The Penultimate Episode of 'Hotel Portofino' Season 1 Contains Unpleasant "Discoveries"

The penultimate episode of this season of Hotel Portofino begins with chaos right out of the gate, and it should be no surprise that Vincenzo Danioni can be found in the middle of it all. First, there's the hasty daybreak departure of Pelham Wingfield, who tells Bella he's off to a tennis match in Monte Carlo. Next, Danioni arrives at the hotel unannounced with a civil servant authorized to inspect the premises. Mrs. Scanlon is fit to be tied, but the finished report cites unhygienic conditions. Bella has fourteen days to rectify the bogus issues or face closure of her establishment.

Upstairs, Cecil has finally read Bella's intercepted letter given to him by Danioni. Angered by his wife's tender feelings for another man, Cecil is about to confront her just as a commotion erupts from the stairwell. Jack Turner announces the Rubens painting has disappeared from his room and demands an investigation. His shouting wakes the rest of the hotel, and Danioni, still loitering about, forbids the guests from returning to their rooms. Billy is summoned to fetch the police; Danioni accuses him of bicycle theft, and young Scanlon is forced into the outhouse until the authorities arrive.

Billy fakes an injury, prompting Bella to call for Nish. Once they're alone, Billy warns Nish that he hid the box of anti-fascist pamphlets under Lady Latchmere's bed, and the spare keys are still in his room. The Ainsworth's driver, Francesco (Petar Bencic), is tasked with bringing back the police; of course, we know he has been Danioni's spy all along and has alerted his boss to the location of the illegal literature.