Mr. Badger and the Difficult Duchess (4 page)
âGently now, chaps,' said Mr Badger.
The Duchess didn't need to lift a finger.
âWonderful,' said Mr Badger. âThank you, gentlemen.'
There were no thanks from the Duchess de la Dodo, though. She was busy gulping down chocolates, having finished her milkshake.
W
ith the Duchess's comfort ensured, Mr Badger returned downstairs. He needed to oversee the re-hanging of the recently cleaned Boubles Grand Hotel Ballroom chandelier and inspect the splendidly re-polished parquetry floor. It was so shiny that Miss Pims and Mr Badger could see their faces reflected in it.
Thanks to Miss Pims' planning and Mr Badger's expert organising skills, preparations for the stamp-collectors' dinner were under control and running smoothly.
Unfortunately, the atmosphere in the hotel kitchen was far from relaxed.
Those in charge of room service, and in turn the kitchen staff, were finding it difficult to keep up with a flood of requests. And every request came from the special guest in the Royal Suite.
For example, the Duchess had ordered: imported Belgian chocolate-chip ice-cream; a Scottish sponge cake, which had to be flown all the way down from Edinburgh by helicopter; and lots of lime-flavoured Latvian lemonade â all to be supplied âon the double'.
And, everything was demanded and received without a single âplease' or âthank you'.
Up and down, up and down stairways and into lifts staggered the Boubles Grand Hotel staff with a seemingly endless procession of sweets and treats.
The Duchess even sent a bellboy out for pizzas!
âI'll attend to it immediately, sir,' said Mr Badger to a disgruntled guest who complained that the Boubles Grand Hotel smelt like a pizza parlour.
It seemed to some that the hotel was looking after just one guest.
It wasn't only food that the Duchess de la Dodo was ordering, either. She demanded many toys and games be delivered to her room quick smart â not to mention three television sets for her suite. Apparently there were three programs on at the same time on different channels, and she didn't want to miss a thing.
âI must admit her grace
is
a rather demanding guest,' said Mr Badger to Miss Pims after supervising the installation of the third television.
âHmm, to say the least,' came the reply.
The Duchess was making the most of her
stay at the Boubles Grand Hotel.
B
y now it was late afternoon and the Boubles Grand Hotel foyer was filling with eager stamp-collectors carrying their collections.
Some philatelists swapped stories in the foyer.
They were a rather shy lot, though this had never stopped them from having a wonderful â if quiet â time at their annual get-together. It was a chance to see each other's stamps and maybe to do some serious swapping. For many, this was the one evening in the year when their most precious stamps were revealed to other collectors.
Mr Badger and Miss Pims watched as guests streamed through the foyer into the Boubles Grand Hotel Ballroom. Mr Badger quietly gave instructions, greeted people, checked name cards and places, and made sure guests were shown to their correct tables. Most importantly, he did his best to make everyone feel welcome.
Philatelists were filling the foyer.
