The house is quiet.
A rare event outside of the London season. There are no frantic comings and goings, no gongs to ring, no bells to answer, no tea to make or baths to run. Just…quiet.
The girls, except for Edith, have gone with Lord Grantham to hunt, Lady Grantham has taken Edith and O'Brien to York for the day, Thomas has gone to the village, and Daisy and William are fumbling their way through the last agricultural show of the year.
The house is quiet.
"Mr. Bates," Mr. Carson's voice roused Bates from where he sat at the table reading an account of Lord Kitchener's assault on the Boers at the Battle of Paardeberg. War was on everyone's mind, and Bates was drawn again and again to his past, wondering if the future for boys like William would be similar to what he faced in South Africa. He was very much afraid that it would be worse.
Bates looked up from his book, "Yes, Mr. Carson?"
"Mrs. Hughes and I are going to spend the day going over inventories and checking some of the shelving in the wine cellar." Carson frowned. "It seems as if the damp is playing havoc with the boards."
"Can I help, Mr. Carson?" Bates asked. Though truth be told, spending the day counting stores and prodding shelves was not how he wanted to take up his free time.
"No, thank you. With everyone gone for the day, and probably most of the evening, I don't see why you" he paused here, "and…the rest of of the staff shouldn't have a well-deserved day off." He look pointedly at Bates. "Spend it as you wish. Mrs. Patmore has left sandwiches in the larder, and there's stew for supper."
Bates couldn't help but wonder at the pause. What was Carson insinuating? Surely he and Anna had not been at all public with their affection. Unless, Carson had something else on his mind? Bates mulled this over and said, "Thank you, Mr. Carson. Today looks to be a fine day, it will be nice to be off."
Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes? Surely not. But what if? His thoughts were interrupted as Anna came into the room.
"What do you reckon, then?" Anna asked, smiling at him. "A whole day off!" She settled down in a chair across from him.
"I've just had the most disturbing notion," Bates said somewhat distractedly. Anna looked at him quizzically. "Never mind." he said, looking down at the book in his hand. "What are your plans for this unexpected holiday?"
"Why, spending the day with you, of course." she paused. "Silly beggar!"
"Well," Bates began, reaching over to take her hand, "Mr. Carson did say I could spend it as I wished." He smiled. "I wish to spend it with you. Go and get changed and meet me back here."
Anna's heart gave a flutter, she squeezed his hand, tried to control the silly grin that threatened to overtake her face, and said, "I will."
Bates changed too. Off came the stiff starched collar, the tie, the dark, somber pants and jacket. For his day with Anna he donned a pair of light brown pants, a comfortable collarless shirt, and a casual jacket. He made his way back downstairs trying to think of how best to use this precious time. Unbidden, but not unwelcome, thoughts of lips and hands, heat and skin exploded in his head. Swallowing hard, Bates pushed those thoughts out of the way, and remembered a walk he had taken not long after arriving in Downton. Early on (before Anna), he had wandered the grounds on his half-day. It was much preferable than sitting in his room or at the table in the servant's dining room. He remembered that to the north and east of the house, was a small lake, and oddly enough, a temple to the Roman goddess Diana. A by-product of an earlier Crawley's fascination with Roman mythology, Bates thought he remembered it being set back along the shores of the lake. The walk there and back would be manageable for him, the path was well-trodden, the ground was level, and the distance wasn't much greater than going to the village. It was also somewhat secluded once they got beyond the boundaries of the main grounds. And there it was again, that explosion of imagery that left him feeling like a schoolboy.
"Don't you look relaxed!" Anna had come up behind him while he was daydreaming (fantasizing) and Bates turned toward her. She had changed into a light blue dress with a sprinkling of delicate sweet peas around collar and wrist. Her hair, though still done up, was looser, more relaxed than he had ever seen it, and as she moved toward him, his nose caught a whiff of the sweet scent of honeysuckle.
He gazed at her, with what must have looked to Anna, a stunned expression. She smiled thinking that he must think her dress inappropriate. "I know it's more of a spring dress, but it was spring when you first came, and I wanted to wear something that reminded me of that - I have a wrap." she said, and held up a pale green shawl.
"No, no, that's not what I meant," Bates stammered. His eyes drank in the sight of her. "You're beautiful."
"Oh go on," Anna blushed, "this dress is ages old, and I …" Bates took her hand and brought it to his lips.
"You're beautiful," he said again softly as his lips brushed her knuckles. The scent of her was intoxicating. "Come on. You belong in the sunshine." He smiled at her then, and Anna, laughing, let him lead her out the kitchen door.
A bit of history - Paardeberg was a real battle; it took place between February 18-27, 1900 and became known as "Bloody Sunday" for the first day of the battle on Sunday, February 18. Lord Kitchener led the British forces during the Boer War, and there is a temple to Diana on the grounds of Highclere - I have invented (I think) its relation to the lake, but I tried to estimate the distance from the house as closely as possible.. Thank you for the lovely reviews - it means a great deal as this is only my second bit of fanfic! Oh, and I apologize for the "silly beggar" remark - but I just loved that in the series, and thought it was so endearing. I am anxiously awaiting a place to put, "You naughty girl." xxx