The Perfume Collector(57)
One day Miss Waverley’s regular hairdresser, masseuse and manicurist failed to show up. Her breakfast tray sat, untouched, outside her door. Then, somewhere just after noon, she rang for more towels. Eva delivered them, knocking repeatedly on the door before eventually using her pass key.
‘Hello?’ She stepped into the bedroom. The curtains were still drawn and the bed sheets were in a tangle. There were vases of flowers, heavily scented and beginning to rot in the cloudy, stagnant water.
‘Hello, housekeeping?’ Eva almost tripped over a pair of shoes.
‘In here.’ The voice that came from the bathroom was weak, hoarse.
‘Shall I leave the towels outside?’
‘No.’ There was a pause. ‘I need help.’
Eva slowly pushed the bathroom door open. Miss Waverley was doubled over in the bathtub, but there was no water. She was wearing a pale pink silk nightgown. From the waist down it was bright red.
She raised her head. Without make-up, her face looked childishly small and washed out. Her eyes were bloodshot, swollen. ‘I need a doctor,’ she told Eva. ‘You must not call reception. I need a doctor who will come up the back stairs, do you understand?’
Eva wasn’t sure she did, but she nodded and put the towels down on the basin.
Racing out of the room and into the hallway, she spotted Rita trundling down the corridor towards her, pushing her cart.
‘There’s a problem!’ Eva rushed up to her. ‘Miss Waverley, she’s sick. Very sick.’
‘Jesus! Keep your voice down, will you?’ Rita winced. She was nursing a hangover.
‘But what should I do?’
‘Do?’ She looked at her as if she were insane. ‘What’s it got to do with you?’
‘But she’s ill!’
‘The woman deserves what she gets. Close the door and get on with your business, that’s what I say.’ Rita sniffed, giving her trolley a shove.
Eva ran down to the front lobby and over to Alfonse, the doorman, who was still on duty from the night shift. He was the man who could get you what you needed when you needed it, without any questions. At least, that’s what she’d heard.
‘There’s a problem,’ she panted. ‘I need a doctor.’
He didn’t even bother to look up from his paper. ‘See reception.’
‘No, the kind who can come and go through the back entrance.’
He looked up, eyes narrowed, then put the paper down. ‘Staff or guest?’
‘A guest.’
He picked up the phone. ‘What room?’
She told him. Then she went back to Miss Waverley.
Eva knocked softly. ‘It’s me.’
She was still in the bathtub, eyes closed. ‘Is the doctor coming?’
‘Yes.’
‘Get me a drink, will you?’
Eva had never seen so much blood. It ran in thick dark rivulets into the drain, pooled in eddies around her pale feet. ‘Shouldn’t we . . . I mean, shouldn’t you . . .’
‘Just get me a drink.’
Eva went to the next room and poured her a whisky. She came back in. ‘Here.’
‘Thank you.’ Miss Waverley’s hand was shaking. She took a sip, wincing, and handed it back to her. ‘Don’t be frightened. It looks much worse than it is. Does he know what room to go to?’
‘Yes.’
‘Thank you.’ She closed her eyes again, lay her head on her knees. ‘You can go now.’
Eva laid her hand across Miss Waverley’s damp forehead. ‘You’re hot.’
‘So I am.’
Eva turned on the water and washed the blood away. Then she took a washcloth and very gently doused Miss Waverley with lukewarm water. It ran over her slim frame, down through her shoulder blades, over her chest. The silk gown clung to her.
The phone rang.
Eva got up.
Miss Waverley looked at her, sudden panic on her face. ‘He mustn’t know,’ was all she said.
Eva picked up the receiver by the bed. ‘Miss Waverley’s room.’
The person on the other end hesitated. Finally a man’s voice said, ‘Is she there?’
‘I’m sorry, sir. Miss Waverley is indisposed. May I take a message?’
‘Who are you?’
‘Housekeeping, sir.’
‘No. No. Tell her I’ll . . . no, no message.’
He hung up.
When she went back into the bathroom, Miss Waverley was resting her head against her arms. ‘You’re clever,’ she murmured, without looking up. ‘You’re a clever girl.’
Soon the doctor arrived, a rather shabby-looking man with a worn black case. While he examined Miss Waverley, Eva tidied the room, changing the sheets and hanging up her clothes. After a while he came out and handed Eva a bottle of thick black liquid.