With the Duchess’s comfort ensured, Mr Badger returned downstairs. He needed to oversee the re-hanging of the recently cleaned Boubles Grand Hotel Ballroom chandelier and inspect the splendidly re-polished parquetry floor. It was so shiny that Miss Pims and Mr Badger could see their faces reflected in it.
Thanks to Miss Pims’ planning and Mr Badger’s expert organising skills, preparations for the stamp-collectors’ dinner were under control and running smoothly.
Unfortunately, the atmosphere in the hotel kitchen was far from relaxed.
Those in charge of room service, and in turn the kitchen staff, were finding it difficult to keep up with a flood of requests. And every request came from the special guest in the Royal Suite.
For example, the Duchess had ordered: imported Belgian chocolate-chip ice-cream; a Scottish sponge cake, which had to be flown all the way down from Edinburgh by helicopter; and lots of lime-flavoured Latvian lemonade – all to be supplied ‘on the double’.
And, everything was demanded and received without a single ‘please’ or ‘thank you’.
Up and down, up and down stairways and into lifts staggered the Boubles Grand Hotel staff with a seemingly endless procession of sweets and treats.
The Duchess even sent a bellboy out for pizzas!
‘I’ll attend to it immediately, sir,’ said Mr Badger to a disgruntled guest who complained that the Boubles Grand Hotel smelt like a pizza parlour.
It seemed to some that the hotel was looking after just one guest.
It wasn’t only food that the Duchess de la Dodo was ordering, either. She demanded many toys and games be delivered to her room quick smart – not to mention three television sets for her suite. Apparently there were three programs on at the same time on different channels, and she didn’t want to miss a thing.
‘I must admit her grace is a rather demanding guest,’ said Mr Badger to Miss Pims after supervising the installation of the third television.
‘Hmm, to say the least,’ came the reply.
The Duchess was making the most of her
stay at the Boubles Grand Hotel.