©GeraldineBanks310822
Tedi gazed out of the large bay window in his bedroom . Tedi’s bedroom was on the top floor at the back of the Palace Residential wing. He gazed out of the window , his head resting on a silk pillow embroidered with the letters TFM , delicately intertwined in fine gold, green and red thread. The motif was also on the fluffy fleece blanket which lay discarded on the floor and had fallen or being kicked off sometime during the night. It had been a warm night. The bed had been especially designed and fitted into the extensive windowsill by a local Carpenter , the view was superb .
Tedi surveyed, the panoramic landscape that he had spent many happy hours exploring . He knew by heart every tree and blade of grass , the types of wild animals and insects and the caves and hidden nooks . His eyes followed the stream that lead to the large lake and it brought back memories of paddling paw deep in the water and the excitement of being chased by the bad tempered swans and geese. Happy memories of warm sunny days.
Cross the butler would be up shortly to take him for his walk.
“Funny name Cross” he pondered, for the man who had looked after him and his interests for nigh on seventeen years and had never once said a cross word to him. Cross had came with the Palace, the arrangement had worked well over the years. Cross was a loyal and stalwart Butler. Tedi, shifted in his bed and thought , might as well have a snooze before Cross comes and as he dozed off he thought back to his younger days and how all of this had came about.
Tedi’s first visit to the Palace had been with his adopted mum and dad when he was a Puppy. He had been newly adopted from the local Dog’s Trust and his mum and dad were taken aback when Tedi pulled relentlessly on his lead wanting to go into the Palace. It was early days with his training and they felt perhaps that he needed more time to learn his basic commands. So he was kept on lead despite his pulling in the direction of the big gate. They decided that a walk around the grounds would be a good idea to tire the little puppy out and then they would have coffee and a cake in the quadrangle restaurant.
At least that was the plan, little did they know that visiting the Palace had ignited a rush of memories in the little puppy’s head. Familiar smells, visions of men and women on horseback, kitchens, bedrooms, children in period dress. Were they ghosts or were they memories of what had been? Tedi did not know or care, he just knew that he had been there before and he felt an overwhelming draw to the place , he did not know it was a Palace. He sensed though, it was in his blood.
Mr and Mrs Graham finished their coffees more quickly then they had anticipated, as Tedi had been unsettled the whole of the time in the quadrangle café and had frankly spoiled their visit, they were relieved to wander back to their little cottage which was just on the edge of the Palace’s estate. When they got home and settled onto the sofa with their little dog, all was peaceful as Tedi was tired and he fell asleep on Mr Graham’s lap.
“He’s a funny little thing , isn’t he?” Mrs Graham said as she got up from the sofa.
” Yes, he is , we’ll have to persist with his training, I thought he was making progress, but today , well he wasn’t paying any attention to us. He nearly manoeuvred himself backwards out of his harness, I’m sure he would have been off into the kitchen if he could have.” Mr Graham replied.
“The kitchen! My that would have caused chaos. He really wanted to get into the Palace didn’t he, shame they won’t let dogs in.” Mrs Graham said.
” Don’t think the Duke and Duchess would approve of their precious antique furniture having a leg cocked on it.”
” Honorary Duke and Duchess, they ain’t the real thing , not like in our day. Australian ain’t they? They don’t have Royalty , monied royalty , not proper royalty.”
This subject was a bone of contention between the couple, they had worked in the “big house ” for the old Duke and Duchess , twenty years before. They had been allowed to keep their tithed cottage as part of their retirement at a peppercorn rent. Mrs Graham had been Head Housekeeper and Mr Graham and been Head Gardener respectively . The real Duke and Duchess as Mrs Graham always referred to them had no issue , so there was no one to pass the Palace onto , well at least no one that was traceable.
” Issue” Mrs Graham thought as she walked into her small but tidy kitchen.” What a strange upper class word that was.”
Mrs Graham had worked for the Duchess and was with her through all the traumas of losing the babies that would have brought a succession to the family. It was never to be , eventually they had to accept that it would endanger the Duchess’s health to try any further. The Duke, though, had been wonderful, he threw himself into all sorts of causes to help unfortunate children and animals and he made sure that his wife was involved too. The Duke gave his Lady time to mourn but rightly so , he asked her to be involved with his projects, and it helped her greatly. The good work they had done together had been amazing. Both for animal and human welfare.
On the wall of the Graham’s kitchen there was a picture of The Duke and Duchess with their dogs Maisie and Marmaduke at one of the Great fundraising days that had been held on the Estate. The Fundraiser had turned into a very big event and the House was open to everyone, and their animals, there were horses and all sorts of domestic animals. Even an exotic animal show, where pet owners could show their pet spiders, lizards and snakes. It became an international event with all sorts of people far and wide attending. The Children and Pet Charities benefited greatly. The picture was of great comfort to Mrs Graham and she had chosen Tedi from the rescue centre as she thought he was the double of Marmaduke. He certainly had Marmaduke’s attitude.
Mrs Graham turned on the radio to listen to some classical music as she prepared Sunday dinner. She enjoyed the peacefulness and hoped that Monday would not bring any more “letters” from the Big House and those troublesome Australians. Meanwhile, Tedi had moved himself to his own bed near the fireplace and Mr Graham had got up to water the plants in their garden.
“It had been a good day and they should count their blessings .” She thought , though she was really very worried.
Chapter 2
©GeraldineBanks310822
It was two or three weeks later that Tedi realised he had to do something. The “letters” had arrived from the big House and they seemed to be very threatening. Lawyers were involved and it appeared that Mr and Mrs Graham were being asked to leave their home with nowhere else to go. Apparently they had no legal right to live their and unless they agreed to a significant increase in their monthly rent , which they simply could not afford , they would have to leave.Tedi knew something wasn’t right but he only knew this by instinct. Mrs Graham was crying a lot.
Fortunately Tedi had made a few dog friends in the village and there was much talk about how much he resembled old “Marmaduke”. Unbeknown to the Graham’s Tedi regularly slipped out of the Graham’s little cottage and met up with the “village dogs” at night. He learned about Marmaduke from them and Marmaduke had always said that the Duke and Duchess were passing the Palace on to Marmaduke in Trust and that everyone in the village would always be looked after. Marmaduke would make sure of that.
However, all the villagers were getting letters to say they had to move out. It wouldn’t have happened in Marmaduke’s day, they said. They didn’t understand how they could do it. What had happened to the “Trust”. That night in a flash of inspiration Tedi realised that he had to get into the Palace. There was a box he needed to find , he knew exactly where it was and it would have details of the Trust. He didn’t understand everything about it , but he just knew he had to find it. He told his “crew” that he needed to get into the Palace. He discussed with his “gang” , how they would break into the Palace and find what he needed to prove who the rightful owners of the Palace were.
The following night, they followed their plan and several village dogs were able to show Tedi how to get into the Palace grounds and also some underground passage ways that lead directly into the house. Other dogs would act as guards.
When they reached the iron grate that lead into the Library of the Palace, there were two dogs left Tedi and Freddie as the others had stayed on guard to warn if anything untoward had happened. Tedi had a feeling that he had been here before. They were both small Jack Russells and they were extremely adept at breaking in. Tedi was thinner then Freddie who couldn’t fit through the bars, but Tedi slipped through by scrunching up his shoulders and he slipped through.
Freddie looked concerned and quizzically at Tedi. Tedi sniffed to say it was alright he’d continue alone. Tedi knew where to go. Which indeed he did, he could smell the house, Marmaduke’s scent was still there, they were like signposts to him. He came out through the kitchen and decided not to cock his leg as he didn’t really need to, but it would be natural as that would be the way to find his way back. However, he knew that wouldn’t be a problem, once he found what he was looking for, he would not need to go back. This was going to be his home.
He ran along the corridor, there were a lot of pictures hanging on the walls , big and small and statues, some of white marble which were quite scary as they looked like real people .At this moment Tedi did not want to see any people. At the end of the corridor , he came to a massive room with a large dining table and loads of chairs. Again there were a lot of pictures on the walls with people in them and they were staring down at him. Tedi began to feel very nervous. So he ran along under the long table and when he got to the end of the room he went through the doorway which was ajar and into the hallway which he knew led to the stairway.
“So far so good ” Tedi thought. He could smell Marmaduke’s scent even stronger now.
He came to the large stairway and jumped up the stairs two at a time, he turned to the left and ran quickly down another corridor. There were rooms on either side and he knew he was looking for the “Old Duke’s Office” which was right at the end . When he reached the door , he was dismayed , it was closed and probably locked, how could he get in? He sniffed and pawed at the door, frustrated, what could he do?
It was then that Cross appeared. Cross was aware that there was an intruder in the house. The alarm from the CCTV had woken him and despite having been given his notice that morning by the new Duke and Duchess, he felt it was his duty to investigate. He had seen the little white dog running through the house as if he knew exactly where he was going. Cross thought he was seeing a ghost , he had worked for the Palace since he was sixteen and he had known Marmaduke.
Cross arrived just as Tedi was scratching helplessly at the door.
“Marmaduke, is that you?” Cross said in disbelief.
Tedi’s heart leapt into his throat and he looked up in horror at the tall man dressed in his pyjamas and dressing gown.
Tedi gave a little yelp and sat bolt upright , just like Marmaduke used to do.
” Good grief, it is you Marmie, come on let me pick you up” Cross reached out for the little dog.
Tedi let Cross pick him up in his big arms, but made it quite clear that he needed to get into the “Office”. He struggled to get down again and when his feet touched the ground again he clawed at the door with his front paws.
” Marmie, for a ghost you are very solid, but it’s great to see you , I can’t believe it. Do you want to get into the office, why?”
Tedi thought , I don’t know who Marmie is but , yes I do want to get into the “Office” so he sat looking up at Cross with his big eyes, which were just like Marmaduke’s.
Cross said . ” Well , it just so happens that I’ve got the keys, and if you want to get in that’s OK with me.” Cross unlocked the office door and Tedi rushed in and Cross followed him slowly , closing the door behind him.
Tedi looked around the room and saw the desk which he knew had a secret compartment. Only Marmaduke and the Duke knew about it. Tedi crawled underneath the desk and found the little drawer which was underneath the bottom of one of the main drawers. Instinct kicked in and he tapped with his paw three times and the drawer opened. It was dark and when Cross knelt down on his hands and knees and used a small torch to see what the little dog was doing , he watched as the drawer popped open and revealed a small gold box.
Tedi was stumped, what did the gold box mean. He couldn’t open it. He would need the man to help him. He sat up again and looked up pleading for help.
” Alright , Marmie, so this is what you were looking for? What is it, I’ll have to see if I can open it”.
Cross took the box out of the drawer and to his relief , it did not need a key and he lifted the lid. Inside there were some papers. Cross began to read them as Tedi looked up gratefully.
” Good Grief, this changes everything!”
Tedi realised his job was done, the “papers ” had been found, there was proof that the Duke had indeed passed the Palace onto Marmaduke .Tedi was Marmadukes son and therefore Tedi was the rightful owner of the Palace. The Australians had “bought” the Palace under false pretences. They had used scurrilous means and legions of Lawyers to buy the Palace and though the Duke’s and Duchesses wishes had been known to everyone, there had been nothing found in writing , even though everyone had been sure the Lawyers had all the details. The the Law Courts had been used to prove that the Duke was not of sound mind in leaving his Estate to a dog and it’s progeny. So it and the village and been bought by them at a bargain price.
The papers though proved otherwise, Cross looked in disbelief, this dog wasn’t Marmaduke , this was his son!
” Good Boy, Good Boy! ” We wondered what had happened to you and the others. You disappeared overnight. Let me have a look , I see you’ve got a collar on.
” You live just down the road! Well my boy , this is going to be your home now! “
Cross picked up Tedi and he put the papers back in the gold box and they went back to Cross’s living quarters where , Cross gave Tedi a drink of water and some ham from his fridge. They both sat on the sofa and Cross read through the papers again and found the number for the old Duke’s Lawyer with the intention of ringing him in the morning.
Meanwhile Freddie who had waited for Tedi at the other side of the grate decided that he best go home, he hadn’t heard anything and decided he would catch up with Tedi in the morning. That the Palace must have very big fridge and that Tedi was probably eating his way through it.
thenotsomightyom 