The Marriage Of London Tipton

Chapter 1

Madeline Fitzpatrick, known to nearly all her friends simply as Maddie, finished wiping down the wooden top of the candy counter and glanced at her watch. 5:55. She wasn't supposed to close up the counter until six, but things had been more relaxed at the Tipton Hotel since manager Mr. Moseby had left to oversee the running of the S.S. Tipton - the Tipton's first cruise ship - three months ago, dividing the managing of the hotel amongst the most senior staff members. Of course the Tipton Hotel still offered the finest service in Boston but the staff were slowly getting used to not having to constantly look busy or jump every time someone called their name.

Yes, working at the Tipton was certainly more peaceful now, Maddie thought to herself, managing to avoid adding ...and boring.

5:57. That's it, time to shut up shop. She locked the till beneath the counter and set the closed sign on the top. It wasn't like anyone was going to be buying candy or chocolate now anyway. It had been a busy day and her tip jar was satisfyingly full, but now all the guests were either in the restaurant or had gone out for the night and the lobby was quiet. The lobby always seemed to be quiet at the moment.

"Are you okay, sweetie?"

Maddie hadn't realized how caught up she was in her own thoughts until the a voice made her jump. She looked up to see Carey Martin leaning on the counter. She hadn't even noticed her approach.

Carey was the hotel cabaret's vivacious headlining act, who could be relied on to sell out the ballroom for two shows every Tuesday night. To her audience, mostly made up of lonely businessmen far away from home, her seductive voice and good looks made her a sex symbol, but to Maddie she was like an understanding and cool older sister.

"What?" Maddie was so taken off guard by Carey's sudden appearance that she hadn't taken in what the older redhead had said.

"Sorry if I made you jump," Carey smiled sweetly at her. "You seemed a million miles away."

"I was just enjoying the peace and quiet," Maddie replied with a shrug.

"I know what you mean." Carey glanced around the lobby. She felt she really did know what Maddie meant. Her twin sons, Zack and Cody were also aboard the S.S. Tipton attending the ship's international school, and although she missed them every day, it was nice to go a day without receiving complaints from the staff or an invoice for breakages caused by the trouble-making duo. She still couldn't get used to the lack of chaos and almost expected the twins to come screaming or skateboarding through the nearly deserted lobby. "It makes a nice change."

"Yeah... nice," Maddie agreed, but it wasn't difficult for Carey to see that the young blonde wasn't as content as she was making herself out to be.

"Do you have any plans for tonight?" she asked, playing the older sister role once again. "Like maybe a hot date?"

"I wish," Maddie forced out a chuckle "No, I'm probably going to just go home. Chill out. I've got half a Jane Austin waiting for me."

"Okay, but if you feel like doing something I'll be singing in the ballroom at seven and nine. You're quite welcome to drop in and watch if you want," offered Carey, her mothering instinct, which had been unfulfilled since her boys went to sea, coming out. She stepped round the counter and gave Maddie a hug, as much for her own benefit as the teenager's.

Maddie had to bite her tongue from sighing in contentment. Her family was close but they preferred to show their love with passive aggressive insults and badly cooked food rather than physical contact, and a comforting hug was a rarity. "Thanks, I'll think about it," she replied.

Maddie watched Carey walk away towards the ballroom. She was already dressed for her performance and her slinky evening dress clung to her body without looking cheap. God, I wish I had her body, Maddie thought to herself. So grown-up and sensual... She giggled a the word 'sensual'. It was certainly not a thought the nuns who ran her school would approve of. If I looked like her I wouldn't have trouble getting a boyfriend. Then I would be going home to get ready for a hot date rather than to read like a nerd.

Not that she could even remember the last time she'd met a guy she'd been attracted to, never mind one she'd want to go out on a date with. Sure, she could consume the time between the monotony of work and sleep with her volunteer work, and she was thinking of learning the guitar, but it would have been nice to be taken out and made feel special for an evening. All I want is a little fun, but no, looks like I'm stuck being the nerd experiencing love through the pages of a book.

She grabbed her bag from behind the counter and pocketed the money from the tip jar. Nearly forty dollars closer to the dream of back-packing around Asia. Instead of walking out through the front doors as she planned, however, she found herself doing exactly what she'd been doing for the past month; walking into the elevator and using her staff key to take herself to the penthouse on the 26th floor.

The elevator rose quickly, ignoring the summons of waiting guests on the lower floors. Maddie spent the short journey staring up at the flashing numbers, counting off the floors and trying to figure out as she did every night why she was in the elevator rather than out in the cold walking home... but once again finding herself unable to provide an answer.

The doors opened with a ding onto a short hallway, only a few feet long at the end of which stood a single door. Fastened to the wall next to the door was a brass plaque inscribed with the words Tipton Penthouse Suite.

Maddie removed the room key she had borrowed from the office – a surprisingly easy task now the hawk-like Mr Moseby wasn't here to keep a close eye on everything. Borrowed, not stolen. No, Madeline Fitzpatrick would certainly never steal anything and had plans to put it back when she was finished with it... not that she knew when that would be as she didn't quite know why she'd taken it in the first place.

The door opened onto the hotel's most luxurious suite, that with it's vast walk-in closet and en-suite bathroom covered nearly the entire top floor of the hotel. With it's carpets so thick you sank into them, it's expensive antique furniture and it's french windows opening onto a balcony with a breath-taking view over Boston, the suite was the finest in the city and reserved for only the most honored and picky of guests. It's luxury was fitting as it had been the permanent home to London Tipton, the hotel owner's daughter, for most of her teenage years until she too had left to attend school aboard the S.S. Tipton.

There were a few personal keep-sakes missing that London had taken with her and half the shelves and hangers in the walk-in closet were empty, but otherwise the suite was exactly as the hotel heiress had left it. All the furniture was still in place – the queen-sized bed still made, the top of the dressing table covered in bottles and ointments and pictures of London in gold frames. The only thing important thing missing was London herself. Without her suite felt empty and deathly quiet.

Maddie had stolen (No, wait, borrowed!) the room key about a week after London had left, and at first she'd just come up here to run a duster over the furniture and remake the bed. She wasn't sure why she was giving herself more work to do, except for a half-realized notion that London wouldn't be happy if her room didn't look and smell nice. London was her best friend after all, even if she was always ordering her around like she was a slave or insulting her clothes or her hair. Yes, London was her spoiled, selfish best friend.

As the months passed however, Maddie found herself spending more and more time in London's suite, even spending the night tucked up in the heiress's bed. She'd spent so many nights in the hotel she'd started bringing her pajamas and a change of clothes in her bag. As long as she dropped in occasionally to see her parents they were too busy arguing (or, eeww, making up) to notice she wasn't spending the night.

She lay down on the bed, dropped her bag on the floor and tried once again to work out why she kept coming back up here. The suite was certainly nicer than her cramped little room at home, and the soft goose feather-filled mattress was unimaginably more comfortable than her own pull down cot, that was for sure, but she was almost positive there was more to it than that. Those first nights after everyone had left she had laid in bed feeling restless and unable to sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about how they were off having exciting adventures and seeing exotic locations while she was left at home, stuck in a rut. When she was in London's room, however, those thoughts went away and she could feel something resembling contentment, and although she wasn't sure why that was it was a welcome feeling...

Gosh, this bed is soft. Maddie buried her face in the soft eiderdown quilt with it's silk sheets. If she pushed her face deep into the material she could detect a scent that seemed familiar but she couldn't quite place it...

She opened her eyes and looked at the brass alarm clock on the bedside table. 8:55! She hadn't even realized she'd fallen asleep but she'd been out of it for almost two hours. She sat up rubbing her eyes. 8:55. Carey's second show would soon be starting. Maybe she'd go down and catch the end after all.

She changed out of her creased, slept-in uniform into the clothes from her bag, resisting the urge to raid the remains of London's wardrobe. There were lots of designer items in there that she'd eyed jealously when she'd seen them on London, but to go rummaging through her friend's clothes while she was away just didn't seem right.

Leaving her bag on the floor she left the suite, locking the door behind her and taking the lift down to the ground floor. She was just walking through the lobby towards the ballroom, from which she could hear Carey getting into her first number, when her eye was caught by the curious sight of a group of the Tipton's staff crowded by the far wall, chattering amongst themselves excitedly.

"Miss Madeline!" She saw the tall frame of Esteban, the hotel's South American bellboy, standing head and shoulders above the rest of the group and calling her over in his heavily accented voice. "You have to see this."

As Maddie walked over she noticed with curiosity that the group were crowded around a poster on the wall that certainly hadn't been there when she'd gone upstairs. She elbowed her way through the crowd anxious to see what all the fuss was about, with Esteban helping to herd people out of her way until she was in front of the poster...

She had to scan the poster twice before she could make herself believe what she was reading, her mouth hanging open in shock....

Staff and guests of the Tipton Hotel

I, Wilfred Tipton, am proud to announce the engagement of my daughter

London Tipton

to

Jacques Claret-Monet

We are joyed to announce that the ceremony will take place on the

12th of July aboard the S.S. Tipton

I'm sure you will join me in wishing the happy couple a lifetime of contentment together

-W.T

TO BE CONTINUED....