Mrs. Hughes peered over her teacup at the man sitting in her armchair. "Happy Birthday to me!" she thought. She was delighted and a little flustered to have him to herself, even if it was just to discuss business. She had admired him for the five years she had worked at Downton and had to admit that working more closely with him was part of what made the position of housekeeper attractive. "Gather your thoughts girl, or you're going to make a fool of yourself!" So, gathering those thoughts, she finished the discussion, and her tea, and hurried the man out of her room before she said something foolish.
This attraction to Charles Carson was not a new occurrence. No, she could recall the precise moment she had fallen head over heels for the blasted man. She had been new at Downton and was being pursued hot and heavy by one of the footmen. Mr. Carson came to her rescue just as she was telling the young octopus off for what seemed like the tenth time. In some backhanded way, Mr. Carson had called her beautiful, and she tried to make some witty reply. It wasn't his compliment that overwhelmed her, however. She looked up into his eyes, and he smiled at her. Her heart actually skipped a beat, and in retrospect, that was probably the last moment it was her own.
She began to seek him out then. She would find ways to "bump" into him in corridors. She found ways to be just ahead of him on the stairs at times and once had been rewarded by hearing a sharp intake of breath. She caught his eye at mealtimes and found that she could not keep her eyes off him. In general, she was making a complete fool of herself over him, and he hardly seemed to notice. He seemed to almost actively avoid her. She was quite frankly very put out with the man, all the while ready to jump into his arms at a moment's notice. She was altogether the most confused and frustrated that she had ever been, and she felt like a very silly, wanton woman. She was both grateful and disappointed that the London season was approaching, and he would be safely many miles away.
This was her first season at Downton, but she had been in service for awhile and knew somewhat what to expect. She usually enjoyed this down time at the country houses. One could accomplish many tasks that were put off while the family was there. While the staff was still very busy, they could move around the house freely without the need to avoid notice. This year, however, she found herself to be distracted. She caught herself daydreaming far too often about Charles Bloody Carson.
She had to admit to herself that she had the most abominable crush on the man. She prided herself that she was not completely shallow. It was not just his rare smiles or deep, rumbling voice that attracted her (although if he ever said anything remotely suggestive to her in that voice, she would probably jump in his lap). She also noted that he had a dry sense of humor which complimented her own. He seemed able to diffuse tense situations among the staff and actively encouraged a good working rapport. She very much appreciated the tight rein he seemed to keep on the amorous attentions of the male staff. It was a pleasant change to be able to work without having to worry about having one's bottom pinched. If only he seemed to be more of the bottom pinching type.
"Really, Elsie, forget the man! He's obviously not interested in you." But that was just the problem, wasn't it? She kept getting the impression that he was very interested in her. A slight widening of his smile when he caught her eye and a subtle deepening of his voice when he was speaking to her made her believe that he found her attractive as well. There was also the time when she was walking ahead of him on the back stairs and heard a gasp that was almost a groan and turned to see him standing with his eyes closed. When she asked if he was hurt, he just urged her to go on. But if he was interested in her, why was he waiting to do anything about his feelings?
She received her answer from an unexpected source, Mrs. Dunmore and Mrs. Patmore. One night, when the few men who were left had slipped down to the village pub, several of the women of the staff were sitting around the table drinking tea with just a little added Scottish spice. As often happens when women are together, the conversation turned to the men of the household. While they were discussing the attractions and detractions of the various footmen, she felt herself perk up a bit at the mention of Mr. Carson.
"Don't misunderstand me, Mrs. Patmore," Mrs. Dunmore was saying. "I'm very glad to have Mr. Carson as our butler; he's a far sight better than Mr. Carter, that's for certain. I was just saying that it's a shame that he doesn't have more opportunity to meet a nice young girl. He's a good man and deserves someone to make him happy."
"But why can't he?" she found herself asking. "There are certainly enough women here for him to choose from".
Mrs. Dunmore looked at her with a raised eyebrow and appraising gaze. "My dear," she began, "you've not been here long enough to know about "the rule". It is rather an unspoken rule but an unbreakable one as far as Mr. Carson is concerned."
Then Mrs. Patmore interjected, "Haven't you noticed that there's not quite as much of the 'bump and tickle' amongst the staff as at other great houses?"
"Go on", she urged.
"Well, we had a very good butler; Mr. Jerkyns. Charles was like a son to him, and he was being trained to be butler. When he died, the Earl, the present Earl's father, thought Charles was too young, so he hired a butler from a different house," Mrs. Dunmore explained, "He was, there's no way to put this delicately; a leech. He, well, let's just say that he and one of the kitchen maids married fairly quickly, and left service."
"They had a child in seven months," Mrs. Patmore said with a wink, "weighed nine pounds."
"I tried to watch him," Mrs. Dunmore said regretfully,"I still don't know where he found the time. Well, anyway, one of the first things he made clear when he took over was 'the rule'. Any romantic involvement amongst the staff was to be discouraged, but most especially one was not to use any influence arising from being at a higher station to take advantage of another."
"That's sure left poor Charles out in the cold!" Mrs. Patmore said with a snort, "The only ones who could be considered to be of his station would be Mrs. Dunmore or meself, and I would expect to see her Ladyship scrubbing floors before he'd be interested in either of us."
"I'd have his head examined if he ever took a shine to me", Mrs. Dunmore laughed, "I must be nearly 20 years older than him."
After that, the conversation, but not Elsie's thoughts, turned away from Charles Carson.
Later that night, while she was lying wide awake on top of her sheets, Charles Carson very much filled her thoughts. "What a fool I've been!" she thought. He might be very interested in her, he could even be madly in love with her, but she knew him well enough now to know that he would sooner cut off his right arm than break a rule he'd set for himself. Integrity can be very bothersome at times. He would never approach her as long as she was head housemaid and he was the butler. That left her with three options. Becoming the cook was out; she was not going to spend all day in a hot kitchen. She could either quit Downton Abbey which would likely mean never seeing him again (also, not an option), or she could become the housekeeper. She resolved to do just that.
In the meantime, she would have to stay somewhat out of his way for her own sanity. If he was not interested in her, staying away from him would save her making herself a fool. If he was interested, as she suspected, then distancing herself should make it a little easier on him as well. She really had no desire to torture the dear man. Well, not much anyway.
The next five years passed with no breakdown on either his or her part. She did not actively avoid him, but did not look for ways to "bump" into him. She was able to look him in the eye without blushing. She was able to converse with him about work and sometimes not work. She discovered that he was quite pleasant company at times, but she made sure not to spend too much time with him. She never could quite get used to the voice, though. She thought it would be much easier to forget him if he didn't have a voice that made her want to purr like a kitten. Perhaps, she could be forgiven if she occasionally walked ahead of him on the stairs, just to remind herself of her own powers over him.
It was Charles who came to fetch her to speak with his Lordship about the housekeeper's position. He seemed quite pleased with himself, and there was a nervousness to his behavior that she had never noticed before. "I hope you realize what a wonderful opportunity this is, Miss Hughes," he was saying as he led her up the back stairs. Led she noted. No way was he going to let her get ahead of him this time. "I assure you that I am aware of the compliment, Mr. Carson.", she replied.
The interview was over fairly quickly. It seemed that Lord Grantham had already decided, and the interview was a mere formality. She stepped out in the hall to find Mr. Carson waiting for her, with an agitated air. He raised his eyebrows at her questioningly. She nodded with a smile, "I am to be the new housekeeper of Downton Abbey. I'll be taking over my new duties just after the holidays. Mrs. Dunmore wants to spend one more Christmas here."
Mr. Carson smiled broadly and took her hand. "Let me be the first to congratulate you, Mrs. Hughes", he said as he bent over her hand and kissed it. It seemed that Christmas had come early for them both.