Princess Phoebe by Scilla James Page A

might start arguing again. Pearl’s suggesting I could go over and talk to the old man, since Dad won’t listen to either of us.’
    â€˜Cool,’ I say, ‘but how come I’m allowed to go with you?’ I’m pleased to think they want me to go, but it sounds suspicious as well. Normally I’m left out of grown-up stuff.
    Mum takes a deep breath. ‘You were always Granddad’s favourite,’ she says, ‘and I reckon that if he sees you again and remembers how fond he was of you, he might be persuaded to relent a bit so far as your father’s concerned. Only we won’t tell Dad about the visit till afterwards, so keep quiet about it Ellie. It’s important that you don’t tell, or he’ll try and stop Nick going. He’s such a proud man and he doesn’t want his father to have to give him a dig-out. He’d rather see us all on the streets first.’
    â€˜And don’t tell anyone else, either,’ adds Nick. ‘Not Jan, or even the twins, in case they drop something out in front of Dad. It’s Top Secret, just for now.’
    I skip upstairs and give myself a big smile in the cracked mirror above my bed. So I don’t even have to ask Nick to take me to Mrs Henderson’s – we’ll be going practically past her door anyway!
    Mum calls me down again to help, and in between singing Humpty Dumpty for Jack and Patrick, I wash up that huge pile of dishes, and smile at her too. This will be my big chance. I’ll have time on my own in the van with Nick to tell him about Princess, and I hope he’ll be OK about it, and take me to see her on the way to Granddad’s. So tomorrow I’ll be with my lovely dog! I don’t think much further than that. Seeing Granddad again after all this time will be just great too.
    I text Jan to say that I’m going on a secret mission and will meet her at the bus stop for school on Tuesday. That’ll get her wondering. Then I ring Mrs Henderson with the wonderful news that I’ll see her and Princess tomorrow.
    â€˜But it’s my Gardening Club day Ellie,’ she says, ‘and I really don’t want to miss it because we’ve got someone coming to talk about asparagus, and I’ve always had trouble growing that.’
    Asparagus ? I want to shout. Who cares about asparagus ?
    But then she says, ‘Unless you can get here before 10.30. That would be all right as the talk isn’t till lunchtime.’
    â€˜I’ll ask my brother,’ I say, feeling hopeful again.
    I check that I’ve got my bit of paper with her address on, find a clean t-shirt for the morning and have a shower and hair wash so I’ll look my best for my day out with my brother. This is the first night that I go to bed feeling happy since Princess was taken from me.

    Next morning, Nick says we’re setting off early while Dad’s still out with Tag, so I have hopes of getting to Mrs Henderson’s in time to catch her at home. I’m so excited that I don’t stop to think whether Nick will agree to take me. But it turns out to be more difficult to raise the subject of Princess than I’d expected. Nick’s in a good mood, and as soon as we set off he starts on about Dad and Granddad. He tells me he’s looking forward to seeing Granddad again, and that he’s often wanted to contact the old man himself, but loyalty to Dad has stopped him.
    â€˜So d’you know why they quarrelled?’ I ask.
    â€˜Yes, I do,’ he says. ‘It was all to do with Frank, and money of course.’
    â€˜What? Him again!’ I say, wondering whether this might give me my chance to speak. But Nick goes on.
    â€˜Before Dad left the village to come here, and so that he could afford to move, he borrowed money from Frank. I don’t know if you know what a ‘loan shark’ is, Ellie, but as well as breeding dogs Frank lends money to people who need it and then