“That was an excellent meal,” I said to break the tension. “I enjoyed your company this evening. To what do we owe the pleasure, Floyd?”
“I’m staying in tonight. I’ll entertain some friends in my suite later.”
“Who?” Flossy asked.
“The usual set.”
Her gaze narrowed, and I thought she’d press him further, but she simply said, “Make sure they’re quiet when they leave. Don’t wake Mother.”
“They’ll be very discreet. Don’t worry about me, Floss. I’m an expert in sneaking in and out of the hotel at all hours.” He finished his glass of port and rose. “Think I’ll rest up before my guests arrive. Goodnight, ladies.”
We watched him go. He seemed cheerful tonight, which I suspected had a lot to do with his father’s absence. Floyd had a carefree manner, much to his father’s consternation. Uncle Ronald wanted a son like himself, serious and business-like with the hotel always at the forefront of everything he did, every friend he made. But Floyd just wanted to have a good time.
“I wish I could entertain friends in my suite whenever I wanted,” Flossy muttered. “It’s not fair that he can and I have to be stuck here until Mother or Father let me out, and even then I have to go out with Mother or a hotel maid as chaperone. I want to be free, Cleo. I want to see whomever I want whenever I want. You’re so lucky your parents are dead.” She winced. “Sorry, but you know what I mean.”
“You ought to tell them you’d like a little more freedom. Start small. Ask if you can meet a friend for lunch or coffee.”
“They’ll tell me to meet my friend here. The Mayfair has the best afternoon tea and lunch in London, after all.” She sighed. “Don’t mind me. I’ve just got a touch of melancholy. It’ll pass.”
She might not look like her mother, but in that moment, she reminded me of Aunt Lilian in one of her low moods. I wondered if Flossy’s parents ever saw the likeness, or if they were too keen for her to live the same sort of life they’d had at her age—one where she was expected to associate with the right sort and only under the watchful eyeof a parent.
The fourth floorcorridor was quiet at midnight. I heard the distant thud of a door closing on another level, but otherwise the building was silent. I didn’t even hear Victor’s footsteps on the stairs, and I only saw him emerge from the stairwell because I was watching it.
“Harmony said you had a task for me up here,” he whispered. “Am I right in assuming I’m picking a lock?”
“Lord Rumford’s suite.” I led the way along the corridor and stopped at the door numbered four-fifteen.
Victor dropped to his knees and went to work with the slender tools he’d brought with him. He didn’t have his knife belt on him, nor did he wear his chef whites. He must have returned to the staff residence hall and changed after his shift.
He hadn’t asked me why I needed to look through Lord Rumford’s suite. Indeed, he took the exercise in his stride, as if this were no more unusual than turning up to work.
The lock finally clicked, and Victor opened the door. I entered while he kept watch. I flicked the light switch on and headed straight for the sitting room. I looked through the desk but there was no personal correspondence among the hotel stationery. I looked through his belongings in the bedroom, but also found nothing. After a half hour, and a thorough search, I slipped out of the suite and rejoined Victor.
He crouched down to relock the door. At the same time, a door further along the corridor opened and Floyd all but fell out of his suite along with two women in bare feet, their hair in disarray and their clothing askew. One of the girls giggled and Floyd shushed her with a finger to his lips.
Then he spotted me standing beside Victor, still crouched in front of Lord Rumford’s door.
Chapter 6
Ifroze. Floyd froze. The girls did too, but only after they giggled again.
Victor was the only one who moved. He finished locking the door and stood. With a tug on his cap, he bid me goodnight and departed level four via the stairs.
Floyd finally came to life. He spoke to the girls in whispers and they disappeared back into the suite, returning a moment later with coats and shoes. When they stopped at the lift, and one of them went to push the button to summon it, he ushered them towards the stairwell instead.
Once they were gone, he returned to his door and, after making eye contact with me, disappeared inside.
I slunk into my room and leaned back against the door, eyes closed. How was I going to explain what I’d been doing to my cousin?
Harmony listenedto the story of our nocturnal encounter with a glowering frown. My hair forgotten, she shook her head at my reflection in the mirror.
“Victor should have been keeping watch.”
“It’s not his fault. I was already in the corridor, and he’d started re-locking the door, when Floyd emerged. It was completely unavoidable.”
She resumed brushing my hair and asked me if I’d found anything in Lord Rumford’s belongings.
“Nothing to indicate he was either going to keep Pearl around longer or break off their arrangement soon,” I said. “He’s very careful. There weren’t even any letters from Pearl amongst his things.”
