A/N This one's a little late today. Sorry about that. Thank you all so much for your reviews!
I don't own any of these characters.
Daisy had already begun servants' breakfast without Mrs. Patmore. She had knocked on her door earlier but when she hadn't received an answer she had shrugged and went on with her morning duties. Mrs. Patmore had a reputation for being a heavy sleeper. She had thought nothing of it until the new scullery maid came to tell her that Mrs. Hughes hadn't answered the knock on her door like she normally does. The poor girl had panicked when neither Mrs. Patmore nor Ms. Baxter had answered theirs either. Sighing Daisy agreed to go check on them with the poor girl.
As they were leaving the kitchen, Mr. Carson's pantry opened to reveal the three ladies in question with Mr. Carson and Mr. Barrow. Mr. Carson seemed to be shooing them out into the hallway with a whispered "try to act normal."
Daisy frowned at hearing him speak. Something was off but she couldn't quite make out what it was. Turning to the new scullery maid she reassured her, "See? There they are. Nothing to worry about. Go about lighting the fires. Go on."
She watched the girl scurry off to gather her things for a moment. She didn't envy her taking care of the fires in the house. That was one job she was glad she didn't have anymore since becoming assistant cook to Mrs. Patmore, who she saw was having a rather heated conversation with Mr. Carson just inside the butler's pantry. When Mr. Carson noticed her looking at them, he shushed Mrs. Patmore and walked towards the kitchen with Mrs. Patmore in tow.
"Good morning, Daisy," Mr. Carson greeted her.
"Good morning, Mr. Carson."
He smiled at her making her frown. Mr. Carson never smiled at her. "Daisy, Mrs. Patmore and I have been talking and we think that it's time that you take on some more responsibilities in the kitchen, at least for today."
"I'm not sure I understand, Mr. Carson," she said looking to Mrs. Patmore for guidance.
"What we're trying to say," Mr. Carson said looking sternly at Mrs. Patmore who nodded, "is that you should begin learning how to run a kitchen on your own."
"Oh, you mean without Mrs. Patmore?" Daisy's eyes widen in worry. "Are you leaving Mrs. Patmore?"
Mrs. Patmore only looked up from the ground when Mr. Carson elbowed her in the side. "Of course I'm not leaving. This is just a," she looked up at Mr. Carson and sneered, "learning experience."
"Yes," Mr. Carson emphasized. "Just so. So you'll be running the kitchen all by yourself today. Everything is already planned so you should be fine. If you have any problems—"
"It'll be good practice!" Mrs. Patmore rudely interrupted which earned her a glare from Mr. Carson.
"No, just ask Mrs. Patmore for help."
Daisy looked in confusion between the cook and the butler. Mrs. Patmore had never spoken to her so rudely or if she had there had been a reason for it. And Mr. Carson was never this nice. And why would she need practice running a kitchen by herself if Mrs. Patmore wasn't planning on leaving? This whole conversation was too odd, but Mr. Carson was looking at her so earnestly she nodded her assent. She could always ask Mrs. Patmore about it later.
"So I'm to cook all the meals for both upstairs and down?" Mr. Carson nodded. "I can do that."
"Good, good," Mr. Carson smiled once more before pulling Mrs. Patmore out into the hallway and leaving Daisy in the kitchen. She leaned nearer the doorway when she heard them whispering fiercely.
"There was no need to be to rude to the poor girl. She's doing you a favor!"
"You need to smile less! I am not a smiley person!"
"Honestly! Just go work on the kitchen books. Surely you can't mess that up!"
With that last comment, Daisy saw Mr. Carson flouncing away with an odd twitch to his hips that was vaguely familiar.