Character Showcase - Elkins and Eastman

In my upcoming release THE LOVELINESS OF LADYBIRDS there is something odd going on at 'The Brindle Horse' Hotel and it's Detective Inspector Deverell's job to find out exactly what. On this bright spring morning in 1894, he must contend not only with the strange disappearance of a groom from a wedding breakfast in the hotel dining room, but also untangle another mystery-- one that's lain dormant for ten years. He's quite sure, you see, that both events are somehow entwined and with his care for detail he's just the man to sort it all out.

He soon discovers that 'The Brindle Horse' Hotel is a building with an ancient and fascinating history. At one time in its long life it was a hideout for smugglers, highwaymen and other reprobates who fled across the Yorkshire countryside to evade justice. According to fussy hotel manager Mr. Fred Elkins, that was all in the past and the hotel is now a respectable establishment for the wealthy and well-shod, where fine, discriminating guests come to recuperate and enjoy the tranquil setting on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. But is 'The Brindle Horse' once again, being used for an old and familiar purpose? What does it hide now?

Mr. Elkins has been the manager for three years and he's very anxious that the hotel should retain its good reputation among the older, richer folk who mostly make up its clientele. So he is not at all keen to revisit the infamous events of ten years ago, when a young man named Hywel Ellis disappeared from the hotel grounds and Mrs. Siddaway, apprehended in possession of a bloody knife, was arrested for his murder. It was a scandal that made the newspapers for months, but Mr. Elkins does not like to hear it mentioned. He would rather pretend he never heard of it -- that it has nothing to do with his establishment. Instead he prefers to focus on the hotel's old-fashioned grandeur, which means sticking to all the little traditions enjoyed by his repeat guests. And they are not the sort who would want to be reminded of the scarlet Siddaway woman and her young lover. A bloody murder is hardly polite afternoon tea dance conversation.

The manager knows that his greatest competition is 'The Swan' -- a more updated and luxurious hotel in the nearby city of York. He has heard that they have not only installed a device to move guests from one floor to another, but also flushing conveniences! The very idea makes him quake in his shoes. He swears that dangerous electric light will never cross his threshold. As for anybody coming to his hotel for the purpose of ghost-hunting or any other supernatural activity -- a new fancy of "hoi polloi" -- he refuses to countenance the idea. His clientele are far above any of that nonsense, as he proudly assures the detective. They stick to quiet strolls, a steady row upon the hotel lake, or attending an extremely proper and dignified afternoon tea dance.

According to Fred Elkins, the hotel and its staff are above suspicion. But is he telling the truth? Does he really know what's going on in his own hotel?

Apart from 'The Swan' -- which gives him a great many headaches-- Mr. Elkins' main daily annoyance is the hotel's head housekeeper, Mrs. Jenny Eastman. She knows how to tease and get under his skin, and so amuses herself by doing this regularly. She is a bespectacled widow of middle-age, cheerful and motherly, but also in possession of a disrespectful sense of naughty humor. She oversees the chambermaids in the hotel and is supposed to ensure that all the guests have whatever comforts they require in their rooms. She sometimes gets a little distracted from her work however, especially after a tipple of whiskey in her cozy little parlor. It's not only her hair that tends to come unpinned over the course of the day. But Mrs. Eastman has been on the current hotel staff longer than anybody and she knows many of the hotel's secrets. She's certainly not likely to share them with her nemesis - the pretentious, ill-tempered Fred Elkins -- but she doesn't mind inviting Detective Inspector Deverell into her parlor for a nip of good whiskey and some enlightening chatter.

She seems to be a wise lady, if a little mischievous, and she's seen a lot of things through the lenses of her shiny spectacles over the years. But is she telling the truth? Are there some secrets of 'The Brindle Horse' hotel that she's not sharing with Tolly Deverell?

Find out more on July 5th and get your copy of A LOVELINESS OF LADYBIRDS.

(Images here: Detail from "Too Early" by James Tissot 1873; Streatley Inn by Mortimer Menpes 1906)