Disclaimer: Downton Abbey and its characters belong to Julian Fellowes.

'Did you enjoy your walk?' Mrs Hughes asked as they entered the servants hall with wide smiles and red cheeks.

'It was a lovely walk, Mrs Hughes. We went down to the lake.' Anna huffed trying to catch her breath as John rested his cane on a chair and sat.

'Oh yes, the fish were jumping today,'' he remarked with a certain machismo pride.

'Here we go again!' Anna rolled her eyes, laughing. 'Mr Bates had quite an adventure.'

'Do tell!' Miss Baxter begged.

'Don't you tell us that Mr Bates caught a fish with his hands?' Thomas sneered lighting up the cigarette between his lips.

'Well…go on.' Anna sat down next to John and tapped his arm softly to persuade him to continue.

'Alright,' John began. 'Mr Lee, you all know who Mr Lee is, right? We came upon him and he had only one tiny fish in his bucket, a shame to be honest. It wasn't bigger than my finger.' He brought his hand up showing everyone his index finger to make a point while Anna couldn't help but laugh at the earlier memory. 'And I asked him,' John continued 'how long had he been trying…he said since after lunch, and I jokingly told him that hope never dies, you know, and looked over at the bucket. Then he says…' John laughed before continuing. 'He said that he had bought that one in case he had to go home empty handed.'

Anna explained, 'Apparently Mrs Lee hates when he goes fishing and tells him he better come home with something, so every time he goes he buys a fish at the market to take home, in case he doesn't catch any.'

'But it happened that today that tiny one was the only fish left in the market.' John grinned shaking his head at the tale. 'And while we were talking I saw a big one near his rod and I told him to give his pole a little jig and it worked!'

'But when he tried to pull it out it was so heavy,' Anna brought a hand to her chest. 'that he couldn't do it, so Jo…Mr Bates helped.'

'And I caught it with my own hands! It was jumping and flipping his tail like mad and for a moment I thought I had lost it, but in the end Mr Lee had the biggest fish he'd ever seen in his bucket and a huge smile of his face.'

'He won't be sleeping on the floor tonight,' Anna added with a giggle.

Thomas rolled his eyes. 'It was just dumb luck. Bet you can't even hold a fishing rod properly.'

'One day, Mr Barrow, I will teach you how to fish and then you will apologize for that.'

'As if! I used to fish with my older brother all the time when I was a boy. Must have caught my first one when I was six or seven.'

'My father was a fisherman…come to that.' John cocked his brow at Thomas. 'I was born with the skill.'

'If your fishing skill is as good as your walking skill the only thing you can catch is a water snail.'

The men eyed each other for a moment. Anna and everyone else felt the tension between the two of them.

'Alright then,' Anna broke the silence, 'I'll wager twelve pence my husband can catch more fish than you, Mr Barrow.'

'I bet fifteen Mr Barrow wins!' Louis, the footman added to the stakes, visions of their earlier boxing match dancing in his head.

'Next Sunday afternoon they will all go for tea at the Dower House, what about then?' Mr Molesley asked excitedly, 'I think it's perfect!'

'It's settled then. Next Sunday, Mr Barrow, you will swallow your pride.' Anna concluded before standing from her chair and leaving the hall.

'Anna!' John came after her, catching her at the bottom of the stairs and tilting his head letting her know he wanted to talk in private. They walked to a dark corner of the corridor and he looked both ways before speaking. 'Why did you do that? You're always going on about people who bet for money.'

'Well,' she composed his tie and picked some lint off his jacket, 'no one makes fun of my husband and gets away with it. And now you have to win, because I did not marry a loser.' Anna winked before kissing his lips quickly, leaving John half surprised and half excited. 'My naughty girl.'

He hoped he would not fail her. No, he knew he wouldn't. He would win this contest for Anna, even if he had to catch the fish with his own bare hands. It wouldn't be the first time after all.