Naturally, the journey to London was undertaken by train. Having packed the night before, Sunny and her parents loaded their cases onto a trolley and travelled to Falmouth station. Although it was only nine in the morning, there was already a distinct sense of hurry in the air.

"Hello!" called Alexandra. "You look to be heading somewhere!"

"You could say that," Argyle said, as he loaded his case onto the luggage rack at one end of the railmotor.

"Is it somewhere exotic?" the railmotor asked. "The pyramids, perhaps? Or maybe the Acropolis? Or- picture that- sailing through Venice in a gondola?"

"Don't be absurd!" Lord Haven said, with a mirthful tone to his voice. "A railmotor would never fit on a gondola."

"It could if it was a rather large gondola," Sunny joked, which prompted some laughter.

"Alas, we are not going to those places," Goldie said, as she struggled with her case. "It's Waterloo."

"You're going to Belgium?" Lord Haven asked.

"Nope. London Waterloo." Goldie put her case into place and then sat down. "We're catching the Golden Arrow."

"How exciting!" Alexandra said. "Rubbing shoulders with dukes and duchesses, the very cream of European society. You did well to have gained an opportunity like this."

"It's probably not something we'll do all too often," Goldie answered.

"We're not that old!" Argyle said. "We've probably still got decades of adventures left in us."

"Thank you."

Alexandra then whistled, as it was time to go. "Away we go!"

The train began to pull away, and before long the formation was skirting the edges of the Cornish coast as it began to climb towards Truro. As they rumbled along the line, familiar sights soon rolled past, looking new and exciting in the morning light.

"Sure looks different, eh?" Argyle smiled.

"Tell me about it," Sunny said. "Seeing it through big windows sure is a change from Salty's cab windows."

After a bit more climbing, the train passed through Perranwell, where Rebecca was waiting on a goods train for them to pass. She whistled to them as they rolled by, and then they were on their way once more.

At long last, they pulled into Truro, where they had plenty of time to cross the footbridge and climb aboard the waiting train for the run to Paddington. And not the bear, the place.

Once the doors were closed, they were underway once more, with the scenery whizzing past at such a speed they seemed to fly.

"The new units are a lot quieter than the old HSTs," Goldie observed. "The commute used to be quite noisy. Nowadays people ride on them precisely because of the noise."

"That's because it's more fun," Argyle said. "As nice as climate control is, you can't help but feel you're not on the move. You're in a box somewhere, not on the rails."

The journey to London proceeded on time, and the speed limit gradually rose as they flew through Exeter, Taunton, Bristol, and a myriad of other places.

As last, the train arrived at the magnificent Brunellian trainshed of Paddington, and the passengers got off. They had, quite wisely, chosen to wait until the train had stopped. The Starshines were amongst them, and walked down the platforms with smiles.

"Well, that wasn't too bad," Argyle said.

"It feels a bit different not having Rebecca here," Sunny noted. "She was probably the first member of her class in a long time to run to Paddington."

"It probably didn't happen all that often," Argyle replied. "Victoria and Waterloo were the London homelands of the class, and seeing massed ones at Clapham Junction must have been quite the sight and sound."

"Right, we need to focus now," Goldie said. "We need to catch the District to Westminster then the Jubilee to Waterloo. Follow me."

"Yes, ma'am!" Argyle replied. "You know your way round here."

"Had to do it many times when Heathrow Express was shut," Goldie replied.

The journey underground wasn't too bad, all things considered, and their luggage didn't go missing, which was always a bonus. Once they reached Waterloo, they climbed out of the steps and into the former London and South Western terminus.

"This is probably your first time at Waterloo, isn't it Sunny?" Argyle said.

"I don't think I've been here before," Sunny said. "All quite noisy for a rural kid like me."

"You'll get used to it," Goldie said. "Now then, you two can go and look at the engine if you'd like. I'll get us checked in."

Once checkin was complete, and the initial confusion of tickets was resolved (as Goldie accidentally referred to Sunny instead of Sarah when recounting the tickets), they boarded and got their rooms. They were positioned next to one another, with a connecting door linking to a shared shower. The connecting corridor allowed them to speak to and contact one another if they so required.

Later on, the train got underway, forming a most magnificent sight as the Bulleid Light Pacific and its long line of Pullman Cars and Sleeper Coaches got underway through the south London streets. As the journey had begun, the guests had started to exit their rooms as they had gotten changed into rather more formal attire.

Argyle had brought his suit as was custom, though he had changed out the usual tie for a bow tie to better fit the ambience. Goldie, naturally, had brought her dark blue evening gown, and with a bit of help had gotten her hair into a suitable formation for the evening.

"Thanks for the help," she said. "Normally I'd have had it done professionally, but there was too great a risk of it coming apart on the journey."

"Never a problem to help," Argyle smiled.

They found their seats in the day coach and sat at them. The cutlery was already laid, and the glasses sat there. Complementary glasses already charged with drink sat in place.

Goldie looked at the note. "Non alcoholic, as requested," she said. "They've thought of everything."

She then reached forward, before stopping. "Sunny, can I ask you something?"

Sunny, who was fussing with her own skirts, glanced up. "Yes?"

"Is my glove on right?"

Sunny took a look. "Looks slightly to the side, as far as I can see."

Goldie pulled on one side, and found it was correctly adjusted. "Must have pulled it on at the wrong angle. Thanks for the help."

"No problem, mom."

The starter and first course proceeded without too much incident, and as was only fitting on such a train there was live entertainment. The musician and her group moved between the coaches, performing newer songs rewritten in a Jazz style which really fit the ambience.

As the musician made her way from one carriage to another, she suddenly stopped at the Starshine table. "Hey, I know you!" she said to Sunny. "Sunny Starscout, right?"

Sunny's eyes widened in surprise when she saw who it was. "Ruby Jubilee!" she said. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"I know, right?" the musician smiled, looking at the assembled people. "I don't believe we've met," she said to the parents. "I'm Ruby Jubilee. I met your daughter when I was performing at the music festival in Bury back in February."

"Argyle Starshine," Argyle replied.

"Goldie Starshine," Goldie added. "Nice to meet you, Miss Jubilee."

"Please, just Ruby." The musician adjusted the skirt of her dress, which seemed to be oddly puffy for the environment, as well as being covered in flower motifs. "Well, I can't hang around and chat for long, got another passenger car to entertain. See ya around!"

As she disappeared up the coach, Argyle sat back in his chair. "Well, I'll be," he said. "First we're friends with English nobility, then we're on first name terms with major pop stars. Whatever next?"

"The main course, of course!" Goldie joked.

Goldie had noticed a few odd things during the trip. One chap across the row was wearing a scarf with a windsor knot in it- a very strange thing to wear indoors on a train to say the least.

But things came to a head when there was a scream from down the carriage.

"What on Earth was that?" asked a passenger.

Goldie slipped out of her seat and began to head up the train as quickly as her clothing could permit her. When she arrived at the source of the noise, she found one of the chefs standing in horror.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Oh, it is terrible!" said the chef. "The desert has been stolen! This took hours to make, and I don't know if we can recreate it in time!"

Goldie thought to herself. "The train hasn't stopped since we left Waterloo, and therefore nobody will have had a chance to get off and hide it," she said. "This means the cake is still on the train- and the thief is still onboard."

"What do you mean?" the chef asked.

"We have a little mystery to solve," Goldie said. "And it's time to put our collective grey cells to work."

Author's Note

Welcome back to another chapter, which has more of an old staple of my writing- travel. The journey here is the one from Truro to Paddington, one I would thoroughly recommend doing if you ever find yourself in the UK.

The coaching stock in use on the Golden Arrow is a mixture of older Pullman cars (namely the all-steel K Type) and the British Rail MK1 Sleeper. The former type was built from 1928 onwards and makes up the backbone of the luxury railtour industry. The latter is a popular choice for overnight railtours (as it means there's no need to book a hotel).

After an abscence of several stories, Ruby Jubilee is back- as an entertainer, no less. The dress she is wearing is based on one worn by the character of Agatha in the film The School of Good and Evil.

Agatha was played by Sofia Wylie in the film, so consider it an actor allusion.

But the crime has been committed! Now it is up to the cast to find out who stole the cake, and why!