I know I have other things to update but this idea came to me and I felt like I needed to write some Chelsie.

May 1912

It wasn't unlike any normal morning; a month had passed since they heard the news and chaos began. But as servants they had to carry on, no time to stop and mourn over the people they served – they had to carry on. It was only Daisy who kept referring back to it, something about people freezing to death in icy waters frightened her, they suspected she'd never really experienced death before and the shock confused her.

But it was this breakfast as they sat eating as usual, nothing fancy as they served upstairs, just porridge and a cup of tea, it was bland but they didn't need fancy food to feel at home and happy with where they were; especially not Carson and Mrs Hughes. They sat at the head of the table, the Lord and Lady of the servants hall, the highest possible positions, perfectly content with their lives, regrets may live in the back of their minds but they weren't often dwelling on them.

She sat to his right, enough to make him the figure head of the house but close enough for her to hold a position of respect, secretly though, she looked out for him – he'd look after the house while she'd look after him. They had a good working relationship and a rewarding friendship, in their time as heads of staff they had seen many of their staff leave to marry, even some to marry other members of staff. They knew it was wrong to have relationships below stairs but as long as it didn't affect the running of the house and nothing too scandalous transpired, they were happy to live in ignorance. Maybe it was because they'd otherwise feel hypocritical, they weren't in a relationship, nor were they aware the other had any feelings other than friendship towards them.

William had entered, a stack of letters in his hand, as usual, nothing changed. He passed one to Mr Carson and he placed it beside her bowl, she put her cup down to examine the handwriting; not her sisters, not anyone she recognised and it looked horribly like a telegram rather than a letter. She opened it and lifted her cup again as she scanned the paper – there were few words, but they were enough.
She felt a constricting feeling in her chest and the lump in her throat made her unable to drink from the cup, she lowered it to the table but as her hand shook the china rattled against the saucer. The whole servant's hall became silent, the rare behaviour from the housekeeper was watched carefully by everyone – she wasn't the only one who'd recognised it to be a telegram. Anna and Sarah shared a worried look, Sarah wasn't known for her sense of compassion but she had respect for her elder and the colour draining from her face and the way her hands trembled worried her. Bates glanced at Mr Carson who never took his eyes off her, he squinted at the letter making out enough words to understand.

"Mrs Hughes?" his voice was barely over a whisper and so gentle, he wanted to reach out and hold her hand but not in front of the staff, her guard was slowly slipping but he couldn't let his.

She looked up, out of the corner of her eye she could see the staff watching her but she couldn't bear to face them.

"I…would you excuse me" she got up, the only sound being the noise of her chair on the stone floor, the silence remained, things out of the ordinary were so unexpected in the servants hall. Carson and Bates stood up as she left, though she moved so quickly, they barely had time to get out of their seats. This time he looked at the valet, the look of concern still present on both their faces, he may have only been there a month or so but he'd fitted in immediately, especially with the senior staff. He looked after her, she was never one to run, it was undignified but this was the fastest he'd ever seen her move. Telegram in one hand, her other placed over her mouth – his heart broke in two, he'd never seen her this upset, he'd never even seen her cry. She had barriers built around her that were strong, she never let much emotion come through, she let a little more show when she was with him but even then there was a wall between them, unspoken rules and boundaries that parted them. Now he had to replace his anxious expression with his Butler mask of rigid instruction and propriety.

"Alright everyone…carry on with your breakfast" he sat back down, his butler voice returning, though in his mind he was so worried about her – he was glad he knew what was wrong, he could go and see her and help without waiting for her to tell him.
He didn't want to finish his breakfast, his stomach was rejecting any more food, all he wanted was to go and speak with her, but he had to organise the servants to start the day, he doubted she would want to start ordering maids. He was torn between being a friend and the Butler.

The bells rang and he felt his heart sink, he couldn't leave her alone but he needed to get on with the day – it was one thing for one of them to be absent but not both.
The staff got up, Mrs Hughes's behaviour forgotten and their work began.

"Mr Carson?" He turned to see Anna next to him, "do you think I should check on Mrs Hughes?" He should say yes, it'd be much more appropriate for Anna to go and see her, but she wouldn't open up to her, he had to be the one to see her.

"No Anna, she probably wants to be alone at the moment. I'll check on her in a minute." He knew he contradicted himself but Anna got the message and wen to fetch a tea tray. He glanced towards her door, he needed to go to her, he didn't want to leave her alone thinking of what state she might be in – for someone who constantly kept her feelings to herself, something like this was bound to hurt more than expected.

He hurried to her sitting room not unlike the way she had, he wanted to be her friend now, not her colleague but her friend, the one to comfort her – no one else would be able to so he knew he'd be the one she'd allow to help her.
Choosing not to knock her opened the door to see her on the floor with her back to her settee, legs clutched to her chest, attempting to make herself as small as possible – but it wasn't her position that frightened him, it was the waterfall of tears cascading down her face.

So, what's upsetting her?

Ok this was going to be a one shot but I split it in half because I need to do some work and I didn't want to till this was finished so I have to half it or I'll never pass my exams.
Please tell me what you think :)