by Sheryl Berk
Well, Kylie, thought, the Tower was after all at the top of their sightseeing list… Maybe they could squeeze in the cupcake order.
“Kylie,” Jenna reminded her. “We said we were going to the Harrods Food Halls tomorrow. I have an entire list of truffles I need to try.”
“And to the National Gallery Thursday,” Lexi added. “Remember? Van Gogh’s two sunflower paintings are there together for the first time in sixty-five years.”
“We have use of a small kitchen in the Culinary, but that doesn’t sound like it will be enough for that large an order,” Juliette said, trying to be practical. “I think we’d need an industrial mixer and oven.”
“You are welcome to use the kitchen at the Wakefield estate,” Archie replied. “It’s extremely large with all the equipment you’ll need. We’ve catered parties for five hundred people there.”
Kylie chewed her pencil eraser. “Chocolate frosting? Or vanilla?”
“I believe Lady Lillianne is partial to Curly Wurly,” Archie replied.
“Who exactly is Lady Lillianne?” Sadie asked.
“And more importantly—what the heck is a Curly Wurly?” Delaney added.
“Lady Lillianne is Lord and Lady Wakefield’s daughter.”
“And a Curly Wurly is a candy bar here in London,” Jenna piped up. “I saw someone eating one in the airport. Chocolate-covered caramel in this twisty shape. It kinda looks like a ladder.”
“Precisely!” Archie replied. “Which should be perfect for the architectural structure.”
This time it was Lexi’s turn to raise her hand. “Excuse me, I’m the artist. What architectural structure?” She tore a sheet out of Kylie’s notebook, preparing to sketch.
“Ah, yes, sorry. I forgot to mention the display for your cupcakes,” Archie apologized. “It’s a bit complicated…”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” Lexi said nervously.
“You see, her ladyship would like a London Bridge…made out of cupcakes.”
Lexi gasped. “As in ‘London Bridge is falling down’?”
“Precisely,” Archie smiled. “The party is to be held in the North Tower Lounge of the Bridge.”
Kylie grabbed Delaney’s Guide Book to London and started flipping through it for information. “The London Tower Bridge spans the Thames River,” she read aloud. “It’s a bascule bridge—which is French for the word ‘seesaw.’”
Lexi nodded. “As in up and down, since the bottom of the bridge goes up and down.” She quickly drew a picture of a bridge opened up and a boat sailing under it on the river. “I could do blue gel icing for the water.”
“There are two towers on either side and a huge walkway between them,” Kylie continued.
“How huge are we talking?” Sadie asked. “Because my dad’s contracting shop is all the way back home in New Fairfield.” She turned to Archie. “We’re bakers, not builders.”
“Hey, you’re talking to the Queen of Legos,” Jenna volunteered. “My little brothers Ricky and Manny are always building bridges. I got this.”
“Are we sure, guys?” Kylie cautioned them. “It sounds like a lot of work.”
“It sounds kind of awesome,” Lexi replied. “I mean, how often do we get to build a bridge made out of two thousand cupcakes?”
“Whatever you need, I’m at your service,” Archie replied. “Flour, sugar, baking tins.”
Kylie did some quick math and handed him a sheet of paper. “Let’s start with this: five hundred Curly Wurly bars and fifty cans of meringue powder. That should be enough for a five-foot-long display, I think.”
Archie scratched his head. “What will you do with all that powder?”
Kylie smiled. “We’re going to gum-paste glue you a London Bridge that will knock your socks off!”
Archie stared down at his socks. “Yes, well, it’s rather chilly today so I like my socks where they are.”
Juliette laughed. “What Kylie means is please tell Lord and Lady Wakefield that we’re going to make their daughter a wonderful cupcake bridge for her birthday.”
Archie looked relieved. “They’ll be very pleased! I’ll send a car tomorrow bright and early to take you to the Wakefield estate. It’s slightly north of London in the countryside.” He handed Juliette his calling card.
“Pip, pip, cheerio!” Delaney said, waving good-bye as Archie strolled out of the hotel.
A limousine pulled into the driveway of the Convoy at 8 a.m. sharp the next day.
“OMG! Do you think that’s the car Archie said he was sending for us?” Delaney gasped.
A driver dressed in a suit and cap got out and walked to the passenger-side door.
“Miss Juliette?” he asked their advisor. “My name is Ralph, and I am at your service.”
Juliette looked stunned. “Um, okay…” she said.
“I am here to escort you and your group to Wakefield Manor.”
“Whoa,” Jenna said, whistling through her teeth. “This car is like a block long!”
The driver held the door open for them. “After you.”
Juliette climbed in, followed by the girls. The inside of the car was enormous, with leather seats, a TV, and a mini fridge.
“Anyone want a bottle of water or a soda?” Jenna asked, waving a can in the air.
“I feel like a princess,” Lexi said. “Do you suppose this is how all the lords and ladies travel in London?”
Juliette shook her head. “I have no idea. I have a feeling Archie is giving us the royal treatment. She took a bottle of water from Jenna. “But I’m going to sit back and enjoy it!”
In about an hour, the limo pulled up to a large iron gate. The driver hit a button on a remote, and the gate slowly slid open to reveal an enormous redbrick mansion.
“I think we’re here,” Kylie announced, rolling down the window.
“Let me see! Let me see!” Delaney said, climbing over Kylie to stick her head out the window. “Wow! This place looks like a castle!”
Archie was waiting at the front door to greet them. “I trust your journey was comfortable,” he said as Juliette climbed out.
“Comfortable? It was awesome,” Sadie piped up. “I’ve never been in a limo before.”
“I’ll give you a quick tour, then I’ll let you get to your work,” Archie said, walking them inside. “Wakefield Manor was built in the early nineteen hundreds. Notice the Scottish Baronial architecture and the Romanesque-inspired arched entranceway…” There were white columns and a huge “sitting room” with gold brocade drapes and antique upholstered furniture.
Kylie stared at the spiral staircase in the middle of the foyer. “Where does that go?” she asked Archie.
“To the dormitories,” he explained. “There are a north and south wing, extensive gardens, a small pond, and stables…”
“Stables? As in horses?” Lexi asked. “Oh, that’s so cool. I love to draw horses.”
“The estate is forty thousand square feet, and His Lordship is particularly proud of the original flora and fauna adornments.” Archie pointed to an arch carved with etched images of flowers, grapes, and hummingbirds.
“Wow! Impressive!” Lexi said, getting a closer look.
Next, Archie opened a door to a large room that was lined floor to ceiling with bookshelves. “And this is the library,” he said. “I believe there are over four thousand volumes.”
Juliette gently took a book off a shelf and looked at the cover. “Is this a first edition of Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie?” she marveled.
“Yes, Lady Lillianne has always been quite fond of Peter Pan. I believe that was a gift for her last birthday.”
“I got a cell phone for my last birthday, and I was totally psyched,” Delaney said. “Do you think Lillianne was happy with a book?”
Archie considered. “I should say so. It cos
ts one thousand, two hundred pounds—about two thousand of your dollars.”
“A two-thousand-dollar book?” Sadie gasped. “That is crazy. I’d be afraid to turn the pages.”
“I dunno,” Delaney replied. “I think I’d still rather have a phone than some old, dusty book.”
Archie escorted them into the pantry. “This is where you’ll find all the supplies you need.” He pointed to six large cartons in the corner. “Your Curly Wurly bars, as requested.”
Jenna dove for them. “Seriously? Five hundred candy bars? I think I’ve died and gone to heaven!”
“And through here,” he said, leading them into an enormous kitchen, “is where you’ll be baking.”
Kylie’s eyes grew wide. “I’ve been in big kitchens before, but never anything like this!” she said, admiring not one, not two, but four industrial ovens. Every pot and pan was polished to a sparkling finish, and everything was in its proper place. She had never seen a kitchen so neat and tidy. “Now I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”
“His Lordship hosts affairs all the time at the Manor, so the kitchen was designed to accommodate any food preparation needed. We had a gathering for three hundred just last month.”
“Thank you, Archie. It’s all incredible,” Juliette gushed. “I think we’ll just settle in and get started.”
Archie nodded. “Of course. I’ll leave you to it. Please don’t hesitate to summon me.” He pointed to a button on an intercom on the wall. “Just ring if you need any assistance.”
• • •
It took the girls nearly an hour to get their bearings and find all the ingredients they needed in the pantry.
“Do you suppose,” Delaney wondered out loud, “Lady Lillianne is psyched for her stuffy b-day bash? I mean, don’t ya think she’d rather have a bowling party or a sleepover or something?” She was melting milk chocolate in a double boiler on the stove.
“I would be psyched,” Lexi said. “If my parents wanted to throw me a fancy party on a bridge, I’d say go for it.”
“From the looks of things around here, Lill leads a pretty boring life,” Jenna said. “Who arranges their spices in alphabetical order? I mean, come on!”
“I’d like to be nobility,” Lexi said, balancing a small bowl on her head. “I’d love to wear a crown and sit on a throne.”
“You’d hate it!” Jenna insisted. “We all would. Part of the fun of baking is making a mess. What if you never could do that?”
Lexi looked down at her T-shirt. It was covered in meringue powder and chocolate smudges. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Still, it would be fun to try it just for a day or so!”
“How are we doing on the salted caramel frosting?” Kylie asked, peeking over Sadie’s shoulder. She was mixing butter and dark brown sugar in a saucepan.
“It’s bubbling,” Sadie said. “I’ll give it about two minutes, then let it cool down.”
Lexi and Jenna were hard at work using meringue powder to “glue” Curly Wurly bars to the two plywood “towers” Archie had provided for them.
“It’s the bridge that’s the tricky part,” Lexi said, studying the pulley system Jenna had rigged up. At first, they cranked the handle and the rope pulled the bridge up effortlessly—just like the Lego bridge Jenna’s brothers had built at home. “It goes up and down just fine when it’s the lightweight wood. But add all these candy bars and then the cupcakes…”
“It won’t budge.” Jenna sighed. “It’s just too heavy.”
“It needs an elevator,” Delaney suggested.
“It needs my dad,” Sadie said, sighing. “He would know what to do to fix it.”
“We could call him,” Delaney suggested. “What time is it back in Connecticut?”
Kylie glanced at her watch. “They’re five hours behind us. It’s five in the morning in New Fairfield!”
“Forget that idea,” Sadie said. “Dad wouldn’t appreciate a call at the crack of dawn.”
Kylie remembered what her mom had said, how they were all growing up and learning to stand on their own two feet. “We’re gonna have to figure it out ourselves,” she said. “Think, guys! What could we use to lift the heavy drawbridge up, up, and away?”
“A helium balloon!” Delaney suggested.
“Yeah, that would work,” Jenna replied sarcastically. “If the balloon was six feet wide!”
“If pulling won’t work, what about pushing?” Kylie pondered. “I remember when my dad got a flat tire a few weeks ago, he used this thing to prop up the whole front of the car.”
“A floor jack!” Sadie exclaimed. “Yeah, my dad uses them all the time to lift stuff that’s super heavy. It’s got this cool hydraulic system. You just crank the handle down, and it lifts the stuff right up.”
“Sounds perfect,” Jenna said. “Where do we get one of these floor jacks three thousand miles from home?”
“I’m sure they have them in London,” Kylie said. “We’ll ask Archie to help us find one. In the meantime, we’ll get all the cupcakes baked, decorated, and stuck to the towers and the bridge.”
They worked for nearly six hours straight, till every available surface of the Wakefield Manor kitchen—every countertop and shelf, even the seats of chairs—was covered with two thousand mini cupcakes. Lexi rolled out small discs of silver fondant to place on top of each cupcake’s frosting. When they covered the sides and tops of the bridge with the cupcakes, it would look like it was made of metal.
While Kylie, Sadie, and Jenna glued each cupcake down, Lexi and Delaney used blue piping gel to make the Thames River around the display.
They stood back and admired their handiwork. It did look pretty amazing!
“It’s smashing!” Delaney remarked. “That’s British for totally awesome.”
Kylie secretly hoped that when they got to Lady Lillianne’s party, their tower of cupcakes wouldn’t come “smashing” down!
As the taxi pulled up to the Tower Bridge on Thursday morning, the girls felt like they were stepping back in time.
“This used to be the only way to cross the Thames River,” Delaney read from her guidebook. “It took eight years to build the bridge.”
“I’m glad our bridge didn’t take that long to build,” Kylie said. “We never would have made it in time for the party.”
They took the elevator up to the North Tower Lounge and, as soon as they walked in, spotted their cupcake bridge on display on a large table in the center of the room.
“This place is really cool,” Sadie said, noticing the gray brick walls and floor-to-ceiling windows. There were dozens of tables already set up and a full waitstaff passing appetizers out from silver platters.
“Don’t mind if I do!” Jenna said, sampling a mini crab puff. “Delicioso!”
Lexi checked to make sure nothing on their display had come loose or gotten smushed in transport.
“It’s perfect,” she said, inspecting it. “Not a bit of icing is out of place.”
“Just like the Wakefield Manor kitchen.” Jenna snickered. “Till we hit it!”
Kylie was crossing her fingers that Archie would come through with the floor jack in time to present their cupcakes to the birthday girl. The guests were set to arrive at 11 a.m. sharp for the festivities—and it was nearly quarter of.
“Where are the streamers and the balloons?” Delaney asked, wandering around the lounge. The only things “decorating” the tables were floral centerpieces and settings of crystal and china. “Do you think they’ll have a deejay?”
A string quartet began playing classical music in the corner. “Does that answer your question?” Jenna replied. “Like I said, this is one uppity party.”
The guests began arriving right on time, but there was no sign of Archie, Lord or Lady Wakefield, or Lillianne.
“I suppose I could phone Archie,” Juliette suggested as the ro
om filled up with people. The men all wore suits and ties, and the ladies were in dresses with matching coats and fancy hats. “Let’s give him a few more minutes,” she added, scanning the room. “I’m sure they’ll make an entrance soon.”
Kylie looked down at her T-shirt. It read, “B UR SELFIE.” She and her fellow PLCers stuck out like a single chocolate sprinkle on a perfectly frosted vanilla cupcake.
“At least I wore royal blue,” Delaney said, tugging on her hoodie.
The quartet suddenly fell quiet, and the violinist cleared his throat. “Announcing Lord and Lady Wakefield and Lady Lillianne.” A pair of double doors in the back of the room swung open, and in walked a couple followed by a pale young girl with blond hair pulled back into a tight bun.
Delaney elbowed Kylie. “That’s her! That’s Lillianne!” she said.
Kylie stared at the girl’s face. She didn’t seem very happy or excited for her big double-digit birthday. In fact, she looked rather sad.
Archie was trailing behind the family, carrying a large cardboard box in his arms.
“Your jack,” he said, handing the box to Juliette. “Our chauffeur had one in the garage. I trust this will do the trick?”
Sadie looked inside. “Yup, that’s it,” she said. “Let’s set it up.”
They positioned the jack just under the base of the bridge. “When I give the signal, you gently pump the handle up and down,” Sadie instructed Kylie. “Not too fast and not too hard. That jack is stronger than it looks.”
After an hour of passed appetizers and champagne toasts, it was time to serve dessert. Archie motioned for the quartet to be silent once again. “Ladies and gentleman, may I call your attention to the center of the room where Peace, Love, and Cupcakes has a very special treat for Her Ladyship in honor of her birthday.”
Lillianne strolled over to the cupcake display. “Did you make this?” she asked Kylie.
“Um, yeah. We all did. Do you like it?”
The girl walked around the table, taking in the display from every angle.