“Really?” said Henry. “That does seem strange.”
“Maybe Andrew uses a different name on stage,” suggested Grandfather. “Some actors do, you know.”
“Yes, I suppose that’s possible,” said Jessie. “But he never mentioned a stage name.” She looked back at the map she was holding. “We’re next, aren’t we?”
“Yes,” Mr. Alden said.
After leaving Monument Station, the Aldens walked a short way and then spotted a large river in front of them.
“Is that the Thames?” asked Henry.
“Yes,” Grandfather said. “That’s the river that runs through London. And guess what that is.” He pointed straight ahead to a huge bridge.
“Is that … London Bridge?” Violet guessed.
“Yes, it is,” said Grandfather.
“It’s not falling down!” said Benny with a smile.
“I have to go this way.” Grandfather pointed up the street. “But if you walk up that way, along the river, you’ll get to the Tower of London. I know you’ll enjoy seeing that.”
“Great!” said Jessie.
The children said good-bye to Grandfather and then set off. The walk along the river was pleasant, until Violet happened to look behind them. “I hate to say it, but I think we’re being followed again.”
The others looked back, just in time to see a person in a long raincoat duck into a bus stop. It seemed strange that the person would be dressed like that, because it was a bright sunny day.
“Not again!” said Henry.
“Let’s just hurry up and get to the tower,” said Jessie.
As they got closer, Benny pointed to the high stone walls and turrets. “Wow! It’s like a real castle.”
Once inside the outer walls, Jessie told the others what she had read in the guidebook. “The Tower of London was begun by William the Conqueror back in 1078.”
“More than nine hundred years ago!” said Henry. “That’s really old!”
“Yes,” said Jessie. “They built it on the river so they could watch for invaders. Other kings added to it over the years. For a long time it was used as a prison.”
“A prison?” asked Benny.
“Yes. When someone committed a really bad crime, often something against the king, they’d be taken here and held in one of the towers,” Jessie explained. She pointed to one of the entryways. “That’s Traitor’s Gate, where prisoners were brought in and had their last look at the outside world. Some people were even executed here.”
“Wow,” said Benny, his eyes wide.
“What’s in there?” asked Henry, pointing to a large building in the center.
Jessie looked in the guidebook. “That’s the White Tower. It’s full of armor and weapons from hundreds of years ago.”
“Let’s go see!” said Benny excitedly, leading the way inside.
The children spent the next hour strolling around inside the stone building. They saw cannons, swords, muskets, and pistols of all sorts. They saw helmets and suits of armor that had belonged to kings, and even armor specially made for the horses.
“Look at this!” cried Benny, pointing to a small suit of armor. “This would fit me.”
“That belonged to one of the young princes,” Henry said after reading the sign on the wall.
As the children walked around, Jessie kept feeling as if someone was watching her. But whenever she turned to see, everyone just seemed to be looking at the armor.
Next the Aldens went to see the crown jewels, the priceless jewelry and crowns that belonged to the kings and queens. As soon as Jessie entered the exhibit, she forgot all about her feeling of being watched. There were shiny, beautiful silver pieces and elegant jewelry that sparkled in the bright light. But everyone’s favorites were the crowns, covered with valuable gems.
“These must be worth millions and millions of dollars,” said Benny. “What if someone stole them?”
“That’s why they’re in these special bulletproof glass cases,” Jessie said.
Henry pointed to one of the most beautiful crowns. “Queen Elizabeth II wore that crown at her coronation, the ceremony when she became queen,” he read from a sign. “One day Prince Charles will wear it when he becomes king.”
“That sign says the coronation crown has 3,733 precious jewels, including 2,800 diamonds!” said Violet.
“I didn’t know there were that many diamonds in the whole world!” said Benny
At the end of the exhibit, the Aldens bought postcards in the gift shop to send to Mrs. McGregor, Aunt Jane, and some of their friends back home.
“Let’s go get lunch and write our postcards,” suggested Violet.
“Grandfather suggested a place near here,” said Henry, leading the way. “It sells fish and chips, which is one of the most popular meals here in England.”
Jessie looked back as they left the tower, to see if there was anyone following them. There were lots of people, so it was hard to see if the same raincoated stranger was among them.
At the restaurant, Henry went to the counter and ordered the fish and chips special for everyone. Meanwhile, the others settled down at a small table and began writing their postcards. When Henry came back with the tray, they all took their paper plates of food eagerly. On each plate were several pieces of batter-dipped fried fish and a pile of french fries.
“Hey, these aren’t potato chips. They’re french fries,” said Benny.
“In England they’re called chips,” Henry explained.
Violet didn’t usually like fish, but when she tasted hers, she found it was delicious. Benny was surprised to find that there was a bottle of vinegar to sprinkle on the french fries instead of ketchup.
As they ate, Jessie looked around and then began to talk. “I’ve had the feeling that someone was following us all morning. I’m getting tired of this. Why would someone follow us?”
“Maybe he’s spying on us, watching what we’re doing,” suggested Benny.
“Or maybe we have something he wants,” Violet said.
“Like what?” Jessie asked. “It just doesn’t make sense.”
“We’ve noticed a lot of things that don’t make sense,” said. Henry. “Like the unfriendly way Donna acts.”
“Andrew acted pretty strange, too, the other day,” Jessie reminded them. “And it’s odd that the woman on the tube hadn’t heard of him.”
“Do you think one of them is following us?” asked Henry. “We’ve seen both of them wearing raincoats.”
As they talked, the children finished their lunch and got up to leave. They had just reached the door when someone familiar stepped inside. “Look, everyone!” Violet called out. “It’s Charles Finchley, from the airplane!”
CHAPTER 7
“I’ve Hidden It…”
“Hello!” Jessie said. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, if it isn’t the Aldens!” said Charles. Like the first time they’d met him, he was carrying a pile of newspapers, and he had a coat draped over his arm. “How funny to run into you here! Are you enjoying your visit? What have you been doing?” he asked.
“We are,” said Henry. “We’ve been to Buckingham Palace and saw the changing of the guard.” Henry went on, “We also visited Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum and—”
Suddenly Charles interrupted him. “Why don’t you join me for lunch and you can tell me all about it.”
“We’ve just finished eating,” said Violet.
“Oh, yes, I guess you have,” said Charles. He seemed at a loss for what to say next. Then suddenly his face brightened. “I’ve an idea,” he said. “How about tea tomorrow afternoon?”
“That sounds great,” said Jessie. The others nodded eagerly.
“I’ll meet you at half past three at the Olde Tea Shoppe on Chiswick Lane,” said Charles.
“All right, we’ll see you there!” said Jessie.
When they were out on the street, Henry turned to the others. “Wasn’t it a coincidence, in this whole big ci
ty, to run into Charles?”
“It sure was,” said Jessie.
“It was awfully nice of him to invite us to tea, wasn’t it?” Violet commented.
Quite unlike himself, Benny was walking along quietly with a worried look on his face.
“Is something wrong?” Jessie asked him at last.
“Yes,” said Benny. “What am I going to do tomorrow?”
“What do you mean?” asked Jessie.
“I don’t like tea!” cried Benny.
The others smiled. “They serve lots of yummy things at tea, like pastries and cookies,” said Jessie. “Don’t worry, you’ll be just fine.”
That night the Aldens ate dinner at a restaurant near their inn and then headed back to their rooms to go to bed. Jessie and Violet had just reached the door to their room when they heard a voice coming from Andrew’s room.
“Yes, I’ve hidden it,” the person was saying.
“Is that Andrew?” Jessie whispered to Violet.
Violet nodded silently.
“Don’t worry!” Andrew went on angrily. “I know it’s worth a lot of money. But it’s in a safe place. No one will ever suspect.”
“Oh, my goodness!” Jessie said, her eyes wide. She was so startled that she dropped the key to their room and it rattled on the wooden floor.
“What was that?” Andrew was saying. “I thought I heard something outside.”
“Hurry!” Violet said as Jessie picked up the key and fumbled with it. She was so nervous that she dropped it on the floor again.
“Jessie!” Violet cried.
At last Jessie managed to get their door open. The two girls rushed into their room and shut the door behind them.
“Did you hear the way Andrew was talking?” Violet asked her big sister.
“Yes!” said Jessie. “He didn’t sound at all like himself! He sounded so angry. And he was talking about hiding something.”
Violet nodded silently.
“But he seems like such a nice man,” said Jessie. “I can’t believe he would do anything wrong.”
“Do you think we should do something? Tell Grandfather?” Violet asked.
“What would we tell him?” said Jessie. “That we’d been eavesdropping on Andrew and he sounded angry? We don’t even know what he was talking about — or who he was talking to. I think we should just try to forget about it. It’s not any of our business.”
“I guess you’re right,” said Violet.
The next day, since they weren’t meeting Charles until the afternoon, the children set out to visit Harrods, one of the largest and most famous department stores in the world.
“Why are we going shopping?” Benny wanted to know. “That doesn’t sound like much fun.”
“But this isn’t any ordinary store,” Henry explained. “This store sells everything.”
“And afterward, Benny, we’re going to buy food and take it to a park for a picnic,” said Jessie.
“Now, that sounds like fun,” said Benny.
The children spent the first part of the morning visiting several different floors in the huge store. Just as Henry had said, Harrods sold everything, from luggage to pianos.
The children were surprised to find a pet department, where they saw colorful fish in tanks and lots of pretty birds. They cuddled some tiny kittens and played with a bunch of puppies.
“These make me miss Watch,” said Jessie, recalling their own dog, who was at home.
The Aldens browsed through the children’s book department and spent a long time in the toy department, which contained piles of stuffed animals and games of every kind. Violet looked at the beautiful dolls in elegant dresses, while Henry, Benny, and Jessie played with the mechanical trains and remote-control cars.
There was even a children’s haircutting area, and a department that sold children’s furniture.
“Look at that bed shaped like a car!” said Benny, pointing.
“I like the bunk beds in the shape of a double-decker bus!” said Violet.
In the gift area the children saw a beautiful snow globe with a wooden base. Inside was a hand-carved scene of old London, with bits of glitter floating around.
“Isn’t that lovely,” said Violet.
“Grandfather gave us some money to buy souvenirs,” said Henry. “Let’s get that, and we’ll all be able to enjoy it.”
“Yes, we can put it on the mantel in the living room at home,” suggested Violet. “Every time we see it we’ll remember the wonderful time we’ve had here in London.”
“Let’s bring back something special for Mrs. McGregor, too,” said Benny.
“What a thoughtful idea,” said Jessie. “How about one of these?” She picked up a basket that was filled with different kinds of English tea and sweet biscuits.
“She’ll love it,” said Violet.
“Can we get our food for the picnic now?” asked Benny. “I’m getting hungry.”
The children paid for their things and then went down to the food halls, which were bustling with crowds of people and lots of noise. There were various sections where you could buy different kinds of foods. In the bakery area Jessie and Violet picked out a loaf of crusty bread and some chocolate-covered cookies. Henry and Benny bought four red apples in the produce section and some cheese in the dairy department. In no time their picnic was complete.
After the hustle and bustle of Harrods, the Aldens were happy to walk to nearby Hyde Park, which was peaceful and quiet. They found a shady spot under a tree and sat down. Once they’d spread out their lunch, they began to eat.
“Isn’t it nice that we haven’t seen anyone following us today?” said Violet, who was munching a crisp apple.
“Yes,” said Henry, taking a bite of bread and cheese.
Jessie had been digging around in Benny’s backpack, which they’d brought with them, as usual. At last she pulled out a colorful brochure. “Tonight’s the night we’re going to the theater. Grandfather gave me this listing of all the current shows so that we can read about the one we’re going to.”
“Is it Andrew’s show? The Mystery Man?” asked Benny.
“No, Grandfather said that one was sold out,” said Jessie. “But speaking of Andrew, Violet and I heard something very strange last night.” She and Violet told their brothers what they’d overheard.
“That doesn’t sound like Andrew,” said Henry. “Maybe there’s a side of him we don’t know.”
“It was very strange,” said Jessie. “He sounded almost like a different person.”
“Maybe it was a different person!” cried Benny. “Maybe it was the man with the beard! Or the old man!”
Violet and Jessie thought for a moment. “I guess it could have been someone else,” said Jessie after a while. “I just assumed it was Andrew, since it was his room. Maybe he had a friend with him.”
“I don’t know,” said Violet. “But it was scary.”
Jessie didn’t want her sister to be frightened, so she quickly changed the subject. “Anyway, tonight we’re going to see A Tale of Magic.” Jessie read from the brochure, “It says, ‘An exciting story about a group of children who take a magical journey to solve a mystery.’ ”
“That sounds great!” Benny said. “What does it say there about Andrew’s show?”
Jessie looked down the list of plays. “That’s strange,” she said. “I see it listed here, but I don’t see Andrew’s name. Didn’t he say he was the star?”
“Yes,” said Violet.
“It says here that the star is someone named Ambrose Prince,” Jessie said.
“That could be Andrew’s stage name,” suggested Henry. “Or maybe the listing you’re reading is out of date. Maybe Ambrose Prince quit the show and Andrew is the new star.”
“Maybe,” said Jessie. “Or maybe Andrew wasn’t telling us the truth. After what we heard last night, I don’t know what to think. And remember that woman on the tube yesterday, who knew so much about the theater but hadn’t heard of Andrew?” r />
Violet sighed. “I wonder if Andrew’s up to something that he doesn’t want anyone to know about.”
“You may be right,” said Henry.
“It seems like everyone at our inn is up to something,” said Jessie. “Remember Mrs. Brown said Donna has a ‘secret plan’?”
“What do you think it could be?” asked Benny.
“Who knows,” said Henry “But I guess that explains why she’s always acting so secretive.”
When they’d finished eating, the Aldens strolled about the pathways that crisscrossed the park. Their walk led them into another park called Kensington Gardens, where they saw several statues. Henry liked one of a man riding on a horse, while Violet’s favorite was of Peter Pan. “It says on this plaque that the man who wrote the book Peter Pan lived near here,” she said excitedly. “I love that book!”
A little farther on, they came across a large pond, where they watched people sailing model boats and fed their leftover crusts of bread to a family of ducks. There was also a playground, where they stayed until it was time to go meet Charles for tea.
CHAPTER 8
Afternoon Tea
The night before, Grandfather had helped the children locate Chiswick Lane on a map. It was a small street close to Kensington Gardens. It took only about ten minutes to walk there from the playground.
“There’s the tea shop,” said Violet, pointing to a storefront with a big glass window and lovely lace curtains. When the children entered they found a room with several small tables and a long buffet at the back. Charles was already there, sitting at a table near the window.
“Hello!” the children called out as they went to sit down with him.
“Good to see you!” Charles said with a big smile. There was a small pot of tea on the table, and as he poured himself a cup, his hand shook and tea spilled onto the table. “Oh, dear, look what a mess I’m making,” Charles said, reaching for his napkin to wipe up the spill. But in cleaning it up, his hand knocked the teacup and more tea spilled out.