"I hope we can find the dining room, Mary-Kate," Ashley said. "This place is huge!"
Ashley and I were spending giáng sinh in Washington D.C. at the trang chủ of the British Ambassador. Our Great-grandma ôliu, ô liu was a friend of Ambassador Jordan and he invited the three of us for the weekend.
Ambassador Jordan lived in a big three-story red brick house. The inside of the house looked like a museum. Portraits of kings and queens in gilded frames lined the walls. Chandeliers hung from the ceilings and the floors were so polished they were shiny.
Ashley stopped in front of the enormous windows in the entrance hallway. 'Check out the giáng sinh tree," she said.
"Awesome," I said. The gigantic cây was beautifully decorated. Strands of snowy white bắp rang bơ, bỏng ngô circled the tree. Tiny gift-wrapped packages dangled from the branches, along with vàng and silver pine cones. A bright white ngôi sao glowed from the hàng đầu, đầu trang of the tree.
"That puts me in the giáng sinh spirit!" Ashley said.
"My growling stomach puts me in the mood for breakfast," I joked. "Come on."
We entered the dining room. Ambassador Jordan sat at the head of the long table. His grandchildren, Ian and Sarah, sat on either side of him.
Ian was about twelve, with pale skin, red hair and freckles. His sister Sarah was ten -- the same age as Ashley and me. She had her brother's pale skin, but her hair was long, dark, and curly.
"Good morning, girls," Ambassador Jordan greeted us. "Sleep well?" He was a tall, thin man with short blond hair that was graying at the temples. I figured he was older than our parents, but younger than Great-grandma Olive.
"Yes, thank you," Ashley replied. "I tình yêu our canopy beds."
Ambassador Jordan had also invited his Những người bạn from Wales, Mr. and Mrs. Phelps, and their children, Polly and Marcus, for the weekend. They sat at the other end of the table.
"Sorry we're late," I said, sliding into a chair opposite Polly. Ashley sat down tiếp theo to me.
Polly was about our age too, with short blonde hair and green eyes. Her little brother Marcus sat beside her.
"Help yourselves to breakfast," đã đưa ý kiến Margaret, Ambassador Jordan's housekeeper and cook. She wore a red and green áo nịt, áo nịt ngực, cardigan sweater with vàng bells for buttons over her black and white uniform. She was in the holiday spirit too!
The thực phẩm at the bàn looked a lot different from the breakfast I usually ate at home. Where was the cereal? And instead of bagels hoặc bánh quế, bánh kem sữa waffle I saw plates of fried tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, fried eggs, and some strange skinny sausage. There was a basket of triangular bánh quy, biscuit things, and there were plates of whole fish, complete from head to tail.
I snuck a peek at Ashley. She looked confused bởi the menu too!
"Why don't bạn try the kippers?" Mrs. Phelps suggested.
I stared at the table. Okay, what's a kipper? I wondered.
Luckily, Ian picked up the plate of cá and handed it to me.
I took a small bite. "That's . . . unusual," I said.
Everyone laughed. "Here, try a scone," Sarah said. She handed me the basket of biscuit-like thingies.
"Scones are like your muffins," Ian explained. "But we don't usually eat them for breakfast."
He had a British accent, but he sounded different from Mrs. Phelps. His accent was thêm clipped - and kind of snooty.
"I asked Margaret if we could have them for breakfast just this once," Sarah added. "Margaret makes them herself. She even made my yêu thích kind of scones." She held up her plate. "See? It has Sô cô la chips in it."
"That's because you're my special princess," Margaret said, giving Sarah's shoulders a quick squeeze.
Polly rolled her eyes.
I loaded my bánh kẹp làm bằng lúa mạch, scone with dâu, dâu tây mứt and took a bite. "Mmmm . . . I could get used to this," I said.
"Look what I did," Marcus said.
I glanced at his plate. He had made a smiling face out of his breakfast.
"See Polly?" He reached to poke her arm to get her attention.
Polly shrank back in her chair. "Don't touch me! You'll get mứt all over my dress."
"Marcus, stop bothering your sister," Mr. Phelps said.
Marcus slumped in his chair. He stuck his finger in the mứt on his plate and licked it.
"Where's Great-grandma Olive?" I asked, noticing the empty chair.
"Maybe she slept late too," Ashley said.
"Not a chance." Great-grandma ôliu, ô liu strode into the room. She wore her long silver hair in a braid, and had on a thick blue sweater with a pair of slim black jeans. She was carrying a briefcase.
"Do bạn have work with you, Olive?" Mr. Phelps asked.
"Oh, I worked hard on this, but it was fun." Great-grandma ôliu, ô liu laid the cặp, vali, cặp tài liệu on the bàn and patted it.
Ambassador Jordan's blue eyes crinkled into a smile. "Does that mean we are ready to begin?"
"Begin what?" Ashley asked. I was wondering the same thing.
All the kids at the bàn looked excited.
"I know!" Marcus shouted. "The Riddle Game."
"The what?" I asked.
Ambassador Jordan grinned broadly. "Our annual Holiday Riddle Hunt," he declared. "This year, your great-grandmother agreed to write the riddles."
"I hid all but the first set of riddles around the house early this morning," she announced. "The first cards are here in this briefcase. I was on my way up to my room to drop it off, but then I worried I'd miss breakfast."
"I'd be happy to bring the cặp, vali, cặp tài liệu up to your room," Margaret said, pouring Great-grandma ôliu, ô liu a cup of tea.
"Would you?" Great-grandma ôliu, ô liu asked. "Thank bạn so much."
As Margaret left the room with great-grandmother's briefcase, Mr. And Mrs. Phelps excused themselves.
"We have a ngày of sight-seeing planned," Mr. Phelps said.
"I'll walk bạn out," Ambassador Jordan offered. They all left the dining room.
Margaret returned. "There's a phone call for you," she told Great-grandma Olive.
Great-grandma ôliu, ô liu took a quick sip of trà and then left with Margaret.
"I hope the riddles are harder this year," Ian said. "I need to be challenged."
"Great-grandma ôliu, ô liu is a famous detective," I told the others. "She probably came up with some great riddles."
"I want to win," Marcus whined. He turned to Polly. "You have to help me."
Polly rolled her eyes. "I have better things to do than play some babyish game."
"It's not babyish," Sarah said. "It's fun!"
Ian nodded. "Very mentally stimulating," he said.
I forced myself not to laugh. Ian looked like a normal sixth-grader, but he sounded like an old professor.
"So how does this game work?" Ashley asked.
"It's cool," Sarah said. "Riddles are hidden all over the house. When bạn solve one riddle, the answer tells bạn where to find the tiếp theo one."
"Each time bạn solve a riddle," Ian added, "you'll find an object. It can be anything-a shoe, a hat, whatever."
"What do bạn do with the objects?" I asked. "Is it like a scavenger hunt?"
"Sort of," Ian said. "The objects are clues. They tell bạn where the grand prize is hidden."
"Last năm Ian and Sarah won free movie passes for a month," Polly grumbled.
"We're going to win again," Sarah said. "Ian's brain is perfect for riddles!"
Ian smiled. He looked like he was trying to be modest, but I could tell he was glad Sarah was bragging about him.
"Well, we're going to give bạn some competition this year," Ashley said.
Ian's smile turned into a sneer. "Is that so?"
"That's right," I said. "My sister and I are detectives. We run the Olsen and Olsen Detective Agency at home."
"People call us the Trenchcoat Twins," Ashley added with a grin.
"Riddles are our specialty," I declared. I didn't like how Ian acted as if he was the only one smart enough to win the game.
"That may be," Ian said, taking off his glasses and wiping them with his napkin. "But you're no match for a student of Sherlock Holmes, the most famous British detective. In fact, I have my own Holmes detective kit."
"If you're detectives, and Ian always wins, I don't have a chance!" Marcus complained. "It's not fair!" He threw down his napkin and rushed out of the room.
Polly sighed. "I better go check on him." She pushed her chair away from the bàn and went in tìm kiếm of her brother.
Sarah stood up. "I'm done. I'm going to ask Margaret to make cá and chips for lunch." She left the room.
"Just when I was hoping to have Margaret's beef stew." Ian sighed. "But Sarah will get her way. Margaret does favor her."
"How can bạn be thinking about lunch already?" I asked, taking a bite of the sausage. It was spicy but good.
Ian shrugged. "And now," he said, standing up. "I'm going to finish đọc my latest Sherlock Holmes story. It's great preparation for the Holiday Riddle Hunt."
He spun around and left the dining room.
I shook my head. "He's a little too sure of himself for me. I don't think he even believes we're detectives."
"He'll find out when the Riddle Hunt starts!" Ashley put down her fork and wiped her mouth on her napkin. "Are bạn done?"
I nodded. "That breakfast was strange, but good."
We headed up to our room. As we strolled along the carpeted hallway we came to Great-grandma Olive's room. Her door was open.
I looked inside. My mouth dropped open.
Great-grandma ôliu, ô liu was crawling on the floor on her hands and knees!
I grabbed Ashley's arm and dragged her into the room. "Great-grandma Olive, is something wrong?" I asked.
Great-grandma ôliu, ô liu sat back on her heels and looked at us. Her face was flushed and strands of hair had loosened from her braid. She pushed stray hairs out of her face.
"Yes," she đã đưa ý kiến grimly. "Something is very wrong. The riddles for the hunt are gone. Someone took them!"
