Mystery of the Queen's Jewels (4 page)

“Here we are,” said Grandfather. “Buckingham Palace.” The children got out, but Grandfather stayed inside. The cab was taking him to an office building a little bit farther up the road. Grandfather rolled down his window. “Do you have your map?”

“Yes,” said Henry.

“And you have the money I gave you?” asked Grandfather.

“Yes,” said Violet.

“And you have the phone number where I'll be?” asked Grandfather.

“Yes,” said Jessie. “We'll be fine. Well take a cab back to the inn when we're through here.”

“All right. Then I'll see you back at the inn at dinnertime,” Mr. Alden said, and the cab pulled away from the curb.

“Hey, what happened to that cab that was behind us?” asked Violet, looking around. It was nowhere in sight.

“I guess it's gone now,” said Jessie. “Come on. Let's go see the palace.”

The children looked at the beautiful building on the other side of the large iron gate. “Wow,” said Benny, looking at the rows of windows. “It's huge! Does the queen really live there?”

“I think so,” said Jessie. “Let's see what our guidebook says.” She unzipped Benny's red backpack and reached inside. She pulled out the book and flipped a few pages. “Here's the section about the palace.” She read quickly and then looked up. “It says the queen also has some other houses. But see that flag?” Jessie pointed to the middle of the building. “That flag is flown whenever the queen is here.”

In front of the palace were several soldiers, standing stiffly at attention. They were wearing brilliant scarlet coats with a line of gold buttons down the center. They had on dark blue pants, white gloves, and tall furry black hats. They carried rifles on their shoulders.

“Are those soldiers guarding the palace?” Benny asked.

“Yes,” said Jessie.

“How do they stand so still?” Benny wanted to know.

“That's their job. They're not allowed to move or talk or even smile while they're on duty,” Henry explained.

“I wouldn't like that job,” Benny said.

“Can we go inside the palace?” Violet asked.

“We can see the staterooms,” Jessie said. “But we can't see where the queen actually lives.”

“Let's go!” said Henry.

The Aldens waited in line to buy tickets and tour the palace staterooms. While they were waiting, Violet looked at the other people in line. Most were noisy groups of tourists with cameras. They were speaking many different languages. She could tell from their clothes and hairstyles that they came from all over the world. Everyone seemed to be happy and excited.

Then she noticed someone who didn't fit in. It was a person in a raincoat, standing alone and looking at the ground. The person had a hat pulled low over his or her face.

Violet wondered if that could be the same person she'd seen in the cab behind them earlier that morning. That person had been wearing a hat pulled low on his face, too. But before she could point him out to her sister and brothers, they had reached the front of the line and were being ushered inside the palace.

Violet soon forgot about the stranger as she looked around at the magnificent palace. The rooms were elegantly decorated with antique vases, carved furniture, and beautiful paintings of former kings and queens.

After leaving the palace they entered the Royal Mews, where the horse-drawn carriages were kept. The children had never seen carriages like these before. They were fabulously decorated with jewels and gold.

“Isn't it wonderful?” Violet said. “Royal carriages, just like in a fairy tale!”

Jessie was more interested in the horses. “Look at that big chestnut horse, and the white one with the long mane! They're so beautiful!”

“Let's go back to the front of the palace now,” suggested Henry as they left the Mews. “They're going to be changing the guard soon.”

“What does ‘changing the guard' mean?” asked Benny.

“Remember the royal guards we saw in front?” Henry reminded Benny. “The same soldiers don't stay there all the time. When a new group of soldiers comes to take their place, they call it the ‘changing of the guard.' ”

As the children walked, Violet happened to look back over her shoulder. That was when she realized that the mysterious stranger was still behind them. But just then, Henry called out, “Hurry, it's starting!”

Violet ran to catch up with the others. What she saw when she got to the palace amazed her. There were no longer just a few guards standing stiffly at attention. Now long lines of guards were marching across the courtyard in front of the palace. They marched across the courtyard, lifting their knees high, in step to rhythmic drumbeats. It was very exciting to watch.

“That was great!” Jessie said when the guards were done marching.

“I'm going to be one of the queen's guards when I grow up,” said Benny. He marched back and forth along the iron fence, lifting his knees high just as the guards had done. He pretended to carry a rifle on his shoulder. The others watched as Benny tried to keep his face serious like the soldiers. But it was too hard. Soon he burst out laughing, and so did Jessie, Violet, and Henry.

“All this marching is making me hungry,” said Benny. “Can we get lunch now?”

“Sure,” said Henry. “Grandfather suggested we walk up this way to find a place to eat.”

As Henry led the way, Violet remembered the mysterious stranger who'd been following them. She decided to peek over her shoulder one more time. She felt sure that he or she would be gone. He was probably just another tourist who wanted to see the palace and the changing of the guard. He probably hadn't been following them at all.

But when Violet looked back, there was no mistaking it. The person in the long raincoat was still walking behind them!

“L
ook, a pizzeria!” BENNY called out. “Just like back home!”

“Let's eat here,” Jessie said, leading the way into the restaurant. As soon as they were all inside, Violet told her sister and brothers that they were still being followed.

“Where is he?” asked Henry, looking out the large front window of the pizzeria.

Violet looked outside, too. “I don't know where he is now, but he's been following us since we were in line for the palace.”

“Do you think it's the same person from the cab that was behind us?” asked Henry.

“I don't know. It might be,” Violet answered uncertainly.

“What do you think we should do?” asked Benny.

“Should we call Grandfather?” Violet wondered.

“We don't want to bother Grandfather in the middle of his meeting, and anyway, there's no one there now,” Jessie pointed out.

“I'm hungry,” said Henry. “Let's order lunch.”

The Aldens had a large cheese pizza. No one said anything more about the person following them, because they were all so busy eating.

When they'd finished the pizza, Violet asked, “What are we going to do this afternoon?”

Jessie wiped her fingers on a paper napkin and then took out the guidebook. She flipped through a few pages. “We could go to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum this afternoon. It's not too far from here.”

“A museum about wax?” Benny asked. “That doesn't sound very interesting.”

Henry laughed. “No, it's a museum with wax figures of famous people. They look just like real people. It's supposed to be really great.”

“Well, all right,” Benny said doubtfully.

A little while later they arrived at Madame Tussaud's. On the way there they looked back several times, but they saw no one following them.

“Maybe I was wrong,” Violet said to herself as she went into the museum.

Inside, there were several different rooms displaying wax figures of famous people. The Aldens were amazed at how lifelike they were. The figures were as large as actual people and were dressed in real clothes.

“Wow!” said Benny. “You were right — these are unbelievable!”

“They're so real,” Jessie exclaimed. “I keep expecting them to move!”

There were wax figures of all sorts of people, including kings, queens, entertainers, musicians, and sports heroes.

“Look, there's Benjamin Franklin!” said Violet.

“And the Beatles!” said Henry.

“And there's Donna Russo!” cried Benny.

“What?” the others all said at the same time.

“Over there, in the corner,” said Benny.

Henry, Jessie, and Violet all turned in the direction Benny was pointing. He was right. In the corner stood the unfriendly woman from their inn. She was looking closely at a wax figure of the queen.

“Benny, I thought you meant you saw a
wax
Donna,” said Jessie.

“No, it's the real one,” Benny said.

Suddenly Violet gasped. “Look! She's wearing a long raincoat! Could she have been the one following us?”

“I wonder …” said Henry.

“Let's go say hello,” suggested Jessie.

The children walked over to Donna, who was making some notes on a small notepad. As soon as she saw the children, she tucked the pad and pen into her coat pocket. The look on her face was not happy.

“Hello!” said Jessie. “Isn't it funny to run into you here!”

“Yes,” said Donna. “Very funny.” But she didn't seem to think it was funny at all.

“Isn't this museum great?” said Benny. “I've never seen anything like it before.”

“Of course you haven't,” said Donna. “This is the greatest wax museum in the world. Did you know that Madame Tussaud began making her wax figures over two hundred years ago? Of course, it wasn't
her
waxworks at the beginning; it was her uncle's. If you go into the workshop here, you can see some of the old masks and learn how the wax models are made.”

“You certainly know a lot about this place,” said Jessie.

Suddenly Donna seemed to realize how much she'd been talking and she became quiet.

“So …” Violet said slowly, “you couldn't have been here all day. What other sights did you see today?” She wanted to find out if Donna had been the one following them at Buckingham Palace.

“I don't think that's any of your business,” Donna snapped, and she turned and left.

The Aldens stood watching her, stunned.

“I don't think I've ever met anyone so unfriendly!” said Violet.

“She seemed friendly when she was talking about the wax museum,” Henry said. “Then all of a sudden her mood changed.”

“I wonder what she was writing in that notepad before she saw us,” Benny said.

“Well, we're not going to let Donna ruin our vacation,” said Jessie. “Come on, let's go see that workshop she mentioned.”

That night Grandfather took the children to an Indian restaurant for dinner.

The food was delicious. It was different from anything the children had ever had before, and some of it was very spicy. There were mixtures of rice and vegetables and lamb in creamy sauces.

While they ate, the children told Grandfather about all the things they'd seen that day. They also told him about the person they'd thought was following them.

“He was wearing a long raincoat,” Violet said. “Then we saw Donna at the wax museum, and she was wearing one, too.”

“You know, I just remembered. We've seen Andrew wearing a raincoat like that, too,” Henry pointed out.

Mr. Alden pulled his raincoat from the hook next to their table. “I also have a raincoat like you described,” he said. “You know, a lot of people in London have coats like that. They're good for the damp, rainy weather here. Do you think maybe it wasn't the same person you kept seeing all day, but perhaps a few different people in similar raincoats?”

The children looked at their grandfather silently.

“All I'm saying is, maybe you weren't really being followed. Maybe you just thought you were,” he said gently.