Felicitous Jones

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“Tea time,” sighed Felicitous Jones as she plopped down into her favourite armchair, positioned so as to maximise her enjoyment of her favourite room. 

And tea time was by far her favourite time of day. Morning was past and the day was well-advanced but not yet over. There was much achieved upon which she could reflect but still much to which she could look forward.

She loved to sit and stare out of the french windows into the ordered green lushness of the garden, and listen to the gentle splashing of water spurting from the marble fish atop the fountain. With a cup of tea in her hand and her back leaning against the smooth leather surface of the capacious armchair her father once inhabited, she could ruminate on the events of the day so far and plan for the evening ahead.

With a name like Felicitous, one would assume her evenings were filled with pleasant social engagements – dinners, the theatre, parties, the odd ball – and a few years ago, that was most definitely the case. Since her father had died, so had her social life. 

But this was not a sad thing, no, not at all. For Felicitous had taken over her father's business and was now the sole proprietor of the “Aloysius Jones Extraordinary Detective Agency”. She loved her work and the agency more that any party, ball, play, musical or fancy dinner. It was her life now.

Of course, it hadn't been that easy taking over such an established agency and pursuing what was seen as an “unladylike” profession. Most people were quite reluctant to trust a young woman in such a discrete yet dangerous role. Her father had anticipated these naysayers, however, and had started introducing her to his clients as his assistant, when she was in her late teens.

Her aptitude became blatantly clear to those for whom she worked, and she soon progressed to taking on, and solving, cases on her own. So by the time her father died, she already had a portfolio of satisfied clients, and was well-placed to win over the rest with her charm and capability.

However, new clients were proving to be a little more difficult.