A/N: Thanks so much for the response again, and I hope you all had a lovely week despite the meh of the Christmas Special. Not as much A/B interaction in this chapter as usual, but I can promise a lot more in the next chapter. Big thanks again to TestShip and I did understand some of your review ;). This is all three of them returning to Downton!

The Long and Winding Road

Chapter Three

The journey back to Downton Abbey took a little longer than first expected, the train being delayed on the line for an hour or so because of a fallen tree. Therefore, when John, Anna and Lizzy finally found themselves at the Abbey, it was close to nightfall, and the little girl was already asleep in the arms of her aunt. John was grateful that Lord Grantham had sent a car to the train station to wait for them, and that it had seemingly remained there despite the delay, knowing that the walk back from the station would have been increasingly difficult with an increasingly tired child. He made a mental note to thank His Lordship later that evening.

He pushed the back door open for Anna and Lizzy after the chauffeur had dropped their bags beside them and taken the car back around. The heat from inside the servants' quarters hit them instantly, a contrast to the increasing chill outside as autumn drew near.

"Here," he gestured for Anna to go inside ahead of him, his eyes trained on the hallway ahead as Mr Carson turned in his chair to look at them.

Mrs Hughes appeared next, rounding the table as she hurried to meet them. She approached Anna instantly and asked softly, cautious of the sleeping child in her arms, "How was it?"

"Bearable," Anna replied softly, hitching Lizzy further up in her arms, earning a tender look from Mrs Hughes who reached out a motherly hand to smooth Lizzy's hair from her eyes.

"How has she been?" Mrs Hughes asked, although was increasingly aware of the gathering in the hall behind her, and the noise coming from the kitchen that was a tell-tale sign that dinner was still being served.

"We're not sure yet," Anna confessed, tightening her hold on Lizzy as she began to stir gently.

Mrs Hughes started to notice Lizzy stirring and, thinking quickly, thought it would be best if the little girl had a good night of sleep before she started to meet everyone downstairs, knowing that it would be a little overwhelming for her at the best of times.

"We can take her to bed now if you want," the housekeeper began. "Best to save the introductions 'til tomorrow."

Anna nodded thankfully and slowly began to ease a waking Lizzy from her arms, knowing that she would never make it all the way up to the attics with her in her arms. Lizzy was drowsy, and protested with a little mumble as she was stood on the floor, but leant against her aunt almost instantly and followed her upstairs.

A bed had been prepared in Anna's room, Mrs Hughes knowing that the little girl would feel comfortable beside her aunt. And after all, the room was larger than others after her recent promotion to lady's maid. Anna opened the door to her room and saw the small camp bed, and instantly set about changing Lizzy into some of the night clothes they had brought with them. Mrs Hughes handed her the travel bag filled with the girl's possessions and clothes, explaining that Mr Bates had given it to her just as she had started going up the stairs when Anna looked at her curiously.

Anna had just finished undoing the buttons on Lizzy's dress when the little girl asked, her voice thick with sleep, "Are we at Downton now?"

"We are, sweetheart," Anna whispered as she slipped the nightgown over her head and tightened the braid in her hair, pulling back the duvet covers for her to slip beneath.

Lizzy did so willingly, yawning quietly as she turned into her pillow drowsily.

Anna whispered a good night and kissed her forehead before leaving the room quietly, turning the light off as she went.

Anna returned downstairs, closely behind Mrs Hughes. The older woman stopped as they reached a landing on the small staircase and turned towards Anna, the one she had always looked upon as a daughter, and started to take in her appearance – the redness of her eyes, the bags underneath them from where she had not been sleeping properly, and the wobble of her lip as she realised she was being studied…

"How has it really been?" Mrs Hughes asked, rubbing the top of Anna's arm as the younger lady's maid closed her eyes briefly.

She was determined not to cry. She had done enough of that in the past couple of days. John had bore witness to far too many of her tears – not that he minded, and Anna knew that. She bit her tongue and tried to avoid eye contact with the housekeeper, but a small sigh that escaped the lips of Mrs Hughes informed Anna that there was no use trying to hide.

"It was awful," Anna finally confessed, looking up at Mrs Hughes, straight into her eyes. The compassion she saw there reminded Anna of her own mother, and she felt her heart lurch at the feeling; the memories of her childhood. "But thank you for sending Mr Bates."

"It was no trouble."

"But it was," Anna responded. "You were rushed off your feet, and so was Mr Molesley. You didn't have to do it."

"He didn't mind," Mrs Hughes began, before stepping closer to Anna, bringing her other hand up to rest on the other arm. "And neither did I. You and Mr Bates are both very highly valued here, and you will do well to remember that."

Those familiar words – words that had been spoken during her husband's trial, or just after – resounded around her head, knocking her speechless as she closed her eyes, willing the tears to disappear, and nodded slowly.

She could feel herself being pulled into the embrace of Mrs Hughes, the arms that gathered around her; lulled her into a sense of security that she had rarely felt in her entire life. Anna allowed her head to fall against her shoulder, a few stubborn tears escaping her eyes.

"Now," Mrs Hughes began, pulling away from the embrace slowly. "I'll go and inform Her Ladyship that you're back safely, and that introductions can be made tomorrow."

Anna smiled and nodded, wiping at her eyes.

"Why don't you go down and see Mr Bates? No doubt he'll be waiting for you."

Anna smiled again, but this time it grew wider, and it took no convincing for her to go back downstairs.

Mrs Hughes watched as she went, and prayed that things would soon start looking up for the Bateses.

Anna was downstairs in the hall with John having a cup of tea and listening to the various conversations happening between all of the other servants when she noticed Mrs Hughes come down the main staircase into their quarters. She quickly placed her cup down and called out,

"Mrs Hughes!"

The housekeeper turned and entered the hall, although lingered underneath the door frame. She looked across at Anna questioningly.

"Is there anything to be done?"

Mrs Hughes looked at Anna as though she had grown a second head, and John simply smiled knowingly at the interaction between his wife and Mrs Hughes.

"Certainly not," Mrs Hughes admonished her suggestion. "Why don't the both of you go for a walk? It's still quite early and neither of them will be ringing for you tonight."

With that, Mrs Hughes left the hall briskly for her sitting room and Anna sat back down.

As she turned her head to John, he asked, "Do you fancy that?"

"What if Lizzy wakes up?"

"That isn't likely," John retorted. "Besides, we will only be a little while." He could see Anna start to think about it seriously. He teased her quietly, "Come on."

When she smiled, he knew he'd won.

"And then Mr Carson's face went red…"

John trailed off, letting Anna continue to laugh as he watched her in delight. It had been his mission during their walk tonight to make her smile, and laugh, and he was delighted to have completed it. He had seen far too many of her tears these past few days, and he had vowed in prison to do his best to keep them as far away as possible upon his release. He had been the cause of them far too often.

"Poor William," Anna laughed, although her tone turned a little sombre at the thought of their fallen friend.

"And us," John laughed with her. "Mr Carson had us all helping clean dinner off the floor, my knee was wreaking havoc for weeks!"

Anna rolled her eyes at his comment, but could hardly help herself from snuggling even further into his side as they walked, wrapping her arm tighter around his waist. "My poor darling."

John poked her side for good measure before pulling her closer, breathing out a sigh into the cool September air. The two of them had walked quite some way now, on a rather long route around the grounds that they had once found in their 'courting' days. Anna was happy to walk silently by his side, wrapped in the cocoon of his embrace, so John started to think.

First, he started to think about the month ahead for them; how this month was likely to be the most crucial for making Lizzy comfortable. He found himself relieved that the family would not be taking the usual trip up to Scotland this month, even though he felt guilty afterwards for thinking so, considering the reasons behind their ultimate decision to stay. But he quickly pulled himself away from those thoughts and started to think about their cottage, which should be available to them after the funeral.

This thought made his heart soar. It had been years since the offer had first been made – the night he had gone to Lord Grantham and asked him about the possibilities of marrying Anna. It was funny, he thought, how he should have been asking her father for permission, but he had ended up approaching Lord Grantham. As it were, Mr Smith had passed away years before he had even met Anna, so that was out of the picture anyway. But once Lord Grantham had mentioned the cottage, he had begun to contemplate their life together in it. Before he had even asked Anna for her hand.

He chuckled to himself, although Anna heard.

"What are you thinking about?"

John looked down, and his heart sang when he saw Anna looking up at him, a curious smile across her face.

He was about to reply, when he noticed that the two of them had reached the temple and were close to the house again. John motioned for them both to go and sit there, briefly remembering the times when they had gone and sat there, huddled together, and talked well into the night. On those occasions he had been sure to ask Mrs Hughes for the back door keys so he could lock up behind him. She had barely minded at that time, the two of them practically being engaged.

"I was thinking about the cottage," he revealed as the two continued their walk.

The two walked over to the temple and sat down on one of the steps. John eased himself to the ground with his cane, and he smiled as Anna started to rub gentle circles over his knee.

"Lady Mary says that they have been renovating it this week, apparently there was a lot of work to do," Anna giggled, settling in his arms.

"At least it will be ready to move into," he suggested. The two had seen the row of cottages, and their state seemed fairly… unusable. At least from the outside. His Lordship had also mentioned to him briefly before that a lot of the cottages needed work. He was pleased that work was being carried out before the three of them would be moving in, although he assumed that the news of Anna's sister had prompted it more than anything.

Anna turned and smiled at him. "And a place to call home."

His eyes shone as his mind registered her words, and he could not help but lean down and close the distance between their lips.

Anna continued, "And for Lizzy to call home."

John could sense there was more to the matter than he had heard, but he waited patiently for a few moments before saying anything himself. He watched as her eyes lay to rest on one particular stone, and knew that she was locked away in her thoughts and, most probably, worries. "What are you fretting over?" he asked gently, even teasingly as he tried to bring a smile back to her face.

"I just…" Anna began but stopped almost instantly afterwards. She took another deep breath and, spurred on by his hand rubbing down her arm, she continued, "I hope we can be enough. It's going to be difficult for Lizzy and I want her to feel at home eventually."

"I think she will," John spoke, just holding her for a moment. "I think it will be difficult at times – some a lot more than others. But I think we can help her through this, and I know that you will do everything in your power to do so."

"You've always had such faith in me, I never understood…"

"You waited," he interrupted her, kissing her neck. "You fought," he kissed her neck again. "You still loved me even after all the pain I put you through." He kissed her temple this time.

Anna argued, "I could never stop loving you, John."

His hand came to rest upon her cheek, and he gently turned her head to face him, moving his lips down to meet hers in a slow, passionate kiss. He tried to deepen it instantly, and when Anna parted her lips he began to explore in earnest, moving his spare hand up and down her side, rubbing her skin through the thick fabric of her dress and coat.

Husband and wife only parted when they were in need of air, and Anna instantly let her head drop to his shoulder, closing her eyes and smiling.

"Shall we start to head back?"

John asked her a few minutes later, noticing her eyes begin to flutter closed.

Anna nodded wordlessly without even opening her eyes and allowed John to help her to her feet. They walked back to the house arm in arm but, just as Anna was about to bid him a goodnight, she noticed a gathering in the servants' hall and a sniffling that could only have belonged to one person.

She let go of her husband's arm and rushed into the hall only to find Lizzy sat, awake, rubbing her red, puffy eyes on Daisy's knee. The assistant cook had her arms wrapped around the little girl, comforting her as best as she could.

However, as soon as Lizzy saw Anna, she reached out to her aunt. Anna obliged and took the girl in her arms, grunting mildly at the weight in her arms before she sat down in a spare seat.

"What happened?" Anna asked Lizzy, although more to the others.

"She had a nightmare," Daisy replied, moving to stand up. "I heard her when I popped upstairs and thought it would be best to bring her down."

Anna nodded at the explanation, kissing the top of Lizzy's head as she whispered her apologies for not being there into her ear. The little girl sniffed once more and clung even tighter to Anna.

Anna listened to the others as she held Lizzy. She only heard bits and pieces here and there. Daisy had brought her down and Mrs Patmore had made her some warm milk. Mrs Hughes had been dressing Lady Mary for bed at the time, since Anna would return to her duties the next morning, and she had promised that Anna would be back soon with Mr Bates. Miss O'Brien had suggested Lizzy could have one of Mrs Patmore's special biscuits and the cook had obliged, bringing through a plate of chocolate-covered biscuits.

Anna was still soothing Lizzy.

Thomas made some flippant remark about the commotion being made, but before Anna could retort Miss O'Brien had beaten her to it, telling Thomas to put a sock in it.

As he left the hall with a huff, Anna threw Miss O'Brien a grateful smile.

Mrs Hughes entered the hall then and instantly suggested everyone should leave and give the girl some room to breath. Most left, but Anna asked Mr Bates and Daisy to stay.

"Do you think you're ready to sleep yet?" Anna asked, watching as Lizzy carefully turned her head to inspect the occupants of the room. She smiled slightly at John, who returned it warmly.

Lizzy shook her head, reaching out for her glass of milk and finishing the rest of it.

Anna watched her carefully, seeing that she was contemplating something. Anna noticed the same look in her eye that her sister used to have whenever she was thinking and wanted to say something. She waited for a minute or so, giving her time, but eventually asked her what it was.

Lizzy shrugged at first, but after being met with silence started to speak, "Mummy always liked it when I drew her pictures." Anna's first instinct was to frown, wondering where Lizzy was going with this. Her heart sank when she continued. "If I draw one for her now, can she come back?"

Anna had to fight the tears in her eyes, determined not to cry in front of Lizzy. "No, sweetheart, I'm sorry. She can't."

"But…"

Daisy noticed as Anna began to struggle and decided to interrupt Lizzy. "My husband, William, is in heaven too, just like your mum." Lizzy looked up as Daisy spoke. "I know he can't come back. But, sometimes, I feel that he is watching over me, making sure everything is right. I think your mum will do the same."

Lizzy did not respond verbally, but instead nodded slowly.

When the little girl yawned a few minutes later, Anna announced that both of them would go up to bed. Anna found that the explanation had helped in some ways because Lizzy did not speak of it again before climbing into bed, however it would not be the last time she tried to bargain.

"More toast?"

Mrs Patmore asked over and over again.

Anna had left Lizzy in the kitchen with Mrs Patmore and Daisy, hoping that she would feel more comfortable with people she knew from the previous night, and knowing that it would be less busy than the servants' hall at this time in the morning. Everyone was in and out for breakfast, all at different times, and Anna thought it might have been a bit overwhelming.

Lizzy shook her head, still sat on the chair by the desk Mrs Patmore had for her records.

"Some juice?"

Lizzy shook her head once more, smiling shyly.

"Very well, little miss. Never say Mrs Patmore doesn't feed you enough." The old cook pointed her rolling pin at the girl dramatically and reached out her spare hand to stroke her cheek, causing Lizzy to smile a little wider but still remain silent.

John happened to be walking past the kitchen, wanting to go outside for some fresh air before going to see His Lordship, when he noticed Lizzy sat there in silence. He poked his head around the door, trying to grab her attention.

When she turned, he smiled at her warmly.

"Do you want to come outside for a bit?" he asked, loud enough for Mrs Patmore to hear and take notice of them before she went back to her work.

Lizzy nodded and jumped off the chair instantly. She took his hand, which surprised John somewhat, and he led them both outside into the courtyard, finding a crate to sit on.

"Best not stay out here too long," John started. "Your aunt will be mad at me if you catch a cold."

Lizzy giggled and John smiled down at her, sat by his side.

"Too much going on in there, eh?"

Lizzy nodded and sidled up closer to him, prompting John to wrap his arm around her shoulders.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," Lizzy answered, surprising John as she spoke.

"And we should be moving into the cottage next week," John continued. "Lord Grantham says he has been fixing it properly for us."

"Does it have a garden?"

John thought for a second, "I think so. We can go and see it, if you like. Your aunt and I might be able to take you there on a walk this afternoon. Would you like that?"

Lizzy looked up and smiled at John, nodding her head.

The two of them continued to talk, and bond, until Mrs Hughes came to fetch them.

When Lizzy came back inside, Anna was just coming downstairs. She had just finished dressing Lady Mary when Lord Grantham woke and called for John. It was unusual for Anna to be dressing Mary before John had gone to His Lordship, but it was not unheard of. Anna smiled as she saw her niece, and Lizzy returned it.

"How long have you two been outside?" Anna asked, directing her question at John, but getting a response from her niece.

"Not long," she responded quite happily. "Uncle John said you would be mad at him if we stayed for too long."

Anna raised an eyebrow and looked at her husband. Mrs Hughes smirked knowingly. "Did he now?"

"I better be going," John brushed past the three of them, making his way upstairs, but not before turning and sharing a look with his wife.

"Her Ladyship should be dressed soon, Miss O'Brien just went up. Then we can go and say hello." Mrs Hughes informed the two of them, and she was right. Some time later, O'Brien came back downstairs and revealed that Her Ladyship was going to spend time in the main sitting room this morning and that she had told her to inform Mrs Hughes.

Mrs Hughes nodded and then signalled to Anna and Lizzy before the three of them made their way upstairs.

Lizzy was in awe of the house, and Anna smiled at her lovingly, ensuring that she kept hold of her hand.

Mrs Hughes knocked on the sitting room door and, after hearing a response, opened it.

"Good morning, Mrs Hughes." Cora spoke with a bright smile, eagerly watching the door.

Anna followed Mrs Hughes, still holding onto Lizzy's hand. Her eyes scanned the room quickly, and she noticed that Tom – Mr Branson now to her – was in the corner, holding baby Sybil in his arms. She shot him a warm smile instantly, and he met her eyes and smiled back.

"Good morning, m'lady. Mr Branson," Mrs Hughes nodded warmly at Tom.

"And who do we have here?" Cora stood up slowly, still smiling. Mrs Hughes knew Her Ladyship had been anxious to meet the little girl staying under her roof.

"This is Anna's niece, your Ladyship. Elizabeth."

"Well it's very nice to meet you, Elizabeth." Cora announced brightly, although laughed a little when Lizzy turned into Anna's skirt shyly.

"I'm afraid she might be feeling a little shy," Anna explained.

"There's no worry there," Cora explained hastily. "Lady Edith was quite the same at that age."

Anna smiled warmly.

"Well, I shan't keep you any longer." Cora essentially ended their little meeting. "It was very nice to meet you, Elizabeth."

"Very well, your Ladyship," Mrs Hughes smiled and nodded.

The three of them came out into the main hallway. At the same time, Lady Mary was coming downstairs and, upon seeing the three of them, smiled widely.

"Anna! I was hoping to catch you actually."

Anna stood still, holding onto Lizzy's hand still whilst Mrs Hughes carried on to the door that took her downstairs to the servants' quarters.

"Yes, m'lady?"

"I wanted to try a new hairstyle tonight, for Mr Matthew. Would you mind coming up a little earlier to practice?"

"No, of course not, m'lady."

Lady Mary smiled warmly and then looked down at Lizzy.

"And is this the famous Elizabeth?"

Lizzy hid once more in Anna's skirts.

Anna let out a laugh, "She's been quite shy this morning."

Lady Mary looked down at the girl affectionately. "Why not bring her with you? Maybe she could do your hair too," Mary suggested, gaining the attention of Lizzy. "She is very good."

Anna smiled warmly at Lady Mary. "We will, m'lady. We will both see you later."

Anna went upstairs a little earlier that evening, Lizzy by her side. She was curious as to the new hairstyle that Lady Mary was interested in wanting tonight, considering there was no special event, or even guests joining them for dinner. Old Lady Grantham and Mrs Crawley were joining the family, that much Anna knew, but that had hardly been a reason in the past for Lady Mary to spice up her hair.

Unless she was planning something with Mr Crawley, Anna thought to herself amusedly.

Shaking herself from these thoughts, Anna looked down at her niece, who was looking up at the tall corridors in awe. Anna was hardly surprised that she was experiencing these feelings in the house, she remembered feeling similar when she first started working as a maid at Downton all those years ago.

Squeezing her hand affectionately, Lizzy looked up at her aunt, granting her a small, shy smile.

"Big, isn't it?"

Anna watched as Lizzy swallowed and nodded.

"At least the cottage will be much smaller. No getting lost in there," Anna joked.

She was overjoyed when she heard her niece let out a small giggle.

The three of them had experienced a lovely walk that afternoon, taking the same route Anna and John had when he had been released a couple of weeks ago. Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson had obliged with their request to go and show Lizzy the cottage that Lord Grantham was to provide them in just over a week. The walk seemed to have calmed Lizzy slightly and reassured her, at least in part. Anna and John had pointed out the cottage and the three of them had started to share silly, little stories about their potential time there in the future, imagining how big the bedrooms and kitchen would be.

Lizzy was slowly starting to become more and more comfortable around them, but Anna was still concerned that the funeral on Monday would bring even more grief and pain to the little girl.

They reached Lady Mary's bedroom, and Anna knocked as usual before being told to enter.

Lady Mary turned from where she was sat at her dressing table, "Anna!"

Mr Crawley took this as his queue to leave the bedroom, although not before shooting his wife a knowing smirk. She returned it, before focusing her attentions on Anna and the little girl beside her.

"Have you had a nice afternoon?" Lady Mary asked.

"We did, m'lady," Anna answered with a smile, beckoning Lizzy to move forward with her. "We went to see the cottage, didn't we?"

Lizzy looked up at her aunt, and then over to Lady Mary. Slowly, she smiled and nodded.

"Of course, the cottage. It should be ready to move into soon."

"His Lordship has told Mr Bates that it should be ready for next Friday."

"Very good." Lady Mary smiled. "Now, since we have quite some time yet I thought you could do Elizabeth's hair first." Anna brought her hand up to her niece's brown hair and stroked it softly.

"Well, I suppose we could," Anna teased her.

"Of course we could," Lady Mary replied, standing up to bring the chair from the side of her bed to her dressing table. Anna looked across and made a face as if to say she would have done that, but Lady Mary merely raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you come and sit here? You can look at my pins and choose one you'd like."

Anna smiled softly at her lady, her eyes a reflection of her gratitude. She urged Lizzy forward, and the little girl went willingly, albeit slowly, and sat herself down on the chair.

Anna watched the two of them as Lady Mary began to show Lizzy her hair pins and stepped forward to release Lizzy's hair from the braids she had plaited earlier. She ran her fingers through the hair, until Lady Mary passed her the hair brush.

"Have you chosen one yet?"

Lady Mary asked, even though she had noticed Lizzy taking a shine to one in particular – a silver one with a crescent moon engraved on top.

"This one?" Lady Mary pointed to it.

Lizzy looked up at her and nodded shyly.

As Lady Mary passed Anna the hair pin, Anna was about to open her mouth and protest when another look silenced her. Anna knew that the hair pin was a particular favourite for Lady Mary, but she was overwhelmed with the kindness she was showing her niece. She always knew that Lady Mary was more kind-hearted and warm than most people assumed, but she really was touched right now.

Anna continued to fix a new hairstyle for Lizzy whilst the three of them made small talk. She had just finished when a knock came at the door again.

It was John, she would soon discover. She had asked him to come and get Lizzy about half an hour after she had taken her up, so she could prepare Lady Mary properly for dinner.

Anna took Lizzy outside, excusing herself with Lady Mary, and smiled a 'thank you' to her husband as he fixed her with one of his smiles, the kind that reached his eyes and caused the skin around them to wrinkle. Those smiles had always caused her stomach to flutter, and this time was no exception.

"What do you think of her hair?" Anna asked John amusedly.

John looked down at Lizzy, who was staring back up at him, and smiled warmly. "Lovely. You could both pass as ladies. Not that you don't usually, of course."

Anna rolled her eyes as Lizzy laughed, and she playfully swatted his arm, "Go, be off with you."

"We'll see you in a little while," John smiled, taking Lizzy downstairs as Anna turned back into the bedroom.

"Was that Bates?" Lady Mary asked.

Anna smiled and nodded.

"He seems good with her."

Anna smiled again, this time a little wider, "He is, m'lady." Anna began to let out her hair, brushing it so that she could re-style it. "Now, what would you like to do?"

"A little… bigger, maybe. Wavier at the sides, too."

Anna bit her lip and nodded, her mind fixing on the style. She slowly began to arrange the hair, as Lady Mary started to speak again.

"When will the funeral be?"

Anna bit the inside of her cheek before answering, keeping her emotions under control. "On Monday, we were going to take the train on Saturday morning after completing our duties, Mrs Hughes agreed."

Lady Mary nodded thoughtfully.

"Will Bates be going with you?"

Anna felt her stomach flip at the thought of him not being there with her. She nodded silently, beginning to heat the curling tongs.

"Of course he will be, that was a silly question." Mary remembered when Sybil had died, and how she had needed as many people around her as possible, Matthew especially. She knew Anna would need a similar comfort in these times.

"His Lordship has been generous," Anna explained. "He has allowed Mr Bates some time too."

"I'm certain Mr Molesley can cope with dressing two of them," Lady Mary replied tartly. "Heavens, you coped with dressing all three of us until not long ago."

Anna smiled slightly at her attempt at humour, and a few moments later started to use the curling iron on her hair. She completed it with practiced ease before brushing out the curls with her fingers and attempting to fix it to look bigger.

They spoke a little bit more about the funeral, but when Lady Mary could see that it was starting to make Anna quieter she stopped and started to talk about dinner tonight.

Anna drifted in and out of the conversation, continuing to focus on her hair as she began to fix it, happy when she heard Lady Mary's murmur of approval.

Leaving the bedroom just under an hour later, Anna breathed a sigh of relief and immediately went back downstairs, intent on finding her husband.