LONDON
The next moment, the children landed — whump! — face down in a flower bed near the Victoria Monument. Groaning, they got to their feet. Hannah had had the wind knocked out of her, and Horatio’s hat had fallen off.
“What happened?” gasped Hannah, securing the belt of her robe.
“I guess the camera had to set us down flat,” said Jake. He shook the dirt out of his hair. “A map is only two dimensional, after all.”
“Where are we?” said Horatio, replacing his hat. “And why is everything so quiet?”
The others looked around. London was completely silent. Nothing moved.
“Time has stopped,” said Hannah.
“That means Simon’s still here,” said Jake. “Quick! We’ve got to find him before time starts again.” He set off toward the main gate at a run. Hannah grabbed Horatio’s sleeve, and they hurried after him.
A crowd was standing motionless outside the gate, along with several news reporters, a camera crew and a police officer wearing a high-visibility jacket. Cautiously, the children edged through them. Horatio’s puffed sleeves were rather bulky though, and when he brushed against a large man wearing shorts with knee-high socks, the man began to wobble. Fortunately, Hannah and Jake managed to set him on his feet again before he sent the whole crowd toppling like dominoes.
Eventually, they made it to the gate. They ran across the forecourt, in through the Grand Entrance and up the red-carpeted stairs two at a time. Hannah caught a glimpse of herself in one of the enormous mirrors. Instead of the timid-looking girl she had seen reflected earlier, she now saw a wild thing with windswept hair and a filthy robe. But there wasn’t time to worry about that. They flew through the Portrait Gallery and the Ballroom and the West Gallery, shouting: “SIMON! SIMON!” But there was no sign of him.
Eventually they stopped, breathless.
“He’s got to be here somewhere,” said Hannah. “Unless he’s gone home. You don’t think he —”
“Shhh!” said Jake. “Listen.”
Faintly, in the distance, they heard voices. Jake opened a set of French doors and stepped outside. From across the garden came the sound of laughter.
“It’s him!” said Jake.
They hurried across the lawn and through a gap in the hedge — and there was Simon. He was sitting at a wrought-iron table with an elderly lady. Between them were the remains of afternoon tea: a silver stand crowded with tiny sandwiches with the crusts cut off, a plate of cake crumbs and a pot of tea. Two corgis barked as they approached.
“Simon!” said Jake. “What are you —?”
The lady turned around.
“Er … Hi,” said Jake.
“Your Majesty!” said Hannah, shocked.
“Jake! And Hannah!” said the queen. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.” The queen looked at Horatio then, in his wrinkled leggings and puffed sleeves. “And who is this?”
“Horatio Montague, Your Majesty.” Horatio removed his hat with a flourish and bowed low. “Sir Walter Raleigh’s cabin boy.”
“We got him from your painting,” explained Hannah.
“I see,” said the queen, who looked as though nothing could surprise her now. “Would you care to join us for a cucumber sandwich?”
“Thank you,” said Hannah. “But we must get home. First, though, we need to take Horatio back to the Falcon.”
Horatio clutched the camera to his chest. “I’m not going back there,” he said, aghast.
“But you have to!” said Hannah. “Where else will you go?”
“I’ll come with you.”
“Oh, no, you won’t,” said Jake.
Horatio looked hurt. “But you promised.”
“We did not promise,” said Jake. “We said you could come back with us. We didn’t say that you could stay with us.”
“Oh, dear,” murmured the queen.
“Even if we wanted you to stay,” said Hannah, “our parents wouldn’t let you.”
“She’s right,” said Jake.
“And anyway,” said Hannah. “What about your parents? Won’t they wonder where you are?”
“I don’t have parents,” said Horatio sadly. “I have benefactors. They won’t miss me.”
“What about your friends, then?” said Hannah.
“I don’t have any friends,” said Horatio. His chin began to tremble, and he took out a filthy handkerchief and blew his nose.
Hannah looked at Horatio helplessly. “All right,” she said. “You can come with us. But only until we figure out what to do with you, okay?”
Horatio cheered up instantly. “Aye aye, Captain,” he said.
“Come on, Simon,” said Jake. “Let’s go.”
“Do we have to?” said Simon. He had ice cream all around his mouth.
“Yes,” said Jake. “We do.”
Simon belched softly, got down off his chair and threw his arms around the queen. “Thank you for having me,” he said.
The queen hugged him back. “No, Simon,” she said. “Thank you.”
“Goodbye, Your Majesty!” said Hannah.
“Goodbye,” said the queen. She waved until the children were out of sight. Then she took the stopwatch out of her pocket and checked the digital display. “I wonder how long we can stop time for?” she mused. “I think we’re due for a little holiday. What do you say, girls?”
The corgis barked in agreement.