The Kingdom of Carbonel

21

Dossy

When Rosemary reached home she took Pergamond straight upstairs.

‘Why, darling, where have you been? I was begining to grow anxious,’ said Mrs Brown.

‘I’ve found one of the kittens, Mother. It’s Pergamond.’

‘Rosie, I’m so glad!’ said her mother.

‘May I keep her upstairs with us, just for the night?’ begged Rosemary. ‘John said he didn’t think he’d be back until tomorrow, and she would be company for me. Besides, I shouldn’t sleep a wink if she was in the greenhouse. You see she was stolen and sold to a pet shop. I found her there!’

Mrs Brown listened with astonishment while Rosemary told her story, leaving out the magic bits and the complimentary remarks of Mr Bodkin and the crowd of people.

‘I’ve got a present for you,’ she ended. ‘A box of peppermint creams.’

‘My favourite!’ said Mrs Brown, and by a lucky chance they were Rosemary’s favourite, too.

‘I’m just going down to tell Woppit about Pergamond,’ she said rather indistinctly, because of course her mother had offered her a peppermint cream.

Mrs Brown laughed. ‘Don’t be long, dear, supper is nearly ready.’

Woppit was sitting brooding in the greenhouse, with her paws tucked in, so that she looked like a rather untidy foot warmer. She had never ceased to reproach herself for the loss of the kittens. When she heard that Pergamond was safe and that at least they knew where Calidor was, she became a different animal. Her purr was like tearing calico, and she rubbed herself against Rosemary’s legs with such force that she nearly knocked her over.

‘So I thought you had better go and tell Queen Blandamour straight away,’ ended Rosemary. ‘Or would you like your supper first?’

‘As if I’d let bite or sup pass my lips,’ said Woppit, ‘before I told Her Majesty the blessed news! Not that I couldn’t fancy something tasty when I get back, mind. A nice bit of liver, minced medium fine, wouldn’t come amiss.’

Rosemary watched the untidy old animal leap to the top of the garden wall with surprising ease, and run along it till she was out of sight. Then she went back to the flat.

‘All the same, I do wish I knew what was happening to John,’ she whispered to Pergamond, who was warming her overfull stomach by the fire, for the evening was chilly.

From the back seat of the car, John had looked through the window behind him at the dwindling figure of Rosemary, as she stood outside the pet shop. She looked rather forlorn standing there by herself on the edge of the pavement, so he waved, until he remembered that she could not see him.

‘It wouldn’t make any difference to her if I stood on my head!’ he said gloomily to himself.

He turned round and studied the backs of the three heads in front of him. There was Dossy’s father with a bowler and a red sort of neck that suggested he was not a very patient sort of person; there was Dossy’s mother with the carefully waved, blue hair under the very fashionable hat; there was Dossy’s own sleek, fair head in between with the kitten on her shoulder. Calidor was looking rather miserably over the back of the seat, unaware that help was so near. Very carefully John put his mouth as near to the kitten as he could and whispered, ‘Cheer up, it’s me, John! I’m in the back of the car. You can’t see me because I’m invisible!’

Calidor started, and to keep his balance stuck his claws into Dossy’s shoulder. Dossy shrieked.

‘For goodness’ sake!’ said her father irritably. He did not care for sudden squeals when he was driving through busy traffic.

‘He scratched me, Mother!’ said Dossy tearfully, and lifting the kitten on to her knee gave him a slap. It was not a hard slap, but it upset his balance again so that once more he had to dig in his claws to prevent himself from falling off.

Once more Dossy shrieked.

‘For mercy’s sake put that cat in the back where it can’t scratch you!’ said her father crossly.

‘It’s a horrible kitten!’ complained Dossy, dropping Calidor into the back of the car. ‘It scratched me twice! I wish I’d chosen the ginger one!’

‘I wish you’d chosen a goldfish. At least that couldn’t scratch,’ growled her father.

‘Now, Charlie!’ said Dossy’s mother. ‘The poor child must have something to amuse her while the television is out of order.’

John ignored the argument that seemed to be starting in the front seat, and putting Calidor on the rug which lay folded beside him, whispered, ‘It’s all right, Calidor, I’ll get you out of here somehow. You needn’t be afraid.’

‘I’m not afraid… exactly,’ said Calidor stoutly. ‘But it does make it easier to be brave, now you’re here.’

He snuggled up against John’s invisible grey flannel shorts, and after giving a few halfhearted licks to his shirt front to show how self-possessed he was, under John’s stroking fingers he fell asleep. The powerful car had slipped with surprising speed out of the town and into the kind of suburb which has big houses built in large gardens.

‘I hope to goodness they aren’t going for miles and miles,’ said John to himself.

He was relieved to hear Dossy’s father say, ‘Nearly home. You’ll be pretty late for tea, Doss. I thought you were expecting someone?’

‘Good heavens, I’d clean forgotten! But I dare say it doesn’t matter,’ said his wife comfortably.

‘It’s only Milly,’ said Dossy in a bored voice. ‘I expect she’ll come in that awful old blue cotton frock again.’

‘I think it’s the only best one she has. You musn’t give yourself airs, darling, because you are a lucky little girl with lots of pretty things!’ said her mother.

‘She seems a nice kid to me. Plenty of go in her,’ said Dossy’s father. ‘I can’t think why you don’t like her.’

‘She always wants to play such silly games,’ said Dossy. ‘Wanting to pretend something or other all the time.’

John decided at once that he, too, would like Milly.

‘Well, don’t forget she’s your guest, darling,’ said Dossy’s mother. ‘You must play her games, too. I sometimes wonder if you don’t have a teeny, weeny bit too much of your own way. Look, there is Milly!’

‘She’s sitting on our gate!’ said Dossy. ‘And she is wearing that old blue thing.’

As the car drew up, Milly jumped down and opened the gate for them. She was a plump person with short red hair, and a great many freckles.

‘I got tired of waiting inside,’ she explained. ‘I was pretending I was a cowboy.’

Dossy sniffed, but her father chuckled. ‘Hop in the back, Milly, and we’ll give you a ride up the drive.’

John had barely time to squeeze himself into a corner before she got in.

‘You haven’t noticed our new car!’ said Dossy in a huffy voice. But Milly might not have heard. She had eyes for nothing but Calidor. ‘What a darling kitten! What’s his name? Where did he come from?’

‘He’s mine… because… because I was good at the dentist’s.’ Dossy had the grace to go rather red as she said this. ‘I don’t like him very much,’ she went on. ‘He scratched me twice, and he hasn’t purred once.’

‘Perhaps he hasn’t anything to purr about. Can we go to the kitchen and get him some milk?’

‘Mrs Parkin doesn’t like children bothering around in the kitchen,’ said Dossy’s mother firmly. ‘He shall have some at tea time. Here we are. Now run along in and wash your hands.’

John was determined not to let Calidor out of his sight. He followed the two girls into the house, narrowly missing getting himself slammed in the door of the car by the unsuspecting Milly. Dossy carried Calidor. They took him with them into the bathroom, which was panelled with black marble and pink trimmings. John followed. His hands were so dirty that he tried to wash them, too, but Dossy pulled the plug out before he had finished. The dirty marks on the pink towel were blamed on Milly. Next he followed them to Dossy’s bedroom, so that Milly could be shown her new party dress. It was all rather embarrassing, because he felt he was eavesdropping, so he was relieved when a gong interrupted and they went downstairs to tea. Calidor came down on Milly’s shoulder, wobbling uncomfortably as she bounced from step to step. His ears were flattened crossly.

‘I’ve got legs of my own, haven’t I? Why can’t they put me down?’ he muttered to John following closely behind.

‘Well, at least you’ll get your saucer of milk,’ whispered John. ‘I shan’t get anything at all!’

This time it was almost more than John could bear. There were a great many little sandwiches and delicious cakes. They sat on low chairs, and Milly found it difficult to manage a very small plate on her knee, a lace-edged napkin, a cream horn and a special fork to eat it with. Luckily for John, half the cream horn slid on to the floor. Although he would have hesitated to take a cake from the table, which would be like stealing, he felt that half a cream horn on the floor was different, and he picked it up and ate it thankfully. Milly was equally thankful to find it was not there when she looked furtively down, though she was rather puzzled.

Calidor lapped milk politely from a china saucer in a way that would have warmed the heart of Woppit. He even remembered ‘to purr his grace’.

After tea the two girls were sent into the garden to play. They scooped up the indignant Calidor from the cushion on which he had settled down to sleep, and Dossy’s mother called after them, ‘Milly’s games this time, darling!’