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“Check this out!” she said when he arrived. She was pointing at a card on the wall that gave information about the piece.
    â€œSteeple of Church of St. Freda, Taynesbury, Herts.,” it read.
    â€œHey—Taynesbury! That's the word in the notebook!” Xander's blue eyes sparkled. “What do you think it means?”
    â€œI don't know,” Xena said. “Maybe we could ask somebody.”
    They stopped at the front desk. The man looked up from his paper. “Yes?”
    â€œDo you know anything about that painting that disappeared? Girl in a Purple Hat ?” Xena asked.
    â€œ'Fraid not,” the man said. “Nothing more than what it says in the art history books. I think the drawings are just as fine as the paintings, though.”
    â€œThey are,” Xena agreed. “But we were wondering about a couple of things.”
    The man looked inquiringly at her, so she went on. “Is Taynesbury the name of the townwhere the artist lived? And what does Herts. mean?”
    â€œYes, indeed,” the man said. “He did most of his painting in Taynesbury. It's in Hertfordshire”—Xena and Xander noticed that he pronounced it Harfurdsheer— “which is abbreviated to ‘Herts.’ It's not far from London, although in the old days it would have been considered a good distance. Horses and carriages were quite slow, you know.”
    Xena and Xander thanked him as they walked out. Xander did a little dance on the sidewalk.
    â€œCut that out before someone sees you,” Xena said.
    He did, but he was still excited. “We already have a lead!” he said. “We know where he lived. Let's find out more and then see if we can get to that town.”
    â€œMom and Dad will love to take us someplace outside of London,” Xena said. “And there are bound to be even more clues at the museum where the Batheson exhibit is going to be next week—the Victoria and Albert. Let's go there next.”
    The street was crowded with people, and shop windows were bright in contrast to the gray sky. The sidewalks were narrower than what they were used to in America, and they constantly had to dodge people who were in a hurry.
    Fortunately, the Victoria and Albert was nearby. “Hope they're still open,” Xander said, and Xena nodded. They found the museum, though the sign on the door said it would be closing in fifteen minutes.
    Inside, a guide was sitting at a desk, twirling a pencil with his fingers. The museum was practically empty.
    â€œHullo!” the man said with a wide grin. “You two must be real art lovers to come out in this wet!”
    â€œOh, I love art,” Xena said.
    â€œAnything in particular you want to see?” he asked. “You won't have much time. We're about to close for the day.”
    â€œWe're interested in Nigel Batheson,” Xena said. “We've looked at some of his work online, and I wanted to see it in person.”
    â€œRight this way.” The man led them past a white wall with bright watercolors of fruit hanging on it. Then he stopped in front of a pencil sketch. “Well, here it is,” he said. “Not much to see, I'm afraid. We're preparing his important works for the showing next week.”
    Xander examined the picture. It showed a little boy in a garden who seemed absorbed in cuddling a rabbit while behind him some adultsand an older boy were sitting on the grass. It looked like a happy family picnic. “No girls in purple hats,” he said.
    The man laughed. “No, no girls. Batheson wasn't fond of strangers, so his only models were his wife and sons. He never painted girls, except in that one instance. People have always wondered who the model was. I'm not sure it matters, but it would be nice to find out, don't you think?”
    Xena silently agreed with him and glanced at the wall. “Mostly I wanted to see his sketches for Girl in a Purple Hat ,” she