Billy’s eyes flashed up, opened wide. He lifted a finger to his lips, urging her to be quiet, then stretched it out, past the check-in desks to the hotel director’s office beyond. Nancy followed his gaze.

Mr Simenon had appeared.

Nancy turned, as if she might scurry instantly away – but then she felt Billy’s hand on her arm. ‘Wait,’ he whispered – so waiting was what she did. She waited as Mr Simenon approached. She waited as he loomed over her, his great beak nose in the air and his sallow eyes narrowed. She watched as he stopped dead, his heels clicking, and cut Billy to the core with a devastating look. She listened as he seethed, ‘You’ll pay for this, Brogan. It may be when you least expect it – but, one day, you’ll pay . . .’

Then she watched as he donned a long woollen coat and marched directly out of the revolving brass doors.

Bewildered, Nancy wheeled around. She had not noticed it until now, but Mr Charles had appeared from the corridor directly behind Mr Simenon. He was standing, half-hidden by the check-in desks, with his hands folded in front of him and a satisfied look on his face. When Mr Simenon had vanished down the hotel’s polished marble steps, Mr Charles nodded firmly at Billy. ‘On with your work now, boy. We’re all done here.’ Then he turned on his heel and disappeared once more.

‘Billy,’ Nancy gasped, ‘what happened?’

‘Oh, you know what Mr Charles does.’ Billy was trying to be dismissive, but a smile was playing in the corner of his lips. And it’s good to see Billy Brogan smile, thought Nancy. ‘He protected the Buckingham’s reputation. Isn’t that the job of a hotel director? To make the scandals go away, no matter how big or small they are? Well, the Buckingham needed protecting. Somebody was bringing it into disrepute. Somebody was risking everything, just to make a few extra pounds for themselves. Somebody was giving Miss Edgerton whatever she wanted – even if it was going to kill her in the end.’

‘How did Mr Charles find out who it was?’

Billy shrugged, giving a wink. ‘People whisper in this hotel, don’t they, Nance?’

Nancy felt such an outpouring of affection for Billy that, unprompted, she threw her arms around him. Then, into his ear, she whispered, ‘I’m glad you’re still here, Billy.’