Mrs Hamilton Betts

In the short story The Affair of the Pink Pearl, Mrs Hamilton Betts and her husband are American friends of Colonel and Mrs Kingston Bruce. While visiting England, they were very keen to meet someone with a title. This Colonel Kingston Bruce could easily arrange as Lady Laura Barton was staying with them as a house guest and he invited the Betts to join the house party.

Over a game of bridge after dinner, Mrs Betts had taken off her pendant as the clasp had broken. The pendant then got lost. It was subsequently found by the parlourmaid but the expensive pink pearl on it had been wrenched off. Keen for a quick solution without scandal, Colonel Kingston Bruce called in The International Detective Agency.

Mrs Betts is described as a big woman with a determined voice. She sounded pleased that Tommy and Tuppence were investigators who claimed (so Colonel Kingston Bruce told her) to be able to "hustle things through at a great rate".

Portrayals
In LWT's 1983 TV adaptation of The Affair of the Pink Pearl, Mrs Betts is given the first name "Phyllis" and is portrayed by Lynda La Plante. The character is slightly embellished. Here, she tells Tommy privately that she leads a lonely life because her husband is always at work. While alone with Tommy, she tries to make a move on him but fortunately for Tommy, they are interrupted by Tuppence.