As the kids got nearer they saw that there were sentries in the sentry boxes. They hadn’t been expecting this. They had presumed there would be kids keeping watch, but not in the sentry boxes where the soldiers in their bearskin hats had once stood. These sentries were only kids, but they were still in uniform. Red school blazers with black trousers and black baseball caps. They had rifles and had even been standing stiffly to attention. As they saw the war party approaching, however, they came alive. A couple ran back through the archway, the rest walked towards the railings, guns at the ready. Somebody on the balcony shouted something and the next moment there were faces at the windows. Soon more kids began to trickle out through the arch on to the parade ground. They came over to the railings and peered out, just as tourists in the past had used to peer in from the other side.

They watched in silence. Hands up on the railings. Curious but watchful. There must have been about twenty of them, kids of all ages, clean and well dressed.

Jester waved and called out.

‘Hey. It’s me. The Magic-Man has returned. And look who I’ve brought with me!’

Some of the kids’ faces lit up and they smiled. They peeled away from the railings and followed the group as they walked along to one of the ornate gateways.

‘Open up!’ Jester called out, and a small boy ran from the archway carrying a big set of keys. He rattled them in the lock and eventually the gates were opened. The war party trooped in, flanked by two lines of silent palace kids.

Lewis looked around at the staring faces. It reminded him of visiting another school for a football match. Everyone was checking everyone else out. Suspicious. Who were these strange new kids? Who were the ones to look out for? Who could be safely ignored? Who might be a friend? Who was a potential enemy?

More importantly: were there any nice-looking girls around?

There was a shout from the balcony and everyone looked up. A boy who looked to be about fifteen was standing there, with six more of the kids in uniform on either side of him. He was tall and very pale-skinned, with a spray of freckles over his face and neat curly black hair. He was wearing a suit and tie, and he was beaming down at them, his arms spread wide.

‘Magic-Man,’ he yelled. ‘Well done, Jester. We didn’t think we were ever going to see you again.’

‘You didn’t doubt me, did you, David?’

‘Never! But where are the others?’

‘They didn’t make it,’ said Jester, and there were gasps and groans from the assembled palace kids. ‘But this lot,’ Jester went on, trying to lighten the mood. ‘You should see them in action. They’re skilled fighters, David. They’re going to really make a difference.’

David smiled.

‘Well, come on in!’

They passed through the archway into a large inner quadrangle. The kids looked around awed – they had never realized quite how big the palace was. It seemed to go on forever. Jester led them to a doorway on the far side of the quadrangle.

Inside they passed through a grand stateroom into a wide, glass-roofed corridor lined with old paintings. From there they entered another large room that overlooked the gardens. There were more kids outside, tending crops. It was just how it had looked in Jester’s photographs, except the scale of it was more obvious. This wasn’t a garden so much as a small park.

Maeve had a word with Jester and he rounded up two boys. They took the stretcher with the wounded girl on it away. Maeve followed.

In a few minutes David appeared with his escort. He beamed at the newcomers and went round shaking hands and being introduced. He had a confident, friendly but slightly aloof air about him and had obviously been to a good private school. When he’d said hello to everyone he took them all outside and showed them round the gardens. They were growing potatoes and carrots, cabbages, beans, onions, marrows. You name it, they had planted it. The crops were laid out in neat rows and were well tended. There were also two enclosures, one for pigs and one for chickens.

They came across a serious-looking girl with glasses who was on her knees weeding a patch of spinach.

‘This is Franny,’ said David. ‘Our head gardener. Any questions about all this, she’s the person to ask.’

Franny got up. She rubbed her hands clean on her apron and said hello. A little shy. A little awkward around David.

As Franny chatted with the others, Maxie wandered away from the group and laughed, turning full circle on the lawn, trying to take it all in. The little kids were already running around and playing, all their cares forgotten. Godzilla was gambolling on the grass while his little group of carers ran with him. Shouting happily.

Maxie closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When she opened them again she saw David strolling back towards the house, talking to a group of kids.

‘The kitchens here were designed for feeding lots of people,’ he was explaining. ‘We’ve rigged up some of the stoves to work with wood. We can cook hot food. We even bake our own bread. We’ll prepare a welcoming feast. We’ve plenty of food stored up.’

Maxie marvelled at how organized everything was and how relaxed everybody appeared to be. It was such a different feeling from being cooped up in Waitrose surrounded by grown-ups. To think that all this time these kids had been living this easy life when she’d had to spend every other day fighting to stay in one piece.

Arran would have been impressed with this.

Arran…

Maxie was overcome with a bittersweet feeling. Like when a small cloud drifts over the sun on a summer’s day. She knew that elsewhere in London terrible scenes were being acted out. Kids were lost in a world of pain and misery. She wasn’t sure she deserved this level of peace and contentment. She sat down on the grass and let herself go. Tears pouring down her face. She looked around. She wasn’t alone. Other kids were sitting there, overwhelmed by it all. All the tension and fear of the last two days was coming out. Kids were hugging each other or sitting alone with their thoughts. Like her, many were crying.

She also spotted some of the palace kids in little teary huddles. They had lost friends too, from Jester’s scouting party.

Maeve came out of the building. She saw Maxie and sat down next to her, putting her arms around her.

‘Is this really happening?’ she whispered.

‘I hope so,’ said Maxie, and they laughed through their tears.

‘I’ve just been upstairs speaking to a girl called Rose,’ said Maeve. ‘They’ve got a proper sick-bay and a sort of clinic. She’s been telling me about the medicines they’ve got. She even wears a nurse’s uniform. You should have seen how well they dealt with that poor girl we rescued. Oh, Maxie. It’s amazing. I never thought I’d see anything like this ever again. For the first time since the disaster I really feel like we might have a future.’

‘I know,’ said Maxie. ‘And after what we’ve been through, I reckon we can cope with anything. We’re going to survive, Maeve.’

Ollie was walking alone by the lake. There were ducks on it, probably fish swimming down below. He felt neither happy nor sad. He was thoughtful. This all looked fantastic on the surface.

Franny had given him a small lettuce to try. It had tasted delicious, but when he had pulled off one of the leaves he’d found a small slug on it.

There was always a slug on the lettuce.

This was too good to be true.

He had never trusted Jester, and he didn’t trust David.

He wasn’t going to let his guard down just yet.

Being careful had kept him alive this far.

There was no reason to stop being careful now.