Mystery of the Queen's Jewels

by Gertrude Chandler Warner

  “Let me help you,” Violet said. She wondered why Charles seemed so nervous.

  Just then a waitress came to the table. “I’ll take care of that, Mr. Finchley,” she said, clearing away the spilled teacup and wiping the table. “There. Would you children like some tea as well, or would you prefer hot cocoa?”

  “Hot cocoa!” cried Benny. The others nodded eagerly.

  “Four cups of cocoa, Doris,” Charles told the waitress.

  “Help yourself to the buffet whenever you’re ready” she told them and walked away.

  “This is my favorite tea shop,” said Charles. “I come here quite often to enjoy the wonderful buffet. Why don’t you all go up and pick out whatever you’d like.” He motioned to the long table in the back.

  “Okay,” said Benny, springing up from the table. He could see an assortment of cakes from where they were sitting. The others got up, also.

  “Aren’t you coming?” Jessie asked when she noticed that Charles was still seated.

  “No, I’ll just have tea right now,” he said.

  “If you’re not going up, I’ll stay here, too, and—” Jessie began.

  “No, no, no — please — go ahead,” Charles said quickly. He seemed upset but then he collected himself. “Really, I’m quite comfortable by myself.”

  “All right,” said Jessie, following the others. She wondered what was bothering Charles.

  The buffet was indeed wonderful, as Charles had said. At one end there were tiny sandwiches filled with cucumber, cheese, or eggsalad. They were made on very thin bread and cut into pretty shapes like hearts and diamonds.

  Beside the tea sandwiches was a basket of scones, surrounded by several dishes of jam. Next came the pastries and cakes, which were layered with chocolate, whipped cream, and fruit fillings.

  “I want one of everything!” said Benny

  “You may have that if you like,” said Doris as she walked by, carrying a tray of hot cocoa to their table.

  “Why don’t you start with just a few things,” said Jessie. “You can always come back for more.”

  “Look at that cake,” said Benny, pointing to a cake at the end of the buffet. It was elaborately decorated with swirls of chocolate icing and large red strawberries. He’d never seen a cake so fancy — or so delicious-looking. “Do you think Mrs. McGregor could make one like that for my next birthday?”

  “I’m sure she could. She’s such a good cook. Just tell her about it when we get home,” said Violet.

  “I have a good idea,” said Benny. “I’ll take a picture of it!” He headed back to the table to get the camera out of his backpack. When he got there, Charles looked surprised to see him.

  “Oh, hello — aren’t you having anything for tea?” Charles asked.

  “I want to take a picture of one of those cakes first,” Benny said. He reached under the chair he’d been sitting in. “That’s funny.” He looked under the chair. “I thought I left my backpack right here.”

  “Oh, here it is,” said Charles, pulling the backpack up from under the table. “Somehow it got pushed over to my side of the table.”

  “Thanks,” said Benny. He took out his camera and went back to the buffet.

  A moment later, the Aldens returned to the table, their plates piled with goodies.

  “We brought some extra sandwiches and scones for you,” said Jessie.

  “How thoughtful,” said Charles.

  As the Aldens tasted each of the items from the buffet, they chatted with Charles about their sightseeing. They told him what a wonderful time they’d had at Buckingham Palace and Harrods, and how excited they were about the play they were seeing that night. While he seemed friendly enough, the Aldens couldn’t help noticing that Charles didn’t seem to be paying complete attention to them. It seemed as if he was thinking about something else.

  They were almost done eating when Henry said, “One strange thing has happened during our visit.”

  “Really?” said Charles. “What’s that?”

  “Several times we thought we saw someone following us,” Henry explained.

  “That is odd,” said Charles. All of a sudden he looked at his watch. “Oh, dear, I’ve just remembered I have an appointment.” He motioned to Doris, who brought the check. “Take your time and stay as long as you like,” he told the Aldens as he put on his wrinkled raincoat. “Bye-bye!”

  “Good-bye,” the Aldens called after him.

  “He certainly left in a hurry,” said Jessie.

  “Yes,’ and just when I was telling him about the person following us around,” said Henry. “All of a sudden he looked very uncomfortable.”

  “Probably because he just realized he’d forgotten his appointment,” said Violet.

  “I guess so,” said Henry. But he didn’t seem satisfied.

  “I know something else he forgot,” said Benny. He reached under the table and pulled something out. “His hat!”

  After tea the Aldens returned to their inn, bringing Charles’s hat with them. They hoped they might be able to return it to him before leaving London. Back at the inn they changed into nice clothes for the theater. Benny and Henry put on khaki slacks, loafers, and clean white shirts. The girls wore flowered dresses and put bows in their hair. Jessie’s bow was red and Violet’s was purple, her favorite color. Grandfather had on a gray suit, with his pocket watch tucked into his vest. They looked so nice that when they passed Donna as they were leaving, she even smiled and told them to enjoy the show.

  The evening was just as wonderful as they had hoped it would be. The theater was old and quite elegant, with an ornately carved ceiling and a thick red velvet curtain. The show was exciting, and all the actors and actresses were very good. The children all liked the beautiful scenery and costumes, but their favorite parts were the songs and dances.

  “Thank you for taking us to the play, Grandfather,” said Henry as they got into their cab at the end of the night.

  “It was great,” Violet added.

  The Aldens were all quite tired when they reached the inn. They’d had a busy day.

  “I can’t wait to go to sleep,” said Benny.

  “That’s a switch,” said Grandfather, chuckling. Usually Benny wanted to stay up as late as possible.

  But when Henry opened the door to their room, the boys were in for a shock. The pillows and blankets had been pulled off their beds and the contents of their drawers had been dumped out on the floor. “Grandfather!” Henry called. “We’ve been robbed!”

  CHAPTER 9

  A Hidden Package

  The Aldens gathered in the door of Benny and Henry’s room, looking at the mess inside. The girls had heard the commotion and had come back to see what was going on. “Who would have done such a thing?” asked Violet.

  “Run downstairs and see if you can find Mrs. Brown,” Grandfather told Henry. “In the meantime, well check the other rooms and make sure they’re okay.”

  It turned out that only the boys’ room had been broken into. “We’d better not touch anything until the police come,” said Grandfather.

  Mrs. Brown had been down in the kitchen preparing for breakfast the next day. When she saw what had happened to the boys’ room, she gasped and put her hands to her mouth. “Oh, my word!” she said. “Nothing like this has ever happened here before!” She hurried to call the police. In a few minutes, an officer had arrived.

  “Is he a policeman?” Benny whispered to Henry. He didn’t look like the police back home. He had on a black uniform and a tall curved hat.

  “Yes,” said Henry. “He’s a bobby.”

  “How do you know his name is Bobby?” Benny asked.

  “That’s not his name; that’s what police officers are called here,” Henry explained.

  The bobby asked the Aldens some questions and made notes in a small notebook. “Does anything appear to be missing?”

  The boys looked through the piles of things that had been dumped from the drawers.

  “I don�
��t think so,” said Henry. “We didn’t have anything valuable here, anyway. I had my money with me at the play.”

  “Wait a minute!” said Benny. “There is something missing! My backpack!”

  “Here’s your backpack,” said Jessie, handing it him. “You left it in our room. The camera is still inside.”

  Benny took the backpack, a look of relief on his face.

  “How did the burglar get in?” Grandfather wanted to know.

  “These locks are pretty easy to pick,” said the bobby. “It could have been someone who works here, or one of the other guests. Or maybe someone sneaked in the front door when Mrs. Brown wasn’t around.”

  “My family and I are the only ones who work here,” Mrs. Brown said. “And I can’t believe it was one of my guests. I suppose someone could have sneaked in — I’ve never had a problem like this, so I usually don’t lock the front door until I go to bed. Still, I can’t believe someone could have come in without my knowing.”

  “It’s late now, so I’ll come back tomorrow morning to speak to the other guests,” the bobby said. “I’ll find out if anyone heard or saw anything suspicious.”

  Mr. Alden went with Mrs. Brown to show the bobby out, while the girls helped Benny and Henry put everything back where it belonged. At last their room was in order.

  “We’ll have to make sure we don’t leave any valuables lying around until they catch the person who did this,” said Jessie.

  “I’ll put my money in Benny’s backpack for safekeeping,” said Henry. “I’ll just tuck it in this outside pocket.”

  As Henry unzipped the pocket and reached inside, the look on his face changed. “Hey, what’s this?” He pulled out a small wrapped bundle.

  The Aldens crowded around to see what Henry was holding. The package was flat and about three inches square. It was tightly wrapped and taped. “Did anyone put this in here?” asked Henry.

  They all shook their heads.

  “What is it?” asked Benny.

  Slowly Henry pulled off the tape and began to unwrap the package. Pulling off the paper, he uncovered a small sturdy box. The children were becoming more and more curious. When Henry opened the box, they all opened their eyes wide in surprise. Inside was a shiny gold brooch covered with diamonds and other sparkling gems. The letters HRH were engraved in the center. It was obviously quite old.

  “That looks really valuable,” said Benny. “I wonder whose initials those are.”

  “Those aren’t just someone’s initials!” said Henry. “That stands for ‘Her Royal Highness.’ This must have belonged to … a queen!”

  “Oh, my goodness!” said Jessie.

  “It looks familiar,” said Violet.

  “Familiar?” Jessie repeated.

  “Yes, I think I’ve seen something just like it, but I’m not sure where,” Violet explained.

  “What I want to know is, how did it get into my backpack?” Benny asked.

  “It was inside that zipped pocket, so it couldn’t have just fallen in,” said Henry. “Someone must have put it there on purpose.”

  “And he came back for it tonight!” Violet exclaimed. “Maybe that’s what the thief was after! He assumed the backpack was in Benny’s room, so he broke in. He didn’t know it was in our room.”

  “I was wondering why ours was the only room that was burglarized,” said Henry. “That would explain it — he wasn’t just looking for anything valuable, he was looking for one thing in particular, and thought it would only be in here.”

  Suddenly Jessie gasped. “Maybe that’s why someone’s been following us! Like Violet said the other day, he was following us because we had something he wanted. He’s been trying to get it back all week! We’ve had the backpack with us every day. This is one of the first times we’ve left it and gone out at night.”

  “Why did he break into our room tonight and not before?” asked Benny.

  “Somehow it seems as if the person knew we’d be out tonight and probably wouldn’t be bringing the backpack,” said Henry.

  “But who would have known that?” asked Benny.

  “We told Andrew we’d be going to the theater tonight,” said Jessie. “And remember what he said about hiding something where it would be safe!”

  “He does seem like the most likely suspect,” said Henry. “But don’t forget Donna. She saw us as we were leaving the inn tonight. And Mrs. Brown said something about her having a secret plan to get rich. If she stole this brooch and sold it, she’d be rich.”

  “Mrs. Brown even said her plan was sort of like stealing,” Benny added.

  “I just thought of someone else,” Jessie said. “We told Charles we were going to the theater tonight, too.”

  “But he’s such a kind man,” said Violet. “I can’t believe he’d do anything like this.”

  When Mr. Alden came back downstairs, the children showed him the brooch. He turned it over in his hands, studying it. He was just as mystified as they were.

  At last he said, “I have a very important meeting first thing tomorrow morning, and I’ve got to get some sleep. But as soon as my meeting’s over, we’ll all go to the police station and show them this brooch. Maybe someone has reported it missing. At any rate, the police will know what to do. For now I think the best thing is to get some sleep.” He turned to the boys. “I think it’s safe to sleep here. Whoever broke in didn’t find what he was looking for. I’m sure he won’t come back.”

  “And you’ll be right across the hall if we need you,” said Benny, yawning loudly.

  “Yes,” said Grandfather. “Good night.”

  But although it was very late and they were all tired, a long time passed before any of the Aldens could fall asleep.

  CHAPTER 10

  Mystery Solved!

  After all the late-night excitement, the children slept late the next morning. When they awoke, their grandfather had already left for his business meeting. He’d left a note telling them when he’d be home and how to reach him if they needed to.

  Because it was so late, the Aldens were the only ones at breakfast. Mrs. Brown told them that the bobby had spoken to Andrew and Donna earlier, but there was no new information.

  Jessie turned to the others. “Grandfather probably won’t be back until this afternoon, so what should we do until then?”

  “How about going to a museum?” suggested Henry. “There are lots in London and so far we’ve only been to one, the British Museum.”

  “That’s it!” said Violet.

  Everyone turned to look at her.

  “That’s why that brooch looks familiar,” Violet said. “Remember that jewelry exhibit at the British Museum we saw on our first day here? There were some earrings there that looked just like the brooch — they’re probably a matching set!”

  “Let’s go back there and take a look,” said Jessie. “Maybe there’s someone who works at the museum we could talk to.”

  The Aldens finished eating quickly and left the inn. They brought the brooch with them, wrapped up and tucked carefully in Jessie’s pocket.

  At the museum they went straight to the glass display case that held the antique jewelry.

  “Look!” said Jessie, pointing. “Violet was right. Those earrings are a perfect match for the brooch.”

  The children all peered into the case: in amazement. The earrings were the same oval shape, with the same jewels and intricately engraved HRH.

  “It says they belonged to Queen Victoria over one hundred years ago,” said Violet. “Do you think the brooch did, too?”

  “We’d better speak to someone in charge,” said Henry, heading to the information desk. “Hello, we’d like to speak to someone about the royal jewelry,” he said to the woman who was sitting there. “It’s important.”

  The woman studied Henry for a moment. She was obviously trying to decide whether he was serious.

  “We’ve found something that may be worth a lot of money,” Jessie added.

  The woman at the desk pic
ked up her telephone and dialed. “Mrs. Scherr, there are some children here who want to see you, if you have a moment. I know you’re busy, but they say it’s important.” She listened for a moment and hung up the phone. Then she motioned to one of the uniformed security guards. “Please take these children to speak to Mrs. Scherr,” she said. “She’s the head of the British Antiques Department,” she told the Aldens.

  The guard led them to the section of the museum where the offices were. “Here’s Mrs. Scherr’s office,” he said.

  “Thanks,” said Jessie as the children went inside.

  A dark-haired woman was sitting behind a large desk, which was covered with books and papers. She smiled when she saw the Aldens. “Can I help you?”

  “We found something that may belong in this museum,” Jessie said, pulling the package out of her pocket and laying it on the desk.

  Mrs. Scherr looked at the children curiously and then began unwrapping the package. When she saw the brooch she gasped. “But — but — wherever did you find this?”

  “I know this is going to sound strange,” Henry began. “It was tucked inside my little brother’s backpack.”

  Benny smiled proudly and held up the red backpack.

  “How did it get there?” Mrs. Scherr asked.

  “We have no idea,” said Jessie.

  “This is a very valuable brooch,” Mrs. Scherr explained. “It belonged to Queen Victoria. It’s part of a set.”

  “It goes with the earrings in the glass display case, doesn’t it?” asked Violet.

  “Yes,” said Mrs. Scherr. “This brooch was in a private collection. Last week it was auctioned — in America. I sent my assistant to purchase it for the museum, and he’s due back next week. I can’t imagine how the brooch ended up in your backpack!”

  “We were just as surprised as you are,” said Jessie.

  Suddenly Benny said, “What is your assistant’s name?”

  “My assistant?” Mrs. Scherr asked. She sounded surprised at the question. “His name is Charles. Charles Finchley.”

  “Charles?” said Jessie and Henry at the same time.