One Summer Night At the Ritz (2 page)

And now, through Enid’s diaries she had not only found reference to her own grandmother, Enid’s friend Kate, who her mother had never spoken of, but they had also found out about a love affair in Enid’s past that had left her pregnant with her daughter Martha and alone post World War Two. The man who had left her was a corporal named James Blackwell. His grandson, Jane had found through Google, was William Blackwell, a notoriously hard businessman who owned and ran the Blackwells hotel and restaurant chain.

‘So where did you say you wanted to meet?’ Emily had asked before cramming practically a whole scone with cream and jam into her mouth.

Jane had bitten her lip and looked a bit guilty. ‘I don’t know something came over me.’

‘What d’you mean?’ Annie had frowned, her teacup poised at her lips.

‘Well, I just thought if I’m going to do this, I want to do it properly, so I emailed back and said how about a drink at my hotel and he said, what hotel is that, and I said,’ she’d paused, made a face, then finished, ‘The Ritz.’

Emily had guffawed out her scone in bits on the table.

‘That’s attractive, Emily!’ Annie had sniggered.

Jane had still looked guilty. ‘It was stupid. It was a bit of an impulse because he’d been so snotty. And that was where Enid had gone to meet James Blackwell and so it felt like a kind of homage. Oh I don’t know. But now, not only have I got to meet this guy – god knows what we’re going to talk about – but I’ve had to book a room at the bloody Ritz.’ She’d held her hands up to her temples. ‘It’s more money than I’ve ever paid for anything, ever. But I told myself that I haven’t had a holiday for more than ten years. Proportionally, one really expensive night is nothing, is it? All I have to do is have a drink with this guy and then I can go out and see the sights. I can see London. Go on the Eye or, no not the Eye, I could go to the Summer Exhibition at the RA or have dinner somewhere cool like… I don’t know. I’ll research somewhere cool. That’s what people do, isn’t it? What’s it called? Flaneur-ing. I could be a flaneur.’

Emily had scrunched up her face. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about but, personally, I think it’s goddamn marvellous. And you know what it means?’ She had cast an eye over Jane’s ripped jeans, broken Birkenstock sandals fixed with a bit of electrical tape, baggy flower-print blouse. ‘It means finally, at last, I can give you a makeover.’

That was why Jane now found herself sitting on a kitchen chair surrounded by dresses and outfits that Emily had brought with her hanging from the curtain rail, why Annie had brought a bag of shoes with her, and why Emily had lifted up her golden scissors and lopped off the whole of Jane’s plait.

Chapter Two

It felt like the summer would never cease. A scorching July had led to an equally frazzling August, but now the heat felt like normality, like packing a jacket was almost unthinkable. Jane had packed her cagoule though. She had also packed a good pair of walking shoes. In the zip pocket in the side of her suitcase she had one of those travel purses that clips around the waist and sits, supposedly invisible, under clothing. She had packed nervously. She hadn’t been away much. Whenever they had gone anywhere when she was a child they’d taken their home with them; moving the boat from mooring to mooring.

As she wheeled her case off the Tube train and up the escalator, she suddenly hit the hustle and bustle of the ticket exit. The machine wouldn’t accept her Oyster card. She tried twice. The people behind huffed. Finally, on the third attempt, the doors opened but the exit wasn’t designed for her bag and the doors closed on her as she was pulling it through. The guy behind her tutted like it was the end of the world and said, ‘What are you doing, you stupid cow?’ She hesitated, trying to yank her bag though the flip doors of the exit, but it wouldn’t budge. The guard came over and tapped the doors open with a bored sigh. Her bag turned so it was only on one wheel and as she struggled to right it, people marched past from behind, a steady stream bashing into her. When she tried to move, someone running to get through the barriers tripped on her suitcase. ‘Jesus, woman! What d’you think you’re doing? Bloody tourists!’ he shouted, holding his phone between his ear and his shoulder, his hands outstretched like she was an idiot.

Jane froze.

She pulled her suitcase up so it was pressed against her ankles and stood for a moment.
It’s OK
, she told herself.
This is all part of the adventure
.

She thought about what Emily would do. How she’d have someone else carrying her case by now and would be sashaying up the steps like she owned the place. Or Enid. She would have just barged her way through and sworn back at anyone who swore at her.

‘Right,’ she said to herself. ‘Come on, Jane. Move.’

Brushing her newly honey-blonde-streaked hair out of her eyes, Jane put her shoulders back, stood up straighter and made a bee-line straight ahead, no matter who was walking straight for her. Like London Underground chicken, she didn’t swerve or veer, just headed for the Exit sign. She bumped and tripped and swerved in front of, but she just held her head high and kept walking until she was up the stairs and out in the open and all the panic fell away.

Everything in her bag suddenly felt superfluous as she stood in the bright sunshine looking across at the buildings, the bus tour stand, the tourist stall. She wanted to unzip the lid and hand her travel purse, rape alarm, waterproof and sturdy boots to whoever would take them. She wanted to be standing in the heat and smog of the city unencumbered. It was so big, so hot, so bright and addictively overwhelming. She looked behind her at Green Park, saw above the wall the lush green of trees and then down at her feet the pigeons pecking at leftovers. She saw a sign for Buckingham Palace and a wave of unexpected excitement flickered through her. She knew from her pocket A to Z that Constitutional Hill was straight ahead and Birdcage Walk and Westminster Abbey and…she glanced around searching, took a few steps, dodging out the way of the steady flow of tourists and business people, looked up, and there it was. Bright-white bulbs spelling out The Ritz.

She stopped right where she was, entranced. She heard people swear at her but, this time, she didn’t care. In front of her was by far the most brilliant building she’d ever seen.

It was like a castle. Grey brick at least eight stories, a million windows and a million arches, with chimneys like turrets and flags drooping low in the heat. Her heart did an involuntary flutter. She did a silent nod of thanks to Emily for making her ditch the Birkenstocks and for forcing her to sit for an hour with foils on her head.

Passing the fruit and veg stand and heading under the arch of the hotel’s covered walkway, Jane could feel her pulse race. There was fine jewellery for sale in the window and tourists peering in through the etched-glass windows of The Rivoli Bar, trying to get a peek inside. There were limousines and black taxis pulling up out the front and doormen, exactly like in Enid’s diary, with black top hats and long jackets embroidered with gold.

‘Can I help you, madam? Offer directions?’ said the one nearest her as she got to the entrance.

‘No I’m here,’ Jane said.

‘You’re a guest with us, madam?’

Jane nodded. ‘Yes, I have my booking.’ She started to rummage around in her handbag.

He held up his hand to stop her. ‘Madam, come this way. Welcome to The Ritz.’

She paused, stopped rummaging as she found that the man had picked up her case and was ushering her through the revolving door. ‘Reception is right this way.’

‘Thank you very much…’ She paused and looked at his name bag. ‘Trevor.’

‘You’re very welcome,’ he replied and she thought he paused, so she said, ‘Jane.’

He laughed. ‘You’re very welcome,
Jane
.’

And she blushed as he went back outside.

At reception there were two couples checking in in front of her. One were American tourists, the others were just rich – she was dressed all in white with jewels as big as robins’ eggs on her fingers. Her hair was coiffed and bouffant and her heels as high as a ruler.

Jane caught a glimpse of herself in one of the gold panels behind reception. Saw her own newly flumped-up blonde highlights, the layers of make-up that made her eyes pop out like a bushbaby and the lips that suddenly seemed to exist. She had never been pretty. She had never been terribly thin. Her mother had said she was beautiful but then didn’t everyone’s? She still didn’t think she was terribly pretty now as she looked at her reflection but she certainly looked the best she’d ever seen herself. She caught the bouffant woman’s eye in the mirror and instantly blushed scarlet. Looking at herself wasn’t something she ever did, and she certainly didn’t want to get caught doing so. But when the bouffant woman looked away again, something pulled Jane back. Maybe it was the glinting of the chandelier behind her, the lavish decorations, the man behind the desk checking her reservation, the simple fact that she was standing in the Ritz, something made her look again, and this time she angled her face slightly to the left, did a little eyebrow raise and sucked in her cheeks a bit and thought, I don’t actually look too bad.

‘Ms Williams,’ the man from reception’s voice interrupted her posing.

‘Oh sorry.’ Jane looked back, blushing again, mortified, keeping her eyes firmly away from the reflection and focused on all the stuff he was telling her.

Another man came over and picked up her case.

‘Oh that’s my bag—’ Jane said, trying to reach forward and take the case back from his gold trolley.

‘It’s fine, madam,’ the bellboy replied.

‘No really, that’s my bag—’

‘And I’ll take it to your room, ma’am. That’s my job.’ The bellboy smiled but hardly paused, moving on in order to pick up the bouffant woman’s bags, who made no quibble about the service.

Jane swallowed, feeling foolish. No one had ever carried anything of hers before.

The desk clerk went on as if that conversation hadn’t happened and gave her the details of her room, directions to the bar and the times for breakfast.

Jane nodded, not trusting herself to say anything else in case she embarrassed herself again. Instead she walked to the elevator, past huge vases of white flowers, Louis XV chairs, mirrored doors and over maroon patterned carpet. As she stepped in the lift she leant against the painted panels on the wall and watched as the doors closed in front of her.

And then she allowed herself to slump into an exhale, blow her new too-long side-fringe out of her eyes and remind herself that this was it. She was at The Ritz.

She thought of the passage in the diary, that she’d read over and over, where Enid thought about meeting corporal James Blackwell:

‘This is what his note says:
If you want to join me for dinner, I’ll be staying at The Ritz
.

The Ritz! I’ve never been to The Ritz. Can you imagine if the only time I went was with a war on? What would I wear? I can’t believe I’m thinking about what I would wear rather than whether I should meet a stranger for dinner.

Of course I’m going to meet him. If we can’t make beautiful memories at the moment, what can we do?’

As she walked out the lift and down the corridor towards her room, Jane thought about how carefree and brave the words sounded, and reminded herself that this was why she was here, too. To make beautiful memories. There had been so many shit ones, over the last couple of years especially, that it was time for the good.

And when she got to her room it took her breath away.

It must have been the size of her whole boat. With its own sitting room. She was sure she hadn’t booked a room with a sitting room. She looked for the bellboy to tell him that there had been a mistake, but her bag was already there, unzipped on the suitcase stand with no sign of him. She went through the door and into the giant bedroom, huge swathes of yellow curtains hung over the window, matching yellow chairs and a tiny table with a vase of giant peach roses stood in front of it. The bed was bigger than any bed she’d ever seen, the width of the length of her sofa back home. She wanted to throw herself on it in delight but, certain she was in the wrong room, went back into the living room and phoned Reception.

As she dialled, she saw a bottle of champagne on the table and a note which she opened as the man answered the phone. The card and champagne were from Emily and Annie. Wishing her luck, telling her to enjoy herself and a final PS:

‘
We thought you can’t go to The Ritz without an upgrade! Enjoy xx’

The man from Reception asked again if Jane was OK.

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Yes I’m fine, I just thought…’ She looked around the massive room. ‘I just thought there had been a mix-up, that’s all.’

‘No mix-up, madam,’ the man said and she wondered if she could hear a slight twinge of humour in his voice.

Jane put the phone down. Paused for a second to absorb the awesomeness of the suite, and then ran through to the bedroom and threw herself down on the bed.

She never wanted to leave.

Outside the window she could look down and see the whole of Piccadilly. The tourists bustling past, the evening light starting to dim the air, the Wolseley next door, over the road the blue flags with De Beers jewels written on them and the red ones of…she got her A to Z out…the Royal Academy. Pigeons flew past at eye level and she looked down at the people on the open-top buses. She thought about blowing out the drink with pompous William Blackwell and just starting her London adventure, but she had to meet with him. However stilted and awkward it might be, she had to put an end to Enid’s mystery. Had to pass over the baton and say: This is in your court now, you do with it what you will. Meet Martha if you want, come and see the island, or just put it in a drawer and forget about it but this is your history as well as ours.

She glanced back into the room and saw her dress that she’d hung up for the evening and felt a slight shudder of nerves. She just had to get the drink part done and then the rest of the evening was hers.

She wondered if there was time to have a bath. She’d only had a bath once before in her life. There wasn’t one on the boat and her year at art college was spent living in a tiny bedsit with a bathroom so small that the shower was over the toilet. But her one-time bath had been when she was seven and her mother, a textile designer, had finished a commission – swathes of the most stunning hand-blocked fabric – late, as always, and they’d gone to the fashion designer’s house on the train to drop it off. Jane didn’t usually go with her but it was her birthday and they were going for ice cream afterwards. Her mother had told her to wait in the fancy living room, but the designer had worried about things getting broken. Her mother had rolled her eyes behind his back which had made Jane laugh and then taken her into the bathroom, filled this massive sunken pink bath and told her to stay there for an hour or so while they finished the work. The designer thought it was all very untoward but Jane thought it was brilliant. A maid came in with fresh towels and a glass of orange juice and Jane lay in the bubbles watching as her toes wrinkled up in the water. When her mum was finished she came in, towelled her dry and they went for ice cream. Jane had lemon sorbet. Her mum had mint choc chip. It was one of the amazing days.