“His crown?” Violet repeated.
“You don’t think it was stolen, do you?” asked Henry, his voice concerned.
“No, it’s just a prop—not valuable at all. Richard is always losing things. He lost his cape earlier this week, and he’s had to use a replacement,” Hannah said. “He’s a bit of a slob.”
“We were in his tent last night,” said Jessie, nodding.
“So you know what I’m talking about,” Hannah said. “He’s in the main tent right now, having a cup of tea. I’m sure he won’t mind if you look in his tent.”
Mr. Worthington’s tent was still a complete mess, with piles of clothing everywhere.
“He really is a slob,” said Benny. “This room is even messier than mine!”
The others laughed, thinking of Benny’s messy bedroom.
“At least you don’t have hay all over,” said Henry, plucking a piece of hay off a chair.
“Hannah said he is always losing things—you don’t think he could have lost that sword and blamed it on Jonathan, do you?” Violet wondered.
“It’s possible,” Henry said.
The children set to work looking through the piles.
“Here’s the crown,” Henry said, picking it up from under a table where it had been left.
“Look at this,” said Violet, picking up a heavy book that had been buried underneath a chair. “It’s called The Knights of Old England, volume 1.”
“Cool!” said Henry.
“Can I see?” Benny asked.
The children gathered around Violet, who flipped slowly through the book. It was illustrated with colorful drawings of knights in armor. Violet noticed one marked with a small yellow sticker.
“Look, Mr. Worthington marked this page,” she told the others.
“I wonder why,” asked Jessie.
Violet scanned the page to see if there was anything unusual written there. Suddenly she gasped.
“What is it?” Henry asked.
“Maybe Richard was telling the truth,” she said. She sounded stunned.
“What do you mean?” asked Jessie.
Violet pointed to a picture of a knight carrying a black-and-white banner with an eagle on it. Then she read the caption below. “Historians believe this flag and emblem were carried by the Worthington family of northern England.” Violet looked up from the page. “Maybe one of Richard’s ancestors really was a knight.”
CHAPTER 7
Investigating
“I thought he just liked to think that his ancestors were knights,” said Jessie. “But I guess it really could be true.”
Violet slowly turned the pages. There were several paintings of members of the Worthington family. “This is Lady Worthington.” Violet pointed to a woman in an elegant dress. “She lived from 1625 to 1693. And next to her is her husband, Lord Worthington.”
Benny leaned over to look closer. “Hey he does look like Richard Worthington!”
“I don’t know about that,” Henry said.
“Well, they both have beards,” Benny pointed out.
“Is that their dog?” asked Jessie.
“Yes,” Violet said, with a smile. “It says that noble families often had portraits painted of their dogs. This one is a springer spaniel named Jeffrey.”
“I think we should have a portrait painted of Watch,” said Benny.
“I don’t think he’d sit still long enough,” Jessie said.
“What’s that other yellow sticker for?” Henry asked, pointing to a sticker on a page further along in the book.
Violet flipped ahead. The sticker marked the last line of the last page of the chapter. Violet read it aloud to the others, “For more information about the Worthington family, see volume 2.”
“What does that mean?” Benny asked.
“Sometimes if a book is really long it’s printed in two parts, or volumes,” Jessie explained. “Remember this book says volume 1 on it? There’s a second book that goes with it.”
“Wait a minute. Richard wrote something on this sticker,” Violet said, bending her head to look at it more closely. “His handwriting is very messy. I can’t read it.”
“Let me see,” Henry said, taking the book from her. “I have experience with messy handwriting.”
“Yes, your own,” Jessie teased him.
Henry looked at the tag. “Starts with an S.” He frowned, puzzling over what the letters might say. Then suddenly he looked up. “I think it says ‘sword.’”
Henry handed the book back to Violet so she could look at the word again. Jessie and Benny leaned over her.
“I think you’re right,” Jessie said. “Richard Worthington seems to be very interested in swords.”
Just then the tent flap swung open. Standing in the doorway was Richard Worthington.
“What are you young scamps doing in my tent?” he demanded, peering down at them.
“Hannah told us you couldn’t find your crown,” Henry said nervously. “She asked us to look for it.” His hand shook slightly as he handed the crown to Mr. Worthington.
Mr. Worthington took the crown and placed it on his head. Then he looked slowly from one face to the next. The children wondered what he would say. Finally he spoke. “Thank you for finding it. I must have … misplaced it.” He stepped out of the doorway and held it open, as if waiting for the children to leave.
Jessie took a deep breath before speaking up. “We also found this book, Mr. Worthington. I hope you don’t mind that we were looking through it.” She held the book out in front of her.
Mr. Worthington took the book. He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t mind. Did you see my ancestors mentioned in there?”
“We did,” said Henry.
“Pretty cool,” Benny said.
The corners of Mr. Worthington’s mouth turned up slightly. “Yes,” he said. “Cool. Now I ask that you leave.”
One by one the Aldens filed out of the tent.
When they were far enough from the tent that they felt certain Richard Worthington couldn’t hear them, Jessie turned to the others. “I would love to know what it says about the Worthingtons in volume 2.”
“Me, too,” said Henry.
“Looks like we’ll be doing some investigating at the library tomorrow,” Violet predicted.
That night, Jessie and Violet performed in the show as a jester and a musician. The girls excitedly changed into their special checkered costumes and pointy shoes. They wore hats with long jingling tails. Jessie entertained the audience with lively jumps, cartwheels, and back handsprings. She also juggled apples without dropping a single one. Meanwhile Violet serenaded the audience with her beautiful violin music.
While the girls were busy in the tent, Benny helped Jonathan dress. Henry worked in the stable, preparing the horses.
Once again the children had fun, and the show was a great success. But still there was no sign of the missing sword.
The next morning Mrs. McGregor made the children a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon, homemade biscuits, and orange juice. As Violet drizzled honey on a biscuit, her eye was caught by a photograph in the morning newspaper, which Grandfather had left on the table. The photo showed a group of knights in armor.
“Hey, look,” she said. “There’s a picture here of the medieval fair.” Then Violet looked closer. “No, wait a minute,” she said, reading the caption. “This article is about a medieval movie they’re making. It’s called The Noble Knights of the Round Table.”
“Cool!” said Henry. “We’ll have to go see that.”
“Yes,” said Violet, her eyes scanning the article quickly. “It says they’re choosing the cast right now, and they are hoping to find some new young actors.”
“Hey, I hate to interrupt,” said Jessie, “but remember we are going to the library today?”
“That’s right,” Violet said, popping her last bit of biscuit into her mouth. “Let’s clear the dishes and get going.”
At last they were ready to go. They got
on their bicycles to ride to the library. They arrived just as the librarian was unlocking the door. “You must really want to get some books!” she said with a laugh.
“One in particular,” Jessie said as they followed the librarian back to the main desk. “It’s called The Knights of Old England, volume 2.”
“All right,” the librarian said, looking on her computer to find the book. She wrote the location on a small slip of paper and handed it to Jessie. “Go upstairs and you’ll find the book there.”
The Aldens went directly to the section of shelves written on the paper.
“Wow, look at all these books about knights,” said Benny. He pulled out several and sat down on the floor to look at them. They were books written for adults, so he couldn’t read them on his own. But they were filled with beautiful illustrations.
Henry spotted The Knights of Old England, volume 2, on the bottom shelf. He pulled the book out and carried it to a nearby table. The children all sat down with him.
“Check the index,” Jessie suggested.
Henry went to the back of the book and looked in the W section for “Worthington.”
“Here it is,” he said after a moment. “Pages 72 through 75 and page 100.”
Henry found page 72 and began reading. “This is all about the Worthington estate in northern England,” he said. He pointed to a picture of a castle. “This is where they lived in the seventeenth century.”
“So that might be Richard Worthington’s family home,” said Jessie. “Very nice.”
“For our family home, they could have a picture of a boxcar,” said Violet with a laugh.
Henry read on. “There’s some interesting stuff in here, but I don’t see anything about swords.”
“Try the other entry,” Violet suggested. “Page 100.”
Henry flipped ahead several pages. On page 95 a new chapter began entitled, “Weaponry.” The pages that followed contained illustrations of all kinds of weapons used by knights. There were crossbows and longbows, axes and maces, daggers and shields. Page 100 turned out to be filled with illustrations of swords.
“If we’re looking for swords, I think we found them,” said Henry.
Each sword was different—some had plain handles, others were elaborately carved. Henry’s eyes were drawn to a sword at the bottom of the page.
“Look!” Henry said in amazement. “It’s the sword! The one that’s missing!”
“Really?” asked Benny.
“Look for yourselves.” Henry held the book out for the others to see.
The children leaned over the page, studying the sword.
“It certainly does look like the sword,” Jessie said.
“I remember it had that big red stone in the middle of the handle,” Violet said, pointing to the picture.
“Yes, I remember that, too,” Jessie agreed, handing the book back to Henry.
Henry looked at the page again. “There’s something written underneath. It says this sword was given to the Worthington family by the king of England as a reward for bravery in battle. It was passed down from generation to generation. Then about thirty years ago, it was sold at an auction and disappeared from public view. No one knows what happened to it. But it would be worth a lot of money if it were found today.”
“Do you remember what Richard said to Hannah?” Jessie asked. “He said the sword was rightfully his. I thought he was just saying that because he wanted to use that sword. But it looks like he might be telling the truth!”
The others were silent, but just for a moment before Benny blurted out, “I bet he took it!”
“He certainly does seem like the most likely suspect,” Henry agreed.
“Jonathan said he gave the sword back to Richard,” Jessie recalled. “And no one has seen it since.”
“But we don’t have any real proof that Richard stole it,” Violet said.
“And we also don’t know where it is,” said Henry.
“We haven’t solved the mystery yet,” said Jessie.
“But we will,” said Benny.
CHAPTER 8
Benny Delivers a Message
That evening, the Aldens went to the park as usual. Hannah greeted them as they came to change into their costumes. “Do you realize we have only two more nights here in Greenfield?” she asked.
“Really?” said Henry. The week had gone by so quickly
“Tomorrow night is our last show here. Then we’re moving on to Silver City,” Hannah said.
The children dressed quickly and headed off to their various jobs. But before they separated, Jessie turned to the others. “We’ve got to solve this mystery before the fair leaves Greenfield. We’ve got to find that sword!”
The others nodded solemnly.
Benny went to his usual job of helping Jonathan prepare for the show. Jonathan was cheerful as always, whistling and joking with Benny. He seemed to love looking at himself in the mirror, especially when he was all dressed up in his armor.
“My, uh, friend is coming to see the show tonight,” he told Benny.
“That’s neat,” said Benny. “I’m sure he’ll like it.”
“Yes, I think he will,” Jonathan said.
When Jonathan was finished dressing, he poked his head out of the tent. Crowds of people were lining up to enter the main tent.
Jonathan called, “Hey, Benny, come here for a minute.”
Benny joined Jonathan in the doorway.
“Do you see that man with the beard and the dark sunglasses? He’s my—” Jonathan hesitated. “My friend.”
Benny noticed that Jonathan had started to call the man by a different word but had stopped himself. He wondered why. Benny studied the crowd. “Yes, I see him.”
“I want you to do me a favor,” Jonathan said. “Will you give him a message from me?”
“Sure,” Benny said, always eager to be useful.
Jonathan leaned his head close to Benny’s and spoke in a low voice. “Tell him ‘Our plan is working. We’re going to be rich!’”
Benny’s eyes opened wide when he heard the message.
“Got it?” Jonathan asked.
Benny nodded and swallowed hard. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll tell him.”
As Benny hurried out of the tent, his mind was racing. What did Jonathan mean? Was he talking about stealing the sword? Was this man Jonathan’s partner in crime? Benny hated to think of Jonathan that way, but he couldn’t help wondering.
Even though he was worried, Benny did as Jonathan had asked. He ran over to the bearded man. “Excuse me, sir,” Benny said.
“Yes?” the man replied. He looked surprised.
“I have a message for you from Jonathan Fairbanks,” Benny said.
Now the bearded man nodded. “Ah, yes, Jonathan.”
“He told me to tell you, ‘Our plan is working. We’re going to be rich,’” Benny said.
The bearded man smiled broadly. “I’m glad to hear it. And I’m looking forward to seeing the show.”
“It’s a great show,” Benny said. “Goodbye.” He went back to Jonathan’s tent. What were Jonathan and that man up to, he wondered.
Meanwhile, Violet and Jessie had gone to help in Annie’s tent. When they arrived they found her sitting in a chair, gazing blankly into the distance.
“Annie?” said Violet. “Are you okay?” Annie seemed startled. “Oh, um, hello.” She smiled at the girls. “I was just, um, thinking about something …”
Jessie noticed a crumpled piece of paper and an envelope in Annie’s hand.
“Did you just get some bad news?” Jessie asked gently.
Annie sighed. “Oh, it’s just a letter from the bank. I got it a few days ago. I’ve been trying to get a loan so I can finish college. The bank said no.”
“I’m sorry,” Violet said.
Annie smiled briefly. “Oh, well, I’ll just have to figure out something else.”
“Sorry to bother you,” Jessie said. “But it’s time to get ready for the show
.”
“I didn’t realize it was that late,” Annie said, glancing at the small clock next to her mirror. “Yes, I guess you’re right.”
“Shall we do your hair first?” Violet asked.
“That sounds good,” said Annie.
Violet got the brush and began brushing Annie’s long brown hair. When she was finished brushing, Violet made a tiny braid on each side, carefully weaving tiny white ribbons into the braids. Then she fastened the braids at the back of Annie’s head with a sparkly barrette.
Meanwhile Jessie had been getting Annie’s clothes. When Annie’s hair was done, Jessie helped Annie into her petticoat and long white dress. It was made of soft velvet, with sleeves that puffed slightly at the shoulders and then narrowed to points over her wrists.
“This is such a beautiful dress,” Jessie said. “I love the beading and the silver threads.”
“It is a wonderful dress, isn’t it?” Annie said. “And certainly more comfortable than wearing armor! I feel so sorry for the men.”
“I agree,” said Violet. “Armor does not look comfortable at all.” She picked up a rhinestone necklace and fastened it around Annie’s neck.
Annie laughed. “Trust me, I know. It isn’t comfortable. And it’s hard to walk in.”
“How do you know?” Jessie asked. “Have you ever worn it?”
Annie’s face suddenly went pale. “Me?” she asked. “Worn armor? Why would I have worn armor? I just mean, I can tell by looking at it.”
Jessie and Violet looked at one another. Why did Annie suddenly seem so embarrassed, as if she’d said something wrong?
“Oh,” Jessie said. “That’s what I thought.”
“I’d better be getting over to the main tent,” Annie said, stepping into her white silk slippers. She hurried out, leaving Jessie and Violet behind.
When the children arrived home that night, Grandfather was out at a business dinner.
The children sat down in the kitchen, talking about how much fun they’d been having at the show.
“Don’t stay up too late,” Mrs. McGregor said, going to her room.
“We won’t,” called the children.
“This medieval fair has been so great,” said Violet. “I wish tomorrow weren’t the last day.”