Tess met Edna the next morning, careful to absorb everything Edna did as this was her last full day with her.
As they walked to Mr. Solomons, Tess asked, "is it normal for you to be dismissed for the evening as early as yesterday?"
"Yes," Edna said before a brief pause. "Mr. Solomons entertains most evenings."
"Wouldn't he need us- um… me to help with that?"
Edna looked at Tess for a moment, contemplating, before she said, "he doesn't entertain in the traditional sense."
Tess racked her brain trying to understand another form of the word "entertain" than what she was used to. Coming up short she let it go and asked, "who takes care of things on the weekend? You said yesterday I would have those to myself…"
"He is more than capable of taking care of himself." Edna said.
"Does he entertain on the weekends as well?"
"Yes, I believe he does."
"Does he have a cook come in when he entertains? Or servers-"
"Tess." Edna cut her off as she stopped almost mid-stride and looked at her. "I understand you are young and this is your first time as a maid, for those reasons alone I would not have picked you as my replacement had Ellin not begged me to do so." Edna paused and gave Tess a rare, gentle smile. "She's quite fond of you."
"I miss her. And home." Tess admitted.
"I don't know what happened that brought you here, and I don't need to know, but I am going to give you some very important advice when it comes to the work of a maid."
Tess nodded, her attention tuned in closely.
"Do not ask too many questions and do not repeat anything you hear or see. Most importantly, do not give Mr. Solomons a reason to doubt your loyalty."
—-
Tess lay in bed that evening, her stomach in knots at the thought of being without Edna the next morning. She thought about Mrs. Schwartz words "it's time to grow up, Miss Tess" and closed her eyes for a moment. She'd been on her own for two days and could already see how naive and immature she had been in her thinking. Looking back, she could see instances since living with her uncle that Phillip made comments or acted in a way that showed his true feelings toward her.
Tess rolled onto her side, the hard, lumpy mattress causing the old wooden bed to creak. She missed her old mattress, her own bed, and the comfort of thinking everything was going to be alright. She didn't have any of that now. If she didn't do well, Mr. Solomons could put her out and then where would she go? Finally she closed her eyes and fell into an anxious, fitful sleep.