First half of the second series. In 'Part 1' Louisa's family cause trouble below stairs at the Bendinck hotel. Charlie returns after eighteen months away, and Louisa receives love letters from an unknown admirer. Louisa and the Major put their heads together when a valued guest dies and leaves her estate to her chauffeur. In 'Part 2' Charlie Haslemere and his wife are suffering from marital problems, so Louisa pays a visit to their Yorkshire estate in an attempt to help. Meanwhile, a Shakespearean actor and impresario arrives at the Bendinck, finding a rapt audience in chamber maid Violet. Whilst in 'Part 3' more strife hits the Bendinck and its staff. Charlie is away at the front in Flanders, and Louisa has received no news of him. The hotel staff begin to suspect that they have a spy in their midst, and a bomb lands in the yard. When the Bendinck closes for repairs, Louisa opens a buffet for the troops at Boulogne.