"Moron!" Carson spat at Grigg, lunging toward him and barely bothering to keep his voice down. "What the bloody hell were you thinking?" he hissed. His face was red and his mouth contorted in anger. Grigg was stunned. "I... had business nearby… I was going to call on you this afternoon…" He trailed off confusedly as Charles glared at him and turned and stormed away.


"Are you sure you're quite all right?" Dr. Clarkson looked at Mrs. Hughes hesitantly. She was obviously upset about something. He had been escorting a patient out and ran into her as she entered his waiting room. She ignored his question, looking back at the door she had just come through as if she were considering going back through it. "...are you... feeling alright?" he asked again.

She turned to face him now, realizing he was speaking to her. She shook her head slightly, composing herself. "Yes, Doctor, I'm fine. I was just... startled by something."

"Oh well, then, come in." He relaxed and gestured her toward the door.

What on earth had Charles been thinking? She was completely stunned at first and could only stare at him, standing there, half-crouched, like some giant confused bear. She didn't know who had called his name and she didn't particularly care. When he snapped his head back to look at her, it was then that she realized he had been following her. And now he was stupidly trying to hide from her while standing in the middle of the damned walkway.

Looking down at her hands, she realized they were shaking. She was embarrassed and frustrated. Her privacy felt suddenly and violently shattered.

She had half a mind to go back out there and give him a tongue lashing. What was he doing? She knew the look on his face when he caught her staring at him. Guilt. It wasn't one Charles had the opportunity to wear often. She snorted to herself. Through the fog of her thoughts she heard Dr. Clarkson asking if she was alright. She remembered where she was. "Now he knows" she thought to herself.

She frowned and stepped ahead of Dr. Clarkson into his office.


Charles was back in his office, pacing. He was so embarrassed. He had no idea what to say to her when she returned. He was dreading it, in fact. A stream of weak excuses paraded through his mind. He had just happened to be there. He had only just noticed that she was there. He'd been in the village for... "come on," he muttered under his breath to himself. He couldn't come up with a single decent reason for why he would have been in the village at all. His thoughts were bordering on frantic.

Finally he sighed and sank into his chair. He remembered her face, the look she had given him. He allowed himself to admit that there was no need for excuses. She had known. He knew all of her expressions. He knew he was caught. Now he just had to figure out how to explain himself. What had he been doing? He didn't even know the answer to that. Well, he supposed he did, but he almost never allowed himself to think about it. He pushed the thought from his mind.

He was flustered and confused, but certain on one thing; he had to apologize.


Elsie walked slowly back to the house. She was unsure what to expect. She thought about last time they had been through this. He had tried in his own awkward way to help her. It wasn't particularly helpful, but she found it sweet. Part of her was relieved he knew now. She still wondered why he'd been acting so harshly toward her recently. For a moment she wondered if he was so uppity that he was irritated that she was leaving the house at all. Spending a few hours not doing her duties.

No, she shook her head. She knew he was particular about their jobs, but even he wasn't that particular. Also, she pondered, that was one thing he always did speak up about. If he thought anyone was slacking in their duties, he would mention it immediately. She was sure that applied even to her.

But why would he follow her? Why wouldn't he just speak to her? She sighed in frustration.


Charles paced near the back door, fidgeting nervously. John saw him out of the corner of his eye and stepped closer. Mr. Carson seemed not to notice him. He was just standing there.

"Everything alright?" John asked tentatively.

Charles turned his head and looked at John. His eyes were distant, preoccupied. Even a bit nervous. John was confused and curious, but his face wore no expression.

"Yes... yes, Mr. Bates" Carson offered with a short nod, but he continued standing there, doing nothing. He was rocking up and down on the balls of his feet now. It was very peculiar.

John considered for a moment and raised his eyebrows. "Mrs. Hughes is in the village, I take it?"

Charles didn't seem to notice the implication in the question. "She should be back shortly. Any minute now." He continued standing there, looking alternately at the back door and the wall in front of him.

"Alright, then." John slowly backed away, keeping his eyes on Mr. Carson. Carson was ignoring him now. It was oddly fascinating. Something had completely taken over him. John could not help himself from wondering what on earth was going on.

From the other side of the hall, he saw Anna approaching. He waved at her to stop and be quiet. She gave him a confused look but stopped in her tracks. As quietly as he could, John crossed over to her. Indicating with his chin, they climbed the stairs together wordlessly.


A/N - Dance like nobody's watching and review like nobody updates until you do