A Little Excitement
HISTORICAL SHORT STORY BY ALYSON HILBOURNE
1920s: It seemed there was more to Aunt Gertrude than met the eye…
Sitting at the table in the window of the hotel foyer, Agnes wondered if it had been sensible to holiday with her aunt.
Aunt Gertrude was lovely, but somewhat set in her ways. She was, for instance, happy to sit in the same spot, working on her embroidery and watching people come and go.
“You can see the world go by from here,” she said.
They had been for a walk along the promenade and now they would have tea, change for dinner and enjoy a cocktail in the bar before dining. Each day was predictable.
Agnes had known the month in the seaside hotel wouldn’t be exciting, but she found it more tedious than she’d expected.
She shuffled round on the leather chair and smiled as the waitress came over and bobbed a curtsey to Aunt Gertrude.
“Good afternoon, Lady Chester. Are you ready to order tea?”
Aunt Gertrude looked up from her embroidery and smiled.
“I think so, Hannah. Darjeeling, please, and some of Chef’s petit fours.”
Hannah bobbed again and turned away just as a commotion at the entrance announced the arrival of some new guests.
The lady was dressed in a beige frock and matching hat. She carried a cream parasol and had a fur tippet over her shoulder.
It was far too warm for a fur, Agnes thought, but she said nothing.
The man wore white trousers and a checked jacket. His bow tie matched the handkerchief in his top pocket.
The bellboy staggered in behind them, carrying several leather cases.
“Thank you,” the man said as the boy put the cases down. He removed his hat and handed the boy a tip.
The hotel manager, a tubby, red-faced man, pulled his jacket straight as the pair approached the reception counter.
“Good afternoon, sir, madam,” the manager said. “How may I assist you?”
“We have a reservation,” the man said, leaning on the counter. “Two rooms for my sister and myself.”
Hannah and Agnes stared at the couple. The man was strikingly good-looking with high cheekbones and a pencil-thin moustache. His sister was glamorous.
“Tea, Hannah, please.” Aunt Gertrude’s voice was sharper than usual.
Hannah jerked, nodded and hurried off towards the kitchen as Agnes and her aunt watched the new arrivals sign the register and follow the manager into the lift to the top floor.
As the lift doors closed, Agnes let out her breath and Aunt Gertrude tutted.
“There’s nothing like a grand entrance to ensure that everyone knows you’re here.”
Agnes’s shoulders sank. She’d hoped the couple might liven the place up, but her aunt obviously did not approve.
Agnes met the new arrivals in the bar that evening, as she waited for Aunt Gertrude.
“I’m Henry Godling and this is my sister, May.” The man gave Agnes a smile. “We’re here for a few days.”
Agnes smiled back.
“Agnes Marchmont. I’m here for the summer with my aunt, Lady Chester.”
“Oh, good.” May clapped her hands together. “You can tell us what there is to do here.”
May leaned forward and Agnes caught a waft of Chanel No. 5, the fragrance her mother had used.
“Well,” she said. “There is bridge in the mornings, and a watercolour class in the after –”
“Oh, my dear.” May gave a tinkling laugh. “I want something more exciting than that.”
She turned, put her cigarette holder to her mouth and blew out a stream of smoke.”
“Yes.” Agnes scolded herself for not thinking.
“There’s a tea dance at the Winter Gardens every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and the hotel has a band and dance on Friday and Saturday nights.
“The casino is open, too.”
“Excellent.” Henry beamed at Agnes, who felt a flutter of warmth rush through her.
She learned that Henry and May were touring for the summer, visiting friends and relatives.
“Anything to be out of London,” May drawled. “It’s stifling in the summer.”
Agnes nodded in agreement.
Next morning Agnes was sitting, as usual, with her aunt at the window table in the foyer.
Aunt Gertrude was working on her embroidery – a spray of flowers in shades of red and pink.
She looked up, her face creased into a frown.
“I’ve forgotten to bring my scissors downstairs,” she said. “Agnes, would you fetch them?”
“Certainly.” Agnes jumped up, glad of something to do.
She crossed the centre of the foyer as Henry and May came in through the front doors, laughing.
“That was fun,” May said, shaking her hair back into place.
Hello, Agnes. We’ve been for a walk along the promenade. It was quite bracing.
“It was blowing a gale,” Henry added with a laugh. He took out his cigarette case.
“Agnes!” Aunt Gertrude called.
“Coming, Aunt,” Agnes said. “Must go. I have to fetch my aunt’s scissors from her room.”
“Oh, I have some here,” May said.
She walked over to Lady Chester’s table and clicked open the catch on her beaded purse.
“Now, where are they?” she muttered as she placed a cigarette case, holder and a perfume bottle on the table.
“Ah, here.” She pulled out a sewing case and took out a tiny pair of scissors.
“Thank you,” Aunt Gertrude said.
“What a lovely purse.” Agnes admired the beaded bag with red satin lining.
“My favourite,” May said. “It goes everywhere with me.”
Aunt Gertrude cut the thread and returned the scissors to May, who tucked them away in the sewing case.
“See you later,” May called.
She and Henry gave a wave and headed to the lift as Agnes looked wistfully after them.
A quartet was playing in the bar that evening as Agnes and Aunt Gertrude walked in. Chandeliers glinted, glasses clinked and people were laughing.
Henry waved them over to a table.
May wore a beaded gown and matching satin shoes that Agnes immediately coveted, but most eye-catching was her sparkling diamond necklace.
“That’s beautiful,” Agnes breathed, leaning forward to see the jewels.
May touched her neck.
“It belonged to my late mother,” she said.
“Isn’t it beautiful, Aunt Gertrude?”
Her aunt nodded.
“It’s a fine piece,” she said.
“Cartier,” Henry said. “Father wanted Mother to have the best.”
Agnes sat back in her chair, admiring the necklace.
She meant to ask May and Henry about their family, but the conversation had moved on and Aunt Gertrude was answering questions about the town.
Next morning, when Agnes came down for breakfast with Aunt Gertrude, they found the foyer full of people.
Several men in suits leaned against the reception counter, whilst behind it the manager was gesticulating wildly.
“What’s happened?” Aunt Gertrude asked in a commanding voice.
The manager hurried over, wringing his hands.
Keeping his voice down, he moved closer to Aunt Gertrude.
Miss Godling’s diamond necklace . . . it’s gone!
Agnes gasped and her eyes widened. Her aunt raised an eyebrow.
“The police are interviewing everyone,” the manager said, turning to shoot a look at the foyer.
“How tiresome,” Aunt Gertrude said, steering Agnes into the dining-room.
The room was buzzing with gossip as the guests discussed the robbery amongst themselves.
Agnes’s pulse was racing and a frisson of excitement went through her.
“I shall have kippers,” Aunt Gertrude declared. “The same for you, Agnes?”
“I don’t know if I could eat anything,” Agnes said. Her stomach was churning.
“Nonsense. Kippers will set you up for the day, and we’ll have toast and honey, too, please.” She smiled at Hannah.
“Do you think one of these people is a thief?” Agnes whispered when Hannah had gone.
Her aunt tutted.
“The silly woman has probably just mislaid the necklace.”
After breakfast the inspector interviewed Agnes and her aunt. He was a bear of a man with grey sideburns.
Agnes found him intimidating, but confirmed that May had been wearing the necklace the previous evening in the bar.
“And you didn’t notice anything strange?” The inspector glared at Agnes.
“No,” she said, and hastily escaped to her usual seat in the foyer.
A few minutes later her aunt joined her.
“They are interviewing the staff,” Aunt Gertrude said. “But I’ve been coming to this hotel for years. They are all most reliable.”
They sat watching the comings and goings for a while, as staff went into the office for an interview. Even Aunt Gertrude did not get her embroidery out.
As time passed, Agnes thought perhaps the police would leave, but there was a sudden explosion of activity and Hannah was marched across the foyer in handcuffs, weeping.
Agnes looked up in disbelief and saw an angry frown on Aunt Gertrude’s face.
The police had left the foyer as Henry appeared.
“Our possessions should be safe now the thief has been caught,” he stated.
“Have they found the necklace?” Aunt Gertrude asked.
“Not yet.” Henry shook his head. “She has probably passed it on to an accomplice. May will have to claim on the insurance.”
A smile twitched at the edge of his lips.
“I don’t believe Hannah was involved,” Aunt Gertrude said. “That inspector has the wrong person, I’m certain.”
Agnes stared at her.
Henry was rocking on the balls of his feet, the smile curling into a sneer.
“I shall see what evidence he has,” Aunt Gertrude added.
You’re going to question the police?
Agnes gasped.
“I’m sure they have the right person,” Henry replied.
“She was the only one who came into our rooms. She must have seen the necklace and taken the opportunity.”
“We shall see,” Aunt Gertrude said, pressing her lips together.
Agnes accompanied her aunt to the police station. Her aunt’s title afforded her an interview with the inspector.
“Pah,” she said as she came out. “Entirely circumstantial. Hannah took up early morning tea and that woman says the necklace was left out on the dressing table.
“I spoke to Hannah. She says there was no necklace when she went in. What would
Hannah do with a Cartier necklace? She’d have no idea of the value.”
“If Hannah wanted to take anything, it would be small change, but I feel certain she is honest.”
“But what can we do?” Agnes asked.
“We’ll have to investigate ourselves,” Aunt Gertrude declared.
Back at the hotel, Aunt Gertrude buttonholed the manager.
For a normally small and unobtrusive lady, she appeared to Agnes to tower over him.
She certainly wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of Aunt Gertrude when something was bothering her.
“How long has Hannah worked here?” her aunt barked.
“Almost a year, Lady Chester,” the manager said, trying to back away.
“Any problems in that time?”
“None. She has been reliable and unobtrusive amongst the guests.”
“Don’t you think it strange that she would take such a glaringly obvious necklace from a guest’s room?” Aunt Gertrude asked.
The manager spread his hands.
“The police –”
“Does she have any particular friends among the staff?”
The manager looked at Aunt Gertrude doubtfully.
“It might be better to leave this with the police,” he began.
Aunt Gertrude drew herself up straighter.
“She shares a room with Mabel Barry. They are friends.” The manager was wringing his hands again.
“I’d like to speak to her,” Aunt Gertrude said, and the manager hurried away.
A young girl in kitchen uniform appeared from the staff doorway a few minutes later. She was pale, but her hands were red and raw looking.
Aunt Gertrude looked her up and down and Agnes felt sorry for the girl.
“I hear you are friends with Hannah,” Aunt Gertrude said.
“Yes, ma’am.” The girl’s voice was a whisper.
“Do you think this is something she would do?”
The girl twisted her hands in her apron, ruining the starched surface.
“No.” She shook her head. “No, not at all.”
“Does Hannah have family?” Aunt Gertrude asked.
“Her parents died in the flu epidemic. She lived with friends until she got the job here. There’s only Tam, her beau.”
“Thank you, Mabel,” Aunt Gertrude said. “Most helpful.”
Mabel was about to go, but turned back.
“Can you help her, ma’am? Please?”
“I shall try, Mabel. I’ll try.”
In the bar that evening, as they had pre-dinner cocktails, Aunt Gertrude took more interest than normal in the guests.
“Do you see anyone who looks out of place, Agnes?” she asked.
“Like a renowned gem thief?” Agnes asked, sipping her mint julep.
“Precisely.” Her aunt nodded.
Agnes shook her head.
Henry and May entered the bar and came over.
“No sign of the necklace?” Aunt Gertrude asked.
“No.” Henry shook his head. “I fear it will be miles away.”
May dabbed a handkerchief to her eyes and Agnes caught her aunt looking heavenwards.
“I’ve spoken to our insurers,” Henry said. “They are contacting the police.”
He patted his sister’s arm.
“Don’t worry, May. We’ll get you a replacement.”
“It won’t be the same.” May sobbed.
It won’t be Mother’s necklace.
She opened her purse and riffled about inside to find her cigarette case.
Agnes noticed Aunt Gertrude’s eyes widen.
“Why don’t you sit down and have a drink?” Aunt Gertrude suggested. “I’ll be back in a jiffy.”
Henry ordered drinks and Agnes consoled May.
Five minutes later her aunt came back, smiling, Agnes thought, like someone who had achieved an objective.
“Thank you, Henry,” she said, picking up her glass by the stem. “Here’s to finding your jewels, May.”
She raised her glass and smiled.
“I don’t think –” Henry began, but he was interrupted by the sound of a car tearing up the gravel drive outside and car doors slamming.
The manager appeared in the doorway of the bar, flanked by the inspector.
Aunt Gertrude put up her hand and the inspector walked over.
Agnes watched, open-mouthed, as Aunt Gertrude pointed at May’s purse.
“May I?” The inspector held out his hand.
“What are you thinking?” May asked sweetly. “That I stole my own necklace?”
Agnes’s stomach churned. What was Aunt Gertrude playing at? Surely she’d made a mistake.
Everyone in the bar was silent and watching.
The inspector emptied the purse out on the table. The perfume, the sewing kit and cigarette holder all rolled across the surface.
There was no necklace. May beamed at the inspector.
“May I?” Aunt Gertrude asked.
The inspector handed her the purse.
To Agnes’s horror, her aunt grabbed the lining and yanked.
May put her hands to her face and turned pale. Henry looked annoyed.
There was the sound of ripping fabric and then a clank as a diamond necklace dropped on to the table.
The people in the bar let out a collective breath.
Agnes sat back in her chair, her eyes wide.
Miss Godling, you appear to have your necklace,
the inspector said calmly.
Two uniformed officers stepped forward and escorted May away.
As Henry and May departed, Aunt Gertrude turned to the inspector.
“You will release Hannah tonight, won’t you?” she asked.
The inspector smiled.
“Of course, Lady Chester,” he said.
As the policemen left, the bar erupted into a buzz of questions and speculation.
“How did you know?” Agnes demanded.
“The lining of her purse had changed. Didn’t you notice? It was you who admired it in the first place.
“Instead of red satin inside, it was pink. A near match, I agree, but not the same.
“It must have been replaced, and what debutante do you know that carries a sewing kit in her purse? She knew she was going to need it . . .”
The following morning Agnes and her aunt were at their usual table in the foyer of the hotel.
Hannah was back at work. She gave Aunt Gertrude a broad smile and curtsey as she passed.
The inspector strode in and put the paper down on the table on top of Aunt Gertrude’s embroidery.
“It seems, Lady Chester,” the inspector said, “that these two rogues have pulled this stunt before.
“They collect the insurance on missing pieces of jewellery. Several cases will have to be reopened.”
“Wrongly accused maids and waitresses, no doubt,” Aunt Gertrude said.
The inspector nodded.
“Thanks to you, Lady Chester, it won’t happen again.”
He gave a quick nod and was gone.
“What shall we do today?” Agnes asked her aunt.
“I shall work on my embroidery,” Gertrude replied. “Later we can stroll along the promenade.”
Agnes smiled. Aunt Gertrude might appear like a boring lady doing her embroidery, but she took far more notice of what was going on than Agnes had realised.
She settled back in her chair. She’d learn from Aunt Gertrude. She was going to watch and wait . . . and enjoy the holiday.
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