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She looked down at him as she squeezed the food into his bowl. His fur was soft and caramelly again, and he was only limping a little. Last night, when she’d run downstairs, and out into the garden to scoop him up, his coat had been dark and spiky with rain, and he’d looked so miserable. His leg had obviously been hurting, too. She and Mum had dried him with a towel and he’d purred at them gratefully. Helena had been worried that the rain had softened the cast, or that he’d made the break worse, but Molly had driven round and looked at him, and said that luckily it was all right. She thought Caramel was just limping because he’d been putting more weight on his leg than he was used to.

“Only another two weeks,” Helena told Caramel, as she knelt on the floor, watching him licking out his bowl. “Molly said she was almost sure the cast could come off after that. Then you’ll be able to explore the rest of the house. And go outside.”

Caramel sniffed round the edge of the bowl, just in case any food had escaped, and then nosed lovingly at Helena’s hand. He yawned and licked his whiskers, then climbed determinedly into her lap. He flopped down, stretching his plastered leg sideways and kneaded at her school skirt with his front paws. He was glad to be home.

Helena giggled, and shifted her feet a little, so she wouldn’t get pins and needles. It looked like Caramel was staying for a while.