Disclaimer: I own nothing; it all belongs to Julian Fellowes.
A.N.: This is my first fanfic, after reading all of the Carson/Hughes stories on this I site I really wanted to have a go myself :) I apologise in advance if it's terrible but I've had this plot in my mind for some time and had to write it. But I do hope you like it.
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Mrs Hughes sat down with a sigh in her sitting room, where she decided to go to escape the noise of the servant's hall. It had been raining nonstop all day and so the damp laundry had had to be hung in the scullery and in the kitchen. Of course when the housemaids had begun to hang the laundry in the kitchen they were met with a furious Mrs Patmore demanding that they take it down immediately. Mrs Hughes then had to try and persuade Mrs Patmore to allow the housemaids to continue hanging the washing, it took a very tiring half an hour to do so, which left her feeling very deflated and drained.
As she began to relax with a cup of tea, Elsie Hughes could hear the rest of the staff bidding each other goodnight as they made their way wearily to bed. She finished her tea and placed the empty cup and saucer on the small table beside her and lay back into her arm chair. She closed her eyes, feeling glad that another tiring day had come to an end, listening to the rain vigorously pounding the window pane outside her sitting room. Just as she was beginning to fall into a peaceful sleep there was a knock on her door, she sat up and self-consciously pated her hair back into place before inviting the man on the other side of the door in.
"Come in." She called, smiling warmly as she waited for Mr Carson to enter the room.
"Ah Mr Hughes, I thought I'd say goodnight as it's been a very long and tiring day."
"That it has Mr Carson, I've had Mrs Patmore complaining all day about the laundry hanging in the kitchen and then we had the usual argument over the key to the store cupboard." She sighed with exasperation.
"So it has also been a very trying day." He commented with a smile.
She smiled in return. No matter how down, tired or angry she felt he never failed to make her smile. Just seeing him smile transformed him from the stern butler into the soft and gentle Charles Carson, although not many people got to see this side of him, Elsie felt happy that he allowed the butler façade to drop when around her. Elsie had realised that she felt a lot more for him than a housekeeper ought to for her butler and had accepted the fact that she was in love with Charles Carson many years ago, but how long she had felt that way she could not answer. However these feelings for him had been locked away inside for the fear of rejection, she felt that it would much for her to be able to take, knowing it would be impossible for him to return her love.
"Yes, very trying indeed," they both laughed quietly, "Well, I think I'll turn in too, before I fall asleep in my chair." She replied, getting to her feet.
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As Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson left her sitting room, Charles informed her that he had to check the back door to the servant's hall, as she made her way to bed. He smiled to himself as her watched her ascend the stairs to the servant's sleeping quarters, thinking that she was as beautiful now as she was when she first came to Downton. Like Elsie, Charles had loved from afar for many years for fear of rejection, knowing she could never love him as he did her. After ensuring that the backdoor was indeed locked, he made his own way to bed.
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Elsie had just begun to drop off to sleep when she heard the first rumbles of thunder, each time becoming louder and louder. She had never liked thunder storms and if she was being honest with herself she was petrified of them. As a child she would hide under the covers or even under her bed, then as it became louder and louder she would seek comfort needed to calm her from her mother. Elsie sat up in bed trembling, knowing that she would never sleep through this storm. She decided that she would feel safer downstairs in the kitchen with a nice warm cup of tea. As she climbed out of her warm bed, she placed her slippers on her feet and wrapped her dressing gown around her tightly to shield her from the cold in the room. Just as she placed her hand on the door knob the first bolt of lightning shot from the sky illuminating her bedroom. She grasped the door knob tighter and closed her eyes whilst trying to calm herself down and regulate her breathing.
Almost silently she opened the door and crept through the women's sleeping quarters and down the stairs. As she reached the kitchen she lit a few candles instead of turning on the light as she preferred the soft glow from a candle rather than the bright blinding light from a light bulb. Her hands were still shaking as she lit them, her body still trembling. She made herself a cup of tea as carefully as she could, trying not to drop the kettle or burn herself as the thunderstorm seemed to get louder outside. Just as she was about to lift the cup and saucer from the kitchen side to take a seat at the table, another bolt of lightning shot through the sky causing her to drop the cup back down. Elsie held onto kitchen side willing herself to regain her composure. At that moment she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Mr Carson, dressed in his pyjamas and slippers with his dressing gown wrapped tightly around his body, gazing at her with concern written in his face.
"Mrs Hughes, is everything ok?" He stepped into the room, resting a hand on the back of a dining chair.
"Y-yes, everything's f-fine." She answered whilst turning to face him, praying that her voice would sound normal but it failed to do so.
He frowned, knowing that something was bothering her, but he didn't want to push her into telling him something that she would rather keep to herself.
Elsie then turned back to the kitchen side to make another cup of tea for Charles, but as she lifted another cup and saucer off the shelf, her hands were still shaking and she knew that Charles would of heard the rattling of the china. He did. Charles was beside her in three strides and took the cup and saucer out her hands, then led her to a chair at the dining table. He went to finish the two cups of tea and bought them back to the table, taking a seat next to Elsie. They sat in silence for a while, sipping their tea, as the storm continued outside. With each bolt of lightning that lit up the room and each rumble of thunder, Charles noticed Elsie visible tense, then continue to tremble anticipating the next loud noise or bright light to fill the room. He realised then that she was obviously scared of the storm and couldn't sleep. He decided to try again to try to get her to reveal her fear.
"Elsie, please tell me what is bothering you". He asked softly.
Her head shot up to look at him, startled by the use of her Christian name. He did it was because he wanted her to open up to him and he had decided to use a less formal and gentle approach.
"It's nothing, I just…"she sighed knowing she couldn't lie to him, "it's the storm, I…i'm scared of the storm." She bowed her head as quickly as she has raised it, to try and hide the blush of embarrassment spreading across her cheeks. However she was too slow and Charles saw her blushing, noticing that it only added to her beauty and it made him fall in with love her even more.
He saw her left hand trembling on her knee and covered it using his right. Not only surprising Elsie, but also surprising himself, wondering what made him make this bold move. Then he realised that he did it because he wanted to, needed to comfort her and to try and take away her fears.
She raised her head again to look into his eyes, opening her mouth to say something then completely forgetting what it was she was going to say. She could feel her cheeks becoming warm with the sudden contact.
"There's no reason to feel embarrassed Elsie," He whispered softly, "everybody is afraid of something."
As he finished, he noticed a single tear make its way down her flushed cheeks. Just then another bolt of lightning filled the room and Elsie gripped Charles's hand tighter and began to sob. She tried to stop herself but could not, it had been a long tiring day, she felt physically and emotional drained from arguing with Mrs Patmore, the lack of sleep and fear because of the thunderstorm.
Seeing her shoulders begin to shake and hearing Elsie sob, Charles decided to throw caution to the wind and moved his chair closer so he could hold her tightly to his chest, stoking her hair to try and ease her sobs. As Elsie felt him embrace her and stroke her hair she felt a warm glow flow through her, she had never felt so safe and protected and well…loved, although she knew that it was a ridiculous thought and probably furthest from his mind. Little did she know that it was at the forefront of his mind.
Although she had stopped crying she was still trembling, Charles knew that she would find it difficult to sleep tonight with the storm continuing, so he decided to move them to her sitting room where it would be more comfortable. He took a candle from the table and pulled her to her feet and led her to her sitting room, keeping her close to him and only letting go of her hand to open the door then grasping it tightly again. After lighting a few more candles in the room and lighting the fire, Charles sat down next to Elsie on her sofa, drawing her back into his arms whilst placing the blanket off the back of her sofa over her shivering body. Neither spoke, no words were needed as their actions said all that needed to be said, as they held on to each other tightly. After a while sleep claimed them both and in their sleep they subconsciously moved to lie down with their arms around each other.
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Not sure if I will continue with this story as I'm not sure where to go with it. Any suggestions are welcome and reviews appreciated :) x