Just one of those days
My first fanfiction. Please don't be mean or Grammar Nazis. I have never had any intention of writing fanfiction and I am no writer but I thought of this last night and had to get it out of my head. Hope you Enjoy!
It was chaos. CHAOS I SAY.
It was only three days ago that he and all of the downstairs staff has visited the beach, and the event happened which has plagued his mind almost to insanity. Their time at the beach was supposed to be a treat and it was in a way. He was able to hold her hand for what felt like eternity, though it could not have been more than 15 minutes. He had offered her his arm several times on the way to church or if it had been a harsh, icy Winter but this, this was different. There had been a change in the wind so to speak, a different feeling. A feeling of comfort, of safety, of home. He had always known that she was a fine woman. She was intelligent, organised, efficient, witty, and my god was she beautiful... he had noticed once or twice. But after that day he had been noticing that when he thought of her he would get flustered. He had started feeling the need for perfection during meals when buttering her bread and having conversations with her (he couldn't have himself looking stupid), and when they had caught each other's eyes when passing one another in the halls they would linger for longer. He had noticed a larger, almost bashful smile on her face in those lingerings, and he thought he had once caught her biting that beautiful bottom lip when she was turning away from him this afternoon.
Apparently she was not the only one affected by their meetings. Thomas had no problem mentioning that he had looked "particularly happy" with a large smile on his face after he had been caught pausing in the hallway looking at the door she just entered. The nerve of Thomas with a stupid smirk on his face! Acting as if he was a teacher who had just caught a smitten school boy! Why he was a grown man of sixty six-four-two; why he was a mature man of a certain age who did not need a reprimanding look from anyone, ESPECIALLY Thomas. He was the Butler of Downton Abbey. He would not be looked at in such a way by anyone!
This is how all of the chaos was now commencing. At the moment, Downton Abbey was a shambles and it was all her fault! He will admit that he has been in a bit of a daze over the last couple of days but tonight the Prince of Wales was currently visiting. There was no time for such frivolity. He had to get his mind back in the game, back into the rules, into butler mode. If only he could have given himself this advice at the beginning of the dinner. So far he had tripped over the rug, not placed a knife in Lady Edith's place setting, not heard her Ladyship when she had spoken directly to him – therefore ignoring her twice!, and also serving the Dowager Countess from the right… FROM THE RIGHT! COULD THINGS GET ANY WORSE?!
And it was all her fault. She! That woman who had dared him and taken his hand to "steady" him. He has never been so unsteady in his life. He had never thought that things would have escalated so far. He thought the worst thing that would happen would be his trousers getting wet. He would say he regretted it, but he has never regretted anything that has happened in his life less. That small move has given him something which he had not had since Alice. Hope. He will not deny that he had been hung up on Alice and that speaking to Grigg about it had certainly lifted a weight off his shoulders. He will not deny that he had always found the housekeeper extremely attractive when she had first come to Downton, and that he had so regretted now that he had made a move and asked to walk out with her. However, he also knew that walking out with her then would not be fair to her. He had not recovered from Alice leaving him, he had not wanted to expose his heart again to anyone, did not want the heartache of being left again, and it would not be fair to her who would be deserving of royalty.
As the years had gone by they had been a team... a work team of course. He has always held her in the highest regard, always defending her against any rude remarks from staff, enjoyed their sittings together at the end of the day in order to relax. However, now there was so much more. This is what had caused such turmoil in his mind for the past three days. She seemed as if she had been affected by that day also, so should he make a move and ask her to walk out with him? However, what if he had misread the signs and she was perhaps being polite in reaction to his obviously strange behaviour? What if he did walk out with her and it had ruined such a perfect friendship? But how could it not work, they were completely in sync, or so he thought. He did not know what to do, and what was worse was that he thought about this 24 hours of the day and could not stop the thoughts at any time. This was affecting his work now. It was creating such chaos in front of such a prestigious person. He was serving royalty and he was acting like a complete oaf! Why could he not just stop these thoughts for a couple of hours and get into the zone to be what he always knew he was: the most efficient butler in all of Britain.
This question specifically had been plaguing his mind for the past 38 minutes of the dinner service. Just why could he not get her out of her mind for a short while? He was now collecting the first course plates from the family and their guests, thinking 'from the right, Elsie, from the right, Elsie, Elsie, from the right, Elsie, oh why can't I just forget'. It was then that he had tuned into the dinner conversation hearing the word 'love'. Of course it had been the Dowager discussing her love of cake, however, it had just occurred to him. Love. LOVE. OF COURSE. He loved her. He was IN love with her. If only this revelation had not come to him when he was collecting the first course plate from the Prince of Wales, for he had not been paying appropriate attention. The plate had jerked in his hand, hitting the wine glass, knocking it over and covering the priceless table cloth and the probably priceless white trousers belonging to the Prince of Wales in red wine. DAMN IT! HE HAD COVERED THE WHITE TROUSERS OF THE PRINCE OF WALES IN RED WINE. IT COULD GET WORSE. He blustered, apologising to the Prince of Wales whilst the family except the Dowager jumped out of their seats to help. Her ladyship had offered to pay and clean the garments, whilst Branson had offered him a pair of trousers to wear in replacement. His Lordship was looking directly at the butler in complete confusion and shock, whilst the Dowager Countess seemed to be hiding several scoffs behind her handkerchief.
HE HAD TO FIX THIS AND HE HAD TO FIX THIS NOW.
He looked to his Lordship and approached him asking to be excused for a few minutes. When given permission, he walked calmly to the door of the dining room and ran downstairs as fast as his legs could take him.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs he was shocked to find that not only had chaos ensued upstairs but had been spread to downstairs. All he could hear was noise. People were shouting and screaming, and pots and pans clanging. He could see Baxley hopping on one foot in the door way in front of Molesley, who he guessed had dropped a bowl of brussel sprouts, as he saw the nincompoop on his hands and knees, picking up the sprouts one by one, wiping them on his livery and putting them back in the bowl as if nothing had happened. When Molesley looked up and saw the butler standing there his face dropped and he started stammering looking for an excuse as to why he was in this position. The butler ignored this and looked above his head into the kitchen to see no sign of Mrs Patmore and kitchen maids running around trying to calm the burning fumes coming out of the oven, preparing the food and raving about how "the Scottish dragon has been in a complete daze recently and everything is falling down around them". It was then that he realised that there was still a dinner going on upstairs and he had to get on with what he came down here to do.
He stormed down the hallway and blasted into the Housekeepers sitting room, seeing her with her back to him standing over a moaning Mrs Patmore who was sitting down facing him and apparently having a bad burn tended to. This threw him off his guard, but he had to get this done with or without the cook present.
"Mrs Hughes, may I have your attention for one moment please?", he practically shouted.
She did not even turn around to look at him, like she had known it was obviously him who would be barging into her sitting room unannounced.
"What is it Mr Carson? I am a little busy here tending to Mrs Patmore's burn and why exactly are you not upstairs serving dinner?" She was completely flustered at the evident havoc commencing downstairs which made her beautiful Scottish brogue come out much more pronounced.
He strode across the room quickly grabbing her shoulders, turning her around quickly and kissed her hard on the lips. She was stunned. She almost forgot to respond and when she did it was over. He has pulled back and looked her straight in the eye, shouting with his voice slightly broken, "I love you Elsie. I have always loved you and I hope the feeling is mutual. I hope we will be able to discuss this once the dinner service is over."
With that he turned around and made to storm out of the room to get back upstairs to the service, since he had finally got off his chest what he wished to tell her. When he reached her door he heard her shout "Charles!" He had never thought she would respond, he had only thought as far as declaring his feelings. He turned around quickly, not thinking that something may hit him square in the face. However, when he looked at her she had a large grin on her face and spoke.
"I love you too and we WILL be discussing this after the dinner service".
He simply gave one vigorous nod and left her room.
Elsie had little time to think before she heard Mrs Patmore shouting "OH MY GOD!" with exaggeration throwing her hands up in the air, burn be damned. Elsie gave a chuckle and thought of the chat they would have later and all the good things that may lie in her future, outside of Downton for once.
Charles stormed down up the stairs and paused for one second to think of what had happened. He had done it. And she returned it. Now he could get back to doing his job correctly, or could he now that he had a whole conversation to think about later? Damn. But she loves him too.
She loves him.