Bea heard a faint scratching outside and she was sure it was the puppy. She longed to open the door and hug the little dog, but then Mrs Stickler would throw the poor animal out of the palace forever.
Bea edged over to Alfie and whispered in his ear, “Hey, I need your help.”
“Why?” Alfie looked puzzled.
“There’s a puppy outside the door,” said Bea.
Alfie’s eyes widened. “Why is there a puppy—” he began loudly.
“Shh!” Bea nudged him. “I’ll explain later! Just try to distract them. Tell them you’ve hurt yourself or something. But make it big. I’ve got to catch the dog without them seeing.”
“OK!” Alfie nodded, his face solemn.
“Here you are, Prince Alfred.” The housekeeper handed Alfie a smaller book.
“Thank you.” Alfie put the book on his head and tottered unsteadily to the middle of the room. “Wow, all this book-balancing makes me feel REALLY dizzy!” He rocked from side to side, faking a shocked expression.
“Don’t be silly, Alfie!” said Natasha. “I don’t feel dizzy.”
“I can’t help it!” Alfie let the book drop to the floor and carried on staggering round the room.
“You had better sit down, Prince Alfred. Here, let me help you.” Mrs Stickler tried to grab Alfie’s arm but he swayed out of her reach and bashed into a tall bookcase, sending books tumbling from the shelves.
“Ouch! I wish I could stop wobbling,” he cried, staggering towards a table with a priceless crystal vase.
Bea tried not to laugh. She should never have told her brother to make his distraction something big! She really hoped he didn’t break anything. While Natasha and Mrs Stickler tried to catch hold of Alfie, Bea crept to the door. When she opened it, a furry face peeped through.
Bea shooed the puppy backwards and slipped out, closing the door behind her. She tried to scoop the little dog into her arms but the puppy scampered off down the passageway.
“Hey, wait!” Bea called softly.
The puppy galloped into the drawing room, jumped on the sofa and nipped playfully at the cream-coloured cushions. Bea crept up to her but as soon as she got close the puppy dashed away again. The little dog raced round the dining room barking excitedly, before running right up the stairs.
Bea rushed after the puppy, who had stopped at the top to sniff the carpet. Bea crept up the last few steps and pounced!
“Got you!” she whispered into the puppy’s soft fur as she ran to her bedroom and closed the door. “We’re lucky no one saw us. You’re a pretty fast runner, aren’t you?”
The puppy licked Bea’s cheek.
“How did you escape from the laundry room anyway?” said Bea. “Did you push the door open? You need to remember that you’re a secret. Some people would be cross if they knew you were here.”
There was a rustling in the box under the bed and the puppy’s ears pricked up. Bea pulled out Fluff’s cardboard box and set it on her chest of drawers out of reach. The little dog wagged her tail and then lay down, resting her chin on her paws.
Bea stroked her pale coat and her silky soft ears. “Maybe I ought to think of a name for you.”
The puppy gave a huge yawn and rolled on to her back, showing off her fluffy tummy. Bea grinned as she rubbed the puppy’s soft belly, but her smile faded as she wondered what her dad would say. How was she going to keep a puppy secret at Ruby Palace?
Chapter Four
The Secret Way over the Wall
Bea stroked the puppy’s soft ears. “What shall I call you? Maybe I could name you Patch because of your patchy coat. Or maybe Rusty. What do you think?”
The dog bounced up again and dashed round the room, sniffing everything. Her little tail wagged eagerly.
Bea wrinkled her forehead. “You’re right! Those names are no good. I’ll think of something better.”
The puppy gave a soft bark and her ears pricked up. A moment later Bea caught the sound of footsteps. She jumped up, wondering where to hide the little dog, but when the door burst open it was only Alfie. “It took me ages to get away!” he panted.
Bea pulled her brother inside and quickly shut the door. “Come and see the puppy. Isn’t she cute? I’m just trying to decide what to name her.”
“Call her Firestorm!” Alfie crouched down and shook the dog’s paw enthusiastically.
“You have to be gentle. She’s only a puppy!” Bea dropped to the floor beside her brother. “Anyway, I don’t think Firestorm really suits her. I was thinking of calling her Patch but I’m not sure it’s quite right.”
“How about Splash? Because you found her in the fountain.” Alfie let the puppy lick his hand. “What’s that smell?”
“It’s the herbs from the garden – the scent must have brushed off on her coat.” Bea put her arms around the little dog. “That’s it! I can name her after one of the herbs. Rosemary sounds nice – Rosie for short!”
The puppy galloped to and fro before stopping to bark at herself in the mirror. Alfie and Bea laughed.
“So are you going to keep her in your room like Crinkly and Fluff?” asked Alfie.
Bea hesitated. She longed to keep Rosie but she needed to find out whether someone was missing the little dog. “No, I think I’ll take her for a walk and ask around to see if anyone’s lost a puppy. Somebody must know where she came from.”
“I’ll come too!” Alfie told her.
Bea shook her head. “I’ve got to get over the palace wall without Mrs Stickler seeing. So I think you’d better stay here.”
“That’s not fair! I helped you escape from the parlour so I should get to take the puppy for a walk too! And we’d better hurry. Natasha is coming to find you to practise the national song.”
Bea scrambled to her feet and picked up Rosie. “Why didn’t you tell me before? Quick, we’ve got to go!”
The corridor was empty. Bea raced down the staircase with Alfie behind her. Just as they reached the front door, Mrs Stickler’s voice rang out from the dining room.
“This table is terribly dusty, Jenny. We have some very important people coming to dinner and everything has to be perfect. Now, where is Princess Beatrice? That girl is always running off somewhere.”
“Quick, Bea––” began Alfie, before Bea clapped a hand over his mouth and pulled him outside.
“I’m trying to leave secretly, remember!” she hissed into his ear.
Mrs Stickler marched into the hallway and looked around suspiciously. Bea watched her, hidden behind the pillar by the front door. She gripped Alfie’s arm tightly, warning him not to make a sound.
Once the housekeeper was gone, Bea let go and Alfie pulled up his sleeve. “Ow, that hurt!”
“Sorry, but if you’re coming along you have to stay quiet,” said Bea.
Rosie ran across the garden, her tail wagging. Bea spotted Mrs Cherry pulling weeds out of a flower bed and went over.
The gardener brushed earth off her hands and smiled at Rosie. “She’s such a cute puppy! I haven’t found anyone who’s missing a dog though. Do you think she wandered in here by accident?”
“Maybe she came down the road and squeezed under the front gate,” said Alfie eagerly. “Or maybe she was left here by a wicked dog snatcher, or maybe––”
“I guess she could have found her own way in,” interrupted Bea, before Alfie’s imaginings got too wild. “I’ll go to the Sleepy Gull Café and ask Keira’s mum and dad. Lots of people walk their dogs along the clifftop.”
“And I’ll ask the rest of the stable hands.” Mrs Cherry tickled Rosie under the chin.
“Thanks, Mrs Cherry.” Bea wondered if it was awful of her to hope that Rosie’s owner wasn’t found too quickly. She loved having the little dog at the palace!
Alfie and Bea walked into the orchard, the puppy gambolling at their feet. Suddenly Rosie spotted a butterfly and chased it back towards the palace. The puppy was halfway across the orchard when a stripy kitten leapt out from behind a bush with a shrill meow! Tiger tried to
pounce on Rosie’s tail, but missed.
“Be friendly, Tiger!” Bea scooped up the little kitten, who snuggled against her, purring.
Rosie barked up at them both, her tail wagging.
“I think Rosie wants to be friends,” said Alfie. Bea set Tiger down on the ground again. The kitten’s back stiffened and when Rosie tried to run up and sniff her, she gave a fierce yowl that made the puppy run to hide behind Bea’s legs. Rosie began to bark over and over.
Bea glanced towards the house. What if Mrs Stickler heard? Quickly, she caught the squirming puppy under the tummy. Hugging Rosie tightly, she marched over to a plum tree growing in the corner of the orchard.
The tree’s branches stretched right over the top of the palace wall. This was Bea’s secret way out of the royal garden. She patted the knobbly tree trunk. “You go first, Alfie. Then I can hand you Rosie.”
Alfie clambered over. Then Bea climbed up and lowered the puppy into her brother’s hands. “Bye, Tiger. We’ll be back soon!” she called to the kitten before jumping to the other side.
They followed the path that ran beside the cliff. The town of Savara was spread out below them – rows of little houses with red rooftops. Beyond the town lay the sea like a wrinkled blue blanket dotted with tiny white waves. A little boat with a snowy sail was gliding out of the harbour.
Rosie trotted happily beside Bea, stopping to sniff the air now and then. The path led past Sleepy Gull Café and on towards Shilling Wood. The café had a cheerful sign above the door and a large garden with a view of the ocean.
Bea loved the Sleepy Gull Café. Her best friend, Keira, lived there with her parents. The Makalis cooked the yummiest food in Savara and Bea especially loved their spicy spring rolls. She suddenly wondered whether Keira and her parents knew about the important people who wanted to come and live on the clifftop close by.
She was opening the gate to the café garden when Rosie’s ears pricked up. The puppy’s eyes were fixed on a rabbit grazing on the grass. She let out a torrent of barks and hurtled after the creature.
“Rosie,” cried Bea. “Come back!”
The puppy sped up, her ears flapping as she ran. The rabbit raced into Shilling Wood and Rosie chased after it, disappearing under the dark mass of trees.
Chapter Five
The Sleepy Gull Café
Rosie streaked through the trees, yapping excitedly, and Bea and Alfie rushed after her. The rabbit vanished and Rosie stopped to sniff a bright-yellow orchid. Then she jumped over a fallen log and disappeared into the undergrowth.
“Rosie, wait!” called Bea. “Alfie, did you see where she went?”
“Over there.” Alfie pointed to a patch of bushes.
“I should have found a lead for her. She’s too little to be running off on her own.” Bea wished the fluttering in her stomach would stop. What if they couldn’t find Rosie?
She grabbed a stick and used it to push aside the trailing vines. There were paw prints in the mud leading to a tree. Bea followed the marks and discovered a large hole between the roots. Crouching down, she peered into the hollow. “Rosie? Are you down there?”
A furry grey-and-white face poked out. Then Rosie scampered out of the hole, covered in earth and leaves.
Bea brushed the mud off her fluffy coat. “Poor Rosie! I think the rabbit must have got away.” She picked the puppy up. Tired from all the chasing, Rosie closed her eyes and fell instantly asleep in Bea’s arms.
Alfie and Bea left the wood and walked back along the cliff path to the Sleepy Gull Café. The smell of spicy spring rolls drifted out of the café window.
Rosie woke up, her nose twitching. She leapt out of Bea’s arms and slipped under the gate into the café garden. Bea sped after her, giggling. Rosie pranced right up to the door and pressed her nose against the glass.
“Rosie, you’re so cheeky!” Bea scooped up the puppy just as her friend, Keira, opened the door. Keira had friendly brown eyes and her hair was up in a long ponytail.
“Hi, Bea.” Keira’s eyes widened when she saw Rosie. “Where did you get the dog from? Has the king changed his mind about letting you have a pet?”
Bea shook her head. “This is Rosie. I found her in the palace garden and I’m trying to work out where she came from. Have you seen her before?”
“I don’t think so.” Keira tickled Rosie under the chin. “Look at those big brown eyes! I wonder who she belongs to.”
Suddenly Rosie jumped out of Bea’s arms, darted into the café and grabbed a napkin from an empty table. Galloping back outside with the napkin in her mouth, she began digging furiously. Mud sprayed everywhere as she burrowed with her little paws. Dropping the napkin in the hole, she pushed the earth on top to bury it.
“Rosie!” exclaimed Bea. “Why did you do that?”
“Maybe she thinks the napkin is treasure!” Alfie’s eyes gleamed. “I’ll get another one and see if she buries that too.” He dashed inside.
Keira giggled. “She’s a funny little thing, isn’t she? Can I show her to my mum and dad? They need cheering up – we had some bad news this morning.”
“What bad news?” asked Bea, brushing the earth off Rosie’s coat.
“Some rich people want to knock down our café to make room for a big new house.” Keira sighed.
“They can’t do that, can they?” Bea stared. “It’s really unfair!”
“We’re going to stop them, so don’t worry!” Keira sounded brave but she chewed her lip as she said it. Then she smiled at Rosie. “Do you think she’s hungry? I could see if there’s something in the kitchen for her.”
Bea called to Rosie and followed her friend inside. Her dad had said his visitors wanted to live on the clifftop but he hadn’t talked about knocking the café down. Bea frowned. Maybe it was all a terrible mix-up.
Keira’s mum, Mrs Makali, was serving customers. She had a flowery apron tied over her skirt and her black hair was scraped back in a bun. Keira’s dad was cooking and the sound of chopping and sizzling came from the kitchen.
“Hello, Princess Bea.” Mrs Makali glanced at Rosie, who was wagging her tail. “What a cute little dog!”
Bea noticed the trail of dirty paw prints on the floor. “Sorry about the mud! I’ll take her back outside.”
Mrs Makali smiled. “Would you and Prince Alfie like some of my lime and coconut cake?”
“Yes, please!” Bea took Rosie to a wooden table in the garden. Alfie dashed to the fence to watch a sailing ship crossing the bay below them.
Keira came out a few minutes later with two slices of cake, a dish of sausages for Rosie and a brown paper bag that smelled of spices. “My mum wants you to have some spring rolls to take back to Ruby Palace.”
“Oh good! They’re my favourite.” Bea watched Rosie munch the sausages happily.
“I’ll just fetch your drinks.” Keira hurried away.
Alfie bit into his cake. “So what are we going to do now? I want to show Rosie to everyone at the palace.”
“We can’t! Dad will never let us keep her.” Bea frowned at her brother but he just shrugged. “Anyway, we haven’t found out who Rosie belongs to. We have to keep her a secret until we do.”
“Fine!” Alfie yawned. “Can we go back now?”
Bea nodded and took a bite of cake. She felt a fluttering in her stomach. She loved the thought of keeping Rosie at Ruby Palace and playing with her every day, but how would she make that work? It wouldn’t be easy to hide a puppy. After all, Rosie seemed to like running off quite a lot!
Alfie and Bea finished their cake and Bea thanked Mrs Makali for the spring rolls.
“Bye, Rosie!” Keira knelt down to stroke the puppy.
“I’ll ask my dad about those people who want to move here,” Bea told her. “Maybe it’s all a mistake.”
“I hope so!” Keira rubbed her forehead.
“Don’t worry!” Bea hugged her friend. “I’ll find out as much as I can. We’d better go – there’s a banquet tonight and we can’t be late.”
Alfie and Bea walked back to Ruby Palace with Rosie scampering ahead of them. Alfie held the spring rolls so that Bea could carry Rosie back over the wall, then they crossed the royal garden. Mrs Cherry, who was digging the vegetable plot, stopped to wave at them.
“I’m hungry! I’m going to find out what’s for dinner.” Alfie ran inside.
Bea gathered Rosie into her arms again and went to see Mrs Cherry.
“Hello, Princess Bea.” The gardener set down her empty wheelbarrow. “I’ve got some news about your mystery puppy. I found out where she used to live.”
Bea’s stomach turned over. Did this mean she’d have to send Rosie back? She would miss the little dog so much! She hugged Rosie tight and tried to smile. “That’s great! So where did Rosie come from?”
Chapter Six
The Wandering Puppy
Rosie wriggled so much that Bea set her down in the empty wheelbarrow. “I’ve been wondering what happened to Rosie and how she got here in the first place,” she told Mrs Cherry.
“Well, she’s certainly a long way from home,” said the gardener. “The farmer who brings the hay for the horses told me about a stray dog that gave birth to some puppies in his barn. He thinks Rosie’s one of those pups. She must have crept on to his truck while he was loading the hay and rode all the way here without anyone knowing.”
“That makes sense!” cried Bea. “She had some hay stuck to her coat when I first found her.” Her stomach lurched as she thought about Rosie all alone on the hay truck. “So, I suppose the farmer wants her back now.”
“No, he doesn’t. He says he’s going to have enough trouble finding homes for the mother and the other pups.”
Bea brightened. “Then Rosie will have to stay here! I don’t know how I’m going to manage it but –” She broke off as a shout came from the direction of the palace.
The Lost Puppy Page 2