally, as she spotted the sign she was looking for in the distance.

Even as the train had pulled into Victoria station, she still hadn’t been sure. Jack had been silent for most of the train journey – actually, he’d been silent for most of the last six weeks, ever since Jim left. But the silence seemed to be getting more pointed as the days went on without their father returning. At least she still got a few words out of him, sometimes. Jack wouldn’t even talk to Jim when he called – he hung up every time he answered the phone to him.

And Claire – her sunny-natured, happy girl – was different these days. She argued every point, complained about any slight change to the usual routine … and there were plenty of changes. Even Henry’s behaviour had been erratic since Jim left. The poor corgi seemed determined to remind everyone that he was still there, mostly by causing trouble. Before Jim had left, Henry had been a perfectly behaved dog. These days, Amy seemed to spend half her time shooing him off the beds, or chasing him down the road when he escaped, again. She’d even had to assign Jack to dishwasher duties, to stop Henry eating the leftovers right off the plate.

Still, she couldn’t blame the little dog for being unsettled, maybe even a little scared. They all were. Things were very different now.

Jim had taken his salary with him when he left. He still paid his half of the mortgage, and had offered more for the kids, but Amy wouldn’t accept it. Why should she? It would only make him feel better, like he was doing enough for his family.

He wasn’t, not by a long shot.

His family needed him there. Not his money.

And if they didn’t have him – well, then she would do it herself. All of it.

She’d prove to Jim that they were better off without him, anyway. That would feel better than slapping his stupid face. Apparently.

Her friends had had plenty to say about Jim’s departure, of course – mostly scathing comments about him living the cliché, or not knowing a good thing when he had one. They all meant well, Amy knew, and it even helped a little, knowing she had all those people on her side. But the most useful advice she’d been given had actually come from a very surprising source – the new doctor at the surgery where she worked as a nurse. Dr Fitzgerald was new to the area and, according to the grapevine, recently divorced himself. Amy had seen him in the park by the surgery a few times, walking his pet Dalmatian, but they’d rarely spoken until last month. The week after Jim had left, he’d stuck his head into the room she was working out of, and asked if she was okay.

Amy had pasted on a smile and tried to put up a show of coping, but he’d seen through it immediately.

‘Everyone is going to have a lot of advice for you,’ he’d said, with a gentle smile. ‘And some of it will probably be good, and some of it will almost certainly be terrible. The only thing I can tell you is: you’re the only one who will have to keep living in your life once this is all over and everyone else has moved on. Once it all calms down, he’ll still be your kids’ father, whatever he’s done. And you’ll still be you, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. So grieve and rage for what you’ve lost, sure, but in the end, you have to focus on the long term.’

The long term. It seemed so far away still, but Amy was trying. Trying to imagine a future where things weren’t so hard, where she was happy again – and so was her family.

That’s what today was about. Starting the long term, right here. Creating the happy family future she wanted.

And where better to do that than at a Winter Wonderland?

‘What do you think?’ she asked, as they walked up from the station in the crisp December air, towards Hyde Park. At her feet, Henry trotted along beside her, content to stay close on the pavement and in the crowds, thankfully. She really didn’t need him creating any of his mischief today!

Jack and Claire were slightly behind her, dragging their feet, so they didn’t see the sign as quickly as Amy did. But when they spotted it …

‘Mum! Are we going in? Are we really?’ Amy smiled. For a moment, Claire sounded like her little girl again. God, she’d missed that sound.

Up ahead, the crowds were amassing, all streaming towards the enormous, brightly coloured gates. Even in the daylight, the place was lit up, and Christmas music filled the air. Beyond them, the giant wheel loomed over the whole park. Amy felt a rush of exhilaration at the very sight of it, and even Henry barked his excitement.

Yes, this was a good idea.

‘Winter Wonderland?’ Jack tried to sound cool and unaffected, but Amy knew him too well. She could hear that spark of excitement, hidden deep under his words. ‘That’s what we’re here for?’

‘Yep!’ She grinned at the kids, her heart warming as they smiled back. She handed them the map she’d printed off ready for the day ahead. ‘What do you want to do first?’

Jack and Claire held the map between them, talking over each other as they pointed out their favourite attractions. They’d wanted to come last year, and the year before, but Jim had always said it was too busy, too commercialised. He’d wanted to take them all skiing instead, but they’d never been able to afford it for the four of them – plus kennels for Henry and Sookie.

Winter Wonderland, thankfully, had free entry. Of course, there were plenty of things you could pay for inside, but that was why Amy had planned the whole trip so carefully. She’d budgeted and booked ahead for two of the bigger items – the Giant Wheel and ice skating by the bandstand. And by bringing Henry along, she’d ensured that she’d have to stay on the side with him, so they only needed two tickets. She’d kept enough money aside for the kids to choose one activity each on top of that, and brought their Christmas money from their Granny – donated early for the cause – if they wanted to spend any more.

They’d had an early picnic lunch on the train in, so they didn’t need to buy food at one of the overpriced food stalls, and Amy had planned a dinner at an inexpensive Italian she remembered from when she and Jim were dating, after they’d walked through Oxford Street to see the lights. Add in a side trip to look at Buckingham Palace and they’d have had a full, memorable day – and Amy would still have money left to buy the food for Christmas dinner.

Not bad going, if she did say so herself.

The kids didn’t seem to have noticed that everything they did was being done on the cheap, thankfully. Claire was mesmerised by the lights and sights of the Christmas market, and even Jack seemed engaged by the music and excited to see the views from the Giant Wheel. Henry stayed close by her feet – almost tripping her up a couple of times – but generally wasn’t causing any trouble, which was a plus.

For a moment, it was almost like the last few months hadn’t happened at all.

Except that Jim wasn’t there.

Amy watched the huge wheel turning against the darken-ing London sky, and let herself imagine, just for a moment, how different things might have been if Jim had never hired Bonnie as his new secretary. Never fallen in love with her. Never decided to give up on almost twenty years of marriage in a heartbeat.

Then she shook her head. There was no point dwelling on the past. She had to focus on the future – and making it perfect for her kids, without Jim at her side.

She didn’t want Jack and Claire to hate their dad – adding more bitterness to the situation wouldn’t help anyone. And Dr Fitzgerald was right – he’d still be their dad, once the divorce was all over and settled. But in her efforts to keep things civil and polite, Amy couldn’t help but think she’d got the rough end of the deal. The fact that Jim had an affair and, when forced to choose, picked Bonnie for his future, meant that Jack wasn’t speaking to his father. As for Claire … Amy wasn’t even sure how much she knew about what had happened. After all, Jim hadn’t introduced the kids to his new girlfriend yet.

But that couldn’t last forever. Soon they’d have a new person in their lives, a new permanent situation to deal with. Someone to share holidays and special occasions with. Next year, they’d be scheduling out who got the kids when, who enjoyed Christmas Day with them and who got stuck with Boxing Day, and who was responsible for the stockings on Christmas Eve …

This year, though, they were still all hers. And she intended to make the most of that. Jack was nearly eighteen, after all – this could be his last family Christmas, if it came down to it. So Amy was determined to make this Christmas magical for them both. Give them one last year of being proper kids at Christmas.

Even if she had to do it alone.

Henry brushed up against her legs, and she reached down to pat him as the Giant Wheel came to a halt.

‘We can do it, can’t we, boy?’ she murmured, as she watched for Jack and Claire disembarking.

Henry just rested his head on his paws, over her feet. At least she could be sure Henry wasn’t going anywhere.

It was kind of nice to have at least one guy she could rely on.

Even if he was a corgi.