SOME MORE CONVINCING

The next early morning Mr Carson woke up with his wife resting her head on his shoulder. After their passionate tryst the night before, they finally decided to push the single beds together and cuddled each other to sleep.

She started slowly opening her eyes when he gently kissed her forehead.

"Good morning, Elsie." She felt his deep voice vibrate through both of their bodies.

"Morning, Charlie." Mrs Hughes whispered and started stroking his chest, which caused him to purr like a cat, and breathe faster.

"Finally, off to Cornwall today." He stated.

"Hmm." She just hummed; she was simply enjoying being in his arms. He started stroking her forearm and kissed her temple again gently. She felt such contentment and warmth in her chest.

Mr Carson was also very comfortable, at peace. He didn't want to interrupt the peaceful silence, but a question arose in his mind that he knew he would forget if he didn't ask then. "Are we staying at Mr Mason's cousin when we're there?"

"We are, yes." Elsie smiled at him. When she looked up, their eyes locked. He was studying her face for a second or two and then leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers.

After a couple of moments of smooching, they broke apart, breathless.

"Am I forgiven then, Mr Carson?" Elsie whispered softly, her eyes dark with affection.

Charles smiled to himself. He then started tracing paths and drawing circles with his finger on the bare skin of her collarbones and on her bosoms, teasing her, causing her chest to rise higher as she was breathing deeper. "I am not sure, Mrs Carson, you might just have some more convincing to do." He joked and kissed her bare shoulder.

"Well," Elsie bit her lip nervously. "I might just be in luck, Mr Carson, because I quite enjoy convincing you." Her cheeks turned red instantly.

"That's nice to hear," Charles exclaimed and put his hand under her nightgown, exploring, while she started kissing him again, his touch causing her to moan quietly into his mouth.

Soon enough they were engaging in risqué activities that were unknown to them for most of their lives, that for a long while only existed in their wildest dreams, and that they now enjoyed so very much and so very often.

…

When the Carsons turned up for breakfast, the Masons were already sitting at their table, tucking into their meals.

When they saw them approaching, both Beryl and Albert dropped their cutlery and their jaws. They were waiting with bated breath to find out if the couple had reconciled or not.

"Good morning." Mr Carson sat down, to the Masons' he seemed rather jolly, which was a good sign.

As Mrs Hughes expected, an awkward silence followed. She knew she needed to break the ice somehow because her friends would remain speechless forever otherwise. "Mr Carson was telling me this morning about how much he is looking forward to seeing Cornwall." She hinted the outcome of their quarrel, pouring him and herself some coffee. "We ought to pack up after breakfast and speak to Mr Bennet about dropping us of at the station."

"He said he would, but I might talk to him again after breakfast to confirm." Mr Mason picked up on the situation.

"They were really nice hosts, I thought." Mrs Patmore joined.

"They were indeed." Mr Carson agreed.

"Mr Bennet was kind enough to take us for a bit of an excursion yesterday, which I thought was very lovely." Mrs Patmore said and the Carsons just smiled awkwardly, knowing they both missed it. "We got to see quite a lot of Dorset. Did you get to see much yesterday, Mr Carson, you were gone longer than we were."

Mr Carson coughed after a piece of bacon got stuck in his throat for a second. "I managed to explore quite a lot, yes." He mumbled.

"You disappeared for the whole day, where have you been?" Mrs Patmore was still upset about the distress the butler managed to cause her friend/his own wife.

Mr Carson gave her an icy look and then inhaled sharply. "I just went for a walk," he tried to compose himself. "I don't understand what the fuss was about." He felt his wife's hand on his forearm, she was also trying to keep him in check.

"All right," Mrs Patmore noticed their exchange. "Never mind."

"We will make sure we all attend all the events we've got planned from now on." Mrs Hughes tried to offer some peace and the two combatants smiled at her in appreciation.

After they finished breakfast and headed up the stairs back to their rooms, Mrs Hughes quickly stopped Mrs Patmore to ask her a quick question. "Mrs Patmore? Do you happen to have brought any dark blue thread with you by any chance?"

"I don't think so, but I'll have a look, Mrs Hughes, and let you know." The cook confirmed and went on her merry way.

…

Once she found what her friend was looking for, Mrs Patmore knocked on the door of the Carsons room loudly. She still couldn't forget and get over the last time they knocked on their door, interrupting them.

"Come in!" She heard the housekeeper's instruction.

The cook opened the door swiftly with her eyes closed at first, as if she was ripping a bandage off, only to find out the Carsons were perfectly decent and in the midst of packing. "I found this thread for you. I asked Mrs Bennet; I couldn't find any in my luggage."

"Oh, why didn't I think of that." Mrs Hughes slapped her forehead. "Thank you, Mrs Patmore." She took the thread from her.

"I'll go and check what the situation is with the car." Mr Carson informed the ladies and left the room to arrange the lift to the train station for them. Even though Mr Mason said he would do it, Charles wanted to be there to keep an eye on things.

Mrs Hughes nodded at him with a smile and grabbed her new blue dress, while Mrs Patmore sat down on one of the armchairs opposite her.

"So, you two have-" Mrs Patmore inquired.

"We have." Elsie confirmed and continued. "After he stopped screaming at me and accusing me of being a loose woman," she rolled her eyes, "he finally stopped to listen, and I think he got the drift."

"Oh, dear," Mrs Patmore sympathised, only assuming what her friend had to go through with that old curmudgeon. "Well, I am very glad you are ok now."

"You're telling me," Elsie bit her lip.

"What is with your new dress?" Mrs Patmore noticed her friend was mending the brand-new dress.

"Oh." Elsie suddenly got flustered. "Just sewing a few buttons back." She explained, recollecting last night's events.

"What happen to it?" Beryl was genuinely surprised and intrigued.

"Oh, nothing." Elsie's cheeks reddened. "I was wondering if we should leave a bit earlier, just in case, to make sure we have enough time to catch the train." She tried to change the subject.

"I don't mind if we do, I'm ready now if need be." Mrs Patmore smiled. "Did he tell you where he went yesterday, by the way?"

"He said he just walked. Apparently, all the way to Acton and then he took the bus back." The housekeeper conveyed seriously.

"I see." Beryl shook her head and got up to leave her friend to it. "I better go back then."

Elsie just nodded.

Mrs Patmore stopped in the door for a second before leaving. "Maybe we should send a letter to Miss Maureen* tell her about the quality of the dress. Hopefully the rest of the clothes we bought from her will be more durable."

"I am sure they will be," Elsie nodded towards her friend and then exhaled in relief once she finally closed the door.

*Miss Maureen – the shopkeeper from Brighton they bought the swimsuits and other clothes from.