CHAPTER TWO
They exited Tower Hill tube station and followed a crowd of people towards the awe inspiring sight of the tall, white looking, Tower that rose up behind high walls.
"Oh, it's lovely," exclaimed Amanda and retrieved her camera from her bag to take a couple of pictures from her vantage point.
"Come on, let's go in," said Lee. He slipped his arm comfortably around her waist and led her towards the back of the long queue.
They eventually paid the admission price and walked over the bridge as Amanda thumbed through the guidebook they'd just purchased at the entrance gate.
"What do you want to see first?" asked Lee as they walked through the gateway and into the grounds of the Tower.
Amanda paused and looked around her. In front of them, dominating the whole area, was the large square Tower they'd seen from the tube station. The walls that surrounded the grounds were made up of smaller towers and buildings.
"There's so much, but I think I'd like to start with the Crown Jewels first," she replied and pointed to the long castellated neo-gothic style building with cannons situated in front, that lay beyond the Tower. "They're in the Waterloo Barracks."
They headed for the building but stopped when they came to a railed off, concrete area in which there stood a plaque that read 'Site of Scaffold'.
"This must have been where they carried out the executions," commented Lee and had to smile when he saw Amanda rapidly turning the pages of her guidebook in search of the information.
Having found the section she wanted, she nodded before supplying, " Yeah, it says here that normally, beheadings would take place outside the castle walls on Tower Hill where everyone could watch but, the executions on the Tower green were private. This was because they were intended to avoid embarrassing the prisoner as well as the monarch. Famous victims include Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both wives of Henry VIII who were convicted of adultery."
She shivered and screwed her nose up in disgust as she looked at Lee. "Ugh, what a horrible death."
"Yeah, but with six wives, he had to save on alimony one way," chuckled Lee.
Amanda tutted and rolled her eyes then suddenly jumped back in alarm as a large, black bird swooped down right across their path and came to a rest on a patch of grass behind the block site.
"Oh my gosh!" exclaimed Amanda and then started to laugh when she realised what it was. "It's just a crow. It scared me for a minute there."
"That's not a crow, Amanda," said Lee. "It's a raven. The Tower's famous for them."
"Oh, of course," replied Amanda and started to look through her book again. "Wait a minute, I remember reading something about them the book. There has to be five here at all times or something."
"I thought it was six," Lee replied thoughtfully.
"Actually, there's usually eight, Sir," said a voice behind them.
They turned to see a Yeoman Warder standing there in his Blue Undress uniform of a long navy coat with red trim, complete with matching hat. Across his chest, beneath an outline of the State Crown, were embroidered the letters EIIR which stand for Elizabeth Regina II.
His grey bearded face wore a friendly smile as he continued, "Since the second world war there have always been six ravens plus two auxiliaries. They tend to stay either around here at the Block site, the White Tower steps, the Roman Wall or Coldharbour which was once an entrance to the Tower."
He pointed to a round Tower and a square Tower standing next to each other in the opposite direction of the way they were heading. "They live on the grounds in the nesting boxes near the Wakefield Tower which is next to the Bloody Tower over there."
"Isn't there some superstition about the ravens and London?" asked Lee, his brow furrowed as he tried to recall the details.
"Yes Sir," the Warder confirmed. "It's said that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the White Tower would crumble and a great disaster would befall England. Many believe the legend carries weight. We came very close to falling during the War and 1946 was the only recorded time that there weren't any ravens at the Tower."
"But what happens if one dies?" asked Amanda.
"We have ravens being looked after all over the country that we can call upon if need be and once here, they're protected by Royal decree."
Amanda turned and looked at the large black bird that was preening itself a few yards away. It stopped and regarded her for a moment before stretching out it's jet black wings and flying away. She saw a flash of colour and squinted, trying to make what it was but wasn't quick enough.
She turned back to the Warder. "I thought I saw something blue on him. Was it a tag?"
"Yes, all the ravens here are tagged. That was Cedric. He's lived here since 1987."
"Oh, a while then," commented Amanda.
The Warder nodded. "Yes, but if you see one with a yellow tag she's been here since 1973."
Amanda was stopped from replying when another Warder walked up to relay a message. "I'm sorry to interrupt Sir, but Hardey's causing problems by the Lodgings. He keeps trying to take food from the guests."
The first Warder turned back and smiled when saw the confused look that Lee and Amanda exchanged. "Hardey's another raven," he explained. "I'm afraid I have to go, duty calls."
"You've been most helpful. Thank you so much for your time Mr…..?" Amanda paused and raised her eyebrows questioningly.
"I'm the Ravenmaster," he supplied and bowed slightly before walking off with his colleague.
Lee turned to Amanda and grinned. "Come on, let's go in case Hardey decides to fly over this way. I don't relish the idea of having an angry, hungry raven swooping down on us."
"You mean you wouldn't protect me?" asked Amanda in mock horror as Lee put his arm back around her and they began to walk again.
"You mean throw you to the ground and fling myself on top of you type of protection?" asked Lee hopefully.
Amanda laughed. "Is there any other kind?"
"Nope," chuckled Lee and kissed her quickly on the lips.
They approached the Waterloo Block which held within it the Jewel House. On sentry duty outside was a Scots Guardsman wearing the traditional uniform of black trousers, red jacket and bearskin.
After taking a photo, they entered the Block and made their way to the Jewel House. Once there, they had to wait in line to be allowed entry. A film played continuously, giving the historical background to the various crowns they were to see within and showed excerpts of the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
They were eventually allowed into the hall where the jewels were on show. Amanda particularly liked Queen Victoria's small diamond crown which, with it's four petite arches that met to be adorned by an tiny orb with a George Cross atop, was rather plain in comparison to the other, grander crowns on display.
Amanda read the information plaque in front of it with interest. "Lee look at this," she said. Lee turned away from the crown he was viewing and walked over.
"Can you believe this?" she asked and pointed to the plaque. "The diamonds in this crown were taken from a large fringe necklace."
Lee raised his eyebrows and let out a low whistle. "Wow, that must have been some necklace."
"Yeah," agreed Amanda. "And look, it says that it weighs 5.11oz and was worn on top of Queen Victoria's widow's cap both as a crown or a circlet with the arches removed."
They both looked at the crown once more before moving on hand in hand, pausing to stare at the Imperial State Crown that gleamed under the lights of it's case. It was larger than the other crowns they'd viewed and more ornate. The arches were bigger and more like right angles compared to the soft curve of the small crown of Queen Victoria. It was adorned with jewels and, like the smaller crown, had an orb and George Cross set atop it.
Just in front of them a Warder was talking to a middle aged couple and a young red haired lady holding the hand of a small flame haired boy. They edged nearer to hear what he was telling them.
"This is the crown's tenth manifestation since the Restoration," the Warder told his audience. "It's been used for the coronations of Queen Victoria, Edward VII and George V before being remade with virtually the same stones for George VI. Then for Queen Elizabeth the shape of the arches was altered to reduce the height."
The Warder paused then bent down to the little boy and ruffled his hair. "Have a guess at how many diamonds are mounted in it son," he offered with a smile.
The boy stuck a finger in his mouth and reddened before shyly hiding behind his mothers skirt. Amanda exchanged an amused look with Lee and the Warder laughed as he rose to stand again.
"Does anyone else want to have a guess?" the Warder asked. When they all shook their heads he continued. "Well, there are more than 2,800 diamonds although the crown is best known for the Cullinan Diamond which sits in the front. It's actually cut from the larger 'Star of Africa' stone which can be seen mounted in the sceptre."
"Has the ruby got a name?" asked Amanda, looking at the large jewel above the diamond.
"Yes, that's called the 'Black Prince's Ruby' and dates back to the 14th Century," he replied.
"It's gorgeous," Amanda commented to Lee.
A moment later, the Warder excused himself when another set of tourists called him over wanting information. The red haired lady and child moved on but the rest of the small group stayed and looked at the crown a little longer before Lee tugged on Amanda's arm.
"Come on, let's go and get something to eat," he said as he guided her through the rest of the building, down some stairs and out into the sunshine.
They bought a sandwich and cup of coffee each then sat down on one of the many benches that were dotted around the grounds. As they ate, two ravens landed in front of them to grab any scraps but quickly walked off when a child trotted by with her mother, dropping pieces of the cake she was eating.
Once they'd finished with their break, they got up and headed for the stone steps that would take them into the White Tower.
As they neared the building, the red haired lady with the little boy they'd seen earlier walked by and smiled at them. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a man ran up to her and wrenched her handbag from her shoulder.
"Oh, stop him!" she cried to Lee, as the man raced away from her.
Lee turned and ran after the man as fast as he could. They weaved in and out of the milling crowd of tourists past the Bloody Tower and ravens lodgings and onto the river entrance of Traitor's Gate which was near an exit out of the grounds.
The man dashed out of the exit with Lee close behind and they continued the chase along the Thames towards Tower Bridge. They came to some steps where the man tripped and fell heavily to the ground dropping the bag. He cried out in pain but managed to scramble to his feet before Lee could get to him and ran off holding his left arm.
Lee reached the steps and picked up the bag. He watched the man run to a black Ford Sierra and jump into the back before it screeched off down the busy road and across Tower Bridge.
Slowly, Lee turned around and walked back to the Tower of London grounds. Amanda, the red haired lady, the young boy and a Warder were waiting for him at the exit he'd used.
The woman thanked Lee profusely when she saw that he had her bag. Lee smiled and handed it back to her then watched as she checked it's contents.
"I don't think he took anything," said Lee.
"No he didn't," the woman confirmed. "What a relief."
Amanda noticed that the look on the woman's face didn't quite go with what she had said. She looked even more worried as far as Amanda could tell. She was about to ask if there was anything else wrong when the Warder cleared this throat for attention and then informed them that they'd have to go to the local police station and make a statement.
At the woman's immediate acquiescence, Amanda dismissed the fleeting doubt she'd had about her as just withdrawal symptoms from work.
END CHAPTER TWO