Chapter 4 -Changes
"What is it?" Daisy asked as she gazed at the shiny white steel box that had just been delivered to the kitchen at the Abbey. It had doors and rows of shining nobs all over it.
"It's a cooker, but I don't know where you put the coal," Ivy replied in puzzlement.
Mrs. Hughes was busy seeing the deliveryman out when Mr. Carson walked into the room. He still had another week on the job.
"Good gracious," he said in alarm. "Everyone step back until we make sure it is safe."
"I don't know how anyone expects me to prepare a decent meal with that," Mrs. Patmore said rolling her eyes in fright. "In all my years of cooking I've never seen anything like it."
Just then Alfred passed by the kitchen and glanced over Mr. Carson's shoulder.
"Oh, a new electric range," he said in delight. "That will make things easier." He slipped past Mr. Carson and went over to the range and began examining it. "Six burners. You shouldn't have any trouble with this Mrs. Patmore."
"The electrician will be here this afternoon to hook it up," Mrs. Hughes said as she entered the room. "We need to make sure it is in a convenient location."
"The only convenient location I can think of would be back on the lorry to where it came from," Mrs. Patmore exclaimed.
"Now, Mrs. Patmore. You know the old cooker is on its last legs," Mrs. Hughes reasoned. "We all need to modernize. I have the instruction booklet right here."
Jimmy and Thomas Barrow had arrived to see what was going on as well as a group of housemaids.
"I could read through the instructions and help you learn how to operate it," Alfred volunteered. He glanced over his shoulder at Mr. Carson. "That is if Mr. Carson doesn't mind."
Mr. Carson put up his hands as if warding off the evil demon in the form of an electric range.
"I think Alfred's assistance may be the most prudent course of action," he said. "Just don't burn the house down with it."
"I won't, Mr. Carson. You can count on me," Alfred said with his chest puffing out slightly and the gleam of excitement in his eyes.
"It's just a cooker," Jimmy said ruefully from his spot beside Mr. Barrow.
"What ever turns your crank, James," Thomas replied with a smile. "Now back to work everyone."
"I don't know how much more my heart can take, Mrs. Hughes," Carson said to her once they were alone in the hall.
"It seemed the most prudent option when we knew the old one had to go," Mrs. Hughes replied.
"Perhaps it is time for me to retire," he said with a sigh. "First it was electric lights, then a telephone, a chauffeur as an estate agent, electric toasters, milk in bottles, ice boxes and now this."
"We all have to keep up with the times, Mr. Carson," she said. "It's called modernization."
"I know what it is called Mrs. Hughes. It is just too modern for me," Carson said with a sniff and straight back. He headed into his office to find the bottle of scotch he kept stashed in a bottom drawer. After what he had just seen, he needed a drink.
-0-
"I hope you don't mind I didn't arrive in mourning wear, Cousin Cora," Rose said as the family was gathered in the library to welcome her late that same morning. Mary, Cora, Isobel Crawley and Lord Grantham were home. Tom was off on estate business and Edith was in London as she was more and more this last while. "Cousin Matthew's death is so sad already and seeing my parents off to India on the ship this morning was wretched. I simply couldn't bear to add to it."
"It is nice to see a bit of color, Rose and we will be into half mourning in a few days," Cora replied.
"Louisa, Agatha, how nice to see you both," the Dowager Countess greeted as she arrived. "I see you've arrived safe and sound, Rose."
"Lady Grantham how nice to see you," Louisa said. "We thought we would see Rose up after seeing our brother and his wife off." Louisa and Agatha were Shrimpy's older sisters and self-appointed watchdogs of their niece.
"Not wanting the mouse to escape the trap?" Violet replied arching her eyebrows questioningly.
"You know how young people are, Lady Grantham," Agatha said. "They need constant attention if they aren't to go running off to goodness knows where and getting into things they should think twice about." Agatha glared at Rose who just rolled her eyes.
"Hmm yes. There will be enough to keep an eye on Rose here," Violet replied.
"How are the plans for the move, Mama?" Robert inquired to get the topic off Rose. He could see the girl practically withering under the watchful eye of her aunts.
"There isn't much to plan. My maid and I will be over in a few days. I do hope the new tenants take on the staff, Robert," his mother replied.
"I don't see that should be much of a problem. We'll keep them on to keep the place in top form. We've already had a few inquiries. Tom will be showing the place once the roof is mended. There was no sense in having you listen to a bunch of workmen clattering about," Robert said.
"Are you going somewhere, Lady Grantham?" Agatha questioned.
"Mama is moving in with us," Cora said. "We've just welcomed Cousin Isobel to stay as well."
"I thought it would give me a chance to see more of baby James and Mary," Isobel added.
"With the changes going on around here, it is best to keep an eye on things," Violet added. "One can never be too careful."
"If by things you mean Tom, I can hardly see him getting up to much slogging through mud in a pair of wellingtons," Cora commented. "He mentioned he was going to talk to one of the farm managers regarding fence repairs this morning."
"My late husband in his infinite wisdom has left my brother-in-law in charge of things," Mary said.
"My son trusted him to take care of you and his child," Isobel commented quietly. "It says quite a lot."
"I certainly hope he is more competent than my brother," Louisa said after she had taken a sip of her tea. "He's left Agatha and I in a terrible spot since he lost Dunneagle."
"We're going to have to let the London house go and find something more affordable," Agatha added.
"The estates the inheritance taxes haven't wiped out, bad investments have," Robert replied. "We have had a close shave ourselves and had to make adjustments."
"Why don't you look at one or two of the houses on the estate," Cora commented. "There are some very nice houses here and you would be close enough to visit regularly and come to dinner."
"We couldn't live in a cottage," Agatha said aghast. "Where would my maid stay?"
"We have some passable houses," Robert commented. "I'm sorry I can't offer you one at a reduced rate at the moment but if you were close by we could offer you the services of our chauffeur and there is certainly enough produce and livestock on the estate to stock your table well and things are much less costly than in the city. I could have my agent show you around when he gets back."
"Have Tom show them the Dower House," the Dowager commanded. "I would rather have some one we know there than complete strangers."
They all turned to see Tom Branson arrive in the library carrying his daughter.
"I met Nanny bringing her down to see you on my way in. I hope you don't mind?" he said. "She'll be down with baby James in a moment."
"No, Tom of course not. These are the Marquess of Flintshire's sisters Lady Louisa and Lady Agatha and you've already met Rose," Cora introduced. "Our son-in-law Tom Branson."
"How do you do, ladies?" Tom said before he took a seat. Louisa and Agatha both nodded coolly, while Rose smiled at him happily.
"This is our granddaughter, Tom's daughter Sybil," Cora added.
"We call her Sybie for short," Tom added. He looked over and noted Carson was out of the room. "Mrs. Hughes has everything ready for Mr. Carson. You can go down and check on things this afternoon," he said to Cora.
"What's this?" Mary inquired.
"I've had Mrs. Hughes furnish Mr. Carson's cottage from the attics as a surprise," her mother said with a smile.
"Well that's something," Mary replied.
"I certainly am glad Mrs. Hughes chose everything. You're sister always said I was good for moving furnishings not choosing them," Tom said while he was bouncing Sybie on his knee. It was getting a little easier to talk about his late wife. The odd comment was slipping out here and there.
"Tom would you be so kind as to show Lady Agatha and Lady Louisa around the available houses on the estate?" Robert inquired.
"Certainly. When would you ladies like me to take you?" Tom inquired.
"We were planning on taking the train back to London this afternoon," Agatha said.
"You could stay over and have a good look around in the morning if you like or take a late train," Cora invited. "We are only two hours out of London by rail."
"Perhaps a later train, Agatha?" Louisa asked.
Agatha nodded her assent with an incline of her head.
Nanny arrived with a tap on the door carrying Baby James. She gave the baby to Mary who held him and rocked him for a few minutes. For a second she forgot everything as she gazed down at her son.
"Are you not in mourning, Mr. Branson?" Rose asked.
"I'm afraid slogging through pastures and sheep sheds is more suited to tweeds," Tom replied with a tight smile. "Anything else would be ruined in minutes."
Mary's smile quickly faded as she handed the baby to Isobel and quickly left the room.
"I'm sorry was it something I said?" Rose asked.
"Greif is a strange thing, my dear," Violet said with a sigh. "We each deal with it in our own way."
"From what everyone has told us you have certainly had a change in fortunes in the last while, Mr. Branson," Agatha commented piercing Tom with a direct gaze. Here was a single man who had just been made very wealthy. She was already calculating how she could get him together with Rose.
"I quite enjoy my position as Estate Agent," Tom replied handing Sybie off to her grandfather when she put her arms out to Robert. "I draw a wage the same as any other employee, Lady Agatha. I don't see anything besides my job title changing slightly."
"Surely, you jest," Agatha forged ahead. "You can't mean you don't know what an Estate Manager is entitled to?"
"Agatha, we've been kept busy with other matters," Robert said trying to shut her up. "We haven't gotten into the details yet."
"What details?" Tom asked with his eyes shifting from person to person in the room. Lady Grantham was looking at him with one eyebrow arched waiting for his reaction.
"I hardly think this is the time to discuss it," Cora said.
"What details?" Tom repeated. "You all obviously are aware of something I'm not."
"Not me," Rose stated.
Robert sighed. This was not something he had been planning to discuss with Tom until Matthew's estate was through probate.
"When you move to the position of Estate Manager," Robert began slowly. "You will be entitled to ten percent of the gross revenue from estate before taxes in addition to the wages you currently draw."
"What? You didn't think to tell me before now?" Tom said. His eyes were almost bugging out of his head and his mouth was hanging open.
"There have been other issues to deal with as you know," Robert replied.
"Matthew has made you a very wealthy man and one of the most eligible bachelors in at least four counties," Violet said. "As long as this estate prospers you will right along with it."
"But… but…" Tom stammered still in a state of shock.
"Close your mouth, Tom dear. It isn't very becoming," Lady Cora chided. Agatha and Louisa were looking at him like a pair of cats with a mouse they had just cornered. Rose had a look of glee on her face at the intrigue.
"My son put his faith in you," Isobel commented. "You have been willing to accept the responsibility regardless of financial compensation. All we can ask is that you do your best to uphold that faith."
"If you'll excuse me," Tom said jumping to his feet and heading for the door. He didn't know where he was going until he found himself at the garage with his hands braced on the hood of the old Renault.
"Did you need anything, Mr. Branson?" the current chauffeur asked him coming forward from the back of the garage.
"No, nothing," Tom replied. "I just needed a breath of air." He turned and walked out of the garage heading back towards the house. His head was swimming. He knew what the gross income of the estate was before taxes and the projections Matthew had worked out for the next few years. Ten percent was enough that he couldn't possibly spend even a small portion of it.
There was no question in Tom's mind that he would work to ensure baby James future was taken care of. He had been willing to do that before he had found out about his own windfall. His daughter had just been made an heiress. Old Lady Grantham had said he was a wealthy eligible bachelor. Him! A man with no formal education who still gave the farmers a hand when their machinery needed repair? Who would he ever find to court now when he was ready? He couldn't chase after working class women. That much had become obvious with his experience with Edna. He couldn't go to a prostitute. He didn't think he would want to or even bring himself to do that. As far as a socialite, she would have to be someone who was interested in something besides shopping and paying calls. Where would he ever find one?
Tom found himself sitting on a bench in the garden well out of sight of the main house. He put his head in his hands and sobbed, as he hadn't since just after Sybil's death. He hadn't known who he was since he had gotten into that mess in Ireland. He thought he had finally started to get a grip on his life and now this. Finally when the shock had worn off he got up and went into the house to wash his face and get changed. He was the estate agent. That was something he knew for certain. He had two prospective tenants to show around this afternoon. That much hadn't changed.
-0-
"Oh Carson," Mary said burying her head against the aged butler when he had followed her up the stairs after her hasty retreat from the library.
"What's wrong, Lady Mary and don't tell me nothing," he said comfortingly.
"I don't know," Mary replied tearfully. "Everything is all mixed up inside."
"I know one thing," Carson said. "You are Lady Mary Crawley and she is a fearsome creature to behold. These widows' weeds don't suit you."
"I've lost my husband," Mary sobbed. "What am I supposed to do?"
"Pick yourself up and carry on," Carson replied. "We all must. Go shopping. Get yourself back together and become the Lady Mary we all know."
"Everything feels so out of control," Mary cried. "I've even lost control of the estate."
"Lady Mary, you were never destined to run an estate. The woman I know can consort with Kings and hold court with the best of them. Do you really mean to tell me you would prefer to check on sheep and fences all day or worry about glazing instead of directing the future heirs' social schedule?"
"Carson what will I do without you?" Mary said straightening slightly and wiping her tears.
"I'll just be down in the village for now," Mr. Carson replied kindly. "You can stop by and see me anytime the way you did when you were little. Mrs. Hughes is setting the place up for me but don't let on I know. It's supposed to be a surprise."
"Is there nothing around here that you don't know about?"
"I maybe old but little gets by me, Lady Mary," he said before he took his leave.