Chapter 10

They decided on a small wedding, a simple celebration with their family, after all, most of their savings have gone towards purchasing the inn. Bates wished he could have provided a lavish wedding for Anna, but being ever the practical one, she had refused, saying marrying him was all she wanted and she was more than happy with a simple and intimate wedding.

Anna handed in her notice at the start of the year, giving Lady Mary time to find another lady's maid and for Anna to train her. Mrs Hughes was happy for her yet slightly amused that it escaped her notice that Anna was courting, she wonders if she has not been as strict with the girls as she thought she had been. But she's always had a soft spot for Anna, as she has always been a good girl from the day she started and she trusted her implicitly, so she probably failed to notice any signs.

Lady Mary was simply shocked that Anna is going to marry her Papa's lame valet - a man she thought was not able to do his job and far too old for her - and she made a rather rude and cutting remark to Anna. However, with each conversation, she realises how much Anna loves Bates and she wonders at her own predicament - why can't she come to terms with how she really feels for Matthew, what is stopping her from loving him - was it pure stubbornness and determination not to fall in love with a working class solicitor? How different is that to Anna falling in love with an injured soldier - a soldier who saved her father's life, as she had since found out. Is life simpler for her lady's maid without the trappings of class and society's expectations she has to content with? From a purely selfish point of view, she does not like losing her as her lady's maid for she has grown fond of her and relies on her. In the years Anna has attended to her, Lady Mary has grown to understand her a little (as much as a Lady is able to understand a housemaid), and she knows Anna is not like one of those silly young housemaids who gets in trouble with the first young man who shows an interest, which occurs even under Mrs Hughes' watchful eyes, so she realises this isn't a spur of the moment decision.

Lord Grantham was possibly the one who is most taken aback by the wedding announcement. He found Bates to be a quiet unassuming man, not unattractive (he remembered Bates was a flirt in his younger days but he never took advantage of women unlike some of the other men in the regiment) but he just couldn't fathom how Anna and Bates were to be married in a few months' time, Bates was only there for a few months - nearly two years ago - how did the courtship happen in so short a time? He had felt very guilty for letting him go knowing that it would be difficult for him to find a decent job with an injury and he clearly had no idea what goes on downstairs, and much to his amusement, neither did Mr Carson. He prides himself as a decent employer and wants the best for all his servants. He is pleased that Bates had managed to set himself up at as the owner of an inn in Ripon, and Anna shall be provided for, I should pay him a visit him to chat about old times.

Most of the downstairs servants were pleased for Anna, and those who knew Mr Bates; some were not altogether surprise, especially Mrs Patmore who remembered Anna preparing a dinner tray for him on his last night there. Needless to say O'Brien and Thomas did not have anything nice to say; Anna overheard Thomas saying to O'Brien that Bates was a dirty old man for going after Anna but she was too happy to care about them. The younger members, Daisy, Gwen and some of the kitchen maids were more enchanted with the romantic notion of Anna getting married, any spare moments were taken up with excited talk of wedding preparations, which made Anna quite dizzy from all their questions and Mr Carson quite cross whenever he chanced upon the young girls giggling or squealing in a corner instead of working.

Mr Carson is not a romantic man by any stretch of imagination; like Mrs Hughes he was happy for Anna, and anyone who is devoted to Lady Mary earns his trust and respect anyway. He is aware how Anna can be fiercely protective of those she cares, like she was with Gwen. The previous manager at the inn, Carson's friend, who hired Bates based on Carson's reference had reported back to Carson how pleased he was with him within three weeks of Bates starting work there and they were offering him more shifts. When he received that letter, he was glad to know that Bates had found stable employment but guilty that he allowed himself to be manipulated by Thomas into thinking that Bates might not be up to the job in Downton. Lord Grantham is on his forth valet since Bates left, none of them have lasted longer than six months for either Lord Grantham found them unsatisfactory or Thomas was up to his old tricks. He sighs as he thinks that perhaps he should not have insisted Lord Grantham dismissed Bates but what's done is done, at least it had worked out for Bates. I must speak to Mrs Hughes about those girls giggling over a wedding, really!

28 July 1914: The announcement is on every newspaper, conversations at every public house - England is at war with Germany. Bates isn't quite sure what it meant to be in a country at war - he does not know what it will be like as a civilian in his own country, he was a soldier fighting in the Boer War - one thing is for sure, it will bring change. He can't bear to think about the young men and boys being called to serve the country - his own experiences and nightmares come flooding back to him.

Once most of the men were recruited for the war, the inn is short staffed which meant Bates and Anna are doing the work of several. Bates is grateful work keeps him busy and he is exhausted at the end of the day, for sleep comes faster and nightmares of the war were less frequent. Mrs Hughes had written to Anna, Downton is in a similar situation and Mr Carson is experiencing the same difficulties of keeping footmen employed and reluctantly have had to ask maids to serve dinner, which is distressing him. Bates was lucky he is not imposing Mr Carson's standards, at least he could hire women to work at the inn, he chuckled at the thought. He is also extremely lucky that Anna is working alongside and between the both of them, the inn is running smoothly even though they were short staffed.

In the evenings, after dinner and when dishes were done, John would head back to the inn for a couple of hours for final preparation for the night clerk and Anna would settled on the arm chair with her needlework while waiting for John to return. It was their little routine in the evening when he comes home, they would share a pot of tea and talk - a routine that was borne out of their time at Downton. They were guarded in their conversation there but here in their own home, they discussed everything and anything their heart desired. Lately however, Anna noticed that she gets exhausted easily and ends up falling asleep with her mending on the lap when John returns. When John returns and sees her asleep on the couch, he would make tea and bring it out before waking her up for their time together - she felt guilty for not being a proper wife, not looking after John the way she wanted to.

A week later, Anna mentioned to Mrs Bates during an afternoon tea how she's always tired, even though she has not been all that busy at the inn, now that they have managed to hire a few more housemaids and cleaners. In Mrs Bates' experience eye, she knew why, but decided to be sure instead on relying on old wives tales and suggested Anna pays a visit to the doctor.

"You don't think there's anything serious, do you?" Anna was alarmed.

"No, I don't think it's serious," Mrs Bates smiles, "but you should go all the same. Let's take a walk now and see if he's available."

That evening, Anna was too excited to fall asleep in an arm chair and was definitely wide awake when John returned; she made sure the fire was stoked and tea was ready. Once they were settled on the couch, Anna snuggled up to John, pulling a blanket to cover the both of them.

He pressed a kiss on her temple, "Hmm...I love coming home to my beautiful wife." he said softly.

"Hmm...I've often dreamt of being held by a strong, handsome husband" she said stroking his arm.

"Have you now? And did your dream come true Mrs Bates?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she said teasingly, she sits up and so she is looking at him. "John, I went to see Dr Blake this afternoon..."

"Are you alright?" he asks urgently

"Yes, I'm alright, we're alright...John, you're going to be a father."

"I...you...oh...oh my love, you're...?" he stammers

"Yes," she can't stop smiling at his shocked face, "yes, I'm pregnant, that's why I've been so tired lately. Doctor says I'm three months along, we'll meet baby in April."

John was not prepared for his emotions to take over when he heard the news, he choked back the tears as he pulled Anna into his arms once more, "I love you, thank you my love," he whispered.