‘Lord Edwin loaned me the barge and the locomobile,’ explained Tesla.

‘Seriously?’ said Xandra. ‘That bullying bear helped us?’

‘While he was far from pleased about you escaping from him,’ said Tesla, ‘he was positively furious about you being kidnapped by Grimsby. He allowed me to take the locomobile and then sent his personal barge to meet us at the Shelltonne Estate’s pier.’

‘But how did you escape the kidnappers, Miss Tesla?’ asked Archie. ‘And then how did you find us?’

‘I was never kidnapped,’ explained Tesla, indicating her black clothes. ‘My dark clothing and balaclava, along with my smaller stature, meant that they never saw me. I was still on the wall when you were taken. I jumped down and followed, clinging to the back of their locomobile until they arrived at the Shelltonne Estate. I couldn’t really do anything on my own, so I started to walk back to Londinium. I managed to hop onto a passing transport vehicle.’

‘You are so resourceful, Miss Tesla,’ said Archie, voice filled with admiration.

‘You are too kind,’ said Tesla. ‘I went straight to the police, who were, not surprisingly, unconvinced by my story. So I had no option but to go and see Lord Edwin. He is eagerly awaiting your return.’

‘We can’t go back,’ said Xandra. The mere thought of the bear made her angry. ‘I will not be made a pet.’

‘Yes,’ agreed Archie. ‘We must go to the Crystalline Palace in order to save Queen Victoria.’

‘I beg your pardon?’ said Tesla.

‘Ah,’ said Archie. ‘We have uncovered rather a lot of disturbing and vile scheming on the part of Lord Grimsby and Lady Mimsy. We will fill you in.’

Archie, Xandra and Lex proceeded to relate the events and discoveries since their kidnapping, Tesla’s eyes growing ever wider with shock and disbelief.

‘We must go back to Lord Edwin,’ said Tesla, when they had finished the story.

‘No,’ protested Archie, ‘we must save Her Majesty.’

‘I won’t become his prisoner again,’ added Xandra.

‘But we need his help,’ said Tesla. ‘Given all that has happened, and taking into account Lord Edwin’s well-known obsession with Queen Victoria, I think we will be able to count on him.’

Xandra’s thoughts were on the Crystalline Palace and the niggling feeling that it might be the way home. She wanted to go straight there. But Tesla’s suggestion did make sense.

Archie looked at Xandra and Lex, both of whom nodded, then back at Tesla. ‘Very well.’

‘Thank you for agreeing to help,’ said Xandra, although deep down, she was not happy about having to seek assistance from the bear. And she could see from the expression on his face, that he wasn’t all that pleased about giving it.

‘I am not doing this for you,’ grizzled Lord Edwin. ‘I am doing it for her most Royal Highness, Queen Victoria.’

Lord Edwin unrolled a massive piece of paper covered in design drawings, and flattened it out on the dining table.

‘Detailed plans of the Crystalline Palace,’ he said, pleased with himself. ‘I know the architect.’ His features darkened. ‘I seem to remember Grimsby introducing us at some point.’

‘Why do you have these?’ asked Lex.

‘Ah, yes, well,’ said Lord Edwin. ‘I needed to see what the best vantage point for Her Majesty’s opening address would be.’ He traced a claw across the plans. ‘As you can see, there is a long ground-level area that extends the length of the palace. Along each main wall are two open levels of exhibition galleries, running the full length of the building and looking down upon gardens and fountains. Quite grand! There is a smaller third level on each side too, facing each other across the void. On the north side, that level extends into a small platform overlooking the whole palace. This is where Her Majesty will make her speech tomorrow morning. Opposite, on the south side, is a three-tiered viewing platform.’ He tapped the diagram of seats. ‘I shall be seated here in the front row of the lower tier. It should afford me an excellent view of the Royal Party, and indeed, of the entire palace!’ Lord Edwin puffed up with importance.

‘What about the upper tiers?’ asked Lex.

‘Ah, yes.’ Lord Edwin deflated a little. ‘Well, those will have an even better view. The middle tier is reserved for the tigers of the royal court. And the top tier is, of course, for the royal family and the other lions.’

‘What’s this over here?’ asked Xandra, pointing to the north side of the building, which was much wider than the south side.

‘The north side includes a locomotive station,’ said Lord Edwin. ‘Three levels. The general public use the lower station. The nobility use the middle station. The Queen will arrive in the royal locomotive at the upper station, which leads directly onto the third-level platform.’

‘That’s it,’ said Xandra. ‘That’s where we’ll talk to her.’

‘Yeah,’ said Lex, still frowning at the plans, ‘but what do we actually do? Come running up to meet her as she gets off the train?’

‘It may be best to wait until after she has made her speech,’ suggested Archie.

‘What will happen after the speech?’ asked Xandra.

‘The Queen will return to her carriage for morning tea,’ explained Lord Edwin. ‘Then she will tour the exhibits.’

‘Perfect!’ said Xandra. ‘As she is making her speech, we’ll sneak aboard her carriage and wait for her to come back.’

‘Hmm.’ Lex examined the plans. ‘We’ll need somewhere to hide when the train arrives. Somewhere close to the royal carriage.’

‘There.’ Lord Edwin tapped a spot on the plans. ‘Storeroom. Right near the tracks.’

‘Well, that settles it,’ concluded Xandra.

‘Not quite,’ said Archie. ‘I think we need to say thank you. Xandra and Lex … this is not your world. This is not your Queen. This is not your problem. And yet you are helping. So, from the bottom of my heart, I extend my sincere thanks and gratitude.’

‘Yes, indeed!’ said Tesla.

‘Quite,’ added Lord Edwin, grudgingly.

Xandra blushed … then yawned.

‘Perhaps it is time you had some rest,’ suggested Lord Edwin. ‘All this kidnapping, escaping and planning must be rather wearisome. Your rooms are ready and …’ He paused for a moment, scowling. ‘… unlocked! We cannot do anything until dark. So go and sleep. In the meantime, I shall arrange for some clothing that is suitable for the job that awaits.’

The four of them were dressed in black this time, faces covered, as they slunk through the night along the perimeter fence of Bird-Hide Park. While the others all wore pants, Xandra’s outfit included an ankle-length skirt to accommodate her exoskeleton.

Tesla led the little group towards the break in the fence where the train tracks entered. The police rhino on guard had fallen asleep, sitting up against the fence. It wasn’t hard for them to sneak past him onto the rails.

Under cover of darkness they followed the tracks up into the station. Proceeding through the lower station, they took a service stairway up to the third level, where the royal locomotive would arrive. Following the route the Queen herself would take, they stepped off the station into the Crystalline Palace.

Xandra and Lex gasped.

‘My goodness,’ said Archie, ‘it is even more beautiful than I had imagined.’

‘It’s like being inside a work of art,’ whispered Xandra.

As the twins walked along the platform, the ceiling gave way to a high arch of glass and steel. They reached the metre-high wrought-iron railing and looked down.

Moonlight streamed in through the glass panels of the roof, bathing the enormous space in a soft glow. In the central area, they could see statues, fountains and mini gardens. On either side, the galleries were partitioned into separate areas for each exhibit. Some had curtains over them to conceal the displays, others proudly showed off technological and artistic wonders to the night.

Xandra felt her attention drawn to the large fountain in the middle, water spurting up from a spire and flowing down over hemispheres of increasing size to a round pool. There was something about the shimmer of the water in the moonlight that caught her eye and held it. It made her think of home.

‘Should we be doing this?’ Lex asked in a low voice, as he sidled up to his sister. ‘Like Archie said, this isn’t our problem. Maybe we should be trying to find a way home?’

‘We can’t just stand back and let that power-hungry tiger and mad tortoise get away with this. Archie has been kind to us from the moment we met. And Nikole …’ Xandra adjusted her skirt. ‘I’m walking because of her. We can’t abandon them.’ She sighed. ‘Besides. I still think … well, feel … I feel that the way home is here in the Crystalline Palace.’ She paused. ‘You see that fountain down there?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Does it look normal to you?’ asked Xandra. ‘Does the water seem … I dunno … weird?’

‘What do you mean?’

Archie and Tesla joined them.

‘Never mind,’ said Xandra.

‘I have a display down there. Just a little space in the far bottom corner,’ whispered Tesla.

‘Exhibiting at the Great Exposition,’ said Archie, with obvious pride for his friend. ‘What a remarkable achievement.’

‘You really think so?’ Tesla still seemed uncertain.

‘Oh, Miss Tesla,’ said Archie. ‘Nikole. I am in awe of you.’

Archibald Baxter Caractacus Dunlevy the llama and Nikole Tesla the coypu, gazed at one another, briefly caught in a special moment.

BANG!

The sound made them all start. Their heads whipped from side to side, searching for the source.

‘Be careful, you imbecile.’ The voice echoed from below.

They all ducked down.

‘It’s Grimsby,’ whispered Xandra, recognising the voice. ‘What’s he doing here?’

‘This way.’ Although far below them, Grimsby’s voice carried clearly in the quiet, empty night. ‘And if you drop it again I’ll make sure you are on her Ladyship’s next menu.’

Footsteps echoed through the night. They came closer.

‘They are right below us,’ hissed Tesla.

Xandra and the others pressed their balaclava-covered faces to the ironwork of the railing and peered down.

Two armadillos carrying a steam engine, followed Lord Grimsby. They passed beneath the platform and entered the first of the display areas to the left, where they proceeded to set up the engine.

‘Connect it to the piping and switch it on,’ instructed Grimsby. ‘Now stand back. I need to test the mechanisms. Nothing must go wrong at tomorrow’s opening.’

The engine below sputtered to life, hissing and clanking, the sound echoing through the palace.

Xandra saw Grimsby move to a set of levers, the armadillos watching him closely.

‘This one is for the barriers,’ he said, pulling the lever.

There was an enormous jet of steam from below, followed by smaller hisses from copper piping threaded throughout the steel framework all around them. Xandra wondered at its purpose. As the steam pressure increased, the engine’s pistons moved and gears clanked.

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

CLANG!

Steel barriers, like the walls of a jail cell, slid into place enclosing the top tier of the viewing area, across from the Queen’s platform.

They heard Grimsby’s voice from below. ‘Excellent! The lions will be trapped together, their fate sealed.’ He pushed the lever back and the barriers retracted. The steam ebbed.

‘You will pull the lever when the Queen reaches the railing,’ he told the armadillos. ‘Once they are trapped you will pull the second lever.’

The armadillos nodded.

‘Unfortunately, we cannot test it without causing damage,’ he said. ‘I must trust that the architect followed my instructions. The viewing area will collapse, taking with it the lions trapped in the top tier. While my fellow tigers should have enough time to escape.’

Xandra felt her fury at Lord Grimsby bubbling up again. She had to find a way to stop him … had to!

The tiger laughed. It began as a low chuckle that rose in pitch and intensity until it hit an insane level, echoing through the empty palace.