The Death of Lady Appleby

Disclaimer: I own nothing – Tony and John are the writing gods!

Prime Minister Jim Hacker and his cabinet secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby were just finishing up a long night of work in preparation of a major address to Parliament when Bernard walked into the office, ashen.

"Sir Humphrey, there was a phone call…" Bernard trailed off, not able to continue.

"Well, what was it, Bernard?" Humphrey asked sharply.

Bernard wet his lips, distraught. "There's been an accident, Sir Humphrey."

"An accident? To whom?"

Bernard said quickly, before he completely lost his nerve, "A drunk driver hit Lady Appleby's car." Bernard looked up, a look of pain and desperation on his face, knowing what he was going to have to say next.

Sir Humphrey stood up quickly, completely taken aback. "What!? Is she alright? What hospital is she at?"

Bernard bowed his head, unable to continue.

Sir Humphrey went white. Hacker thought he was going to fall over. Humphrey seemed to recover himself out of sheer force of will and said in a whisper, "There must be some mistake…"

Bernard shook his head. His cheeks were wet as he looked to the Prime Minister for what to do next. Humphrey sat down weakly, as if he couldn't hold himself up any longer.

"Bernard, did they say where she was being…held?" Jim asked as he hurriedly got Humphrey a glass of brandy.

"Yes, Prime Minister. At the hospital off Cotton."

"Then we'll take the limo, at once. Call for it, will you, Bernard? And call Annie, please."

Humphrey didn't even seem to be in the same room as Jim handed him the glass. He stared down at it, and slung back the entire glass in one gulp.

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Two days later, the Prime Minister's limo pulled up to the Appleby residence. Jim and Annie stood together as Jim rang the bell. A servant answered.

"Oh, Prime Minister! Thank you for coming! Please come in."

"Is Sir Humphrey here?" Jim asked.

The butler's voice broke with sadness. "Yes, Prime Minister. He's in the study."

The butler led them through the drawing room door. A man was seated in a chair by a dwindled fire, back turned to the door. The butler said softly, "Sir Humphrey, the Prime Minister and his wife are here to see you."

The man turned in the chair. It was Humphrey, but Jim had never seen him look like this. It was a portrait of a broken man. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair deshelved, no tie. It was obvious that he hadn't slept. The Hackers had been the Appleby residence before, of course, but this was a side of Humphrey Jim had never seen before. He didn't know what to do.

Annie did, though. She walked right up to Sir Humphrey and hugged him. Humphrey broke down completely, and cried on Annie's shoulder.

"I'm very sorry," Humphrey said after a few minutes, ineffectually dabbing his eyes with his handkerchief. "I don't know what came –"

"No need whatsoever to apologize, Humphrey." Jim broke into the awkward moment. "We are very, very sorry."

Humphrey's voice crackled with emotion. "Thank you, thank you, Prime Minister, dear lady. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I would never have been able to devote myself to the service without her. She made my life possible. She understood me. How am I to get on?"

He looked around, visibly trying to compose himself. "Rupert, would you please get the Prime Minister and his wife a drink?"

"Are you alone?" Annie asked as they sat down. "Do you have any family that can come?"

Sir Humphrey's voice was barely above a whisper. "No, no, I'm afraid not. I had one brother, who died at Normandy. And Mary was an only child."

"Well, you can take as much time as you need, Humphrey." Jim said.

"And I'll stay, if you like, to help with the arrangements," Annie offered.

Humphrey looked at Annie with relief and gratitude, in less than his usual smirking way.

"Thank you, my dear, I would be very grateful. I'm sure there will be many phone calls. Mary was involved in many charities. It was such a group that she was driving home from -." He put his hand to his mouth and bowed his head, overcome. How could he go on?

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The funeral was beautiful. The Prime Minister gave the eulogy himself. He spoke of Lady Appleby's charity work, her grace, and her love for her husband. Jim may have had his run-ins with Humphrey, but he had seen Humphrey and Mary together often enough to know that Humphrey, for all of his stubborn refusal of change, knew how to treat a lady. Even a somewhat stiff lady like Lady Mary Appleby.

But though lots of people came, very few lingered after the service was over, and even fewer continued to the Appleby residence. Sir Arnold, the former cabinet secretary, told Jim not to be concerned; Humphrey was a man with few friends, but loyal ones. They would take care of him.

Annie handed a piece of paper to the butler, Rupert. "Now, this is the direct line to the residence. Please call if we can be of any help."

The butler took the paper with dignity. "Thank you, Madam; I'm sure Sir Humphrey would be grateful."