Chapter 10

Summary

• Nisha has been tirelessly searching for her stolen shoes, visiting multiple White Horse pubs in London with no success.
• Exhausted and fueled by anger towards Carl, she vows to reclaim what is rightfully hers.
• She visits the Bentley Hotel early in the morning, intent on confronting Carl, but spots security detail outside that deters her from entering directly.
• Nisha is disguised and smells of smoke, which garners no attention from people around her, implying she is out of place.
• A housekeeping worker, assuming Nisha is a new staff member, sprays perfume on her to cover the smoke scent and invites her into the hotel through the back entrance.
• Nisha, once wealthy and unused to menial work, is mistaken for new housekeeping staff and is pulled into the grunt work of cleaning the hotel rooms.
• She encounters Jasmine, a friendly staff member showing her the ropes, and Nisha takes up the assumed identity of Anita.
• Nisha is overwhelmed by the physicality and disgust of the work, which reminds her of her past struggles and reinforces her anger towards Carl.
• The sense of community amongst the workers, especially Jasmine's buoyant spirit, offers a glimmer of humanity in an otherwise bleak situation for Nisha.
• At the end of a grueling day, Nisha, now seen as an equal by the staff, is offered money by Jasmine, a gesture that deeply affects her.
• She continues her search for the missing shoes after work, visiting another White Horse pub, where her quest is met with laughter.