RARE OPPORTUNITY
After yesterday's fight, the Carsons went to bed early. As they often did, now that they were a married couple, they soothed their heated emotions by engaging in an intimate evening of passion, and then held each other closely while falling asleep.
As a result of that, Mr Carson woke up particularly chirpy.
"Elsie?" He addressed her and cleared his throat. She was getting her hair ready, while he was still under the sheets.
"Yes?" She looked at his reflection in the mirror in front of her.
"I gave some more thought to Mrs Patmore's idea."
Elsie raised her eyebrows, maybe too excitedly.
"Since her ladyship is ok with you both taking the time off… I have also decided I will make myself available…"
She turned to him now with her mouth open. She was about to speak up when he interrupted.
"On one condition, however." He sounded so very important.
"And what's that?"
"We will visit the Morrab Library in Cornwall."
"I'm sure nobody would be opposed to that." She smiled.
"There is a book there that might be useful for the memoirs, so I won't feel like I'm completely wasting my time…"
"Oh, that's good to hear that spending time with your wife and friends won't be a complete waste of your time." She mocked him.
"You know I didn't mean it like that." The right corner of his mouth quirked up. "Moreover, it will give Mrs Kent some time to train Josh on the typewriter."
Elsie turned to look directly at him again with a questioning look.
"She wants me to try to work with her nephew, so that he can get some experience before applying for a job at the solicitor's office." He explained.
"I see." So much good news at once. Elsie was trying hard to hide the smile that was growing on her lips. She concluded her routine by gleefully applying a tiny bit of lipstick before she proceeded downstairs to make their breakfast.
…
Mrs Hughes couldn't wait to relay the news to Mrs Patmore. She finally found a good moment when they sat down for their usual daily 'cup of tea'.
"Mr Carson agreed to go on the trip!" She blurted out in excitement, but her facial expression changed into a frown after she saw Mrs Patmore's unamused reaction. "I thought you'd be more exited. Has something happened?"
"Well, I spoke to her ladyship last night and she said their plans have changed."
"Oh."
"She said she was going to speak to you this morning, but I guess she hasn't had time yet. They want to leave for London tomorrow."
"Oh." Mrs Hughes' second oh sounded even more pitiful.
"I told her, it's probably not going to work for us, since Mr Carson wasn't on board yesterday. She was very apologetic about it. She offered to help us book rooms... She said that if she makes the telephone calls, they will more likely have free beds."
Mrs Hughes looked in the distance for a couple of moments, thinking. "Perhaps we can still make it work, I'll speak to her." She said and got up. She was now determined to make it happen, after all, such an opportunity doesn't present itself every day. And now that her husband was in, they couldn't just give up.
…
Mrs Hughes was able to leave earlier that day, to start packing. She sorted everything out with her ladyship, booked the rooms, planned the journey, and bought the tickets. Their train was leaving the next morning – at ten o'clock.
She arrived just in time to meet Mr Carson and Mrs Kent at the doorstep.
"I'm just off to the post office, I won't be long," said Mr Carson to answer his wife's confused look as to why he was dressed for outside.
After that, they all went in separate directions. When Mrs Hughes closed the door behind herself, she quickly changed, and began looking for their suitcases. She started up the stairs, but a sudden loud knock caused her to whip round halfway up.
When she opened the main door, she was surprised to see Mrs Kent behind it. "Have you forgotten something?"
"No…" It was a very long northern no. "I just wondered if I could talk to you."
Mrs Carson opened the door slightly wider to let her in.
"I made us some crackers," The assistant took out a little paper bag and put it on the kitchen table.
"That's kind." Elsie said plainly. "Will you stay long in enough for a cup of tea?" She had no intention of making one, it was just a polite way of asking how long she will be.
"Oh, yes please." Mrs Kent ruined the housekeeper's plans.
When Mrs Carson brought the tea, she sat down opposite to her.
"Mr Carson told me about your sister."
Elsie just looked at her coyly.
"I hope it doesn't make you uncomfortable. It's just that since my husband passed, I've not really had anyone to talk to, who could relate."
Mrs Carson still remained quiet.
"My sister knows what I'm going through, but she will never fully understand."
She now looked down to her knees and stirred her tea. It didn't seem like she was fully listening.
"When you lived with her, did you ever feel like you can't stop thinking about her for just one second even when you really want to? Everything that you do, you need to keep her in mind? You can never let go and be yourself?"
This finally caught Elsie's attention. She was quite overwhelmed by Mrs Kent's words, they truly resonated with her. And that opened up the long conversation…
…
When Mr Carson returned, he found the two women giggling and drinking his wine in the living room. He took off his hat quietly and inconspicuously listened to the amusing childhood family story his wife was telling his assistant.
"Good evening." He finally announced his presence.
"Charlie!" Mrs Carson stood up in surprise.
They all just awkwardly looked at each other for a moment or two.
"Is that the time?" Mrs Kent looked at the clock, drained the rest of her wine, and got up to leave.
"Thank you for coming." Elsie's gratitude and smile were genuine.
At that Mrs Kent returned the housekeeper's smile and squeezed her forearm, before proceeding towards the exit.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Mr Carson bit his farewell.
"Oh, you won't, Mr Carson, actually. Mrs Carson has got other plans for you."
"What?!" His shock and fury were directed towards his wife, as Mrs Kent was already outside, on her merry way.
"Sit down." She handed him a fresh glass of wine and directed him towards the kitchen table. "Let's eat and I'll tell you what's going on."
During dinner, Elsie explained everything to her husband. At first, he was outraged, but then he slowly began to understand that there is not much he can do – it was a done deal. He held off from any further protests; resignedly followed his wife's lead, and joined packing.
"So her ladyship arranged the rooms for us?" He wanted her to clarify again as he was picking out his best shirts.
"She did, she said they sounded a bit starstruck on the phone, but she's assured me they followed her demands."
"And you worked out everything else?"
"I did." She confirmed. "There is still a lot we need to plan when we get there, like the programme for each day. But we can decide that with the Masons. We will be on the train to Brighton for four hours, so perhaps we can plan then"
"Very well then." The train ride did not sound too exiting to him.
"Oh, and-" she suddenly remembered. "I arranged a tour in the Morrab library for us."
"That's very appreciated, thank you."
Neither of them was surprised she managed to make all these arrangements last minute. That was her job, that's what she did. In the past, she had delivered bigger events on tighter deadlines.
"Do you think it will be too hot for this dress?" She asked him as she took out one of the few dresses she had from her wardrobe.
"Better to take something warmer with you, just in case. August in England is often unpredictable."
"You are right." She nodded and started folding the dress.
He watched her for a second before he spoke again. "Are you erm-" His face turned a bright shade of red. "Are you taking your special nightgown and things?"
"Oh." She bit her lip and suddenly became as flustered as he was. "I can, if you'd like me to."
He inhaled sharply and as he was gripping a pair of socks in his hand. "I would." His voice very low and husky. "Very much."
