Cosmopolitan

Chapter 1

About a month later, on March 28 to be precise, the household at Geranium Hall (the name of the estate that had been owned by the Aubinglys since time immemorial) was preparing for an important event: a tea party.

"Luckily they're not coming for luncheon already," said Lady Catherine, Alex's and Travis' mother, while she checked the tablecloth in a professional manner. "We would never be able to make it in time!"

Alex, who had little interest in all the hustle and bustle, sat at the window in the library and checked the path leading to the entrance gate. He had also invited guests for himself, his cousin Ivy Montcroix from Manchester and his best friend Clarence Deshmukh, whose parents were from India and whom he had met at Eton.
Both were very different from each other. Ivy was the daughter of his father's sister, and although she had the same black hair as her two cousins, she had neither the edgy elegance of Travis, nor the almost girlish prettiness of Alex, which they had inherited from their equally beautiful mother. Ivy, on the other hand, was small and stocky, but had a face that could be made something out of. In addition, she had recently started to wear a bob, which emphasised her boyish charms even more.
Clarence, however, immediately seemed to be rather high and gangly, which he tried to conceal with great effort and wide shoulder pads. His skin was about the colour of tea and his dark, curly hair was glued to his scalp with plenty of hair wax. Nevertheless, he had a lot of charm and above all the ability to hide his feelings from others, which Alex was not in the least capable of.

At last he saw Ivy's little grass-green cabriolet approaching. He got up and ran down the driveway. Ivy stopped with screeching tyres and got out.

"Well, old chap," she shouted jovially and slapped him on the shoulder.
"What lovely weather we're having today."

"Yes, indeed, wonderful weather," said Clarence, who had come with lvy. "But still a bit cold, eh?"

"Well, come on in then!" Alex commanded and showed them into the house.

Inside everything was almost ready. While the maids were putting the plates in order, they sat down on a sofa and Clarence asked: "Who else is coming?"

"Well, there's Colonel Conwyn, then Mr and Mrs Findlay, Lady Musgrave of course, and that awfully dull doctor, what's his name...oh, yes, Dexter Weston."

"No young people, then," Ivy sighed and pulled a small box from her purse. "I had hoped to have a little fun!"

"If you want to have fun, you must come to London sometime," Clarence suggested. "No wonder, with you hanging around Manchester all the time. Have you ever heard of the Cosmopolitan Café?"

"No, I didn't," said Ivy, opened the box, licked her finger and put it into the white powder in it.

"What are you doing?" Clarence asked in shock and stared at her. "When did you start taking cocaine?"

"Oh, it's been quite a while now," she replied lightly and put the finger in her mouth as if nothing had happened. "Why are you so pale, Alex? Have you seen a ghost?"
"N-No," Alex said absent-mindedly. "When I was at war, some soldiers did it too, you know."

"Pff, the war! I can't hear it anymore! The war is over and you should finally stop moping. It's driving me crazy!"

With these words, she stood up forcefully to greet Travis, who had just walked in.

Alex moved a little closer to Clarence. "Don't tell Ivy," he whispered, "but Maude Fidget is dead."

"Why, you must be joking," Clarence replied. "Really completely and irrevocably dead? What did she die of?"

"Officially it's heart failure, but I know for sure it wasn't. She died from a fairly substantial amount of cyanide in her coffee."

"And who put it in?"

"A professional that was hired by..." Alex hesitated.

"By who?"

Alex lowered his voice even more. "By Mama."

Clarence opened his eyes in amazement. "Well, fair enough," he finally said. "I'd have to lie if I said I was sorry. I certainly don't blame your mother either."

"Right? Now you understand why you shouldn't tell Ivy. She'd go straight to my aunt and spill the beans and then within three days, the whole of Manchester would know."

"And if Manchester knows, soon the whole world will know. But why are you telling me, if you don't mind me asking?"

Alex smiled at him. "Because you are my best friend," he said. "And I just had to tell somebody!"

At this moment the other guests arrived and Travis told Alex and Clarence discreetly, but resolutely, to please go into the salon now. They rose and walked over, both with the same knowing expression on their faces.