CHAPTER 1: ALFRED
It wasn't as if Alfred had anything against Thomas.
But his aunt O'Brien had urged him, "you must do what you know to be right".
Alfred found the whole matter distasteful, but he had no wish to escalate things- he really would rather have put it in the back of his mind and forgotten about it. Just go on as if nothing had changed. Keep his head down, keep working, and prove himself.
So when his aunt O'Brien realized that he didn't seem to be keen on pushing the matter, she pressed on:
"You witnessed it, Alfred. You're the one who saw it with your own eyes."
He nodded, looking down, but a mere nod wasn't enough for his aunt.
"You must be the one to put a stop to debauchery. You'll never be able to live with yourself if you turn a blind eye to it."
And after he thought about it, and turned it over and over in his mind, he realized that she was right.
How could he sleep at night knowing that he might be next…or that anyone might be next?
And what of new employees…what of the hall boys?
It was the young hall boys that sealed the deal.
O'Brien had gone on and on and on and on and on about the hall boys.
How innocent they were.
How they were to be protected.
How they knew nothing of the sickening world Barrow was just waiting with anticipation to introduce them to.
Alfred had been told that men like Thomas preyed on boys and tried to turn them to wicked ways.
Alfred had never actually heard of a true instance where this had happened, but, it was one of those stories people told and believed, even if they'd never had proof.
And what if it was true? Didn't he have a duty to come forward and bear witness to what he had seen? What if it hadn't been Jimmy's room Thomas had chosen, what if instead he had gotten to one of the hallboys-
Alfred wasn't angry at Thomas. He wasn't spiteful. But he had seen what he had seen, and he knew it wasn't right. And now he felt duty-bound to come forward.
And if Thomas Barrow ended up in prison, well, Alfred hated to be a part of that. But, if Barrow in prison meant a safer house for the men and boys at Downton, then it had to be worth it, right?
Whatever battle raged in his mind- whether he should come forward or let things lie- O'Brien had settled the matter with one sentence:
Think of the children...aren't we duty-bound to protect them?
And so Alfred summoned the police.
