by C. J. Archer
Flossy made a small squeak. “Floyd, don’t be so ghastly.”
“They think the murder and dismissals are connected. Can you imagine if they get someone to say they are? It’ll be all their dreams come true.”
I pressed my lips together.
“Someone ought to go out there and disabuse them of the notion.” Floyd tugged on his jacket hem. “It should be me.”
Flossy grabbed his arm. “Don’t you dare! Father will tan your hide, particularly now, given his dreadful mood.”
“Why?” I asked. “Wouldn’t he be pleased that Floyd sets the press straight?”
Floyd and Flossy exchanged knowing glances. “He wouldn’t like me to do it without his knowledge,” Floyd said. He glanced at the front door but made no attempt to go outside.
“Mr. Hobart and Mr. Armitage used to take care of the newspapermen,” Flossy said. “They were very good at handling them.” She sniffed and I realized she was crying. “I can’t believe they’re gone. Mr. Hobart has been here forever. He’s part of the hotel. Oh, Floyd, this is dreadful. Just dreadful. Why would Father do such a thing?”
Floyd peered at me. There was no anger or censure in his eyes, just disappointment.
“And so close to the ball too,” Flossy went on. “It will be canceled now.”
“It must go on,” Floyd said.
“How can it? Mr. Hobart was in charge of most of the arrangements, and Mr. Armitage responsible for the rest.”
“There are only two days to go, so I’d wager most of it is done. It’ll be too late to cancel now.”
Flossy wiped her tears. “Tell Father that.”
Floyd frowned. “Do you think he’s considering canceling it?”
“Who knows what he’s considering?” She pushed his arm. “Go and tell him.”
“No. You do it.”
Flossy looked as though she wanted to speak to her father about as much as she wanted to face the herd of journalists.
“I’ll do it,” I said. I’d been meaning to speak to my uncle all morning, but when I’d checked his office, he hadn’t been there. “Is he upstairs now?”
Floyd nodded.
I took the lift to give myself time to calm my nerves. I thought John’s easy chatter would help, but he couldn’t stop talking about the dismissals in worried tones. I was glad to get out, but my anxiety returned as I knocked on my uncle’s office door.
He heaved a sigh as I entered. “I’ve never been more glad to see a friendly face,” he said, indicating the chair for me to sit. “The only people who’ve come to see me today are ones asking me where things are, what they should be doing, and how to do this or that. They seem to think I ought to know every little thing Hobart and Armitage did on a daily basis.”
“There’s a way to stop all those questions.” At his inquiring look, I added, “Reconsider your decision.”
His brow plunged. “No.”
“Please, sir, hire them back so life here can return to normal.”
“I never go back on my word.” He waved his hand, dismissing me.
But I would not be dismissed. Not with something so important at stake. “Could you not this time? For the sake of two very good, loyal employees with an exemplary record for all the years they’ve worked here.”
He wagged a finger at me. “I didn’t expect this from you, Cleo. Not after it was you who brought Armitage’s crime to my attention.”
I closed my eyes and winced. “I wish I hadn’t. I thought I was exposing a murderer, and I feel foolish now for ever considering Mr. Armitage the poisoner.”
He gave a harsh laugh. “Ironic, isn’t it? If Armitage’s father had done his job more efficiently, his son’s theft would never have been uncovered.”
“The blame for this is all mine.”
“Nonsense. You are the only blameless one in this entire debacle.”
I shook my head. “It’s kind of you to try to make me feel better, but I will always feel guilty. Please, sir, overturn your decision and give them their positions back.”
He stabbed a finger into his chest. “And make it look as though I was in the wrong?”
“You are in the wrong,” I snapped.
He went very still. “I beg your pardon?”
I drew in a breath and gathered my nerves. If I was going to make amends, then I had to be prepared to suffer the consequences that Mr. Hobart and Mr. Armitage had suffered because of me—dismissal. Dismissal from the hotel, the family… From what I knew of my uncle, it was a very real possibility. “Neither man deserved to—”
“They lied to me.”
“Listen to me!” I clasped my hands in my lap, twining my fingers together. “Please, just let me finish. Mr. Armitage was an orphan.”
“I know that.”
“Yes, but you don’t know what it was like to be orphaned at such a young age. I do, and I can assure you, it’s a lonely position to find yourself in. But I was fortunate, compared to him. I had my grandparents, and your generosity in providing me with an allowance. He had no one.”
“Your sympathy for his plight is understandable, considering your circumstances. I can see that Mr. Armitage’s story upsets you. You’re a woman, and I would expect you to feel sorry for him. But I’m a businessman, Cleo. If word reaches those vipers waiting outside, I hate to think what will happen to The Mayfair’s reputation. Reputation is everything in this business. Hobart knew that. He built his career with that at its core. But it was all built on a lie, a rotten core, and I can’t condone that. I’m sorry you’re upset.”
“Spare me your lecture,” I spat.
His lips parted and his gaze lifted as I stood.
“I may be a woman, and you a man, but which of us acted rashly, emotionally?” I pointed at him. “You did. And which of us has more common sense?” I pointed at myself. “Me, because I can see that your business is going to suffer with them gone. Mr. Chapman and Mrs. Kettering are not up to the task of performing the manager and assistant manager’s duties in addition to their own. And have you forgotten that one of them might be stealing your silverware? I also doubt you’ll find suitable replacements for Mr. Hobart and Mr. Armitage soon—perhaps not for a very long time. And when—if—you do find replacements, it will be months before their knowledge of the hotel matches Mr. Hobart’s and Mr. Armitage’s. Perhaps even years. Can The Mayfair survive that long?” I turned to go but thought of something else, something which might get through to him more than anything else I’d said. “Added to which, if they return, they have every incentive to keep Mr. Armitage’s childhood arrest quiet. Right now, what’s stopping them from telling the newspapers? It will only hurt you. It can’t hurt them any more than it already has.”
“They wouldn’t dare.”
“If I were in their position, revenge would be a very tempting carrot.”
My uncle stared at me like he’d only just begun to see me.
I felt no satisfaction as I marched out of his office. It was a relief to have spoken to him finally, but the weight that had been pressing down on my chest ever since he’d dismissed Mr. Hobart and Mr. Armitage was still there, as leaden as ever.
I had no inclination to continue with the investigation. I threw away the notes I’d made on my suspects and decided to send back Mr. Armitage’s file to the boy’s home on Dean Street. I’d go to the post desk directly after breakfast.
Harmony didn’t arrive to do my hair at eight as she usually did, and I was glad for the sleep-in. I’d hardly slept a wink. I kept replaying my confrontation with Uncle Ronald over and over, and how I could have done it differently, in a less heated way that did not jeopardize my stay at The Mayfair.
I expected to be told to leave the hotel by the end of the day, just as he’d ordered Mr. Hobart and Mr. Armitage to leave. At least if I expected it, it would not come as a surprise when it happened. I should have heeded Grandmama’s warnings to keep my opinions to myself.
Harmony arrived at nine, a bundle of enthusiasm and big smiles. “He’s back, Cleo
! Isn’t it wonderful! Mr. Hobart is back. We’ve just had a staff meeting in the dining room with him, and he says he can’t wait to finalize arrangements for tomorrow night’s ball.”
I pressed a hand to my rapidly beating heart and broke into a grin. If Uncle Ronald had relented then perhaps he wouldn’t throw me out. “That is a relief. And Mr. Armitage?”
Her smile slipped. “Mr. Hobart said he won’t be returning.”
I lowered myself onto the chair at my dressing table. “Oh.”
“The position of assistant manager is now vacant and Mr. Hobart said he’ll be hiring a replacement in the new year.” She indicated I should face the mirror. “How would you like me to do your hair today?”
“I don’t care.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Don’t be so sad. Mr. Hobart’s back.”
“But not Mr. Armitage.”
“True, but he’s young enough and clever enough to find other work. He’ll be fine, and the hotel can manage with just Mr. Hobart at the helm for a while.” She laid her hands on my shoulders and smiled at my reflection. “I think he’s more upset that he can’t retire knowing the position of manager is staying in his family.”
I subjected my hair to her ministrations and was pleased with the result. She’d arranged it in a very modern swept-up style that flattered my features nicely.
“You’ve outdone yourself, Harmony.”
“Just getting in some practice.”
“For what?”
“If you change your mind and decide to go to the ball after all. That style could be the basis for something more elaborate if I just add a few curls.”
“I don’t think I’ll be going.”
“There’s time to change your mind.”
“It’s tomorrow.”
She merely smiled. “So now that the hotel is returning to normal, will you continue with the investigation today?”
“I’ve lost my appetite for it.”
“Lost your appetite for finding the truth? Miss Fox, I’m surprised to hear you say it.”
If she knew where my truth-seeking had got me, she’d encourage me to stop. “It’s impossible to continue without knowing how the poison was delivered and as far as I’m aware, the police haven’t shared the results of their tests with anyone. I don’t know whether it was in the toothpaste, cream or tonic, or none of them. Besides, I’m sure Detective Inspector Hobart will solve it.”
Now that his son wasn’t a suspect, I had no reason to believe he wouldn’t.
She sighed. “I suppose. But I’ll continue to keep an eye out for suspicious activity.”
I left her to clean my suite while I went downstairs to post Mr. Armitage’s file to the boys’ home, but changed my mind before I reached the post desk. A hotel mark would make it obvious that someone from here had stolen it. I would slip it under the orphanage’s door myself.
I spotted Mr. Chapman and Mrs. Kettering leaving the manager’s corridor, their steps purposeful and brisk. It was likely they’d just come from a meeting with Mr. Hobart. I drew in a deep breath and went in search of him. We would see one another around the hotel so I might as well speak to him now and get it over with.
He did not look surprised to see me, nor did he look anything like the troubled, vulnerable man I’d last seen in this same office. The hotel manager was once again the master of his emotions with a calm manner that pervaded everything he did, from the sweep of his hand to indicate the chair opposite his desk, to the sympathetic smile he bestowed on me.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Better now that you’re back.” I tightened my grip on the chair arm. “I want to say again how sorry I am for causing so much trouble.”
“It wasn’t your intention.”
“But it happened, and I can’t forgive myself.”
“Please, don’t blame yourself. The fact is, I hired Harry knowing his past and knowing Sir Ronald wouldn’t allow him to work here if he was aware. It was bound to come out eventually. The truth always does.”
“But it wasn’t my place to tell him.”
“Why not? You’re his family. Your loyalty should always be with family.”
“I hardly know them. I’m not even sure I like them, yet.”
He sat forward a little. “Family is family. You can’t change that. Now stop blaming yourself. A young woman shouldn’t be burdened by guilt over something that isn’t of her making.”
“I wish you wouldn’t be so forgiving since Mr. Armitage is not back yet.”
“There is no ‘yet’, Miss Fox. He won’t be coming back.”
“Perhaps my uncle will give in,” I said, desperately hoping it to be true. “He changed his mind about you.”
He shook his head. “He reversed his decision about me because it was in the best interests of the hotel, but it would have been difficult for him. He’s very proud.”
“And it would be doubly hard for him to swallow that pride a second time?”
He merely smiled, always the diplomat. “Harry wouldn’t return anyway. He is just as proud.” He clasped his hands on the desk and regarded me levelly. “I want you to know a little of Harry’s past. It will explain why he was arrested.”
“You don’t have to tell me anything. His past is none of my affair, and I’m sure he had good reasons for stealing.”
“Even so, I want to tell you what I told Sir Ronald. But I would appreciate it if it didn’t go any further.”
“It won’t,” I said on a breath, eager to hear more, despite what I’d just told him.
“You know that Harry found himself in a boys’ home after his parents died?”
I nodded.
“After a year there, he was sent to be apprenticed to a bookkeeper at a button factory. The bookkeeper was not kind to him and would tell the factory owner that Harry made mistakes. He made things up to put Harry in a bad light. I suspect he was jealous of Harry’s quick mind, but it’s impossible to know why he was so cruel. The upshot is, the owner sent Harry to work on the factory floor as punishment.”
“But he was a child!”
“He was tall for his age, and none of the other workers dared go against their employer. Harry had no one to turn to for advice. When you’re a child with no family, no adult friends, then you’re very much alone.” He shifted in his chair, the story making him as uncomfortable as it made me. “The conditions were hard for a boy, the hours long. He endured it for several months until one day he was beaten by the factory owner for something as trifling as dropping a box of buttons.”
“My God,” I murmured.
“Harry ran away. He didn’t return to the orphanage. He thought they’d send him back to the factory. Years later, he discovered that he would have been taken in there again if he’d only told them what happened, but as a thirteen-year-old, he assumed the adult world was against him.”
“So where did he go?”
“He lived on the streets with other children. They were quite wild, but they liked their freedom, so he told me. Unfortunately, they had to steal to survive. He was caught by my brother and arrested.”
“He only served three months.”
“You are well informed,” he said with a hint of irony. “It was his first offense, and his age was taken into consideration. My brother also put in a good word for him. He saw something in Harry immediately. He was quick-witted and intelligent, but generous and kind-hearted too.” Mr. Hobart smiled to himself. “He’d stolen a ribbon to give to a girl he liked and a basket of apples which he handed out to the younger children.”
If he’d told me the story to make me understand Mr. Armitage better, it worked. But it also made me feel so much worse.
“My brother and his wife had no children of their own, so perhaps that explains why he took an interest in Harry’s welfare. He and his wife visited Harry in prison every day and asked him to live with them when he got out. He moved out of their home only when he was given a position here and moved in with the other hotel staff
at the residence hall.”
“He calls the detective inspector his father and you his uncle.”
“We’re his family.”
I blinked back tears. “It’s good to have family.”
His gaze softened. “It is.”
“You jeopardized your own position here by hiring him.”
“Family must take care of one another. Harry needed work or he would have gone mad. He wanted to join the police force and follow in my brother’s footsteps. He would have made a good policeman, but unfortunately they don’t accept felons, even reformed ones.”
My fingers ached and I realized I’d been gripping the chair arm too tightly. I released it. “You must be very busy,” I said, rising. “I just wanted to tell you how very glad I am that you’re back.”
He smiled. “So am I. I don’t know what you said to Sir Ronald but it worked.”
“Why do you think it was me?”
“Because you have the right amount of courage and persistence.”
“Actually, I’m a terrible coward. I didn’t want to face you and Mr. Armitage after you were dismissed.”
“But you did it anyway. Thank you.”
Perhaps it was his forgiveness that bolstered my confidence, or his thanks, but I had a sudden thought that I couldn’t shake. I wanted to see Mr. Armitage. I needed to see him. “Can you tell me where I can find your nephew now?”
He sat back and did not answer for some time. I thought he would tell me it was a terrible idea, but instead, he drew a piece of paper towards him and scribbled down an address. “I should warn you, he’s still very angry with you.”
“All the more reason to apologize to him again.”
“He won’t be kind. In fact, I expect him to say things he wouldn’t usually say to a lady—or to anyone.”
“It can’t be worse than the things he’s already said.”
He handed me the piece of paper. “You really are quite courageous, Miss Fox.”
“No, Mr. Hobart. I just don’t like living with guilt.”
Chapter 10
The address Mr. Hobart had given me belonged to a semi-detached house in Ealing, a short walk from the station. It would have been a more pleasant walk if not for the incessant rain and my anxiety at seeing Mr. Armitage again. That anxiety grew worse when I saw the family sized house. Mr. Armitage must have moved back in with his parents.
