Free Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone by Dene Low

Luckily we were on the same side of the street as the Savoy.
    The cacophony of London traffic was such that it took a few seconds for me to register that someone was bellowing behind us. The wild
ching-chinging
of a bicycle warned me to jump to my left. I nearly knocked Uncle off his feet. We both recovered our equilibrium just in time to have a bobby's hat thrust into my arms by the cyclist. I caught a glimpse of his face. Georgie Grimsley! His black eye only served to accentuate his malevolent smirk. He then disappeared into the crowd of bicycles in the street.
    "Ere, ere! Young lady, I'll ave you know that stealing bobbys' hats is illegal." A red-faced, hatless bobby planted himself in front of us, panting as he rested his hands on his knees.
    The hat burned in my grip. I thrust it at the bobby. "I am not accustomed to stealing hats from officers of the law. This hat was thrown at me by a passing cyclist."
    "Likely story. Probably a well-planned snatch. Young people of your set ave been taking great delight in just such larks of late. I'll wager you know the thief. Wot's 'is name?"
    "I do know him, unfortunately, although I am most assuredly not in league with him. His name is Georgie Grimsley." I drew myself up to my full height and attempted to mimic Great-aunt Theophilia, but was woefully short of her aplomb and lacked her lorgnette. I really would have to purchase one soon.
    The bobby stuffed his hat onto his head. "Well, I won't ave it—this larkin' about by rich young fings taking no account of the law. I'm going to make an example of you. Come along now to the station."
    I gawked.
    Uncle stepped forward and bowed slightly. "My dear sir. This young lady is my niece and—"
    "Then you should be taking better care not to let her get into scrapes." The bobby thrust his jaw out as he glared at Uncle Augustus, who appeared quite speechless at the officer's pugnacity.
    I became aware that a large crowd had gathered around us.
    "For shame. Wealth brings privilege is what she thinks," said one woman, shielding her little girl with her skirt from my wickedness. Others in the crowd muttered agreement so vehemently that they sounded in danger of turning into a mob.
    "Excuse me. Lord James Sinclair here. I saw it all, and the young lady was a victim of the depravity of the perpetrator. She had nothing to do with the theft," James said as he and Jane pushed their way through the throng to stand by my side. James withdrew a card from his wallet and presented it to the bobby.
    The bobby studied the card. "All right, sir. 'Ome Office,
is it? Oi suppose Oi must believe you. Oi'm Officer Dudworth." There were exclamations of surprise from the crowd at the revelation that James was connected with the Home Office.
    James indicated Uncle and me and his sister. "Officer Dudworth, would you be so good as to escort us to Scotland Yard? We are on our way to speak to Inspector Higginbotham on a matter of some urgency." He glanced at me and I nodded agreement.
    "Well, if you're going to Scotland Yard, you're eading in the wrong direction. It's that way." He pointed his nightstick in the opposite direction down the Strand from where we'd been going.
    James tipped his hat to the officer. "Thank you for setting us to rights, Officer Dudworth. We just emerged from Charing Cross Station, and I'm afraid I got my senses mixed up."
    Jane smiled up at the bobby. "You will help us find the Yard, won't you? If our nation's future rested on my brother's sense of direction, we'd all be in the soup."
    Chuckles rumbled through the crowd at Jane's comment.
    One man called, "Good fing we got coppers to set fings straight, then, ain't it."
    Another said, "Aw, take 'em to the Yard. It ain't every day one of them swells admits e needs elp from a copper."
    Officer Dudworth stuck out his chest proudly at the comments. He swaggered as he swung his nightstick in front of him and strode ahead of us. "Clear the way. Oi've got more important fings to do than be a