Prompt #6: "I am the happiest creature in the world. Perhaps other people have said so before, but not one with such justice."
"Is now a good moment?" Charles asks Elsie, as the strains of 'For He's a Jolly Good Fellow' fill the room.
She is slightly taken aback by his words. It's not that he wants to speak with her, she's been expecting that, it's his timing that shocks her. His Lordship is being celebrated, yet Charles is going to leave the party? "It is if you want it to be."
Following his lead, they make their way downstairs. On the way Elsie collects two cups of punch; it's Christmas after all, they should celebrate and she wants Mr Carson to know that she's happy that he's bought his house. Granted, there's a twinge of sadness that she isn't a part of it, but she has accepted that it cannot be.
He leads her into his pantry and closes the door behind them. She turns to him and offers him some punch, but he refuses. "I don't think I should."
"Go on," she insists, hardly believing that his sense of propriety won't allow him a drink on Christmas Eve. "It's Christmas. Let's toast your new house."
Her comment paves the way for the conversation Charles knows he can put off no longer. "Maybe I should mention one thing. You say, 'your new house' but it isn't only mine."
"No?" She wonders if he has another investor when he told her he could afford to buy the house on his own. She fights down the pangs of hurt and jealousy that spring up inside. She is pleased for him, really; he is not to blame for her situation and she must be happy for him.
"No," he confirms, taking a breath to steady his nerves before ploughing on with his confession. "I've registered it in both of our names. I hope you don't mind but I hate to change a plan when there's no need."
Elsie's face falls. She isn't a charity case and she doesn't want his pity. "Mr Carson. I'm very appreciative… really. But I can't accept."
Charles is confused. "Why not?"
Elsie rolls her eyes. Surely it's obvious why. "Who knows what the future may hold, or how much longer we'll even be here. Suppose you want to move away and change your life entirely. You don't want to be stuck with me."
As she speaks he is transported back to the beach, to the last time she had 'supposed' things... when she had offered him her hand. He wishes he could take her hand now; he could use a bit of steadying at the moment. It's thrown him slightly that she hasn't read his intentions correctly. He'd thought she'd have an inkling of how he felt; thought he'd shown her over the past months, silently, slowly courting her. But it appears not. He needs to say something to convince her that this is what he wants; he isn't settling or sacrificing in any way.
"But that's the point," he says.
"What is?"
He takes a moment to compose himself, before telling her what has been on his heart ever since Mrs Patmore had brought the spectre of retirement into their midst. "I do want to be stuck with you."
Elsie looks at him in shock; he can't be saying what it sounded like he was saying, can he? "I'm not convinced I can be hearing this right."
"You are, if you think I'm asking you to marry me," he clarifies, almost breathless from the emotion of the conversation.
She freezes, shocked by his proposal, her expression unreadable. And he is left at the mercy of the silence that now fills the room. When he can stand it no longer he gently asks, "Well?"
"Well," she breathes, "you could knock me down with a feather."
Charles takes hope from the fact that her reaction hasn't been particularly negative. That has to be good sign, doesn't it? "And you're not offended?"
"Mr. Carson, I can assure you the very last thing in the world that I am at this moment is offended." She truly isn't. She knows Mr Carson wouldn't propose out of pity or a sense of charity; he values the institution of marriage too highly to do that.
Charles is relieved; the last thing he wants is to have insulted her. But she still hasn't answered his question. Maybe she needs time to think about it. "You can take as long as you like." he offers. "I won't press you. Because one thing I do know; I'm not marrying anyone else."
Their eyes lock for a moment, his admission confirming what she already suspects; there is much more to this proposal than a mere business arrangement. She breaks the connection to hand him his cup of punch. "Well then."
Charles feels as if he's missed something. What does she mean by 'well then' and what are they toasting to? "What exactly are we celebrating?" he asks uncertainly.
Despite the seriousness of the moment, she can't resist teasing him a little. "We're celebrating the fact that I can still get a proposal at my age," she replies with a smile.
"And that's it?" He inwardly curses himself, he'd told her a few moments ago that he wouldn't press her, but here he is doing exactly that. He can't help himself; he needs to know.
Elsie shakes her head at his eagerness and places her free hand to her chest. "Of course I'll marry you, you old booby!" she replies with a smile, as she steps towards him, closing the gap between them. "I thought you'd never ask." She places her free hand on his arm and squeezes it gently as tears fill his eyes.
They stand there for several moments, connected only by her hand on his arm, but the emotional connection they felt is stronger than ever.
Charles clears his throat, and lifts his punch cup. "Well then, a toast."
"To?"
"To something other than you still being able to get a proposal at your age," he answers, with a glint in his eye.
Elsie chooses to ignore his gentle teasing. "How about, 'to the future'," she suggests. "Whatever it may hold for us, together."
Charles agrees. "To our future," he beams.
They clink their glasses and sip their punch, standing opposite each other, still connected by her hand on his arm. When their cups are empty, Elsie reluctantly steps back, taking his cup from him. "We should be returning to the party; we'll be missed if we linger any longer."
Charles knows she's right but, for the first time in his career, something is conflicting with his commitment to serve the family; his desire to spend time with his fiancée. Elsie senses his reluctance. "We can speak more once everyone is in bed," she promises, before taking the cups to the kitchen.
When she returns, Charles is waiting at the bottom of the stairs, having made peace with the fact that they will have to share each other with the rest of the household for the next few hours at least. He holds out his arm, indicating for her to climb the stairs ahead of him and then follows close behind.
She's almost at the green baize door, when he calls out to her. "Mrs Hughes…"
She stops and turs to him expectantly. They can't linger behind the door, any one of the staff could walk through at any moment. "Yes, Mr Carson?" she asks lovingly.
He knows now is probably not the best time, but he needs to ask her one more thing. He should have asked when they were downstairs but she'd been determined to return to the party, so as not to draw attention to themselves. But he finds that this can't wait. He swallows, suddenly nervous, because her answer to this question will probably have more bearing on his heart than her answer to his earlier proposal did. "I… Are you happy?"
She smiles. "I feel I'm the happiest creature in the world. I'm sure many people have said similar in the past but right now, I don't think there's anyone who could be as happy as I am." Knowing he isn't one for too much sentimentality, she turns and proceeds through the door, back to the party.
His heart swelling with happiness and pride, Charles follows behind and leans down to whisper in her ear with a smile, "Oh I don't know, I can think of one other."
A/N: Thanks for the comments so far. For those of you waiting on an update to 'Whatever the Circumstances', fear not, I haven't given up on it. The next chapter is with my beta, so as soon as I have it back and have tweaked it, it will be posted.
