Human nature is at variance with rules. Picnicking was all the rage to Edwardians. The summer months usually found lunch taken out of doors. A picnic called for a fully laid dining table complete with white tablecloths, silver service, and servants. On the front lines, each and every dignified regiment would afford its officers the same commodities.
Aubrey hosted a picnic for her numerous companions. The item must have fallen off at the picnic quite by accident, given its expense. By wicked fortune, one of Pembina’s servants found the piece of jewellery and not the owner. After the picnic, one of Aubrey’s lady’s maids handed her mistress an elegant gold necklace with a locket. Unsure who the necklace belonged to, Aubrey opened the locket to see if a photo was on the inside. To the left was a picture of Edmund. The picture on the right was one of the Lawrence’s very servants, a lady’s maid, Emma. The servant had in fact been at the picnic and had served Edmund and the whole group.
Aubrey turned the locket over and read the outside inscription. The lovely engraved words were, All my love. Carved underneath were the initials E & E. Aubrey burst out in incredulous laughter. This can’t be true! Edmund, in love with a servant?! thought Aubrey in mad glee. But how could this be? Say, if this girl loved Edmund from afar and wanted to pretend a master could ever love her, a servant could never afford such an article. She couldn’t have purchased it herself. The necklace had to have been bought by Edmund. The proof of the pudding, as it was said, was in the eating. Masters did not permit their lowers to have followers. Masters were of the opinion that servants could not discern proper from improper matches. If a female servant was found to have a romantic partner, she could be fired immediately: her leaving with a reference would be based on the judgement of her mistress. A male servant could stay on with his master’s family, provided he let his partner go. Withal, in the eyes of masters, the only acceptable cause for a servant to terminate their employment was marriage — a double standard of morality. Immediately, Aubrey thought to tell Lady Bird, who would be fit to be tied of Edmund’s humiliation if his secret were made known. Aubrey knew Mother Augusta would say that gossip is the most damaging force on earth. The repercussions would be tumultuous for Edmund if another found out, thought Aubrey. A better idea came to mind than to tell Lady Bird. Aubrey would tell Lawrence of his son being in love with a servant.
A boudoir was the embodiment of Edwardian chic. Pembina was not an exception to the rule. A mistress’ bedroom or boudoir usually had an adjoined parlour for guests. The “Handed,” or afternoon tea, was usually between the hours of three to six. Masters took tea outside their residences. Their wives stayed at their manors and entertained guests with tea and dainties, if they were hosting other mistresses. When entertaining mistresses’ husbands, romance and dalliances were quite often the order of the day. An unspoken agreement between spouses of respective lovers was in place in many Edwardian marriages.
As soon as the discreet servant bowed from the room, Lawrence was always shown into the boudoir after being shown into the parlour. Aubrey still did not know who Auré’s official mistress was. She could not bring herself to ask the servants where he went in the afternoons. One never questioned servants about family matters, and lady’s maids, as well as butlers, were expected to keep their master’s secrets. One afternoon at Pembina, while Auré was presumably with his lover, Lawrence’s chief mistress said goodbye to him on the second-floor landing. Lawrence had only just left the manor when the sound of gravel being driven over was heard in the drive. For a moment, Aubrey was perplexed. The sound heard could not be Lawrence because he had already departed. Could he have returned for something? Could it be Auré? But who else could it be at this hour? He must have returned early from wherever he had been! Aubrey thought in despair. In haste, she went to one of the front windows. Whoever the person in question was could not be seen from the balcony. She could not discern who had only come into the manor. With great hurry, she ran to her bedroom. She would make it seem as though she had just awoken from a lie-down, given that only a wrap covered her frame. Before the bed could be reached, the mistress’ bedroom door was thrown open. Pembina’s master stood in the doorway, stationary. The look Aubrey saw she could not quite discern. Had Aubrey ever witnessed a physical confrontation, she would have understood the stunned expression before her. Her husband’s eyes were nearly shut, as if swollen from a fight, though bruises had yet to become apparent. A bit of time proved necessary for discoloration to appear after a man took an open-faced hit.