The Rage Within
Summary: S4 AU (spoilers). Bates barely made it to the bottom of the steps when the first scream reached his ears.
Disclaimer: I don't own Downton Abbey, only this particular configuration of words.
A/N: Everyone on the show seems to just accept the inherent lurking darkness of Bates, even Anna, but we don't get to see much struggle with it. So this is just my AU take on a different way the S4 Anna assault storyline could have gone. Trigger warning.
The striking cords of Dame Nellie Melba's voice followed him as he made slow tracks through the house towards the stairs, growing more and more muted until the thick wooden door to the stairs cut her off entirely. Part of him was sad to miss the music, but he had other notions which required his attention. Anna had left the concert only a few moments before him and he knew he'd catch her downstairs, in the servants' hall or perhaps the kitchen.
But as he made his way down the steps, he heard the dull sounds of conversation echoing through the otherwise empty basement. A man and woman speaking. Someone was down there with Anna, he realized.
He barely made it to the bottom of the steps when the first scream reached his ears. In that moment, the world went slightly dim as Bates' vision tunneled, fading into shades of black and white and red. Time stopped as he took that last step off the stairs, transporting him two decades into the past onto a faraway battlefield. He moved with purpose and conviction, all conscious thoughts banished from his mind as the trained soldier buried deep within made an appearance.
Later, Bates would have little memory of following Anna's desperate cries to the boot room, nor would he retain a crisp picture of the image of Mr. Green, Lord Gillingham's valet, holding down his wife on the table in the center of the room. He would vaguely recall the cracking sound of his wooden cane as he brought it to bear on the side of Green's head, the force of the blow driving the attacker to the floor.
And then Bates' world narrowed only to red as he was on top of the valet, driving fist after fist into his face, not caring about the blood or the damage he was inflicting. He did not come back to himself until two hands caught his right arm mid-swing, holding him back from hitting Green again. Only in that moment did his mind register Anna's frightened voice begging him to stop, calling his name amid her desperate sobs.
Anna.
Anna needed him.
Pulling himself away from the bloodied and broken Mr. Green, Bates leaned heavily on the table to lever himself off the floor. Anna helped as best she could, but he could feel her body trembling uncontrollably.
"Are you all right?" he asked, putting a hand to the side of her face. He ignored the blood on his knuckles and instead focused on her.
Her hair was a mess, half pulled from its usual bun at the base of her skull, and there were cuts on her face and a bruise beginning under her eye. A droplet of blood clung to the center of her bottom lip where it had been split.
"He tried to..." she began, but faltered in her agitation. Fresh tears dampened her cheeks as she explained, "He followed me down. We were just talking and then suddenly he hit me..."
Bates turned to look at the unconscious body of the visiting valet, the man who'd been flirting with and teasing Anna since his arrival. Green still lived, he could tell, but it would be easy enough to remedy that oversight.
Anna went on, "He pulled me in here… I think he would have..."
Bates knew exactly what Green would have done had he not been stopped. The thought brought forth a fresh wave of emotions - anger and terror and blind murderous rage.
"Go upstairs, Anna," he instructed her. "Get Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson."
She must have noticed something in his voice, something that alerted her to his intentions.
"You can't kill him," she said, almost hysterical.
"I won't," he lied, not even feeling guilty for telling his wife a falsehood.
"They'll arrest you, John. They'll hang you for murder!"
Fear flashed in her eyes, a sort of primal fear which terrified her as much as Green's attack.
Of course, Anna's concern would only be for him. He closed his eyes at the feel of her hand on his arm, both gentle and strong. Bates was not a weak man. He was much stronger than Anna, but he could no more break free of her than he could iron chains.
"He was going to rape you," Bates managed, grinding out the words as though the touch of them against his lips burned like fire.
"But you saved me," she responded. Her tone still held an unmistakable desperation, but it proved as firm as her grip on his arm. "You saved me, John. Let this be the end of it. Please, I'm begging you."
He wanted to kill Green. He truly did. Such men did not deserve to live in the same world as Anna. But how could he deny her? In the end, they both went upstairs to fetch help. Anna refused to leave him alone with Green for fear he'd make sure the man no longer breathed when help arrived.
Leaving Anna in the hall outside the concert, Bates stepped to the doorway and motioned for Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes. Confused, both individuals made quiet escapes from the servants' gallery and followed him back to Anna's position.
One look at the disheveled appearance of Anna Bates caught both of their attention. Mrs. Hughes' gasp was drowned out by the notes of Dame Nellie's voice, but nothing could dampen Mr. Carson's stony expression.
"Who has done this?" he demanded, voice booming. A few heads turned in their direction from within the concert.
"Perhaps we should go downstairs," Bates suggested.
"Oh dear God," Mrs. Hughes breathed as the sight of the bloodied Mr. Green still lying unconscious on the boot room floor. "The doctor is upstairs. I'll run and fetch him."
"Get his Lordship while you're there," Carson instructed. Turning back to Bates and Anna, he asked, "What happened?"
Anna spoke first, her voice halting and unsteady. "I had a headache during the concert so I came down for a powder. Mr. Green must have followed me because he came into the kitchen. He offered me some whiskey but I refused. Then he said some things..."
She stopped, taking care not to look at her husband.
"What did he do?" Carson prompted gently.
"He... he kissed me. I tried to pull away from him, but when I did, he hit me. Everything got kind of blurry, and then he grabbed me by the hair and…" She faltered for a moment, "And he drug me out of the kitchen. He took me into the boot room and threw me down. I tried to get away, but he hit me again. I can't remember how many times..."
She found herself leaning against Mr. Bates for support as she told her story, and he wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders. Picking up the tale when her voice trailed off, he explained, "I heard her screaming when I came down the stairs. I found Green with her in the boot room."
"And you... stopped him," Carson surmised. All three turned again to look at Green, who groaned weakly from his position on the floor, demonstrating that he still clung to life. "Rather effectively, I might add."
Behind them came the sounds of people coming down the stairs and soon they were joined by Dr. Clarkson, Mrs. Hughes, and both Lord Grantham and Lady Mary.
"Dear God, what happened?" His Lordship demanded even as the doctor pushed through the crowd to get to his patient.
"Lord Gillingham's valet attacked Anna, milord," Carson provided in his usual no-nonsense manner. "However, Mr. Bates heard the struggle and was able to... subdue him."
"Anna, are you hurt?" Lady Mary asked, taking her maid's hand. One look at the other woman's injured face and unkempt hair answered her question. "Mrs. Hughes, help me get her cleaned up."
The two women quickly whisked her away to Mrs. Hughes' sitting room, leaving Bates to watch after her in concern. He knew they would take care of his wife, but the primal side of him twitched at her being taken outside of his protection.
"Tell me what happened," Lord Grantham ordered Bates, catching his attention. "From the very beginning."
"He'll live," Clarkson stated, joining everyone else in the library. "His nose is broken and he likely has a concussion, but he'll pull through. I've called for an ambulance to take him to the hospital. Mister Barrow is keeping an eye on him until it gets here."
"Damned lucky to be alive, if you ask me," Grantham muttered, not taking any care to be particularly quiet with his comment.
Lord Gillingham took a step forward. "I cannot apologize enough for my man's behavior. I had no idea he had such a malicious character. Please allow me to make any necessary reparations."
"You weren't to know," Cora said, giving him a kindly smile.
At that moment, Lady Mary entered the library. At her appearance, Clarkson nodded to the assembled gentiles and left through the same door. "They're in Mrs. Hughes' sitting room," Mary informed him before joining the others.
"How is Anna?" Lord Grantham asked his daughter.
"She'll be all right, I think, but Doctor Clarkson's going down now to see her and Bates. Anna is mostly shaken right now."
Gillingham stepped towards Mary, concern evident on his features. "I'm so sorry..." he began.
"You didn't do it," she told him sharply.
"But I brought him here."
"It wasn't your fault," Mary assured the man. "Of course, I assume you'll be sacking him."
"I already consider the matter done," Gillingham assured her.
"What about Mr. Bates, milord?" Carson asked, addressing his employer. "Anna expressed some hesitation at calling the police for fear he might be brought up on charges for battery against Mr. Green."
"I don't see why the police would bother with Bates, considering what he caught Green doing."
"Carson's right, Papa," Mary interjected. "Even if Bates had ample reason to beat Green within an inch of his life, the police may not see it that way."
Grantham frowned at her assessment but did not dispute it. They'd all lost a great deal of faith in the justice system when Bates was found guilty of his first wife's murder.
"Perhaps we should wait and let the valet call the police, if he's so inclined," Mary suggested. "And then Bates can tell them about the attack on Anna."
Grantham considered this option for a moment before stating firmly, "Keeping quiet is what got him in trouble before. No, I'll call the police the first thing in the morning and have them come out to question everyone involved. It will be a scandal for this household and for Lord Gillingham, I'm afraid, but it is better for everyone that it be done properly."
And with those words, he dismissed everyone to their beds for the evening.
After Dr. Clarkson had finished attending to Anna's injuries, he took care to bandage and salve Bates' wounded hands. The force with which he'd hit Green had split the skin on several of his knuckles, but Bates had barely noticed.
The doctor attended to them in Mrs. Hughes sitting room, away from the prying eyes of the other servants, for which Bates was grateful. The housekeeper and Lady Mary had also managed to clean up Anna and find her a different dress. She seemed much calmer with the change of clothes and the press of people surrounding her, keeping her safe.
As the doctor prepared to leave, Anna asked him, "How is he? Mr. Green, I mean," she muttered, deliberately not looking at her husband.
"He's well enough, all things considered," the doctor told her. "I wouldn't worry, Mrs. Bates."
"I'm not worried about him, but-" She stopped herself from saying more, obviously conscious of Bates' eyes on her.
"I expect him to make a full recovery," Clarkson said as he departed. "Although I suspect his nose will never be quite the same shape again."
He shut the door behind him, leaving Bates alone with Anna. A pregnant silence fell across the room between them as she directed her unfocused gazed away from him. He took a step towards her, wanting to pull her into his arms, but she flinched at the movement, her fear evident.
Panic raced through Bates' mind as he considered the possible reasons for his wife's demeanor. She'd just been assaulted, he reminded himself. While she'd made clear that Green had not gotten the chance to do more than hit her and drag her into the boot room, those traumas alone would explain her hesitance to let another man touch her, even her husband.
But so would her witnessing him almost beat a man to death with his bare hands.
Knowing that she had seen him that way, so full of rage and violence, filled him with shame. Did Anna fear him now? She could not even stand to look at him, and now she flinched from his touch. Had he ruined how she saw him?
"I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner," Bates said aloud. "I'm sorry he hurt you."
"It was my fault," she answered absently. "You warned me and I didn't listen. He cornered me in the kitchen, made advances. He said... he said..."
Anna's voice failed her as her eyes filled with tears. He so hated to see her cry.
"He said what?"
"He said I looked like I could use some real fun," she managed, spitting out the words as though they were poison. "He said... He said you couldn't make me happy."
He watched the tears stream down her face in profile as she kept her eyes studiously turned away from him.
"I told him you did... you do, you make me very happy... but he..." A sob interrupted her tale as the remains of her composure crumpled. "I'm sorry," she whispered as she cried. "I'm so sorry."
"Anna, you have nothing to be sorry about," Bates told her. Unable to stand the distance between them, he risked putting his arms around her. He waited for her to pull away from him, to withdraw from his touch, but she did not. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her face against his chest.
Heartened by her response to him, he went on, "You did nothing wrong. He attacked you. He was an evil man and I'm just sorry he hurt you."
Bates held her for a while, just letting her cry, rubbing his hand across her back as he soothed her with both quiet words and gentle touches. Finally, her sobs died away and he felt her body stiffen, as though she were pulling herself back together to face whatever else the night might require. And he let her go as she stepped away from him.
"I'll let Mrs. Hughes know that I'm taking you home," he said. But before he could reach for the door, she stopped him.
"Wait... There's something... something I need to know."
He paused, waiting for her question.
"If I hadn't stopped you, before, would you have... Would you have killed him?"
The inquiry froze him in place. So she had been bothered by what he'd done to Green. Her stillness betrayed an unease that cut through him.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," he stated.
"You rescued me," Anna said flatly, standing her ground. "You may well have saved my life."
"Still..." Bates lamented. "You've never seen me like that before. I hate for you to view me as a violent man."
The truth was - he was a violent man. He'd always harbored violence in his soul, ever since his childhood. His father had beaten both him and his mother before disappearing entirely. And then as an adult, he'd enlisted in the army and fought in the African war. The years he'd spent in the bottle had only sharpened his temper and his time in prison hardened his resolve. Bates would never hurt those he loved, not purposely, but when faced with a situation warranting force, he did not hesitate.
But now she'd seen that side of him, the darkness in his soul. She finally knew the reality of the man she had married.
"You didn't answer my question," Anna told him, then repeated it. "Would you have killed him if I hadn't stopped you?"
She watched him with her usual unfiltered gaze, her eyes so open and innocent that he had to answer her truthfully.
"Yes," Bates admitted finally.
She nodded, accepting his answer.
"Do you think less of me?" he asked in turn.
She said quickly, giving him no time to doubt, "No, I don't. Not at all."
He let out the breath he'd been holding.
"Did I frighten you?"
Anna shook her head. "Not you. I was so scared when he attacked me. I didn't think... I didn't think I'd make it through. But then you were there and you stopped him."
"I don't think I could have lived with myself if I hadn't been there to stop him," he admitted.
She went on, "I just worried... I worried that if he died, they would arrest you and take you away again. That's the only reason I stopped you."
They'll hang you for murder.
Even in the midst of such a horrible trauma, Anna thought of him and his welfare. She'd stopped him to save him, not because she gave a jot about Green's life.
"Thank you," Bates told her sincerely, although whether it was for halting his beating of Green or accepting and forgiving his violent nature, he was not sure.
"May I take you home?" he asked.
Anna nodded before responding, "Please."
Noticing that he was without his cane - it was still lying broken in a corner of the boot room - she stepped close to him. "You'll need to lean on me on the way home. We'll have to get your spare out of the attic."
"Are you sure?" he asked, hesitant to make her endure such closeness to him at such a time.
"I'm your wife," she said, confused by his concern. "Who else would you lean on but me?"
The police questioned Bates for half an hour the next morning after talking to Anna. Lord Grantham insisted on being present in light of Bates' previous experience with the law. But the valet answer all questions put to him truthfully and in full.
When they'd finished, one of the inspectors flipped shut his notebook and said, "I think we have all we need here to make an arrest."
"An arrest?" he asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.
"Yes, Mr. Bates. From here we'll go to the hospital and bind Mr. Green by law for the crime of battery and attempted rape. Your wife has already indicated that she'll testify against him. I assume you're willing to do the same."
"Arrest Mr. Green, of course," he acknowledged. "Yes, we'll both testify."
"What a sick piece of work," the second inspector muttered, shaking his head. "And he was bold, trying it in a house like this, with so many folks around. Probably thought he could get away with it, what with everyone upstairs."
"The gall of the man," Lord Grantham muttered in disgust.
Bates added, "I'm just happy I followed Anna downstairs when I did."
"Why did you follow her?" the first inspector asked, curious.
"We'd had an argument earlier, and I upset. I was hoping to have a moment alone with my wife, to apologize and make things right."
"Well, all I can say is you've got some restraint, Mister Bates," the second inspector said as he and the other man stood to leave. "Had it been my wife, the bastard wouldn't have lived long enough for a doctor to be called."
"But probably best he lived," the first one contradicted. "Too much paperwork, especially with Mister Bates' record, which he was mighty forthcoming about. Thanks for that, by the way."
"He has nothing to hide," Lord Grantham put in.
"True, true. Well, good day, Lord Grantham. Mister Bates - you take care of that pretty missus of yours, you hear?"
And with that parting statement, the police ended the interview. Lord Grantham walked them to the front door, and they departed Downton to head for the hospital to arrest Green.
His Lordship turned back to Bates. "That went better than I'd hoped."
"It did, milord. Thank you for your help."
"I'm sorry this happened, Bates, and under this roof. I really am. Lord Gillingham has offered compensation and I have some of my own I'd like to give-"
"That's not necessary, milord," he cut in.
"For Anna," Grantham insisted. "It won't make up for anything, of course, but it's the least I can do. And take the day off, both of you. Tell Anna to take as much time as she needs."
"Thank you."
With a nod, the valet turned to make his way back to the stairs. "Bates?" Grantham called after him.
"Milord?"
"I agree with the inspector. You showed greater restraint than I think I'd have done."
He paused before answering, "You can attribute all of my restraint in this regard to Anna."
His Lordship nodded with the understanding of a fellow old soldier. And a husband.
Bates found her sitting at the table in the servants' hall, waiting for him. Anna stood as he entered the room, and he could see the relief at his appearance visible on her face.
"How did it go?" she asked, circling the table towards him.
"Fine," he said. "They're going to the hospital now to arrest him."
"Oh, thank God."
He met her embrace without hesitation, not caring who might see them. With what Anna had been through the night before, he had no patience for propriety at the moment. All he wanted was to have her in his arms, safe and sound.
"What did they say?" Anna asked finally.
"I rather got the impression that you won't have to worry about me going back to prison. Not for this, at least."
Her eyes narrowed at him. "And not for anything else."
"Of course not."
"Because I couldn't take it. You understand that, don't you? I wouldn't survive if you ever went back there. I just couldn't."
She'd always been so strong while he was in prison, but he could see the fear in her at the thought of losing him again - even greater than her fear of the man who'd tried to hurt her.
"You don't have to worry," he assured her. He meant the words, he truly did. But looking down at her face, marred by scrapes and bruises from Green's attack on her the night before, the rage within him burned on.
Had Anna been hurt worse, or Green not soundly beaten for his actions, or the police not called... he knew he would have taken matters further. Bates knew that evil existed in the world, and that he could not stop all of it. Indeed, he had no wish to play vigilante for everyone. But for Anna... sweet and precious Anna, he would do anything.
He would lie, he would steal, he would cheat. He would even commit murder - cold blooded, premeditated murder.
Thankfully, it seemed he wouldn't need to do any of that today.
"Lord Grantham gave us both the day off," he told her quietly. "Let's go home and you can get some rest."
Anna nodded, giving him a small smile. Once they were outside, she threaded her arm through his and began their journey back to the cottage.
"Maybe you can read to me for a while?" she suggested as they made their way down the path away from the house.
"If you wish."
"And we could try that new tea I got in Ripon."
"I'd like that very much."
"And this afternoon we could... we could..."
He stopped, hearing the hitch in her voice a moment before her composure collapsed leaving her sniffling.
"Anna?" he asked, turning her to face him.
"It's nothing," she said, brushing away the tears.
"It isn't nothing."
"I'm being stupid, that's all."
"Don't say that," Bates told her, touching a hand to the side of her face. The scrape there had scabbed over, but the skin still burned a fierce pink. The split in her bottom lip showed a glimmer of fresh blood as it trembled with emotion.
"I'm just so glad..."
So glad he'd stopped Green. So glad she'd stopped him from killing Green. So glad they wouldn't be embroiled in another murder trial. So glad she had him as her husband, her protector, her love.
Blinking back his own tears, he nodded in understanding. "So am I. You don't know how much."
They held each other for a long time before walking back to the cottage.
fin