A/N A little one shot I wrote in between chapters. Hope you enjoy it.

DARKNESS

The door to his pantry was ajar. No lamp or fire was lit inside but through the small opening she could see him sitting at his desk under cover of darkness. There was just enough light coming from the hallway that she could make out his large frame against the walls of his room. The white shirt of his evening livery stood out against the blacks and greys concealing him. He must have come downstairs at the time when everyone else had decided that it was time to go to sleep after a long and exhausting day. She had stayed behind, waited for him, wondered what took him so long. The clock had struck midnight, one o'clock, and finally half past one when she eventually closed her book and turned out the light.

He had probably sat in his room, unnoticed by her, for quite some time. In the quietness of the night she heard him heave a sigh and it sent a shiver down her spine. They had not talked about it since the decision had been made. The subject was avoided. She would not bring it up for fear of hurting him even more and he simply ignored it in a vain hope that the problem would solve itself if no one talked about it. Of course their behaviour was silly.

Her hand touched the doorknob, ready to open the door and enter his room. Someone had to break the silence, make a start and put an end to the dispute they had fought out with looks and gestures only. On the other side of the door a chair scraped over the floor. He had stood up, was leaning on his desk, his head bowed. His face was not visible but she knew what it probably showed would she look at it: sadness and hurt. She let go of the door, took a step back and listened to the sounds. His footsteps resounded in the empty room as he made his way over to the second door. It opened inwards, he stepped out into the hallway and had his back turned towards her.

"You are still awake." Although she kept her voice low, the sound of it was as loud as if she had yelled at him. He did not react. "I thought you had gone to bed with the others."

His body started to shake and his left hand went up to cover his mouth. She could hear the muffled sobbing nevertheless and it broke her heart. With hesitant steps she approached him. Her hand reached out to touch his shoulder, squeezed it gently, before she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his back.

"Why?" The deep voice was hardly audible.

"She wants to start a new life." She replied matter-of-factly although she knew that this was not the answer he had wanted to hear from her.

"Her life is here. At Downton." One of his hands enclosed hers, and his thumb gently caressed the skin. "She gets every support she needs."

"That is not obviously not enough to make her stay." She loosened her embrace and stepped around him, wanted to look into his face. "But she will return one day."

Tears had left their marks on his cheeks and the wet tracks shimmered in the dim light of the hallway. The sad expression in his eyes was overwhelming and she had to fight hard to swallow her own tears. "Mr Blake is a good man. He will take care of her."

He looked down into her face and she could see in his eyes that her words had not taken away the pain. "You will never leave me?"

Her thumb brushed away some of the fresh tears that kept falling down his cheeks. "Never." She had to stand on tiptoes, as always, to gently kiss his lips. "I will stay with you forever."

The kiss was returned before his arms encircled her, pulled her close into a warm embrace. "Perhaps we can visit them one day."

"One day we will." A few tears escaped from her eyes and soaked his livery. "I promise you that."

The darkness around them was like a thick blanket, covering them, providing a shelter from the next day. Suitcases were already packed, a passage booked on one of the large and luxurious ocean liners that crossed the Atlantic and arrived in New York City in less than a week. Lady Mary would leave Downton Abbey in the early hours of the coming morning together with her fiancé Mr Charles Blake.

"We should go and get some sleep now." She spoke into his chest, muffled her words. He understood her anyway. His arms let go of her body but one hand reached out to take her hand, holding on to it all the way upstairs to their bedroom. She would hold him tonight, ease his pain the best she could. He had always taken care of Lady Mary now it was time that someone took care of him.