A/N: Good Friday to all! Here it is, ONE of the chapters you are all waiting for...I hope you enjoy it! :) Thank you all for your kind words. They mean a lot to me. Hope you all have a great weekend!
Disclaimer: Same as chapter 1 - 6.
Mrs Hughes waited on the other side of the road. She could see Mr Bates' house from where she was standing. Should she go in there and spill everything she knew? Was it right? Without Anna knowing?
She'd thought about it more than a million times already. He had gone after Anna after all. Perhaps to apologise. It was his child and it was his right to know about it. Something told her that Mr Bates would come to terms with everything and support Anna; if only he knew where she was.
But she would talk to him first before talking to Anna. She didn't want to bother the poor girl, not in the state she was in. Not when she was so close to due. She would ask him why he didn't answer their letters? What would he do now? She wanted to be sure of his good intentions before speaking to Anna. She sighed. There was a battle happening inside her head. 'Oh Lord, if only you could give me a sign...guide me...'
'Mrs Hughes?'
The voice behind her made her jump, and she turned to face him. 'Oh! Mr Bates?!'
She was a little surprised, looking up at him almost as if she was trying to recognise this tall and heavy figure standing in front of her. He looked much older; his face was tired, and he had dark circles under his eyes. She felt sorry for him, he looked finished and shaken, as if life had slipped through his fingers. Was Anna the cause of all this?
'What are you doing here?' He asked with a warm smile playing in his features, and for a moment she recognised him. 'Didn't know the family was in London.'
'Actually, they are not...' She sighed nervously, this was the sign she had asked for. 'I've come to talk to you.'
'To me?' John frowned confused.
'Yes, to you, Mr Bates.'
Looking to the sky above he took a deep breath before speaking. 'Mrs Hughes, if you came to talk about Anna...I understand why she felt the need to run away from me.'
'What?! I'm sorry but...'
'I understand she wants to keep her distance after all I've done, and I shouldn't have written to her. She thought... perhaps, that I was pressuring her.'
'You wrote to Anna?'
'I did...more than once...she didn't tell you?'
'She didn't tell me because she didn't get any of your letters, Mr Bates.' She brought her right hand to her chest desperately.
'But, I wrote to her!' He said, raising his voice.
'She wrote to you.'
'She did?'
'She did and I did as well.'
'I haven't received any of your letters...I went after her a few months ago, and she was not working at Downton anymore and I thought...'
'She's not working at Downton because she had to hide her state.'
'Her state?'
Mrs Hughes looked at him in the eyes and took a deep breath. 'Mr Bates, Anna's carrying a child. Your child.'
She watched as his face changed from confusion to panic and realisation, 'What? A child?' No, that couldn't be right. No, no. This is a joke. John tried to remain calm while his heart jumped out of his chest. He tightened the grip on his cane. 'Mrs Hughes, are you sure of..'
'Of course I'm sure. I sent her away. She's at her mother's farm! I just don't understand how the letters got lost.'
'Lost?' Lost? Hidden! Vera...
XXXXXX
'Where are they?' John bursted into the house, shouting.
'What are you talking about?' Upon the noise, Vera came from their kitchen with a confused look on her face.
'Vera! Where are the letters?' He stared at her with his eyes red from hate.
'Oh my god, are you mad? What letters?' She was scared now, nervous. How did he know about the letters?!
'Tell me!' He shouted from the top of his lungs. And when Vera looked at him with frightened eyes, for she had never seen him so angry in all her life, she saw Mrs Hughes coming behind him. Vera's eyes widened in understanding then.
The two women faced each other while John looked for the letters everywhere he could imagine.
'You had no right...' Vera growled.
'Oh, Mrs Bates...' The housekeeper kept her chin high, and a cold look in her eyes. 'I had every right.'
'Tell me where...' John came from the kitchen shouting when he suddenly stopped. Turning his neck to his left he glanced at Vera's room. He looked back at her and grinned.
When she understood what he was thinking a cold sweat rose from her feet to her head. The letter. The letter was still there. She had forgotten about it. He walked towards the room calmly and she ran and tried to block his way.
'Don't you dare to touch my things!'
'Get out of my away, Vera. I'm going in there.' He raised his brow.
As she looked up at him she knew there was no need to delay anything else. He knew.
She entered the room herself and opened the last drawer of her vanity table, took the letter and gave it to him.
'Just one?'
'I burned the others.' She said triumphantly, as if burning them had brought her happiness. And indeed it had.
He grimaced but that was exactly what he expected from her. He opened the letter, unfolded it with shaky hands, and read it. His eyes were starving for all the words. Running over them as if he was running against time.
Mr Bates...I'm leaving...I just want you to know...I'm going to my mother's farm...I don't want you to feel sorry for us…I'll raise our baby...if you ever want to meet your child...Anna.
'You bitch! You knew she was pregnant and you didn't tell me!'
Mrs Hughes raised her brow, and nodded from where she stood in the living room. Indeed, she was a bitch.
'Of course I didn't! I'm not stupid! I knew as soon as you knew about it you would run after your floozy and your bastard child!'
Everything went red, and he couldn't control himself. Truth to be told he didn't want to. As soon as her words were spoken he slapped her with all the hate he had in him, making Vera fall against the wall.
Mrs Hughes eye's widened at John's reaction. She brought her hand to her mouth and silence fell in the house. Although she thought that the slap was well deserved.
John breathed slowly taking in what he had just done. Never in all his life had he held his hand to hit a woman, but this time he was glad for it.
'That was the last time you will ever call her that. And that was also the last time you will call my child a bastard.'
'Where are you going?' Vera's tears fell then, and she touched her burning cheek.
'You were right. I'm running after them.'
'I'll report you for violence...' She said eyeing him.
'Whatever you want.' He said, looking at her in disgust. 'I don't care about what you do or say. You are poison Vera, and you poison everyone around you.' He put his hat on walking towards Mrs Hughes, who was in silence. 'Oh, and I've been thinking...I was suspicious about you going out every day and taking hours to come back. Doing errands and coming home with nothing in hand...I know now that your errands must had something to do with Mr Gordon from the post office...that's how you stopped the letters from being delivered.'
Vera stared at him, and he knew he was right.
'Well then, report me for violence and I'll report you for adultery.' He raised his brow as if daring her to do it. 'You are an easy woman Vera. Men like you for that. Only for that. And that's why I married you, because you were easy enough.' He looked at her one last time, almost feeling sorry for her.
Mrs Hughes left then, and he followed her.
XXXXXX
'I'm sorry you had to hear all of that.' John said looking down to his feet.
'It's quite alright, Mr Bates. I'm afraid she deserved every bit of it.'
He nodded.
'Tell me. Where's their farm?'
'You won't be going alone, Mr Bates.' The housekeeper smiled. 'I'm going with you.'
John smiled back and they both headed to the train station.
'Prepare yourself though. You won't be welcomed.'
'I'm sure I won't.'
'Anna's mother...she's not a kind soul.'
'I know that.' He sighed. 'Anna used to tell me about her. I'm sure she's been bullying her, and that's all my fault.'
'But you know now, and you'll be there for her. That's all she needs.'
'I hope so...'
'I know so, Mr Bates.' She read the fear in his eyes. 'She will be happy to see you.'
'Will she? She must think I despise her and our child.'
'Yes, that's exactly what she thinks.' He looked at Mrs Hughes with panic written in his eyes. 'But you don't, and you'll tell her that.' She gave him a reassuring smile. 'Anna loves you so very much.'
'Still?'
'Forever, Mr Bates.'
In a bold motion she reached for his hand that was resting on his cane, and squeezed it in support. He looked down and smiled. 'Thank you, Mrs Hughes. For everything.'
'Nevermind that…now I want to know what you'll do?'
'I'll take Anna with me. Find some place to stay where no one knows us, so we can be together until I fix everything with...Vera. I need to find a job to support Anna and the baby...I don't want to spend mother's money...I don't know if I'll need it for the divorce proceedings. It'll be difficult but we'll be together, and that's all that matters.'
They dropped their hands. 'Where will you go then? With Anna in her condition...she could have the baby at any moment now.'
John sighed. 'She's nine months along...I don't know yet. I need to think about it. But I'll take her with me and we'll live together, the three of us, like a family. I want her and our child with me. We'll live in sin, but...we already sinned so it won't make any difference. Then when I'm divorced I'll marry her, and give her the status she deserves.''
'Well...I have a cousin in Norfolk. He owns a pub. I can write to him and ask him to take you in. A helping hand is always needed. Even more now that all the working men are at war.'
'I'm not a man to beg for a job or to ask for favours, but I'll accept your offer Mrs Hughes. Gladly. Thank you.'
'Alright then. I'll write to him, and post the letter tomorrow. He has a small flat above the pub to rent, if it's still free I'm sure he'll rent it to you.' She smiled. 'You'll see, everything will align in your favour, Mr Bates. We only have to be patient.'
They both smiled and in the distance they heard the train making it's arrival known.
A/N: There you go, Bates is going to meet Anna! YAY Mrs Hughes you rock!
Hmmm...don't forget Anna's mother is not very kind and well, Vera is still around as well...we'll see...we'll see ;-)
Thank you for reading!
