The Fox of Richmond Park Read online

  How had she got here? She tried to remember but her brain was foggy. She’d left Vince and the others in Hampstead Heath, hoping to slip away, but Rita had caught her up and convinced her to go back and speak to Vince. She remembered that. Vince was upset. She had run, and he had shouted for her to stop, Rita too, but she hadn’t realised why. She’d tried to cross the road to get away from him… But she hadn’t made it. A car, probably. She thought they just wanted her to stop. Her mind was elsewhere and her eyes were blurry from tears. Concentrating too hard on trying to get away.

  Stupid Laurie. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  At least she was safe now. And not dead. Being dead would not be ideal. Was Vince okay, though? What if he’d followed her into the road and…

  The man returned with another plate of chicken. ‘I won’t tell Charlie if you won’t. We’ll say it was past its use-by date.’ He tapped the side of his nose with a finger. She tucked into the meat, but Vince still plagued her mind. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. But maybe if he thought she was dead, he would go and live in Hampstead Heath, like he should have in the first place.

  A door opened and more footsteps filled the room.

  ‘Hello, honey. How was work?’ the man said.

  A woman’s voice spoke. ‘Oh, you know, awful. How’s the fox?’

  ‘She’s awake. I’ve called her Scarlett.’

  ‘You’re obsessed. I’ve told you, she’s out of your league.’ The woman laughed. ‘And how long will Scarlett be staying with us?’

  ‘I don’t know. She ’asn’t moved, so I don’t know if she’s broken anythin’. But if there’s no broken bones, then I’ll let her go in the mornin’. But I was thinkin’, I might take ’er somewhere else. Somewhere safer, what d’you reckon? Maybe up by Marion and Pete’s? You know, with the big nature reserve?’

  ‘All that way? Why don’t you just take her to the heath?’

  ‘That’s probably where she came from. All these roads around it, it ain’t good for them, Charlie. I seen three dead foxes this week, squashed like pancakes. ’Orrible.’

  Laurie shivered. That could have been her. She’d been lucky, but what was this human going to do with her? What if she never saw Vince or Socks again?

  ‘Yes, well, that’s London, isn’t it? And what about the other fox you saw?’ Charlie said.

  ‘If I see him again, maybe I’ll try to catch him. Take both of them together.’

  ‘Rescuing an injured fox is one thing, but catching a healthy one just to take it somewhere nicer? You’re crazy, Del, but Lord knows I can’t stop you when you get one of your ideas in your head. Just promise me she won’t be here long, okay? And don’t get bitten. Any more tetanus jabs and the hospital will think you’re getting high on ’em or something.’

  ‘Yeah, I promise. But look…’ Del moved across the room and picked something large and square up from the table. ‘What d’you think?’ He held up the square. On it, a picture of a fox. Reduced to a few simple lines and shapes, but unmistakably Laurie. Bright orange with green eyes, curled up in a perfect circle, a wreath of leaves like a halo around her.

  ‘Gorgeous, as always.’ The woman leaned forward and planted a kiss on the man’s lips. ‘And it doesn’t smell like the real one.’ She smiled, tweaking his chin between her thumb and forefinger.

  Laurie frowned. Rude.

  ‘I gotta’ make her eyes greener, though. Look at them…’ He came over to Laurie and crouched down next to her. ‘Beautiful.’

  ‘They are beautiful, I’ll give you that,’ Charlie said. ‘Rest of her is a bit mangy, though.’

  ‘Don’t be rude!’ Del said.

  ‘What? She doesn’t know what we’re saying. Do you?’ Charlie bent at the waist and peered into Laurie’s box. ‘You don’t look that hurt. Reckon Del can get rid of you tomorrow, can’t he, Scarlett?’

  ‘My name is Laurie,’ Laurie said, knowing full well they wouldn’t understand her.

  Del laughed. ‘See! Did you hear that? She said, “Shut up, Charlie, you’re the mangy one.” Don’t listen to her, Scarlett, you’re beautiful.’

  ‘I have sharp teeth too,’ Laurie said to Charlie. ‘Come closer and I’ll show you.’

  Charlie rested a hand on the man’s back and leaned in again. ‘Wow, did you hear that? She said, “Shut up Del, you lazy bastard, and go and make your wife a cup of tea.”’

  ‘That is one clever fox, right there,’ Del said, giving Laurie one last head rub. ‘I’d better do what she says.’

  *

  The sun was setting and the drop in temperature woke Rita from her slumber. Laurie was still in the box, presumably asleep, when she’d arrived back on the windowsill, so she’d found a tree to perch in while she waited for any improvement.

  She hopped along the branch and fluttered to the window, peering through the murky glass. The lights were off inside and neither Del nor the woman were around. Laurie’s box was on the floor. Her tail was draped over the edge, swishing lazily from side to side.

  She is alive! And she’s awake!

  ‘Laurie!’ Rita hissed through the tiny gap in the window. ‘It’s me! Over here!’

  Laurie’s head turned, and her eyes lit up before her face contorted into a grimace. ‘Rita!’

  ‘Oh, don’t move! Are you okay? We were so worried.’

  ‘I’m okay. Bruised and sore, but alive. Plus, I’ve had some of the best chicken of my life and the man made a picture of me and said I was beautiful, so overall, can’t complain. Is Vince okay? He didn’t get hit too, did he?’

  Rita laughed. ‘Vince is fine. He’s waiting for you. I know what you said about wanting him to stay at Hampstead Heath without you, but he won’t. He loves you, Laurie. Come with us. We’ll find somewhere else to live, all of us.’

  Laurie nodded. Nothing like almost dying to put things into perspective. If he was really that stubborn, then nothing she could do would change his mind. Probably not even her being dead. ‘Okay. But tell him he’s a poodle for choosing me over that place.’

  Rita cocked her head. ‘I will, but I don’t agree.’

  ‘There are two problems, though,’ Laurie said. ‘The man said something about taking me somewhere else. Some nature reserve place. Out of London, I think. They said, “up there”, so maybe north? But it could be anywhere.’

  ‘I’ll have to follow you. Do you know when he’s planning on doing it?’

  Laurie recounted what the humans had said, and how the woman seemed keen to get rid of her as soon as possible. Then she told Rita the other problem.

  ‘Socks,’ Laurie said.

  ‘I’ll get a message to him, let him know what’s happened. You’ll see him again, Laurie. I promise.’

  Laurie shook her head. ‘No… Not if the human takes me away…’

  ‘We’ll figure something out. We will. Vince and Arthur will be waking up now. You sit tight and rest. I’ll be back before morning. And don’t worry about anything, okay? It’ll all be fine.’

  ‘Thanks, Rita. Don’t forget to tell Vince—’

  ‘That he’s a poodle… I won’t.’ She hopped off the windowsill and headed back to Vince and Arthur once more.

  *

  Rita spent the night under the bush while Vince hunted, bringing back rats for himself and mouthfuls of worms for Arthur, whom, they agreed, they didn’t want wandering the gardens on his own. Vince’s reaction to Laurie’s message had been reserved. He’d smiled, but muttered only, ‘I just hope I get to see her again,’ before wandering off.

  Ever optimistic, Rita slept well, considering her earlier nap in the tree. She was glad to be back to her usual diurnal routine for a while. As the sun rose over London she felt the warmth on her feathers and hopped out onto the pavement to enjoy the daylight. Overnight, fat spiders had strung their webs across the leaves of the bush. She pecked them off, swallowing them whole. She would need a good breakfast if what Laurie had told her was true.

  Vince returned to the bush and flopped onto his side
with a sigh.

  ‘Are you okay, Vince?’ Arthur said. ‘Laurie will be alright, don’t worry. Rita’s going to follow her, then we’ll find her and everything will be fine.’

  ‘Maybe. But what if Rita can’t follow her? What if the human takes her in a car?’ Vince said.

  ‘I can keep up, don’t worry,’ Rita said, a little hurt that Vince didn’t have faith in her.

  ‘It’s not that I don’t think you can, but what if you get hurt too? I almost got you killed once, now Laurie… I keep putting you all in danger.’

  ‘Vince, I wanted an adventure. Let me have it. I’ve got nothing to lose, except letting you down.’

  ‘Oh, Rita, don’t talk like that. You know—’

  ‘Shush!’ Rita said. ‘Enough of your whining! Laurie is going to be set free, I’m going to find her and we’re all going to live together, do you understand?’

  ‘I just—’ Vince started.

  ‘Yes or no?’

  ‘Okay, yes, you win. Just be careful. Please. For me?’

  ‘I’ll be careful. For you.’

  She flapped away, making what she hoped was her last journey to Del’s house. The sooner all this was over and they got back to finding a park to live in, the better. Not for herself, of course, but after all this, Vince and Laurie deserved some peace and quiet.

  *

  Rita arrived just in time. Del was eager, already outside locking the purple front door, a large plastic container with a handle on top sitting at his feet. The orange-and-white fur of Laurie’s tail poked through a mesh grille at the front.

  ‘Sorry, Scarlett, my dear, it’s only for a little while,’ he said as he picked up the carry-case and made his way along the road. ‘The wife says we don’t ’ave room. And she is right about you being smelly, sorry. Don’t tell her I said that. Anyway, Del is gonna take you to a much nicer place. Nicer than London. It’s a long way, but when we get there… Oooh-wee! You gonna love it!’

  Don’t get in a car, don’t get in a car…

  At the end of the street, Del took a left, heading back towards Hampstead Heath, but a short way along the road he cut right, passing through a paved area with tall blocks of flats either side. Rita breathed a sigh of relief. Unless his car was parked nowhere near his house, it didn’t look like he’d be driving anywhere.

  Rita flew from lamp post to lamp post as Del walked down another narrow road, past an old stone church, then over some railway tracks. She watched the plastic box swing in his hand, and thought about Laurie, curled up inside. It occurred to her that Laurie didn’t know she was following, since she’d been expecting to greet her at the window again, so she called her name as loud as she could, hopefully easing her mind.

  Eventually, after passing along one final row of houses, Del took a break and paused outside a brown-brick building. An orange sign adorned the brickwork over the entrance but, of course, it was meaningless to her. Rita settled on a brick wall as he set Laurie on the floor and pulled something from his pocket. Rita called Laurie’s name again, and this time Laurie replied with a sharp bark. Del crouched down and whispered through the mesh. ‘Shhh now, Scarlett. It’s okay, my darlin’.’ After a quick roll of his shoulders, he picked the box back up and headed into the building.

  Del placed whatever it was that he’d taken from his pocket onto a yellow circle, which opened a narrow gate, large enough only to let a single human through. Rita watched him disappear up some stairs. She would have panicked at losing sight of them, but she could already see where the stairs led. A train station. She jumped from the wall and flew upwards, over the building and over the train tracks that ran along the roof and off into the distance in both directions. She was glad Vince wasn’t there.

  She settled on the corrugated metal roof that hung over the station platform and waited for Del and Laurie to reappear. Del clambered up the final few steps, steadying Laurie’s box with his free hand, then made his way to the platform, where he placed Laurie at his feet once more. Although not a car, a train wasn’t much better. She could follow the tracks, no problem, but if she couldn’t keep up then how would she know where they’d got off?

  A distant rumbling vibrated through the tracks and a tinny voice sounded from nowhere. ‘The next train on platform three will be the London Overground service to Barking. Please stand behind the yellow line and let any passengers off the train before boarding, thank you.’

  The train slid along the rails; a giant metal caterpillar, its long, white body punctuated with orange stripes, with a square face of yellow, blue and black. It slowed, grinding to a lurching halt as it pulled up beside the platform. Seeing it this close, Rita suddenly understood why Vince was so scared of them. The orange doors hissed open and a few humans stepped out and filed away down the stairs as Del lifted Laurie and entered the body of the enormous metal beast.

  Could she follow it? It had been travelling slowly into the station, but she knew it would pick up speed once it left. The platform was empty now. She flapped down and peered through the open door. Del and one other human sat, backs to the windows. The train began to beep. It was leaving. Could she…?

  The doors hissed again and she leapt towards the opening. The gap narrowed as the doors sliced through the air. She landed inside, her talons slipping on the smooth floor. The doors thumped together behind her, trapping her long tail feathers between them.

  ‘Argh!’ she squawked. Del looked over and clicked his teeth with his tongue. He got up, quickly checking Laurie was safe on the seat next to him, and crouched down beside her.

  ‘Oh, little bird! Hold still…’ He wrapped his thick fingers around her, cradling her body in his palm while tugging her tail gently from the door with his other hand. Once free, he set her down on the floor and tickled her white chest. ‘There you go. Now make sure you get out at the next stop, okay?’ He laughed and returned to his seat next to Laurie. The other man on the train looked up at Del, then immediately dropped his head back to the phone in his hand, not even noticing the mini-menagerie in the carriage with him.

  Rita shook her feathers and hopped into a corner, from where she could see Del and Laurie, but where she would be less likely to be trampled if the train filled up with passengers. She found it hard to believe that this man was the same species as whoever set the fox trap in the allotments.

  They soon arrived at the next station, where more humans got on, staring at Rita and pulling out their phones to snap pictures as they took their seats. Del stayed where he was, but occasionally shouted, ‘Watch out for the bird, folks! He’s comin’ for a ride with me!’ to the other humans when their feet got too close for comfort.

  ‘I’m female, actually,’ Rita said.

  ‘What a clever bird you are, Mister Magpie,’ he responded.

  Rita sighed.

  The train trundled on, filling and emptying, but Rita noticed that no matter how busy it got, the other humans kept their distance from Del, preferring even to stand and stumble around than sit next to him. It confused her since, despite calling her ‘Mister’, he was the nicest human she’d ever encountered.

  ‘Humans are weird,’ she said to herself.

  15

  ‘Park meeting! Park meeting!’ A sharp voice filled Sophie’s sleeping chamber.

  ‘Huh?’ Sophie eased open her eyes and blinked. The den was dark, but she knew it was the morning. She reached a paw out for Jake, suddenly remembering that he wasn’t there. After the confrontation with Edward, she couldn’t bear to be around him. She told him to leave her alone and, obedient as always, he’d left. She had no idea where he was and she wasn’t sure she cared.

  How could he do those things? Telling Edward that he didn’t want Vince to come back, spying on her and her friends and then lying about it… How could she ever look at him in the same way again?

  The voice yelled again. ‘Park meeting at the lake, right now! Attendance mandatory for all animals! Get a move on!’

  ‘Okay, okay, I’m coming,’ Sophie said thro
ugh a yawn.

  What was Edward up to now? He’d already surprised her by not kicking her out, or trampling her den, after she’d spread the word about what he’d done to Vince and Alice. Jake warned her not to, but she had been too angry to wait. She’d barely slept since, and a horrible feeling grew in the pit of her stomach as she slipped from the den and squinted in the dawn sunlight. The air was cool and wisps of cloud still hung like cobwebs in the pale blue sky.

  The owner of the voice – a crow – flapped to the next den and repeated his command. Sophie’s friend Marge emerged, groggy and confused, and headed over to join her.

  Blake and Bailey had already headed back to Hyde Park, after scraping out a shallow hole under some nearby brambles to rest for a while. Their plans to kill Kara were quickly put aside once Sophie explained the owl’s friendly relationship with Edward. After coming face-to-face with the Head Stag, they decided revenge wasn’t worth their skulls being crushed under angry hooves.

  One by one and two by two, animals emerged from their homes and made their way across the park. Birds soared overhead, smaller mammals crept along behind, but all hunting was on hold until Edward had said whatever he had to say.

  Most of the residents were already gathered by Vince’s old den – Edward’s new sleeping spot – when Sophie arrived. Thousands of animals of countless species. Any human who stumbled upon the gathering would have pinched themselves, but to be extra careful, the deer had formed a wide semi-circle enclosing the creatures and separating them from any stray humans who might walk by.

  The atmosphere was nervous and hushed; even some of the deer muttered to one another, speculating about what Edward might have planned. The rabbits arrived altogether – an impressive mass of brown fur, moving as one. Hundreds of tiny songbirds twittered in the centre, alongside the crows, jackdaws and magpies. Kara and the other owls perched on the branches above, under the dark leaf canopy, puffing under their breath about the unsociable time of day. Sophie found a spot on the left-hand side, between the squirrels and the rabbits, a couple of does standing guard behind them. Marge and all the other foxes, with the exception of Jake, joined Sophie. She didn’t think he would show up, until she spotted him alone at the very back.