It's in the Eyes
Anna knows she should feel terrible about being so nosy. Yes, it's rude to pry. Yes, Mrs. Bates has been kind and welcoming to the strange woman who has appeared out of nowhere, claiming to know her son. Yes, she should just sit and wait patiently at the table while Mrs. Bates gathers the tea things and hums in the kitchen.
She knows all of this and any other time would be appalled at her lack of decorum. Her mum would never let her hear the end of it, if she knew. But this is John's mother's home, and the closest she has come to his past in all the years she's known him. In ten minutes, looking eagerly around Mrs. Bates' parlor, she has seen traces of him, of his life before Downton, and she is unabashedly hungry for more. Her eyes roam over the small collection of articles on the sideboard and fall on a small picture of a young man in uniform.
Her heart beats faster as she rises from her chair and glides over to get a closer look. It is hard to make out the details- the photo is old and cracking at the corners, the glass covering it is cloudy. She is hard put to recognize John in the shy, proud face of the young man under the campaign hat. His uniform is rumpled and he holds his rifle in an easy grip. She smiles as she notices the flap on his right pocket is turned up. It is so different from the well starched, buttoned down valet that she has come to admire and love.
"I see you've found my favorite picture of Johnny," Mrs. Bates' voice rings behind her. Anna turned with a gasp, embarrassed to have been caught so boldly snooping. Mrs. Bates smiled gently at her and placed the tea tray on the little round table.
"I'm so sorry," Anna gasped. "I was just…" She made a helpless gesture at the picture and decided not to say anything more, as it was painfully obvious what she had been doing.
"Ah, he was a fine looking lad. Not that he's not still a fine looking lad," Mrs. Bates said with a fond smile. Anna certainly didn't disagree. "That was before all the troubles…his wound, his wife…" Mrs. Bates shook her head sadly. "There are times when it's hard to believe that John and this lad are one and the same now."
Anna turned for one last look at the picture, searching for any trace of John Bates now in the sweet face of the young man. There…in the eyes. There was the determination, the resolve, perhaps even the stubborn honor. Everything that shone from his eyes now when she met them with her own. Eyes that resembled the kind, older, but very sharp eyes looking at her now.
At Mrs. Bates' invitation, she sat down for a very welcome cup of tea… and a little chat about the journey that handsome young soldier took to become the man she loved today.