The Old Duke hotel was one of the finest in the city, with a history spanning more than five hundred years. It certainly considered itself to be an upper-class establishment, even though its glory days had long faded.
Despite that, it still liked to think of itself as too good for the ‘common man,’ and Velvet thought the only reason the doorman had even let them pass was because he wasn’t foolish enough to go head to head with an enormous warrior carrying several large swords.
The lobby reeked of refinement, and she felt terribly out of place standing on the beautifully embroidered carpet. It made her want to rush to the bath house and take a shower or something. The room was decorated in muted colours, with portraits of various aristocrats from ages past hanging at regular intervals on the walls. Overhead hung the biggest chandelier that Velvet had ever seen, and she wondered how it didn’t tear the ceiling out .
They approached the long wooden reception desk, and she could see the panic rise in the conservatively dressed young woman who was manning it. The clerk wasn’t fast enough to go and get reinforcements though, so she put on a brave face as Velvet leaned on the counter.
“May I help you?”
“Yes please,” said Velvet with a smile. “We require…” she hesitated and looked at Lord of All.
“Two rooms,” he said. “One for Nurn and me, another for yourself. I would prefer it if you stayed close.”
Velvet nodded. She didn’t like to waste money, but the opportunity of staying here was too good to pass up. She looked at the woman, who smiled nervously and asked another question.
“How long will the party be staying?”
“Er,” Velvet looked at Lord again.
“There is no specific period,” he said. “It may be as little as a day.”
The receptionist started to look relieved, but expression quickly changed as the Lord of All added more.
“On the other hand, it may be considerably longer.”
“Oh,” the clerk said. “I’m afraid we have to ask for some security up front. We usually require a week in advance.”
“How much for a reasonable room?” asked Velvet, feeling she should contribute something to the conversation.
“For a standard room the cost is Half a Crown a night. We have better of course.” The girl looked hopeful as Velvet paled.
Half a Crown a night! That was more than she was paid in a month! She was about to open her mouth to bargain when Lord casually threw ten large gold pieces onto the counter. Velvet’s argument stopped dead as the coins rolled about for a moment, before coming to rest in an expensive pile. He’d just thrown ten Crowns on the desk more casually than she’d have done for ten bits! She had hardly even seen a Crown piece, let along ten all at once. The large gold pieces were rare, and too big for normal purchases. Her new horse had probably not cost more than two of them, at most.
If Velvet had been surprised at this sudden windfall, it had nearly given the receptionist a heart attack. She stammered for several moments before squeaking out an apology and asking them to wait a moment, and fleeing through a door behind her.
“What did I do?” asked The Lord of All, looking puzzled.
“You just put more gold on the desk than most people see in a year!” Velvet hissed. “Listen, next time let me bargain first okay? You can’t go throwing that kind of money around, even you. You’ll have half the thieves and pickpockets in the city after you before the day’s out.”
“Oh.” Lord pulled a face for a moment. “Sorry. I’m still unfamiliar with your currency. I shall endeavour to me more careful in future. Thank you.”
Velvet was about to reply when the girl returned, along with a dapper man with a very small moustache, dressed in a black suit and rather horribly coloured green bow tie. His name badge proclaimed him to be the floor manager, name Perkins.
Perkins took in the pile of money on the desk first, and then the three visitors without so much as a flinch. He rubbed his hands together in a gesture that Velvet thought rather revealing as he spoke in an oily voice.
“Hello good sirs and Miss. My name is Mr. Perkins, Percy to our more esteemed guests. I see you wish to stay with us for a little while. The Duke is honoured to have you, and I sincerely wish you enjoy your time with us. If you desire anything, anything at all,” he gave a slight wink to Lord here, “please call for me, day or night.”
“The rooms will be sufficient for now,” Lord said. “And please see to our horses out front.”
“Of course sir, I’ll send someone out right away! In the meantime, if you would just fill in these forms…” He pushed two white cards forward on the counter. Lord looked at Velvet, who took the hint and picked up a quill from nearby.
As Lord and Perkins stood waiting, and Nurn wandered around poking at the decorations in the lobby, she filled in the registration cards with a mixture of real and made-up information. She put down that Lord had come from the city state of Nord, a location quite some distance away in the cold south. Nurn went down as his servant, which was true enough. For herself, she put down the address of a distant aunt, who lived on the opposite side of the city.
Finally done, she put the quill down and passed the forms back to the manager, who smiled creepily and handed them to the receptionist. “Any luggage?” he asked.
“Nothing we can’t handle ourselves,” said Lord.
“Very well then.” Percy rang a bell and a rather young looking youth in a blue and purple uniform scampered up. “Show these guests to their rooms,” he said, passing two keys to the lad.
“Yes sir. This way please.”
The three followed the bellhop into a small elevator. Once ready, he blew into a tube and spoke into it. “Floor five.”
There was a moment of silence, and then the lift began to rise, jerkily at first, but then more smoothly.
“How does this contraption work?” asked Lord.
“It’s linked to a couple of mules in the basement,” said the lad. He winked. “But don’t let on I told you. The management likes to pretend they have a magical engine running it. I heard that they actually did once, but the wizards charge a lot for maintenance, so now it’s horsepower.”
Velvet smiled. She rather liked the bellhop. He didn’t seem to share the same stuffy attitude the other two staff had shown.
“Is it safe?” asked Nurn, jumping up and down a little, making the platform wobble.
“Don’t do that!” Velvet said, grabbing at the wall.
“Sorry.” Nurn’s grin showed that he wasn’t.
Their ride stopped at the fifth floor, and the boy led them out into a sumptuously decorated corridor. The carpet underfoot was a deep red, and Velvet’s feet sank into it as they moved along. The walls were of a similar design to the lobby, though the paintings here showed nature scenes rather than portraits. She admired them as they passed.
Finally the bellhop stopped at door number five five. “Here we are, miss,” he said, opening it for her and gestured she should enter. “The gentlemen are just across the hall.” He pointed.
Velvet thanked him and, taking the key, went to explore her new quarters as Nurn and Lord followed the boy to theirs.
Her eyes widened as she took the room in. Either the receptionist had been lying about the price to scare her off, or the standard rooms were far better than she’d dreamed.
The bed dominated the room. It was a huge four-poster affair with red and purple velvet cushions, pillows and blankets all over it, she was sure it would bury her. The rest of the room was equally as luxurious. A fine wooden writing desk, with parchment and quills ready. An area near the window had padded chairs arranged around a table, upon which stood a kettle and cups. Velvet was momentarily reminded of Rumpold and his tea.
A door led off to the washing facilities, and here Velvet found a huge porcelain tub. A large copper kettle was on a stove next to it, currently cold. Beside that was a bowl of water and a rope with a sign saying she should pull it for assistance.
Comments (0)
See all