Sarah O'Brien valued her position as a senior member of the Crawley household. She'd worked hard to rise through the ranks, and often worried about the day that Lady Crawley would replace her with a younger woman, one more in tune with the newest fashions, and better able to withstand the physical demands of the job. Anything that threatened her position was dealt with swiftly, swept aside so that she could remain safely employed.
Her friendship with Thomas was part of her safety net, a tit for tat exchange of valuable information. When Mr Watson left, and Thomas became Lord Grantham's valet temporarily, he became even more useful, keeping her informed about news from his side of the bedroom door. On this occasion, though, Thomas had failed her entirely. She had no warning, as she came down the stairs with Anna and that empty-headed Gwen. Trouble stood in front of her. She could tell that at the first glance.
For a half a heartbeat, she'd thought it was silver-tongued Daniel, but of course, he was long gone. Good riddance, too. Back when she'd been a girl working for Mrs Holmgren, he'd won her heart. For a year and a half, he'd written her a letter every week, and had one back from her as well.
Then the letters stopped. She went home soon after, only to discover from her sister that he was walking out with her cousin Jane. He'd been seen with her for over a month. "I thought you must have thrown him over", Maud had remarked, seeing her turn white. Daniel himself had no explanation, just an 'I thought you'd figure it out when I stopped writing', as if that was an apology. Sarah demanded and received his letters back, and burned them in front of him. Once her brothers knew what had happened, they waited for him outside of the pub one night, and made sure he couldn't work for a week. That was the end of it. The end of her ever trusting a man to be better than a louse. Jane married a different man a few years later, and Daniel left the area, so she had no idea where he could be. Nor cared, of course.
But no, this specimen merely resembled long-ago Daniel. Same build, same mouth, but a different look to his hair and eyes. Older, of course, but then, Daniel must be older, too.
"Hullo. I've been waiting at the back door. I knocked but no one came." Different voice. He didn't come from anywhere near Downton, from the sound of it. He had to be a new hire. With those clothes, and at that age, he couldn't possibly be a footman. No, this was senior staff, and nothing else. A cane. Had Lord Grantham gone mad, hiring a cripple? How could Thomas have been beaten out of his job by this dandy?
"So you pushed in." She snipped, instinctively covering her shock with an attack.
"I'm John Bates, the new valet." Well, Thomas was going to be right put out, she thought. It would have been far better for her if he'd gotten the position, but it was clear he'd fumbled that, for all her advice. Bates was not an ally, and with those eyes, and shoulders, and, well, she shouldn't keep thinking like that. He was a threat to her equilibrium, and no mistake. The valet was naturally paired with the lady's maid, especially when traveling. While she'd endured Watson and accepted Thomas easily, this man would be impossible.
"You're early." Any time would have been the wrong time, as far as she was concerned.
Then Anna stepped up, introducing herself, and welcoming him. It was just like her. Normally, O'Brien didn't mind Anna, she was hard working and didn't stand for any nonsense. Today, though, her friendliness was an annoyance.
O'Brien sniffed as he limped into the servants' hall. It didn't make him any less of a threat, but it did make him a much easier target, she mused.
Her day got much worse when Lord Grantham came into the hall himself to welcome Bates. Wartime comrades. Lord Grantham had been off in the war when Sarah started working at Downton, leaving poor Lady Grantham with three small daughters and a hostile mother in law. O'Brien found that hard to forgive in him, and here was the man he'd been with. One more reason to see Bates sacked.
Thomas was bent out of shape, of course, complaining to her about 'Long John Silver' when she saw him before dinner. If the two of them couldn't get rid of the interloper by the end of next quarter, they deserved to be stuck with him, she thought.
She made sure never to sit by the man, limiting contact any way she could. It was easy enough to do, as Anna seemed to slide into the chair by his on every occasion. O'Brian thought about warning her off, but decided that Anna needed to learn her own lessons. A man with so little to say about his past clearly had a lot to hide. She saw the way Bates smiled at the girl, and found it disturbing. Anna smiled back, and O'Brien seethed. Couldn't the girl see what he was up to? All that charm was bound to cause trouble. If he'd once smiled at her like that…well, he wouldn't, and she knew better than to let herself be seduced so easily. She hoped she did, anyway.
Assured that Thomas would not let a second chance slip through his fingers, O'Brian started her campaign. She dropped hints to her ladyship, and pointed Thomas at Carson, slowly nudging Bates out of his job.
The stupid man seemed oblivious. As far as O'Brien could tell watching him, he had no idea that anything was amiss. Standing in line while the duke arrived, his arm almost touching hers, she could not stand it another moment. One swift kick caused his cane to sweep out from his grasp, and he fell, satisfyingly on his face. Thomas smirked at her, but she looked down, curious to see how Bates would react.