Quickly, because I'm in a rush: as a code, I chose 'doing laundry' as a euphemism for having sex (It's explained briefly later, hope you'll catch it). Viv is short for Vivas and Andy is short for Anderson because they call each other by their last names because they're not that close. okay? great, comment please! Cheers!

...

17 July 1918

As much as the staff tells me otherwise, I am happy I brought Cara. We spend most of our time together. We sit next to each other at meals, we go out for walks and to theaters alone and we can be ourselves. It is only the times when Aron is around that appear to create any sort of dilemma. They are a strange pair when forced to be in the same room. They can be civil and speak calmly, but Aron has no restraint. The moment he mentions his frequency of "doing laundry" or how poorly he treats his conquests, Cara is immediately defensive. They are able to laugh together just as easily as they shout at each other. It is a volatile production and it catches me between a rock and a hard place. Aron is my best friend. Cara is my greatest love. It is important to me that they are, at least, tolerant of one another.

Cara lied down comfortably on the floor of the sun room when Edward walked in. He stopped at the entrance and smiled. Her back arched slightly as her stomach was elevated by the overstuffed down pillow. Her left hand was smudged with black. The right scribbled feverishly as she looked up occasionally at the cook, Miss May, who posed looking at a blooming flower. Edward stepped forward and purposefully creaked the floorboards. Cara stopped as May looked up and smiled.
"Good ta see ya Ed." She never broke her pose.
"Hello May, just wanted to say good night." Edward said as Cara adjusted her body to face him. May wiggled her fingers and resumed her position. Edward sat next to Cara.
"You go to bed too early." She whispered as she lied on her stomach again and kept sketching.
"It is well after two, I believe I have been awake long enough." He smiled and kissed her head, "You should rest too. I have something planned for us tomorrow."
"Really?" Cara's eyes brightened, "what?"
"It is a surprise." He smiled and looked at the sketch then at May, "beautiful." Edward put a hand on her cheek before getting up, saying a final 'good night' and heading off.
The room was silent for a few minutes before it was interrupted by a few footsteps and another floor creak.
"Decided to give me a hint?" Cara smiled as she turned and said a small "oh" as Aron walked through the doorway. The look on his face seemed foreign in comparison to the smug look Cara was accustomed to seeing. He looked drained and tired, but, even more than that, apologetic. Cara turned to May, "Thank you so much dear but I believe that is enough posing for one day. Tomorrow after breakfast?" May smiled and got up with a squeak of the chair and a soft grunt. She pat Cara's shoulder as she walked by and nodded a 'good night'. Cara stood after May left.
"I want to talk to you." Aron said earnestly.
"Okay..."
"I'm sorry."
Cara raised an eyebrow, he continued.
"I have yet to be terribly hospitable and that is not right. I would like to officially welcome you and invite you to go for a nightcap with me." Aron watched her face carefully, noting every flicker of emotion.
"I'm not sure... I really should rest, it's rather late."
"Oh... well then... good night." He said defeated and turned to leave.
"Err... where is the place?" Cara asked curiously as Aron turned and gave her a wide grin, injected with the same genuine happiness that Ernest always sported.
"You'll love it."

...

Since she was from Chicago, Cara heard of the speakeasies. It was only rumored that alcohol would become national contraband however for many places, it was already illegal. Aron never cared. He enjoyed drinking. Thought it was a necessity in some cases. For most nights, it was necessary to the point where he was willing to be driven ninety minutes away from his luxurious home to a common neighborhood slum area.
"LLet, two 'l's." Aron whispered as the eye window opened. The man behind it had tiny eyes and wore tiny glasses. He nodded before closing the window and slowly opening the door. As he did, a dull hum of noise poured out the door.

All around, the one story, no-window building was dimly lit. Even the people participating in the debauchery did not want to know all of what went on inside. Aron navigated around easily. He greeted many people, including the bartender, before ordering them two glasses of wine. Cara looked around nervously as she avoided breathing in the cigarette smoke. Some women flounced around them in tiny skirts and had very short hair. Men from every social class seemed to be here. Some wore tattered shoes with stained shirts while others looked like Aron. When she turned towards Aron, she could have sworn she caught a glimpse of a local mayor running for representative. She though it probably was not him, but it was.

"What does the password mean?" Cara asked as she sipped the wine. Aron smirked.

"Long Live Eight-Teen." He began walking towards a small room beside the bar as Cara followed, "If drinking becomes illegal, there will be tons of these all over the place. It'll be great. I won't have to travel such a long time." He pulled out a small silver key and opened the door. About five men around his age sat at a table, money in a pile in the center, cards in hand: a true felony.

"Now it's started!" One of the younger boys said as he put out a cigar and picked up a new one to start. Aron walked in, Cara following. The boys froze as Cara sat down next to Aron.
"What is she doing here?" An older boy with blonde hair asked as he took a short drag from his cigar.
"She will play with us." Aron said shortly, dealing cards in front of him and then to Cara.
"But it's improper for a girl to gamble." The young boy whispered as he stroked his cards. Cara looked at him and downed the wine quickly. A rush of burn ran down her throat, it was delightful.
"I think you'll find I do many things that are improper." She smirked and took the deck of cards, "I'll deal."

The boys drank and laughed with Cara. She and Aron talked much more than they did at the house. He was actually pleasant.
"Fold."
"Fold."
"Fold."
"Fold."
Some of the boys scratched their head or took a drink; all were disappointed with their hand. The hand left only Aron and Cara standing.
"Viv, I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Aron narrowed his eyes at her as she peered at him over her sixth glass of wine.
"Andy, I have a feeling you have said that many times before." Cara said. The table mumbled an agreement as they leaned back to watch the stand-off.

"Nope," Aron said as he put a few bills into the pile, "I always take what I want whenever I can get it. I don't bother asking." Cara smirked and raised. Aron raised. Cara raised. Aron called, "If I win, I'll take you home." He said in a low voice, "you need some rest."
"Of course, regardless." Cara put her cards on the table face-down, "If I win, you tell me something personal." Cara giggled as she watched Aron's cards moved towards the table.
"Of course." Aron said as he set them down then turned them over, "four A's and a Jack." he said proudly. The boy's heads all turned at the same time to see Cara's hand.
"Wow..." she said sadly, "that is a great hand... truly..." she bit her lip and yawned a little, "I guess I will be going home boys." She flipped her cards over slowly revealing a ten, ace, king queen and jack of hearts, "only, I'll be going home the victor!" The boys laughed and cheered loudly. Aron sat at the table dumb-founded as Cara pocketed her winnings. The boys cleared the table quickly and left.

The ride home was full of giggles and whispers. Although, Aron kept his distance. In the back of his mind, he read over the letters he received from Edward over all these years. There were the 'nonsense' letters that his parents may sometimes skim through, however there were much more discreet letters they exchanged hidden in a small pocket of the envelope which contained Edward's ramblings of his love for Cara and Aron's 'laundry list' of conquests. Aron knew that he could never betray Edward in such ways. Normally, a drunken, disorderly and vulnerable girl would be his perfect target. But this was Cara. Edward's Cara. He could not feel anything towards her. The rain drip from the edges of the roof onto the tops of their heads as Aron fiddled with the key at the door.
"It's so pretty outside." Cara said slowly as she stepped away from the canopy of the roof and out to the driveway. She spun a few times giggling as the rain moistened her skin. Aron looked at her and smiled before opening the door.
"Come on. You should sleep."
Cara walked inside with a pouty face and Aron closed the door behind her, making his way up the stairs. When he walked into his room and loosened his tie, he was surprised to hear tiny footsteps walk in. Cara's hair dripped at the ends but her clothes were mainly dry. Aron cleared his throat, thoroughly uncomfortable by the look she was giving him. A look he'd seen on many a woman. She crossed the room and lied on his bed. He sat next to her and began untying his shoes casually.
She moved her shoulders so the sleeves of her dress slid down. She moved towards him and kissed his neck softly as she unbuttoned his shirt. She kissed his jaw line as she slid the shirt over his shoulders and down his arms.
"Do it..." she whispered quietly.
"Do what?" He asked. She pulled away from him and unbuttoned the top of her dress as she looked into his eyes. She let it fall, exposing much of her corset. "Treat me like you treat the others." Aron gulped and looked at her in a daze. Instinctively, everything told him to pounce on her like a hungry lion. But something else told him not to. Some dead seed of morality that magically sprouted the moment he saw her. He focused on her eyes instead of her body. She looked determined... and still quite drunk. She crawled over to Aron and sat in front of him, beginning to undo his belt. He looked at her and for a second, he swore he saw a glimpse of something sad... was it desperation? He wasn't sure. He held her bare shoulders tight, trying not to focus on her soft skin and smooth hair; he looked into her eyes.
"Goodnight, Cara." He stroked her cheek once and got up, collecting his shirt and beginning to rebutton it.
Cara looked up at him with a face that completely broke his heart.
"You... you don't want me...?"
"We're drunk, Cara... we shouldn't do this." Aron admitted as he avoided her face. There was a small pause.
"All those other girls..." Cara mused quietly.
"You're different than them!" Aron pleaded. "It's not that I don't want you!"
"Really? So 'Mr. I take anything I want whenever I can', wants me but can't have me?" Cara bit down hard on her lip and pulled her dress up but didn't button it.
"You don't understand!"
"I did wonder what you say to those girls you do not want... now I know..." Cara hissed and closed her eyes, grasping the pillow.
"Cara..."
"Please, I don't want you here right now... I just want to go to sleep." She looked into his eyes. Both Aron and Cara felt tears forming. "Please leave..." Cara whispered.
"I'm sorry." Aron said before hanging his head like a scolded pup. As he walked through the door, he heard a sniffle behind him.
"Damn..." he said as he walked down the long narrow hallway whisking away a couple tears of his own.