Best Kept Secret

Janice waited while Mr and Mrs Ferrer had finished speaking to him. ‘Volveré en uno
momento,’ said Sebastian, and returned to the kitchen.
    ‘So what do our French friends want?’ asked Mrs Tibbet, as she cracked two more eggs.
    ‘They’re Spanish, not French,’ said Sebastian, ‘and they’d like some lightly toasted brown bread, a couple of three-minute boiled eggs and two cups of black
coffee.’
    ‘Anything else?’
    ‘Yes, directions to the Spanish Embassy.’
    ‘Janice, you serve their coffee and toast while I take care of the eggs.’
    ‘And what can I do?’ asked Sebastian.
    ‘There’s a telephone directory on the hall table. Look up the Spanish Embassy, then find a map and show them how to get there.’
    ‘By the way,’ Sebastian said, placing a sixpence on the table, ‘they gave me this.’
    Mrs Tibbet smiled. ‘Your first tip.’
    ‘The first money I’ve ever earned,’ said Sebastian, pushing the coin across the table. ‘So now I only owe you three and six.’ He left the kitchen without another
word and picked up the telephone directory from the hall table. He looked up the Spanish Embassy and, after finding it on a map, he told Mr and Mrs Ferrer how to get to Chesham Place. A few moments
later he returned to the kitchen with another sixpence.
    ‘Keep this up,’ said Mrs Tibbet, ‘and I’ll have to make you a partner.’
    Sebastian took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and made his way across to the sink.
    ‘Now what do you think you’re doing?’
    ‘I’m going to do the washing-up,’ he replied, as he turned on the hot tap. ‘Isn’t that what customers in films do, when they can’t pay their bill?’
    ‘I’ll bet that’s another first for you,’ said Mrs Tibbet, as she placed two rashers of bacon next to two fried eggs. ‘Table one, Janice, Mr and Mrs Ramsbottom from
Yorkshire. I can’t understand a word they say either. So tell me, Sebastian,’ she said as Janice walked out of the kitchen, ‘can you speak any other languages?’
    ‘German, Italian, French and Hebrew.’
    ‘Hebrew? Are you Jewish?’
    ‘No, but one of my pals at school was, and he taught it to me during chemistry lessons.’
    Mrs Tibbet laughed. ‘I think you should get yourself off to Cambridge as quickly as possible, because you’re just not qualified to be a dishwasher.’
    ‘I won’t be going to Cambridge, Mrs Tibbet,’ Sebastian reminded her, ‘and I’ve got no one to blame but myself. However, I do plan to visit Eaton Square and try to
find out where my friend Bruno Martinez lives. He should be back from school by Friday afternoon.’
    ‘Good idea,’ said Mrs Tibbet. ‘He’s sure to know if you’ve been expelled or just . . . what was the other word?’
    ‘Rusticated,’ said Sebastian, as Janice came bustling back into the kitchen carrying two empty plates; the most sincere praise a cook can ever receive. She handed them to Sebastian
before picking up two more boiled eggs.
    ‘Table five,’ Mrs Tibbet reminded her.
    ‘And table nine want more cornflakes,’ said Janice.
    ‘Then pick up a fresh packet from the pantry, you dozy numskull.’
    Sebastian didn’t finish the washing-up until just after ten. ‘What next?’ he asked.
    ‘Janice hoovers the dining room and then lays up for tomorrow’s breakfast, while I clean the kitchen. Check out is at twelve, and once the guests have left, we change the sheets,
make up the beds and water the window boxes.’
    ‘So what would you like me to do?’ said Sebastian, rolling his sleeves back down.
    ‘Take a bus to Eaton Square and find out if your friend is expected back on Friday.’ Sebastian put on his jacket. ‘But not before you’ve made your bed and checked that
your room is tidy.’
    He laughed. ‘You’re beginning to sound like my mother.’
    ‘I’ll take that as a compliment. Be sure you’re back before one o’clock, because I’m expecting some Germans, and you just might be useful.’ Sebastian headed
for the door. ‘You’ll need these,’ she added, handing back the two sixpenny pieces. ‘That is, unless you intend to walk to Eaton Square and back.’
    ‘Thank you, Mrs Tibbet.’
    ‘Tibby. As you’re clearly going to be a regular.’
    Sebastian pocketed the money and kissed her on both cheeks, which silenced Mrs Tibbet for the first time.
    He left the kitchen before she could recover, bounded up the stairs, made his bed and tidied his room before returning to the hall, where he