‘Our Spanish business is already at a standstill. Imagine what happens next. The Buckingham needs more ballast if we’re to weather whatever’s to come. But there’s hope. There is a man called John Hastings – Junior, you understand. Perhaps you’re familiar with the type. He’s a New Yorker like yourself. He’s to come to London this summer, sizing up new investments, and . . .’ Maynard petered into silence. ‘We need the Buckingham strong, when he arrives. We need equilibrium. So the very best way that you might help the good people of this hotel – the good people, Vivienne, who have themselves helped you when you’ve been at your lowest ebb – is to play your part. Act your role. Am I understood?’

Vivienne would have spoken, then, but a lump had formed in her throat. She remained frozen in the doorway, until finally she uttered the single word, ‘Understood,’ and slammed the door behind her.

In the reception hall, the check-in desks were clear. Billy Brogan was waiting patiently with the other concierges as one of the night managers arrived for his shift.

Vivienne passed them all by, holding herself rigidly as Maynard’s words played over in her mind. Play your part. Act your role. Be a good little girl and keep out of the way, would you, Vivienne? The grown-ups are working . . .

The music of the Archie Adams Orchestra was still coursing up from the ballroom, but Vivienne stopped before crossing its threshold – then turned away and walked into the golden cage of the guest lift.

Suddenly, she didn’t feel like dancing at all.

London, 1937.

With a new king in place, tensions are rising in London and across Europe.

Shaken by the Great Depression and with talk of another war coming, the Buckingham Hotel is trying to regain some stability.

Upstairs, Vivienne Edgerton is desperate to do something worthwhile with her time and her stepfather’s money, rather than spending it on frivolity and debauchery - but will this land her in even more trouble?

And downstairs, chambermaid Nancy Nettleton is finally starting to feel more settled at the Buckingham, and hopes her brother will soon call London home, too. But she misses the man she loves, demonstration dancer Raymond de Guise, who is noticeably absent from the Grand Ballroom dance floor.

The staff and guests of the Buckingham soon discover that in a hotel full of secrets, there’s always someone listening . . .

Purchase now

Return to the Buckingham Hotel in Anton Du Beke’s enchanting next novel . . .

This Christmas, you are cordially invited to the wedding of the year!

London, 1938.

When fiercely independent chambermaid Nancy Nettleton first moved to London and the Buckingham Hotel, the last thing on her mind was finding love, let alone falling for the debonair demonstration dancer Raymond de Guise.