The Camden Tales

42 - Passionate Entreaty

-=₪ February 1926 ₪=-

Cottage Hospital / Margate / 9.39am

Malka started the engine as Edna exited the hospital and climbed into the cabin.

The Cadillac was packed to the brim with the housekeeper's belongings, including a large lamp, gramophone, books, photographs, and many suitcases. Poor Cyril didn't have much room at all although he didn't seem to mind. The giant Bullmastiff sat with his nose against the window, fogging it up with his breath, and dropping spit over the carpeted floor.

Once Edna was securely seated, she noticed Mrs Solomons glance back to the hospital with a look that Edna couldn't place before they pulled away. Their journey began in silence making Edna feel quickly uncomfortable. Mrs Solomons had her eyes firmly on the road and her hands gripped the wheel tightly, the black leather gloves she wore were taught across her knuckles. She wasn't sure what was putting Mrs Solomons on edge, perhaps she was having difficulty seeing in the mirrors given how packed the back of the car was, Edna considered, but the silence continued, and the air grew increasingly tense, Edna began to wonder if Mrs Solomons might somehow know about her kiss with Mr Solomons... Alfie.

"How was he?" her mistress asked.

Edna felt instant relief to have the silence finally broken with what seemed to be normal conversation.

"Yes, good! Healthy!" she smiled with warmth, drawing an unusual glance from Mrs Solomons, "I mean, he was awake, seemed almost like himself, alert, if tired." confirmed Edna, side glancing to her mistress.

"And you spoke with him?"

"Yes, milady."

"Anybody else in the room with you?"

"No, we were alone." Edna admitted, if somewhat sheepishly.

She rubbed her thumb back and forth over her opposite hand where Alfie had held it. Malka glanced over noticing her housekeeper was looking decidedly nervous and appeared to be self-soothing.

"Did everything go all right? Anything you want to tell me?" Mrs Solomons asked.

"NO!" Edna shouted as a reflex.

Malka cast an eye over her maid.

"I-I mean yes, it went well, better than well, in fact, great. Not that-- I mean, it was fine... just... fine." replied Edna flustered and seemingly at odds with herself.

"Alright." Malka replied suspiciously.

Edna felt quite abashed. When Mrs Solomons' full attention had returned to the road, Edna side glanced her mistress once again. She knew that Mrs Solomons had rules regarding her husband, unusual rules as far as Edna was concerned, but rules all the same. She had always found it highly unusual how seemingly relaxed Mrs Solomons had been about Alfie's extramarital affairs, even at the time of them actively occurring, taking it quite in her stride if anything. Edna discovered that Mrs Solomons would even participate on occasion, much to her chagrin, but one of the hard and fast rules between Mr and Mrs Solomons was to do with kissing.

Kissing was mostly allowed, Mr Solomons could put his mouth anywhere he wanted on another woman, as could another woman put her mouth anywhere on Mr Solomons, but never should their mouths meet. Lip locking with Mr Solomons was absolutely forbidden, as too was it for others to lock lips with Mrs Solomons, this was the one and only activity they reserved solely for one another.

Edna didn't know where it came from or why this rule existed in the way that it did, but she knew this rule had always been and she also knew that on this day, Alfie hadn't stuck to it. Mr Solomons had broken the most intimate and sacred rule of his marriage to kiss her, and while it gave her a little thrill, it also gave her a sense of trepidation as she was simply no good at lying, or even hiding a lie, especially one so large from a woman like Mrs Solomons. Now Edna was to be trapped in a car with her astute mistress and the memory of Alfie still hanging on her lips. Should Mrs Solomons discover the truth Edna was confident she wouldn't see the day's sunset and had absolutely no idea what it meant for Alfie.