"Hello, Mr. Carson," greeted Evelyn the next afternoon. "Is Lady Edith here?"

Carson was about to respond to Mr. Napier, but before he could, Lady Grantham's voice reached the butler's ears.

"Carson, have you seen Lady Edith? I have been looking for her all morning."

The butler looked at her Ladyship in confusion. Didn't she know of her daughter's early departure that morning?

Cora spotted Evelyn. "Oh Mr. Napier. I apologize. I didn't see you there. Did you enjoy the ball the other day?" Cora stuck out her hand for Mr. Napier to shake.

"Indeed I did, Lady Grantham. And yourself?" he asked in return.

"It certainly was very…interesting," Cora smiled benevolently. "I assume you are here for Edith?" In her anger and shock the night before, Cora had forgotten all about Evelyn Napier's friendship with her daughter. Now she wondered if Edith was stringing him along as well. Her thoughts brought her back to the reason she had come to find Carson in the first place.

"Well Carson?" she turned towards the butler.

"I thought you knew m'lady," Carson's thick eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Lady Edith left this morning."

"Left?" exclaimed Cora. "What do you mean she 'left'? Where did she go?" Cora was highly alarmed by this information and as she continued speaking, she become more than slightly hysterical.

Evelyn, too, was surprised. He knew they didn't exactly have plans for that day but she hadn't informed him that she was planning on leaving.

"She returned to Downton, m'lady," Carson informed Cora. Fear took hold of Cora at hearing of her daughter's whereabouts. She worried that Edith's leaving meant that they had officially lost their daughter. After all, Edith had said as much during their fight the night before.

"Robert! Robert! Robert!" Cora yelled for her husband. This was all their fault. If they had just paid more attention to Edith in the first place, none of this would have happened.

Robert came running. "What on earth is the matter my dear? Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"Edith's left!" cried Cora. "She's return to Downton!"

Robert breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought something much worse had happened. He smoothed his arms over his wife's shoulders as he tried to placate her. "Darling, perhaps it is for the best."

Cora pulled back from her husband's arms. "How can you say that? How can you be so calm? Our daughter left without telling us indicating that we have most likely lost her for good and you tell me it is for the best!" Cora was hurt. She knew her husband was mad at their daughter, as was she, but she never thought he would want their daughter to leave.

"All I am saying that perhaps there should be some space between us. A lot of angry words were spoken last night, Cora. We all need time to calm down." Robert was the kind of man who either became hysterical or stuck his head in the sand when events occurred that didn't concur with they way he believed how life should be. Now Edith had practically handed him an opportunity to do the latter. Perhaps ignoring the problem would make it go away? At least he hoped so.

"I see she's finally told you," sounded the voice of the Dowager Countess, the sound accompanied by the thump of her cane.

"Told us?" asked Robert. At the same time his wife blurted out, "You knew?"

"Of course I knew. I have told you time and again, there's very little that goes on in this family that I don't know."

Evelyn, who had been forgotten in the drama of the last view minutes, was now addressed by the Dowager Countess when she tactfully reminded the Count and Countess of their guest. "Oh hello Mr. Napier. I am sorry for my son and his wife's manners. Its not at all appropriate to be arguing in front of guests."

"Not to worry, your ladyship. If I could be of any help in any way, please let me know," Evelyn requested.

"I very much doubt it but thank you," said the Dowager.

"At the risk of sounding impertinent, may I make a suggestion?" Evelyn asked, looking to all three of the Crawleys. "I assume the argument with Edith you mentioned pertained to Lady Edith's reasons for going to Switzerland?"

"I take it she told you then, Mr. Napier?" asked Cora.

"Did everyone know except us?" Robert said angrily when he saw Evelyn's nod of confirmation.

Unlike the other two, Violet wasn't wholly shocked that Edith chose to confide in this man. Rosamund had kept Violet informed of the letters that had passed between Edith and Mr. Napier while they were in the Alps and she had seen for herself how close the two had become over the last week.

"Well, perhaps I could go to Downton and ensure that Edith's safety. Your obviously very busy with Rose's Season and honestly, I'm not sure Edith would appreciate you following her at this moment. The occurrences in Switzerland make her very distraught and I fear that seeing you would only make matters worse."

Both Cora and Robert were about to reject Evelyn's plan, the former because she didn't agree that separation would help and the latter because he didn't like what he was hearing, despite knowing it was the truth, when the Dowager Countess interjected.

"I think that's an excellent plan."

"You do?" asked both Robert and Cora simultaneously as they turned towards the elderly woman.

"Yes I do. Edith is not well, despite how she may seem. However, I would suggest that Carson inform Mrs. Hughes of Evelyn's arrival, and perhaps to get a report of how Edith is doing."

Carson nodded in agreement. "Will Mr. Napier be staying for dinner?" asked Carson, looking towards Cora, who in turn looked to Mr. Napier.

"You are more than welcome to," invited Cora.

"Thank you, but I don't think I shall. I should return home and make sure my affairs are in order. I have to go into the office in the morning, but I should be at Downton in time for dinner."

"Thank you ever so much, Mr. Napier," said Cora.

"It's not a problem." Evelyn firmly shook Robert's hand and nodded to the Dowager before making his exit.

"When you have news from Mrs. Hughes, Carson, please let me know."

"Of course m'lady."