Alfie awoke the next day to silence. Lying in bed a moment longer, he listened for any screams, squeals, or the sound of banging pots and pans. Nothing. Deciding he would ready himself for the day before seeing if Tess had even shown up that morning, he proceeded to the shower.
After pulling on his trousers and shirt, he walked into the dining room eager to see if Tess had been as desperate for work as she had insisted the day before.
Upon walking into the dining room, Alfie froze. His plate sat in its normal spot with scrambled eggs mixed with what looked like fish.
"Good morning, Sir." Tess said from the kitchen doorway. "I apologize. I know it's not what you normally eat, but it is edible." She gave a small, worried smile. "Scrambled eggs and salmon."
Alfie grunted in response before he sat and took a bite. Tess waited anxiously for any sign of his verdict of her cooking. After a moment Alfie asked, "Don't you have things to do or are you going to watch me eat all morning?"
Tess gave a small sigh of relief. He didn't get up and storm out this time, nor did he tell her to get out. She would take that as progress. Leaving him to his breakfast she returned to the kitchen to clean her mess. Mrs. Schwartz had given her specific instructions to make his breakfast and it had worked just as she had said it would. Tess was proud of herself. She could learn something. She had hope.
When Alfie had finished eating, he came into the kitchen and began counting out money. Slapping it on the counter, he looked at her.
"Your pay for the week." He said, "Edna told you that you are not expected to prepare dinner and are free to leave after you finish your duties for the day every Friday?"
"Yes." Tess confirmed.
"Good. Monday morning. Don't be late." He said before he turned and left, not missing the way Tess's face lit up at the realization that she still had her job on Monday.
Tess picked up the money he had placed on the counter and stared at it for a moment. She had gotten paid. She worked for the first time in her entire life and earned her own money. Not only that, but she was going to get the opportunity to do it again next week. Tess had learned the piano, taken painting lessons, and spoke fluent French. None of the success she had experienced in those acts had given her a pride like she felt holding her own money.
She had sat in her room alone in the evenings this past week feeling lost and scared, afraid of her new circumstances and the unfamiliarity of this world she had found herself in. Mr. Solomons was rough and frightening, but he was letting her return on Monday. A small twinge of doubt echoed in the back of her mind, but Tess pushed it away. He may be looking for her replacement, but she refused to focus on that, and so Tess finished her work and left Mr. Solomons' home by two in the afternoon. She knew she needed to purchase food for the weekend, acknowledging how lucky she was that Mr. Solomons allowed her to eat his food while working, though she had been living off bread and jam, too busy to eat anything of substance or that required true preparation. Not that she would have known how to prepare anything for herself since she didn't know how to cook enough to save her position in the household had it not been for Mrs. Schwartz.
After buying eggs and bread, Tess strolled the streets of Camden Town. Stopping in front of a bookstore, she gazed in. Tess had no friends and nothing to do over the weekend. She knew she needed to save as much money as she could in the event that Mr. Solomons did replace her, but she wanted to do something special to celebrate earning her first week's wages.
The bell over the door jingled delicately as she pushed open the door and walked into the bookshoppe. Not long after entering, a woman seemingly in her fifties came around a stack.
"Hello." The woman greeted in a Scottish accent.
Tess replied with a kind smile.
"Are you looking for something in particular?" the woman asked.
"Um... Perhaps a romance? Or possibly adventure?" Tess suggested, her exhaustion from the week suddenly catching up with her and pushing her to allow the woman to select a book for her.
The woman moved around the shoppe with Tess following.
"You come to Camden often?" The woman asked.
"I live here now." Tess answered absent mindedly.
"Oh?"
"Yeah." Tess's voice held a hint of sadness, causing the woman to stop and look at her. She could see the fatigue around Tess's eyes and the way her lips turned down on the edges.
"A romance or adventure?" The woman pondered aloud before she looked at Tess suspiciously. "Are you married?"
"No." Tess answered, thinking it an odd question for the conversation.
"So rather than paint the town in search of a suiter, you are going to stay in with a book?"
"Yes." Tess was feeling slightly annoyed.
The woman suddenly smiled at her, "I have the perfect book for you."
She led Tess to the front of the shoppe and pointed to the counter, signaling Tess to wait before the women stepped behind a door. When she emerged, she wrapped the book and told Tess the price.
"Um, what is it?" Tess asked.
"Maudie. Have you read it?"
"No, what is it about?"
"It's got romance and… a group of adventurous people." The woman seemed to be choosing her words carefully. "Trust me, you will like the book. It will keep you warm at night." She added with a wink and a smile, though Tess did not smile in return.
Tess left the bookshoppe feeling slightly vexed. When she arrived at the boarding house, she unloaded her groceries and took a hot bath. Afterwards she closed her bedroom door and crawled onto her bed. It was very early in the evening, but the week had been a whirlwind of emotions and new experiences, and Tess just wanted peace.
She unpacked her book and flipped to the first page to begin reading.
An awakening in a whore's bedroom is, as a rule, cheerless.
Tess paused. That was not the average first sentence in the books she read. Deciding to continue, she hesitantly went on.
..yet with two women by you, you couldn't summon a flicker of a stand…. Her little hand slipped over his stomach, undid the knock of his pyjama trousers, and played delicately with a very limp and lethargic phallus.
Tess slammed the book closed. She had read more than enough! How dare that woman convince her to buy such a vulgar book! Tess then began to berate herself. If she had saved her money like she ought to, she wouldn't have wasted it on a tasteless book. Laying back in bed, Tess closed her eyes and fell asleep before the sun had set.