They had reached the hotel lobby and, for the first time, Nancy saw its opulence first hand. The floor was a chequerboard of black and red squares. The walls were panelled in dark wood with swirling grain and, on a plinth in the heart of the hall, an obelisk of blue and red glass, the donation of some continental artist, was being ogled by a lady guest dressed in fine brown fur. Doors and hallways led in many directions. The golden lift cages were manned by attendants in tall peaked caps, and a porter in blue and gold wheeled past, dragging behind him a trailer full of tortoiseshell cases and black leather bags.

At the back of the reception hall, between two staircases which crossed each other as they rose to the garlanded balconies above, a corridor sloped down, through columns and arches, to two great wooden doors. Above the doors, the legendary ‘Grand Ballroom’ was spelled out in italicised copper letters. Perhaps she was mistaken, but as Mrs Moffatt led her towards the service lifts Nancy fancied she could hear the sound of a saxophone. It occurred to her how strange it was to hear the instrument without the crackle of the old gramophone her father used to play.

‘What’s . . . what’s down there, Mrs Moffatt?’

The doors at the corridor’s end opened up and two guests trotted through. For a fleeting moment, she caught sight of a great cavernous ballroom, lit by sparkling chandeliers. The sound of trumpets and trombones flurried up and, as the doors swung shut, Nancy saw – for the barest moment – two figures turning across the dance floor in long, flowing steps. From where she stood, they seemed to be floating on air.

‘That, Miss Nettleton, is the Grand Ballroom. Pride of the Buckingham. The demonstration dances are in full flow this afternoon, and every afternoon, for our guests. Don’t worry,’ she went on, with a wry smile, ‘you’ll get to experience its glory soon enough. Those chandeliers are due for a thorough clean. It takes a week to haul them down, spruce them up, and have them rehung.’

All through the rest of the day, and long into the night that followed, Nancy heard the music of the saxophone, and saw those two dancers floating across the ballroom, as if nothing else mattered in the world.

Chapter Three

Chapter Three