London Art Chase by Natalie Grant

it had been hundreds of years ago.
    After Thomas had talked enough to fill Maddie’s head twice, he told everyone to follow him, and they crossed the bridge and went through the gates. Inside the outer wall, they found another wall made up of a number of buildings. Thomas explained that Sir Isaac Newton had lived and worked in one of those buildings.
    â€œA very important man. He invented gravity, you know,” Thomas said.
    Mia nudged Maddie. They’d done a report together on Newton this year in school and had learned just about everything there was to know about gravity. Well, probably not everything there was to know, but a lot, anyway.
    The group followed Thomas past the inner wall, where the tower grounds opened up to grassy grounds, and in the center, a stone tower.
    â€œThat’s the White Tower,” Thomas said. “Home of the Crown Jewels.”
    He led them around the Tower grounds a little longer and told story after story. Miss Julia clicked so many photos that Maddie stopped counting, and she let Lulu take a number of pictures too. Maddie liked the way Thomas joked while keeping a completely straight face. Then, when he did smile, it was like the sun coming out on a gray day. Whenever he smiled, she couldn’t help smiling too.
    At the end of the tour, Thomas led them into the White Tower so they could walk through and look at the jewels. Maddie had been looking forward to seeing the collection, but she hadn’t expected to feel so . . . awestruck. Even Lulu whispered the entire time they were inside the White Tower. The jewels on the crowns and swords glimmered and glinted in the light. Maddie thought about the people who had worn them, people who had been crowned king or queen. What made someone special enough to be made a queen? In England, you became a king or queen because of your family. Even being in the Glimmer family, Maddie knew that just because you were part of a certain family didn’t mean you were a certain kind of person. She may be able to get up and sing with her sisters and enjoy the feeling, but she couldn’t imagine what it would feel like if she was expected to grow up and be a singer like Mom or a producer like Dad.
    â€œAren’t they beautiful?” Lulu whispered, her nose only inches away from the glass.
    â€œYes,” Maddie said, and then hugged her little sister tight. “Love you, Lulu.”
    Lulu looked up at her, surprised. “Love you too, Maddie.”
    â€œAre you girls ready to head over to Buckingham Palace?” Miss Julia asked. “If we go now, we should be able to find a spot where we can see the whole ceremony.”
    â€œYes!” Lulu said, and then put her hands to her mouth, realizing how loud she’d spoken. “Yes,” she repeated, this time in a whisper.
    Maddie tried to keep her giggles as silent as she could until they were out on the Tower lawn.
    Mia twirled around in a classic Lulu move. “I love London!”
    Lulu and Maddie joined the dance and twirled and leapt their way toward Traitor’s Gate.

NINETEEN
    B y 10:45, the girls and Miss Julia had found their way to Buckingham Palace. People stood three or four deep around the barricades, so they circled round until they were on the far side and better able to see the famous Changing of the Guard.
    The guards stood in front of the palace, just outside little booths that looked almost like telephone booths, but were blue and black instead of red. Each one of the guards was unmoving, wearing a red jacket with gold buttons and a tight-fitting gold band around the collar, and holding a rifle. They wore tall, furry hats with gold bands that circled under their chins, covering up a lot of their face so what you could see most of all was their stern expression.
    â€œWhy do they just stand there, not moving?” Lulu asked.
    â€œThat’s one of the most special things about the Queen’s Guard,” Miss Julia said. “They take