Mrs. Patmore sighed in desperation, the kitchen was covered head to toe in flour and the girls had only been there ten minutes tops. She really couldn't understand how three tiny beings could make such a big mess, but then again she had never had much involvement with children.

"MARYYY! Give that back!"

"Come and get it, and stop crying you baby"

"I'm not crying, stupid"

Mrs. Patmore could barely conceal her smile as she watched Mary launch herself at Edith, pulling at her pigtails. Edith's cries of despair filled the air and Mrs. Patmore had to leave before she pulled her own hair out, might as well allow the children to destroy as much as they could (including each other) and hope that they get bored in the process.

Sybil watched as Mrs. Patmore left than grabbed the cookie jar off the bench and grabbed the biggest one she could find.

"Mary, I'm bored and I think you should stop pulling Edith's hair'
Mary was to busy to reply so just grunted.

"Seriously Mary I am bored, I think we should go back upstairs, and then you could read me a story and play in the nursery, and then we can have heaps of fun and it will be so good, and we can read lots of stories and eat lots of cookies, ok"

Mary finally decided that Edith wasn't worth the time anymore and stood up sweeping the dust of her petticoats.

"Alright Sybil darling, what story shall we read?'

"The wonderful wizard of oz?"

"Again, oh if we must"

Sybil ran off dragging Mary up the stairs and Mrs. Patmore came in once more as Edith stood up, wiping the dirt from her face and tightening her pigtails. She looked at Mrs. Patmore scowling and trudged up the stairs following her sisters/

With a sigh of relief Mrs. Patmore sat down, wiping her hands. Those girls definitely were a handful but they certainly made life in Downton more exciting, and at least she wasn't the one who had to deal with the tempers and dirty clothes when Mary and Edith decided to go at it.