Eva nodded.
Many of these people are dancers, performers; they behave like cattle sometimes, believe me. However, they are still Mr Hearsts guests. Whatever a client wants, he or she gets. And we do things here in the old-fashioned way your presence is felt, not seen. Youre here to be part of the woodwork. That means no face powder, no jewellery, no lip rouge; caps must be worn at all times. If a guest notices you, especially a male, youve failed in your duties.
She stood up, taking a heavy set of keys from her pocket, and unlocked a closet on the far side of the office, hanging with spare uniforms. I expect you to be early rather than late, to anticipate your guests needs rather than waiting to be called, and above all, you must be polite. She rummaged through, searching for the correct size as she continued, We take a very serious view of stealing. Everyone is always prosecuted. No exceptions. She held up a grey cotton uniform. This is going to be too big but Im afraid it will have to do. Can you sew?
Yes, maam.
Then take it in. Not too tight, mind you. She locked the closet again. And if I hear that youve spoken to the press or to a gossip columnist, you can expect to pack your bags immediately. Do you understand?
Eva nodded.
Each chambermaid is responsible for cleaning and maintaining fifteen rooms. However, when youre on duty, youre entirely at the clients command. No request is to be denied if at all possible. We have standards here, much higher, much more obliging than other establishments.
She turned to Antoine. I suppose shell need accommodation.
Well, if its not too much
Shell have to share, Mrs Ronald cut him off. And I want it understood that there are to be no guests, male or female, at any time in this hotel. Have I made myself clear?
Again, Eva nodded.
If youd like to get your things, you can start this afternoon.
These are my things, maam.
Mrs Ronald looked down. There was a small parcel, wrapped in brown paper, by the girls feet.
I see. Then Ill ring for one of the girls to come down and show you your room. Mrs Crane will instruct you in your duties. That will be all.
Thank you, maam.
She left the office.
Antoine hesitated a moment by the door.
I appreciate this, he said.
Yes, well, Mrs Ronald moved back behind her desk, mind she makes you proud, Mr Dorsey. Id have no pleasure in firing her but Id have no problem doing it either.
He went out into the hallway, where Eva was waiting.
She watched as he took a hand-rolled cigarette out of his shirt pocket, and lit it. He looked at her hard, as if shed already done something wrong.
Eva lowered her eyes, concentrating on the floor. Where other people only saw different-coloured tiles, she saw comforting patterns and equations. There were twenty-nine black tiles to every eighty-seven white. Three white to every one black. A whole hidden world of order and symmetry appeared if you only looked closely enough.
If you have any trouble, youre on your own. Do you understand? Youre old enough to answer for yourself from now on.
Yes, sir.
Then he turned and walked away, towards the lower kitchen, disappearing into the long maze of corridors that ran underneath the main hotel.
Eva exhaled for what felt like the first time in hours.
The weight that had been pressing into the centre of her chest all morning was finally beginning to ease. She folded her uniform on top of the small parcel of her belongings and waited with her back pressed against the wall.
The only thing shed had all morning was coffee, black and strong. Her uncle ate at work and now that her aunt had gone, there was no reason, in his mind, to keep food in the apartment or, in fact, an apartment at all. Her stomach knotted and growled.
She didnt want to share a room with a stranger. She wasnt even certain she wanted a job as a chambermaid. But what she wanted didnt matter.
Eva pressed her eyes together.
There had been 778 tiles on the floor of Mrs Ronalds office. 426 grey and 352 white. If you multiplied them together you got 149,952. If you subtracted 352 from 426 you ended up with 74 and if you added 4 plus 2 plus 6 you got 12 and if you added 3 plus 5 plus 2 you got 10 and if you divided 12 into 778
Already asleep on the job, eh?
She flicked her eyes open to see a blonde-haired girl standing in front of her, also a maid, only her uniform fitted. Hand on her hip, the girl had somehow contrived to position her cap at a fetching angle, just between two of the blonde kiss curls that adorned her wide forehead. There was a neatness and a compactness about her; a sureness in the swagger of her movements.
Im Sis, short for Cecily. She thrust a hand out and pumped Evas palm hard. Im from Virginia, in case you hadnt noticed. Looks like well be sharing together. I knew my luck couldnt hold out for ever. Had the room all to myself for nearly a week. Anyway, she sighed. I guess Im meant to show you around. Follow me.
She led Eva down the long hallway and up a back staircase. When they got to the first floor she stopped. Ever been in the front lobby?
Eva shook her head, too nervous to speak. Already she was in awe of Sis; of her Southern drawl and her easy, careless attitude. She was afraid to speak in case Sis didnt like her accent. It had happened to her in the house in Brooklyn, where the Scottish cook insisted on referring to her as the Foreigner even though their employers spoke German and her own Glaswegian accent was only barely comprehensible.
Ever even seen it? Sis asked.
Again, Eva shook her head.
Figures. You have the look of someone whos spent her entire life going round to the back service entrance. Come on. Sis pushed through the door at the top, and they peered out into the West Lobby.
By hotel standards it was modest, intimate. But if it wasnt the largest or grandest hotel lobby in New York, it certainly was one of the most glamorous.
The marble floors shone beneath the oriental carpets, banks of settees were piled with velvet and silk pillows, and the bevelled mirrors which lined the walls reflected the beautiful profiles of the off-duty chorus girls parading through on their way to the bar.
Carefully chosen for the perfection of their figures, they were all the same height, with long shapely legs. Their laughter was punctuated by the clicking of their high-heeled shoes and the swishing of their daringly short skirts. A piano was playing and someone was singing.
A bellhop wove through the pockets of guests with a silver salver. Madame Arpeggio, he called loudly. Madame Arpeggio. The air smelled of brass polish, cigar smoke, and the lush, overripe sweetness of fresh-cut tiger lilies.
Eva watched as a small, round woman dressed entirely in black, her head crowned with a velvet turban fastened with a large ruby brooch, entered with a pair of enormous shaggy grey Irish wolfhounds. Their black leather collars were studded with pearls.
Instantly one of the doormen brought them water in china bowls, which they lapped loudly, creating puddles on the marble floor, while their mistress paused to light a cigarette and check her messages at reception.
Whos that? Eva was so fascinated, she forgot about her resolution not to speak.
No one really. Sis sniffed. Some filthy Prussian countess. Never bathes and doesnt take those dogs out nearly as much as she ought to. Her room smells like a zoo. Theyve already changed the carpet once.
The girls watched as she turned, and proceeded at a regal pace towards the elevator.
Thing is, Sis confided, all the important people here look ordinary and the really fancy ones are usually broke or on the make. Ill tell you, youre in an upside-down world now, she said, shaking her head. Takes a while, but youll get used to it.
Eva shared a room with Sis in the attic eaves of the building; it had a basin in one corner, a shallow closet and two narrow single beds. The window looked into the light well of the tall building opposite and the alleyway below. There was no view of the sky.
Not that it mattered. Both girls were up at six and eating in the lower kitchen, which also served as a staff canteen, by six-thirty. Then they stood in line waiting for Mrs Ronald to inspect their uniforms and appearance.
Eva had successfully managed to take her uniform in; however, the gauzy white apron and cap were still too big, bordering on ridiculous. It was a fine line between hiring girls who would not excite notice among the guests and making sure that they matched Mrs Ronalds inner vision of the overall chic of the establishment. So Eva was assigned the less desirable lower floors, in the hopes that she would grow another few inches over the summer.
After inspecting the girls hair and nails, Mrs Ronald briefed them as to which guests were checking in and which were checking out that day, along with any special preferences.
These included the actress who required black velvet curtains hung in her suite so that she could sleep during the day and whose room must only be serviced at night, when she was on stage at the Ziegfeld Follies a block away. And the movie producer who had a horror of anything which had been used by other people; his bed, mattress and bedclothes had to be replaced, new each time he came and the sheets were to be washed separately from those of the other guests, a duty which he only trusted Mrs Ronald to perform (but which she regularly passed off to one of the other girls).
Then there were the more common requests: extra ice buckets, satin sheets, special requests for certain types of flowers hothouse roses and gardenias were the most popular. Some guests requested that there be no paintings or artwork in their rooms while others couldnt bear certain colours and had them banished from sight. Imported foods were provided at vast expense chocolates from Paris, fresh pineapples from Mexico, black tea from India, and thick, long Cuban cigars. Extra pianos were delivered almost daily, as were exotic pets, new automobiles and hunting guns; and police guarded vans carrying jewellery, which was stored in the vaulted hotel safe.