The idea for this one shot was formed months ago, but I have only today got round to writing it. The intention was to finalise the next parts of longer stories on the go, but this just wouldn't go away. A little AU on the dates of some of the games involved but that is all in the A/N at the end.

Enjoy!

GAMES NIGHT

"Would it be possible," asked Miss Baxter over lunch, "to have a games night? I'm not suggesting gambling" she raised an eyebrow at Andy who flushed; memories of Miss Denker in London still raw, "just some board games and the like. I mentioned it to her ladyship earlier and she said we are welcome to borrow from the playroom."

"Oh I think we can all find better things to do can't we?" drawled Thomas. "Aren't we a bit old to be playing snakes and ladders?"

"Lets!" Anna enthused, grinning at Mr Bates, her childlike enthusiasm for simple fun after the ordeal of the last few months was contagious. "We could have Monopoly. It's ages since we did anything like that!"

"Oh I don't know," Thomas rustled the newspaper disdainfully "you and Mr Bates have been sent to jail a few times without passing go or collecting £200…."

"Mr Barrow that is enough!" Mrs Hughes intervened "I think it's a lovely idea Miss Baxter, the family are away this evening so I see no reason why we mice shouldn't play a little."

By seven the table in the servants hall was clear and Andy and Thomas had been despatched to the nursery to see what they could borrow. Their haul was impressive and they returned laden with an array of boxes, some old, some newer.

As the maids and footmen examined boxes and sorted themselves into groups, the grooms and stable lads commandeered one end of the table for Escalado. Laughing and jostling they stretched the track and clamped it either side of the table, squabbling good naturedly over who would have which horse.*.Mr Carson stood stiffly, hands folded behind his back and sighed. Mrs Hughes smiled; this again, the insufferable dignity, the inability to relax.

"Oh come on, live a little – it's only a couple of hours of harmless fun and how often to any of us have chance to play? Surely there is something here that you fancy playing? Something that will draw out your competitive side? Unless of course you are afraid of losing…?"

"I was merely considering my options. I think, as he too is reluctant to join in, that I shall challenge Mr Barrow to a game of chess." He winked, so subtly that she almost missed it. "His humble demeanour and competitive edge will make him the perfect opponent, don't you think Mrs Hughes?"

"A brave move, Mr Carson" smarmed the under butler, accepting the challenge, "but remember: Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game." *

Mrs Patmore had retreated to the smaller, round table at the end of the hall, where she produced a pile of paper and announced that she was having a Beetle Drive. "I think I'll join you. I think this was an excellent idea of yours Miss Baxter" declared Elsie Hughes, taking a glance round the room to ensure that everyone was behaving, and surreptitiously checking that Mr Carson and Thomas were playing nicely. From the butler's furrowed brow and the worried expression on Thomas face, she gathered that the game was challenging both of them.

Daisy and Mr Molesley had commandeered the Scrabble board and an intellectual quiet hovered around them as they concentrated; a gentle competitiveness, a genuine love of words and learning making this the perfect choice for them.

The Bates', in spite of, maybe in defiance of, Mr Barrow's taunts led a game of Monopoly at the far end of the table.

Packed away and the rest of the staff despatched to bed after the family's return, Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson straightened the last of the chairs in the servants hall, still chuckling good naturedly at Mrs Patmore's loose interpretation of the physiology of a beetle.

"I enjoyed that" she declared "and I defy you to say that you didn't – I saw the look in your eye when you beat Mr Barrow!" she picked up the last couple of boxes "I'll pop these in my sitting room tonight and return them to the nursery tomorrow."

"I don't recall seeing that one." Mr Carson observed, pointing to a black box on the pile, as he took them from her chivalrously and escorting her down the corridor.

She bit her lip, caught out. "No, you wouldn't. I put it aside as I was worried that you would get flustered and protest if the maids and footmen took it into their minds to play."

He turned the box over in his hands as they sipped their second sherry. "Twister. Never heard of it."

Devilment caught Mrs Hughes. The goal of Twister was to outlast opponents by stretching and entwining your body like a human pretzel around a large vinyl sheet emblazoned with multicolour circles, without falling down. With more than two players, the vinyl sheet got so crowded that the results were often hilarious; she had kept it from him for fear that he would consider it risqué, but they were old friends and it did look fun.

"Shall we try it?" she asked.

"It's late" he protested then catching the challenge in her eye, "Oh, go on then, but there are no counters or dice." Quizzically he examined the spinner, confusion taking root.

"Och, give it here!" Within seconds the mat was laid flat on the floor and the spinner in easy reach. "Go on then, spin it!"

"No, no ladies first, I'm not quite sure I understand…."
"See – right hand red" she demonstrated "Your turn!"

"Erm" he coughed trying to avoid the view of her posterior, as she bent in position.

"Mr Carson!" she chivvied "left foot on red!"

He turned, grateful that his new position left him less red faced at least, though he was feeling distinctly warm this close to her. "Your turn, spin!" he ordered.

"You sound as if you may be starting to enjoy this "she replied as she ducked under him to reach blue with her left hand; slowly she slid her body under his. It felt almost as if she was doing it deliberately slowly, tormenting him as she reached her goal. Grinning she looked up and ordered "Spin! Ooh…right foot on green…careful!"

"This is fun isn't it?" she laughed reaching over his leg to put her hand on yellow.

Discombobulated by the strange position he found himself in; the shocking view that her lower cut dress afforded yet that he couldn't quite bring himself to protest at, the laughing Elsie entwined around him and the slippery mat he found his balance faltering.

"That is where the name came from" she lying next to him, shaking with laughter a few seconds later.

"And this," he whispered propping himself on one elbow and looking down on her as he stroked her cheek gently, "is why life is indeed like a board game, Mrs Hughes, it all depends on the next throw of the dice, the next move. Win or lose, sometimes you just have to take the chance. I think though," he whispered as he leant closer, his lips about to meet hers, "that we should confiscate this from the nurseries and keep it on the top shelf of your cupboard - after all, grown-ups need to have fun, too…."

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A/N:

I hope you enjoyed! Please leave reviews – they may encourage my muse out of hiding and get me writing again! :-)

*The quote "Daring ideas are like chessmen moved forward. They may be beaten, but they may start a winning game." is not mine, but one someone once said to me which has lurked in the recesses of my mind ever since. Google accredits it to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

*Escalado was invented and patented in 1928 and produced by Chad Valley. It is a horse racing game created in which model race horse game pieces, originally made of lead, and would make their way across a long fabric race track towards the finish line at the other end. The horses would move across the race track by means of a mechanical hand crank that vibrated the entire track in a random fashion such that it would simulate the events of a live race - this was one of the favourite games of my childhood. My grandparents had one of the original sets with lead horses, though where it ended up I have no idea…..ooh the chain of thought fanfic sets you off on!

*Scrabble surprisingly was not invented until 1938

*Monopoly was 1903

*For those of you not familiar with Mrs P's Beetle Drive:

It is a fantastic way to keep children occupied with minimal clutter (a dice, paper and pen)

The part drawn is decided by the roll of a die. The traditional rolls are:

6 is for the body, of which there is one.

5 is for the head, of which there is one.

4 is for the tail, of which there is one.

3 is for a leg, of which there are six.

2 is for an antenna, of which there are two.

1 is for an eye, of which there are two

*Bradley's competitors accused them of selling "sex in a box" when they released the phenomenally successful action game Twister in 1966. Twister was the first game in history to use the human body as a full-fledged playing piece, and, admittedly, the Milton Bradley Company released the game with a fair amount of hesitation. More than three million copies of Twister were sold during its first year of release.

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