Research Holp

Notes for #23 The Mystery of the Queen's Necklace © 1979
Page #	Quote
14	The parents of Trixie's best friend, Honey Wheeler, had offered to take the Bob-Whites to England the following week. Never before had they been across the ocean.
16	At fifteen, Mart was eleven months older. People who didn't know them often thought they were twins. Lately, with Mart letting his short hair grow out, the resemblance was even closer. Brian: "I already told you, I've got to stay home and work." Brian was seventeen, and he was more serious than the "almost-twins." He was planning to be a doctor, and he needed every cent he could earn for medical school. Trixie: "Dan has to work and Di has to go to Milwaukee with her parents."
19	Honey's mother was very nice, but Trixie couldn't help feeling a little in awe of her. She never had a hair out of place, and she was always dressed up, even for riding. She came from a socially prominent family, and she always looked as perfect as she did in the oil portrait of her in the Wheeler living room. Trixie felt different toward Honey's redheaded father. He was a millionaire in his own right and had built up a far-flung business empire, but somehow all the Bob-Whites felt as comfortable with him as they did with their own fathers.
20	Honey pulled Trixie up the broad, crimson-carpeted stairway. The carpet was new but the gleaming cherry wood banisters would never change. The Manor House was modeled after the Dutch settlements that had been built on the Hudson before the American Revolution. Honey's room was done in white, with a ruffled organdy bedspread and curtains to match. Honey: "It's something I just inherited. From my great-great-aunt Priscilla, whom I never knew. Mother just faintly remembers her from when she was a little girl and went to visit her in New England."
21	Honey snapped open the old box and spilled its contents out onto the bed. Huge sapphires, emeralds, and rubies sparkled. They were set in a thick gold chain encrusted with diamonds and pearls. Honey slipped the heavy, glittering necklace over her head. It hung in a wide circle almost to her waist.
22	Honey: "It might go back to the days of Queen Elizabeth the First. We have to trace the necklace, and we already know that it comes from England. Miss Trask will come with us — she used to teach history as well as math."
23	Mrs. Wheeler: "We could explain how much we need the Belden-Wheeler Detective Agency, to trace the origin of the necklace. And it would mean a great deal to me to find out more about my ancestors."
24	Mrs. Wheeler: "My maiden name is Hart. I believe there's a connection with the Shakespeares, way back."
26	After getting the young people settled in a small bed-and-breakfast hotel on the previous night, Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler had gone on to Paris.
27	They had covered a lot of territory — mostly underground territory — the tube. Jim: "Honey, you'd defend a snake if it bit you."
30	Miss Trask had previously been Honey's governess but was presently the manager of the entire Wheeler estate, in which capacity she could do anything from arranging banquets to starting stalled station wagons. Besides herself, she supported her invalid sister with the salary she earned. No one knew how old Miss Trask was. She was attractive in a brisk, trim way, with her bright blue eyes and short, silver-gray hair. She always dressed sensibly but well, in tailored suits and sturdy shoes. Sometimes the Bob-Whites liked to tease her about a romantic interest. For example, Mr. Lytell, who ran a general store near Manor House, often seemed to feel more than just a high regard.
33	Mart: "You claim to be a detective, and you don't know about 221-B? Let me introduce you to Sherlock Homes, only the most famous detective ever, and that's the famous Victorian flat he and Dr. Watson are supposed to have rented."
36	Trixie was born friendly. She enjoyed making new friends, and it bothered her when people weren't friendly back to her.
40	An English family strolled over to stand right behind them. The small boy and girl appeared to be twins, with red hair like Jim's and blue eyes like Bobby's.
41	Trixie: Why, I've always been able to make friends with little kids.
44	Mart kind of liked Di. Unlike Trixie, she always appreciated him. Mart: "Trix, you always jiggle the camera while you're taking the picture." Honey: "Or else you chop off everyone's head."
46	Jim: "I've always heard Miss Trask say how soothing she finds the sound of the Scottish accent." For some reason, Trixie felt like getting as far away as possible from the bony, scar-faced figure, dressed all in gray from his battered golf cap to his dirty trousers.
52	Guard: "Young lydy. I cahn't myke out a word you're sying, but I will 'ave to arsk you to leave. This is the second time you 'ave cre-yted a disturbance." Miss Trask showed a slight flicker of a smile when she heard how Trixie had got herself and Honey evicted from the (Madame Tussaud) museum.
53	They and Miss Trask were planning to spend the morning at the British Museum and Library. At the museum entrance, they not only had to get special reading passes but also had to be searched for bombs.
54	Miss Trask: "The purpose of this museum is a little different. It's designed to preserve and interpret the history of humanity, specializing in the history of ancient and medieval civilizations."
55	Honey: "Did any of you ever hear of Nancy Hart?" Miss Trask: "I believe she was a heroine of the American Revolution. Didn't she live in Georgia?" Honey: "Yes, and she had this famous ride, like Paul Revere's. The road she galloped down is still called the Nancy Hart Highway. She dressed up like a man, she was six feet tall. Then she made this log raft, tied together with honeysuckle vines, to sneak into the British camp to spy on them. Hart County and the town of Hartwell and a lot of other places were named after her."
56	Honey: "Imagine me being descended from a Revolutionary spy!" Miss Trask: "Maybe. Of course, she could be in another branch of your family." Honey: "Mother said, the tradition is that we're descended from the Shakespeare family through his sister Joan, who married William Hart."
57	Miss Trask: "Oh, I've been to London before." Trixie suddenly realized that there were a lot of things about the former governess that they didn't know. No one else seemed interested.
60	Honey: "Oh, how do we stop the bus?" The girl pointed to a sign which read, STRIP ONCE IN ADVANCE. Mart: "English and American are two whole different languages sometimes."
61	When the Bob-Whites had sent off their first postcards that morning, Mart had written Di that English food was not as terrible as people said. Trixie had written Dan about the pickpocket. And Honey's card had read: Dear Brian, The streets are very narrow and wind-y. The cars whiz by on the wrong side of the street, and we (Americans) are terrified of crossing. The pedestrian has absolutely no rights in this country. Wish you were here, Honey.
62	Honey: "I think it's a national sport — going after pedestrians."
64	A tall man with grizzled black hair was pushing his way toward them, with Honey in his arms. Her long blond hair hung over his shoulder. He introduced himself as Gordie McDuff. He was about Miss Trask's age, and very good looking with his dark wavy hair and graying sideburns. He looked to be over six feet tall.
65	McDuff: "I'm in something of a predicament." He went on to tell how he had just arrived from Canada that afternoon, after the Exchanges had closed, and he had been unable to get his money changed.
66	Honey: "We're staying at a small bed-and-breakfast place — the Garden Hotel — near the British Museum.
67	Mart: "Trixie Belden, you're a schlocky Sherlockian shamus."
68	Trixie: "I'm developing my posers of observation." Mart: "Your powers of imagination are incomparable." Early the following morning, the Bob-Whites were on their way to the Sunday morning services at Westminster Abbey.
70	After Westminster Abbey, they took in the nearby Houses of Parliament, with the famous clock (Big Ben) in the tower. Miss Trask: "Mr. McDuff has offered to show us around the Tower (of London). He was a tour guide before he emigrated to Canada."
78	Trixie: "It's a good thing your mother sent that cablegram this morning." Mrs. Wheeler had cabled Honey to be sure to leave the necklace in the hotel safe at all times. Honey: "I'm afraid Mother's cable was in my handbag."
80	Miss Trask: "Mr. McDuff has consented to be our guide for the rest of the trip. He'll hire a car and drive us to Stratford tomorrow. In case anything goes wrong with the car, he says he's an experienced mechanic. Oh, children, aren't we lucky?"
81	Mart: "Don't tell me you've (Trixie) been reading the newspapers! On summer vacation?"
82	Mart and Jim exchanged looks and slipped back to their room, apparently unwilling to add to the tension already brewing. (Trixie and Honey fighting.)
84	Trixie: "So where's McDuff?" Miss Trask: "Your manner of referring to Mr. McDuff leaves something to be desired."
88	Trixie: "I just have to get that for Bobby." A miniature London policeman, leading a police dog on a red leash. About three inches high, he wore a dark blue uniform and a round black felt hat with a strap under his chin. Trixie: "Bobby will flip. I can't wait to tell him that English cops are called bobbies."
90	Miss Trask: "We didn't notice the time." her short gray hair was blown every which way, and her blue eyes were shining. Her brown tweed suit was adorned with a yellow chiffon scarf.
92	Mart: "I hereby christen this car the Maroon Saloon!" (Saloon is a sedan.)
93	Trixie: "When did you move to Canada?" Miss Trask: "Really, Trixie, perhaps Mr. McDuff doesn't want to tell us his life story." That's a bit uncalled for. We all know that Trixie likes to ask a lot of questions, but this was a normal conversational question.
94	McDuff: "This was to have been my honeymoon. I was jilted."
96	Trixie: Either I've turned totally paranoid, or there is a let's-see-how-dumb-we-can-make-Trixie-look plot afoot. Yes, and it's being accomplished by the author's writing.
100	Trixie: "Imagine a bedroom called Comedy of Errors!"
101	Miss Trask: "We could hear you clear down here in the dining room. I can't think how you could be so rude." Pod Miss Trask has taken over. Miss Trask: "You know, Trixie, you might consider that your behavior in a foreign country could lead its people to dislike all Americans. I know you've been feeling that the English are unfriendly, but what about you? Have you thought about your actions from their point of view?" Hissss! I'm expecting horns to sprout any second now!
107	Misses Elizabeth and Mary Tweedie. Miss Elizabeth was tall and the speech teacher. Miss Mary was the stout sister and very talkative.
108	Miss Elizabeth: "A friend of ours is opening up his home to tourists. Andrew Hart has just renovated his home and I believe its opening this week."
109	Miss Elizabeth: "They are calling it Hartfield House."
114	Waitress: "Wot'll y' 'ave, duck?" Honey: "No, thanks. I think I'll have Welsh rarebit and a pot of tea." Her three friends burst into giggles, much to Honey's bewilderment. Her manners on occasions such as this, were as elegant as her mother's.
115	Miss Trask: "We were rowing — and somehow I lost my oar. I've never done anything so clumsy in my life. Gordie and I had quite a time getting it back." McDuff: "What will you have, Marge?" Mart: "Is that her name?" Honey: "It's Margery. I've seen it on the letters she gets from her sister."
117	The two-and-a-half story pink brick mansion was surrounded by bright-colored flower gardens. Emerald green ivy climbed the walls to a gabled roof that had dormer windows and more chimneys than they could see to count. The front entrance was protected by a grass-paned the book does say grass, not glass vestibule, which sparkled in the glow of the late afternoon sunshine.
119	Jim looked from the deep-purple-carpeted reception hall, with its antique furniture slipcovered in blending mauves and lavenders, to a pink and gray parlor at one end and a crimson-walled dining room at the other. A strikingly handsome dark-haired man in full dress. Under arched black eyebrows, his dark eyes were sardonic. Andrew Hart.
122	A girl came running out. She was about Trixie's height but very slender, and she seemed a little older. She had dark brown hair cut in a smooth and shiny pageboy style.
123	"I'm Anne Hart."
124	The dormer rooms were done in different color schemes — a blue and gray one for Miss Trask, green and gold for McDuff, and a medley of reds for the boys. The loveliest room of all was the Rose Room. It had its own separate entrance from the large garden behind the mansion. The room was mostly white, with white furniture and white canopied beds, but the wallpapers was covered with pink roses.
125	Jim: "We're all chiefs and no Indians at this meeting." He and Trixie were copresidents, Honey was vice-president, and Mart was secretary-treasurer.
126	Jim: "Miss Trask isn't the type to get conned so easily." Mart: "She's only having a little fun for a change."
130	Miss Trask was wearing an evening gown! It was a soft shade of pink, with a high neck, long sleeves, and a skirt that swished elegantly around her silver sandals. Later in the book it mentions that they had traveled light. Do you often bring an evening gown with you when you doing research?
131	The woman in black was Mrs. Hopkins, the housekeeper.
135	Jim: "I never dreamed I'd be seeing the Royal Shakespeare Company playing Macbeth in Stratford-on-Avon."
136	They met Gregory Hart after breakfast. He was about Jim's age and looked a great deal like Andrew Hart except for his friendly grin.
137	Anne: "My mother was very much interested in genealogy. I'm sure we could find some of her charts."
139	Gregory: "It came down to putting up with the tourists or selling the family home." Anne: "My mother finally persuaded him. That was before she died."
140	Trixie: "Dinglebuckles."
142	Their (Tweedie sisters) apartment consisted of two main rooms — one upstairs and one downstairs.
144	Gregory: "It's just that he's (McDuff) no Scotsman." Trixie: "What do you mean?" Gregory: "That accent's as phony as the wig I wore in the play last night."
148	Gregory: "Anne is a tournament player. She's too bashful to mention it herself, but she got to the semifinals at Junior Wimbledon this year." The Harts had a grass court.
151	Mart: "Good chance to get some more pictures." He put a roll of self-developing film into his camera.
152	Honey: "I just have to get some of those cute cups and bowls with bunnies on them for Bobby and the Lynch twins, and some china flower baskets for Mother."
155	Honey: "My necklace. We were so tired last night and I meant to ask Anne to put it back in the safe this morning. I forgot." This seems to be the KK's favorite thing to do to Honey. This is the third time they've had her lose something valuable through carelessness.
161	Miss Trask: "Starting with Will Shakespeare's sister's marriage to William Hart, I have just about traced the Harts to a Thomas Hart who came from London to Hanover County, Virginia, in 1690. His great grandson, Thomas Hart of Kentucky, married a Miss Gray of North Carolina. Their third son, Benjamin, was the one who married Nancy Morgan, the Revolutionary heroine."
162	Miss Trask: "In my preliminary study in the United States, I had already traced your aunt Priscilla's line back to the same Thomas Hart." Anne: "I'm sure we're some sort of cousins. Mother's charts show a connection with the Thomas Hart who went to the States!"
164	Miss Trask: "Gordie's been telling me how important women have been in the history of Warwick Castle. It was Alfred the Great's daughter, Ethelflada, who built the very first part of the castle."
168	Honey pointed to a child-sized coat of mail. Trixie: "It's just about big enough for Bobby." Mart: "It belonged to the son of the Earl of Leicester. He was nicknamed 'The Noble Imp.'" Perfectly perfect name for Bobby!!!
171	The old rope broke, and Trixie crashed into the nearest knight in armor. Mart: "Trixie strikes another blow for international relations."
183	Honey: "Miss Trask told us he (McDuff) plans to come to Sleepyside after he gets back home. He lives in Nova Scotia."
184	After the play, Gregory joined them for a late supper at the Dirty Duck. Okay, I included this note only because I loved the name veg
188	Honey: "After we leave, they're going to change the name of this room from the Rose Room to the Nut Room!"
189	Jim: "I hope he (Andrew Hart) didn't mind my riding Black Prince."
190	Mart: "Anne says it takes him a long time to adjust to change. When his wife died, he almost had a breakdown."
193	Gregory: "It occurred to me that Honey's necklace might have been used as costume jewelry in Shakespeare's plays. If the fake necklace is a duplicate of the queen's, it could have been copied from the portrait in Warwick Castle, if not from the actual necklace."
197	Miss Trask: "He was a nice enough man and I am fond of a Scottish brogue. But frankly, he and his accent were beginning to wear on my nerves. I had no intention of seeing him back in New York."
202	Miss Trask: "He was certainly lying about being an experienced mechanic. Now if he had removed the rotor from under the distributor cap, that might have stumped me."
205	McDuff: "We'll take one of ye along with us. How about the bonny lass, eh, Ferdie?" he asked Gray Cap.
207	Jim: "Am I glad you're all safe!" He threw his arms around Trixie and whirled her until she was dizzy.
209	Trixie: "Gray Cap overheard us in the Wax Museum. Jim said something about you (Miss Trask) liking the sound of the Scottish accent. So that was why McDuff talked with one — only it was fake, like everything else about him." Miss Trask: "No wonder it got on my nerves."
211	Trixie: "Mrs. Wheeler will be so thrilled that she'll let Honey give the necklace to the museum!" Honey: "That's a super idea! Honey: "You (Gregory) and Anne will have to come to Sleepyside-on-the-Hudson sometime to visit your American cousins."