Elsie looked up from the ledger she was working in when she heard the sound of Beryl Patmore giggling. Her eyes widened in disbelief when she realized the sound was coming from Charles' pantry. The two passed her open door and she saw Beryl swat him playfully with her dishtowel and say "You are a brazen one, Mr. Carson!" After stewing for most of the evening, she went to his pantry to confront him only to discover his desk set with fine china, crystal and dinner for two.

Elsie purses her lips at the sight of Beryl perched on the desk lighting candles but says nothing. She instead traces her own path back to her sitting room and closes the door shut when she hears a light giggle in the hallway.

Whatever happened to propriety? Have they no decency? Forgot all manners? Flirting openly and for everyone to see… and on her birthday!

By the way, she has the half day off but the cook does not and she shouldn't be having dinner at this hour with her butler.

… Her butler?! Where in heavens did that come from? She should rationalize: Charles and Beryl are her best friends… her only friends, probably, there is no mine or theirs… it's… everyone on their own. Yes. No one is no one elses… and Beryl should remember that! Of all people… Did she accidentally built Beryl's interest in the butler talking about him with her? Perhaps that always denying any sort of deeper feeling was counterproductive in the end…

Whatever. She has no deeper feelings anyway. The butler is not hers and she shouldn't be jealous.

Is she jealous? Of Beryl? No… no. Of course not. Jealous…

This must be her worst birthday in a long time. Probably of all time!

Don't be silly, Elsie, they don't know and you're making a fool of yourself, she chides herself.

And you should be happy for them! She declares in her own mind picking up a pen and resuming her work. She has a half day and she's working. On her birthday… And it was Beryl who suggested she took the half day off. Elsie sniffs. A cold, she's getting a cold, that's all.

A knock on the door and the cook's ginger head peeks in: "Mrs Hughes, can i ask you a favor?"

She swallows her disapponitment and manages a smile: "Of course"

"Mr Carson has accidentally locked himself in his pantry, could you please go and open the door with your key?"

What a sordid affair… she thinks, that door was never locked in 20 years and the lock must be so rusty it's stuck. Well, serves him right if he was planning on locking himself up with Beryl and… She sighs and gets her keys following the cook down the hall. "You know, why don't I just give you the key and you return it when you're done?" she says when they stop.

Beryl frowns: "What?"

And then Charles opens the door to his pantry with a similar frown and repeats: "What?"

"I don't want the key to his pantry," Beryl laughs "if you could give me the one to the store cupboard I'd leave you two to your romantic dinner." she says instead.

There's a tray with dishes in the room and a wrapped box very much looking like a birthday present on the desk and Charles is positively blushing and… she's feeling like an idiot by the second so she stares at her feet and sniffs, laughing trough the tears.

"Whatever happened?" Beryl asks confused

"You can have the store cupboard key, Mrs Patmore" she hears herself saying "just for this week!"

And then she locks the door.