The silence was gone. They were surrounded by what at first sounded like a humming noise. Then the hum seemed to break up into innumerable little voices, some high and shrill, some soft and purring, some abrupt as the plucking of a violin string. Rosemary was startled to distinguish a small, singsong voice quite close to her ear saying over and over again,‘Up we go! Up we go!’
She looked around, and saw with astonishment that it was the second of the two caterpillars.
‘Where are you going?’ she asked.
The second caterpillar halted for a moment, waved its front half about uncertainly, and then hurried after its companion.
‘Don’t look round now,’ it said breathlessly, ‘but I think we’re being spoken to – by a human! What a mercy the great blundering things can’t hear us talking!’
‘But Ican hear you talking!’ said Rosemary, a little nettled at being called ‘blundering’.
Both the caterpillars turned around in astonishment, lost their balance and fell off the twig on to the grass below in two tightly rolled coils from which they refused to budge.
‘Rosie!’ said John. ‘There’s a super beetle here, all green and blue, and he says –’
‘John and Rosemary, will you kindly pay attention!’
They turned to where Carbonel sat enthroned on the biscuit tin, the end of his tail twitching in irritation.
‘That is, of course, unless you find the conversation of beetles and caterpillars more worth while than mine!’
‘Carbonel! How glorious!’ said Rosemary happily. ‘We can hear you talking, too!’
‘Which is not much use unless you’re prepared to listen. After all the trouble I’ve taken with you!’
‘The troubleyou’ve taken withus!’ said John.
But Carbonel swept on.‘I thought I should never get you to understand what I wanted, and when at last you did realize you had to find Mrs Cantrip, and I tried to stop you from wasting your time by going off to the Copper Kettle, would you take any notice? Oh, dear me, no!’
‘Don’t let’s waste time now by being cross!’ said Rosemary. ‘We did the best we could, and we never expected to be able to hear beetles and caterpillars talking as well as you. It is rather exciting, you know!’
She put out her hand, and laid it gently over the angry, twitching end of Carbonel’s tail. For a moment she could feel it stirring beneath her palm. Then, gradually, the furry movement slowed down and ceased altogether.
‘Oh, come off it, Carbonel!’ said John affectionately.
The black cat took him at his word and stepped down from the box.
‘Very well,’ he said. ‘I have no doubt you did do your best, and I am grateful. And I must say, you were very quick witted to bargain withher for the prescription. Now, pay attention, both of you, because I don’t have much time. I have not gone to all this trouble for the pleasure of a merechat, though I won’t deny I am pleased to see you both again. Very pleased. I need your help.’
‘Of course we’ll help you! Won’t we, John?’ said Rosemary.
‘Tomorrow I must go away,’ Carbonel said.
‘Go away!’ said Rosemary in dismay. ‘Where to?’
‘And when we’ve just found out how to talk to you!’ said John.
‘There you go again! Listen, and I will explain. You know that I am a royal cat, and that my people have their own laws and customs. After dark, the wall tops are our highways and the roofs our mountains and our plains. The Town Hall has been the royal seat of my ancestors for two hundred years, and there I hope my descendants will rule after me. Now that is where I need your help. My royal children –’
‘Kittens! Your kittens!’ said Rosemary excitedly. ‘Carbonel, how lovely! How many have you got? And why didn’t you tell us? We should –’
‘I am trying to tell you now!’ said Carbonel severely.
‘But –’
‘Shut up, Rosie!’ said John under his breath.
‘You may not know,’ went on Carbonel, ‘that it is our custom for each cat to select a human family to look after.’
‘Don’t you mean the humans choose a cat?’ said John.
‘Certainly not!’ said Carbonel coldly. ‘The humans, of course, repay a little of their debt to us with a place by the fire, a saucer of milk, little offerings of fish and meat according to their humble means.’
‘But besides catching mice, what –’ began John. It was Rosemary’s turn to give a warning nudge.
‘Our great gift to the human race is our example.’
‘Example?’
‘That is what I said. You fuss and flurry and rush about all day, and for what? In the midst of it all, we sit calm and unruffled, meditating on the mystery of Life and Eternity.’
‘But your kittens,’ said Rosemary. ‘Do tell us about them! How many are there? And are they like you? Oh, I must see them!’
‘There are two of them, a boy and a girl,’ said Carbonel. ‘They are said to be remarkably handsome – but whether they are like me you must judge for yourselves,’ he added modestly.
‘Then we can see them?’
‘Certainly. I have chosen you to look after them while I am away.’
‘Of course we’ll look after them for you! We’d love to, wouldn’t we, John? I shall have to ask Mother, of course, but I’m sure she will say yes.’
‘Guard them faithfully till I come back.’
‘When will that be?’ asked John.
‘Three days? Three weeks? Three months? Who can tell?’
‘But why must you go?’ persisted John.
‘Once every seven years I and my royal brothers are summoned to the presence of the Great Cat.’
‘But who are your royal brothers?’ asked Rosemary.
‘You must not think that I am the only cat king,’ explained Carbonel. ‘Every city in the world where there are cats has a king to rule over them, just as I rule over the cats of Fallowhithe. When the Summons comes, we must all obey. There will be lean, blue-eyed cats from Siam, long-haired cats from Persia, great tawny jungle cats, and thin, big-boned cats from Egypt. Cats of every colour – black as coal, white as milk, grey as woodsmoke. Whatever the colour, whatever the kind, when the Summons comes we all must answer.’
‘But who will look after your kingdom for you while you are away?’ asked John.
‘My beautiful Queen, my lovely Blandamour, will rule with the help of my cousin Merbeck. Blandamour is wise and good, but I cannot answer for all the queens of the neighbouring towns. Queen Grisana of Broomhurst is ambitious, and her husband is old. Do not let my kittens stray.
They are a little–’ There was a pause, as though Carbonel were searching for the right word. ‘High spirited,’ he concluded. ‘Early tomorrow morning, before I go, I shall visit you again and bring my royal children with me.’
It was getting dark in the Green Cave, and the shadow that was Carbonel slipped silently down from the biscuit tin and rubbed against Rosemary, and his purring filled the little space under the currant bushes like an organ. A warm tongue licked her cheek.
‘Dear Carbonel!’ said Rosemary, putting her arms round him for a minute. ‘Of course we’ll do our best to take care of your kittens, but do you think –’
She broke off. The black cat had slipped from her and melted into the other shadows.
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6
The Royal Kittens
They did not ask that night if they might have the kittens after all. Rosemary felt that her mother was not in a‘yes-of-course-darling’ mood. She was still having trouble with a dress she was making, and only looked in to tell them to take the sausages on the cracked plate for supper.