The Camden Tales

71 - A Rat

-=₪ 29th January 1934 ₪=-

The Mansion / Margate / 6.17pm

The evening sky was clear and dark, illuminated by the soft glow of a low moon that cast its light across the still ocean. A frigid breeze swept across the beach, reaching the Solomons' side garden and causing the branches of the monkey puzzle tree to sway gently.

Malka stood at the tree's base, wrapped in a large, dark man's coat that engulfed her small frame. To a casual observer, it might have appeared that nothing more than a coat had its arms wrapped around the tree trunk. Resting her head against the bark, she peeked over the lapel to watch the horizon. The sea wind made the tree's branches move, occasionally catching and pulling at the coat due to their sharp, scale-like leaves.

"Mrs Solomons? Malka? You out here?"

Hearing Ruth's voice from near the servant's entrance to the house, Malka lifted her head from the tree's embrace and looked around the trunk to the maid.

"Yes, Ruth. What is it?"

"Telephone for you. It's Edna."

With a careful motion, Malka stepped away from the protective cover of the spiky, dark green foliage. A sudden gust of wind stirred the branches into a frenzy, ensnaring her hair and tugging at the wool of the oversized coat.

"I don't know how you can get so close to that tree. How you are not constantly covered in scratches is beyond me," Ruth remarked.

"His coat keeps me safe," Malka replied, disappearing into the house.

"Edna? Where are you calling from?" Malka inquired after lifting the receiver waiting for her in the hall.

"I'm at home, Mrs Solomons. Have you heard from Mr Shelby recently?"

"No, not for a few days. Why? Should I have?"

A pause filled with anxious breathing came down the line.

"What is it, Edna?" Malka urged.

"Mr Shelby didn't show up for work this morning."

"Are you still at the Birmingham office?"

"Yes. I didn't think anything of it until Mrs Thorne arrived declaring herself in charge."

Malka's confusion mirrored Edna's. Ada Thorne's sudden appearance and assertion of authority was peculiar, especially since she had refused to have any dealings with Shelby Company Limited following Polly's death.

"Ada Thorne?" Malka asked, wanting or more needing further clarification.

"Yes. Mrs Thorne said that Mr Shelby had gone up a mountain looking for a miracle."

"What?"

"I asked around and discovered that his daughter had taken ill and was admitted to hospital over the weekend. They say she has consumption," confirmed Edna.

The concern in Edna's voice was palpable, as was Malka's shock upon learning of Ruby's illness.

"I would have thought he would be at the hospital with his daughter," continued Edna, "I can't fathom what could possibly draw him away to the wilderness at a time like this."

The shocked sunken features of Mrs Solomons, slowly improving skeletal form, relaxed, and she sighed, "I think I might."

"What, Mrs Solomons?"

Malka replied with only silence, showing her clear intent that she would not be sharing, a characteristic that Edna knew only too well from both Malka and Alfie.