Chapter 1: Prologue—The Dismissals

*A/N 1- set about a month and a half after the Late May-Early June 1926 ultra-honeymoon of Charles and Elsie (The Acquisition of Memories. By BorneToFlow, rated M). In my headcanon, the financial figures on the cottage at Brounker Road have now been perused and Chelsie have decided it will run with little input from them as a rental property to a young growing family, and maybe one of Elsie's grandnieces or grandnephews and their very young ones, BECAUSE: Elsie is not a pauper, Becky is not in a care home and is instead happily married and still helping to run a shop with her husband their son and his family in Lytham's, with all of their children now grown and flown with not so young children of their own (Becky is old enough to be a Grandmother and Elsie a Great Aunty, after all).

Chelsie have announced their dual retirement and are busy training Baxter and Barrow up to take over by early-mid winter 1926. They have taken up Lady Mary and Lord and Lady Grantham's re-offer of a small retirement cottage on the estate grounds with an adequate pension each to see out their twilight years comfortably along with the income generated from their property, even if it is rented out at 'family rates'. I like the thought of Elsie having one of her beloved grandnieces come to Downton to make a life as one of the town's trusted suppliers, or maybe even taking over the local tearooms or bakery, if that was/is the stock in trade of Becky and her husband and son in Lytham's. It makes sense given Becky's background in service as a young lass, and maybe her husband was the local baker's son or the like in the village outside Nunnington Hall when Elsie and Becky were 14 and 16, respectively until Becky married and left at age 20 (1880). Elsie's grandniece and her husband could easily have acquired the skills and desire to move further afield, but still with some family close by.

The London season is now finished for the year, with Edith still single and installed at Gregson's apartment in London with Marigold as her ward. Mary is also still single and running the estate with Tom Branson (returned) as her Papa starts to step back for his better health. Carson's palsy has not been noted at all, and may never be, in my headcanon. Oh, and Thomas has attempted treatment, but not suicide.

* A/N 2- Brief Cricketing Definitions/ explanations (Borne-style, of course— so not really brief at all!) It is only for those of you who may need it:

(1) Stumps- The three wooden posts which hold the two bails. The three stumps are individually known as the off stump, the middle stump, and the leg stump .The bails rest in grooves at the top of the stumps. Together, the stumps and bails comprise a wicket. There is a wicket at each end of the 20.12m batting pitch (sometimes also referred to as 'the wicket', just to confuse issues!), and which the batsmen defend and then score runs between after successfully batting away the attacking teams bowled balls.

(2) To be 'stumped' is to have the attacking team hit the batting team's wicket before their running man/men can make it into their safe territory over the batting or popping crease/s, which sits 1.22m in front of the wooden wicket (stumps) at each end of the pitch. This play is called a 'run out'.

(3) Stumps- the term used for the end of a day's play. 'The umpires have called stumps for the day'. Most commonly used in Australia (England's first international test cricket team tour was to Australia in 1877). At the end of the matches final play on the last day, the umpire will 'draw stumps' which means the wooden stumps and bails that form the wicket are drawn out of the ground and returned to the pavilion marking the official end of the competition.

(4) The first drop - the number three position in the batting order, so called because the player batting in this position goes in after the first of the opening batsmen's wicket has fallen.

(5) Last drop- I am not entirely sure this is an actual term in cricket! I am using it for the last wicket that may fall for a batting side before their innings is called as over, but, given the definition I have given for the first drop batsman, it at least seems plausible. Like I said, I am no expert on cricket, but this term just seems fitting to me, especially given its connotations to fine old vintage wines that automatically springs into my mind when I think of old silver-haired butlers!

(6) A dismissal- a dismissal occurs when the batsman is out (also known as the fielding side taking a wicket and/or the batting side losing a wicket). At this point a batsman must discontinue batting and leave the field permanently for the innings. A bowling team dismisses (or bowls out) the entire batting team by dismissing 10 of the 11 players (assuming player(s) from the batting team have not Retired—Injured, or are absent). As the player's bat in pairs, when only one person is undismissed, it is not possible for them to bat any longer.

(7) Village Cricket match duration— A match such as this would not have been a full 5-day test match as the lower class workers could not have taken that much time away from work. This sort of village match would generally run within one day only, and on a Saturday at that, as all good English people would have been in church on Sunday and taking the remains of the Sabbath as a day of rest (unless you are a servant, of course!). So this match Abbey vs. Village match would have had limited overs bowled by each team 80-maybe 120 overs between the two teams. This would mean that if the opening batting team did not all get 'out' too cheaply, then the captain could 'declare' their innings finished when he saw fit and then send the fielding team in to bat, generally leaving a reasonable amount of time and overs to be bowled in the afternoon for their opponents to have at least some chance to try and beat the first batting team's score of runs— Confused?! Just go watch a bit of cricket and youtube and you will get the hang of it!

I hope some of that all makes some sense to the uninitiated!

Regards,

BorneToFlow. : )

oOOo

Prologue— The Dismissals

Saturday, 24th July 1926. Downton Cricket Field

'Run! Run! Go! GO! GO!'

"OOOH!….Uh…OH…" the sounds of the breezy summer crowd's disappointment tapers off as Carson lifts his face heavenward and silently accepts that his time is now up. He breathes a laboured sigh and tucks his bat under his arm. He sees the deep green of the surrounding pitch as he turns to immediately make his way off the ground. He casts a quick nod of grudging appreciation for the fielding skill displayed by the flurried white cluster of celebrating men of the village, and then lifts his head to take his last walk from the pitch on behalf of the Downton Abbey team with the same air of dignity he has always tried to carry himself with throughout his nearly sixty years indentured to the estate.

Lord Grantham knowingly catches his eyes and speaks in a single glance of silent camaraderie, tuned over decades of work in close concert together— Hard luck, old chap, good effort. Carson's mouth draws into a semi-grim line as his upper lip stiffens appropriately enough for the occasion and as a means to contain his natural disappointment that it should all have ended on this note for him. And although they will not take to this or any other pitch together anymore, his head gives the slightest nod to the left in silent salute— for Lord Grantham's unwavering trust and support of him. And although Carson is not the last drop for today, they both know that he cannot ever be replaced anyway, not on any field that Downton may set itself as a stage on which to troupe its colours.

Charles next casts his gaze across the crowd to find his truest supporter, stalwart as ever, the only figure in full black amidst a sea of summer creams inside the refreshments tent. But he is stopped short in his progress from the rich and verdant field of his past triumphs and defeats, just at the moment that his darling Elsie silently speaks her truth to him— I love you, I am proud of you, my man—no matter what happens, a chagair. Always.

"I apologise, Mr Carson, that was a poor call on my part."

Carson turns back to face his batting partner and catches an uncommon softness and glint of true regret in the Under-Butler's eye. Carson swallows the lump that has risen surprisingly quickly in his throat as all that was and will ever be runs at him like a celebrating team trying to assail him, or in this case, more like a conciliatory one trying to rally round him to buck him up for one last play. He draws himself higher still, not imperiously so, but with a note of pride for all that Downton has made him today, and all that it may still make of this notoriously difficult young man standing sweat-drenched before him.

"It is no matter, Mr Barrow. It was your call to make. You believed it was a sound chance for the Abbey. I gave it my best, but was not to be the man of the day it seems."

The two rivals and reluctant teammates hold each other's gaze, until, quite unusually, Thomas cannot abide the look of stoic equanimity in the elder man's eyes anymore and he drops his gaze. Charles knows, despite all of their frictions and silent and not so silent battles for authority, order, respect and acceptance (at least on the younger man's part in this latter point), that Thomas did not want Carson's last match for Downton to end on this particular note— a run out because the elder man could not complete what was expected of him. Carson sees the normally flawlessly squared line of his successor's shoulders drop almost imperceptibly as he stands safe behind the batting crease, having made the second run between the wickets with ease, and he feels compelled to speak. "Barrow,' he states with his customary deep authority, the years of quelling his emotions in front of others standing him in good stead for being able to finish his next sentence without a quaver shimmering across his voice or through his own white starched stance. "All that Downton has ever needed is for a few dedicated men to believe in her and to always do their very best for her."

Thomas feels Carson's steely gaze drilling into him as surely as he has ever felt it silently and judgmentally scrutinising him— picking through all of his flaws and looking for one last reason to dismiss him from the grounds forever. The use of his professional name in this moment of leisure, the slow and deliberate seriousness of his intonation and…is it… a certain softness in the old butler's voice?— physically pulls Thomas's eyes up to his unwilling mentor's gaze once more. He sees the old man's eyes glint with a sad and resigned smile, the corner of his mouth twitching no more than it ever would when standing to strict attention in front of his masters. He is flawlessly self-possessed, utterly composed in his defeat,…and proud… of all that he has achieved over the years in any field of endeavour he undertook on behalf of the estate. Before turning to finally make his way from the pitch and onto different and, most hopefully, greener pastures, he stops to address the man before him, "Just do your best, Thomas, that is all anyone has ever asked of you," and he nods his head ever so slightly to the right, like the signal he has always used across the dining table to silently let his footmen and his Under-Butler know: Fine work. Carry on.

oOOo

A/N 3- Feel free to not believe me, but I do not 'always' want to leave extensive author notes to explain aspects of my work! However, given a couple of the reviews I have received on this piece, I was reminded that there are so many aspects of the game of cricket that I just take for granted because I have grown up with knowledge of at least the ethics behind the sport, some of its traditions, and also much of the lexicon, both literal and figurative, that surrounds the game. That said, I do not claim to understand all of the various plays and silly names for fielding positions, types of bowling and batting directions and the like— I have just researched what I needed to here. But, I did realise that it is possible that some of my predominantly North American readership will not be able to relate to some of the analogies to living life that I am working with within this little piece. So, I thought it wouldn't hurt to offer more information for those who might want it.

NOW! Here comes the standard amount of BorneToFlow author note nonsense! FEEL FREE TO IGNORE IT IF YOU WANT TO!

Firstly, I urge you to research more about what, at least in 1926, was a noble sport— cricket has a very interesting history and culture behind it. It is sometimes claimed that baseball derives somewhat from cricket, so perhaps you will see some similarities, I cannot say as I happen to know very little about baseball and its traditions... well...not beyond hotdogs and money being thrown across large crowds! ... and a rough understanding of 9 innings, balks, bunting, strikes and balls, curve balls, fastballs and foul balls, and three outs per innings... I think! AND VERY TIGHT PANTS! OK... so maybe I have absorbed a little bit via cross-cultural osmosis if not by direct focus! Anyway, you could look into how cricket is slowly building up a greater following in the US. New York now has a large cricket complex and attracts many people from traditional cricketing nations backgrounds to play. Also, the story of the Compton Cricket Club, LA, is an interesting one. Here the traditions of the game are being used to inadvertently teach notions of fair play and respect in broader life to young people who may come from some of the toughest neighborhoods. Good play, old chaps!

Now, I have previously aired a bit (a lot!) of an anti-current-day international professional level cricket rant at the end of Chapter 27-Natural Weave in my fiction 'The Acquisition of Memories. I really don't quite know how I ended up back in this place— there must be something about cricket and Charles Carson that was niggling at the back of my brain for a while! Anyhoo, I think on a smaller club level, the spirit of the game is not entirely dead in 2017. JC is the former chair of the Hampstead local cricket club is he not? He would be one to still play fair, just like Carson, wouldn't he?! Chapter 27 also sees Charles musing on his attachment to the sport. So feel free to access that if you like (and drop a review on that old piece of mine if you feel the urge!).

My partially imagined Downton Abbey Team Batting order:

—Carson, in my mind, is roughly a middle-order batsman in this match, due in part to his advancing age and the fact that he may not be quite as adept with the bat as he once was. Also, we know from canon that Carson does take to bowling and I imagine that he has done some of this in the morning's first innings when the village team was batting, as well as sharing the wicketkeeping duties between himself and maybe young Andrew or one of the Abbey gardeners or the like. Wicketkeeping is a physically demanding position and often these players are rested for the start of their team's subsequent innings at bat and so they will generally appear midway down the batting order to allow time for them to recover a bit.

—I see Thomas as a top-order batsman as he did display quite some skill at batting in canon. I posit that he and Lord Grantham opened the batting for the Abbey (Lord Grantham traditionally being at number one in the batting order and his up-coming new butler taking the number two spot. In my imagined game, Lord Grantham is not in for very long as he is not so far clear of having had that ulcer surgery (major stuff with large incisions back then I would imagine— Cora would be fretting for him). I would say that Robert would have had one of the younger players act as a runner between the wickets for him before he gets clean bowled by the village opposition. Thomas is left to carry on for the Abbey with the other batsmen, building up a tidy little score in the process until Carson takes to the pitch with him in the heat of a long afternoon.

Finally, a few points on what I have presented happening between Barrow and Charles out on the field here:

—cricket has a tradition of players knowing to graciously accept their losses and victories and to acknowledge their opponents skills when it is well deserved. I understand that Thomas could be seen here to be acting OOC for his standard Abbey persona, but he is not acting out of character for the level of sportsmanship expected of players within a game of cricket in 1926. Also, I posit in my headcanon that he is actually trying to be his better self since his 'treatment' attempt. So, by apologising to Carson as his teammate for making a call to run-on when chances may have been slim for him or Carson to return to the safety of their batting or popping creases before one or both of them could be bowled out by the fielding team, Thomas is actually playing well within the spirit of the game for that time.

—In this scenario, Thomas is the current facing batsman (being bowled to) and so he calls the shots on when he thinks the two of them should or shouldn't run between the wickets and Carson must, traditionally, abide. When Carson faces the bowler, he would be the one to call when to run.

—Carson is a seasoned competitor, and although he is disappointed to leave the field by this somewhat inglorious runout, rather than on a personal high for his last match in the Abbey team, he knows that cricket teaches people to take their lumps along with their triumphs with an air of grace and dignity. And so he readily accepts that the stumps have fallen for him fair and square within this game.

And so that is all kind of where this exchange between Carson and Barrow is coming from. My fascination with any sport (and I must add that I am woefully reticent to partake of any such physical activity in my own life!) is that sports can display the best and worst of humanity and can also teach us life lessons far beyond the need to stay healthy of body, or that we must always win at any cost. In fact, most teams and sports people lose at sport a whole lot more than they ever win, when you think about it (foot race of 10 people—only one person crosses the line first each time... normally Usain Bolt!) In my book Carson and Barrow almost draw a tie here. And I have always found that in cricket, a draw or a tie is nowhere near as frustrating as it may seem in many other sports because each team has had so much time out in the field to prove their prowess. Results can still turn quickly in cricket, and yet sometimes a winner just cannot be decided, even after the full 5 days of a test match. I kinda like that.

Gosh! I have almost inspired myself to stop ranting and start following some local cricket! ; P

And now my author notes are officially twice as long than the word count on this little fictional DA vignette! I am getting worse it seems! ; P

Regards,

BorneToFLow : )