A/N: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! They brighten my day to no end!
Things had been going well for Charles and Elsie after taking ownership of the Grantham Arms. While they were still both very busy the stress level upon both of them had dropped considerably. Charles no longer exerted himself helping with the wine and spirit deliveries. Instead he watched the young bar keep hull things around with a smug smile on his face. He had worked hard for many years and this new life of active leisure was rather nice. When he felt tired he would take a nap, when he wanted some air he would walk outside. He was truly his own man, the only person he ever needed to consult was Elsie. Elsie herself had blossomed since their arrival at the arms. She found herself helping change the bed linens and enjoyed it greatly. There was something about a little manual labor that made her feel young, however if she did get too tired she would simply tell the maids what to do and go to her room for a nap. Indeed she was enjoying spending time in her large bed. She would climb under the covers and stretch every limb out completely and marvel that none surpassed the edge of the bed. Lying there one night watching the flickers of her candle flame dance on the ceiling she wondered why she had not retired earlier.
They had been running the Inn together for almost six months when Charles was confronted with the realization that it was nearly time for his yearly trip to London. When they lived at Downton he had so many excuses to go to London for the over night trip he indulged in every year for over twenty years, however he no longer had Downton to disguise his intent. He sat at his desk one day thinking very hard about what he would say to Elsie. Would she even ask him why he was going to London? If she did, did he need to answer her? Truly it was his own personal business what he did. He could simply lie to her, though that left rather a sour taste in his mouth. She was his friend, his partner, he couldn't simply lie to her. But the more he contemplated it the more he knew it would hurt her if he told her the truth. He had no choice, he would be deliberately vague and should she pressure him for answers he would lie.
That evening she came into his office with a smile, as she did every night and two pieces of desert in her hands.
"And what have our wonderful cooks left us this evening?" He asked pouring some wine for the two of them, and clearing off the spot on his desk where she could set the plates. They always ate sitting across from each other at his desk, it felt close but not too intimate.
"Bread pudding it looks like. It must be good, I've had several patrons tonight order seconds." She said setting the plates down and easing into her seat.
"That is a good sign." He said with a smile.
They ate in silence for a while, Charles building up his nerve and Elsie simply content with the quiet.
"Oh, I almost forgot to mention it. I will be going to London this week, I'll leave on the 6pm train this Wednesday and I'll return Thursday morning on the 9am." He said as casually as he could.
"Oh," she said a bit taken back, "you don't often go to London."
He was looking very intently at his desert, a bit too intently for her liking.
"Is there a special reason for going Charles?" she asked.
"Um, no really…" he stumbled, trying to not give himself away. "Its just, there are a few things for the bar I would like to get and it seems safer to go to London and purchase them in person then to order them."
"Really, such as?" she said, having never heard him mention needing things for the bar.
"Yes, well, um there are some wines I would like to get."
"For goodness sake why? The locals seem to love the wines we have been serving though we serve precious little wine. If anything we should be purchasing more ale."
"Yes, well normally you are correct but with the holidays coming, New Years is not too far away now I should really purchase a few high class wines before the price goes up much. If we don't sell them then you and I can enjoy them after the new year as a treat to ourselves."
She paused, thinking for a moment. She couldn't tell if he was lying to her or not but she did know how much he loved his wines. But why would he go to London just to buy wine, he could easily get wine delivered. In fact Downton village offered most all the things they needed to run the arms. Then it dawned on her, the holidays. He was going to go shopping for a Christmas present, probably something for her! There really were no good shops in Downton village for such things, and she highly suspected that he had always purchased his personal gifts to her in London during the season. Now that he was not going with the family for the season that must have limited his shopping time a great deal, and of course being such a smart man he was shopping well in advance. What a sweet man, she thought to herself.
"Well, I suppose then you should go. I hope you have a good time in London." She said smiling happily at him.
"Um, I will. I should go pack."
"Indeed you should," she said getting up from her chair. "But perhaps you could wait until this evening is over?" She said with a slight giggle as she left the room.
"Yes of course, I…" but she had already left.
Wednesday came and went quietly at the Grantham Arms. Charles left early for the train station and the evening crowd had been a rather quiet one. The inn had only a few guests at the moment and Elsie found herself with a greaa bitt deal of free time. She began to rack her brain thinking of what she would get Charles for Christmas. There was still plenty of time to order something and have it shipped. She simply had to think of the right thing.
The next morning at breakfast she lingered a bit in the kitchen waiting for him. Knowing that after the train ride he would be rather hungry. She had the cook fix him a full English breakfast, which sat in the lukewarm oven awaiting him. As the clock stuck nine she suddenly realized that the tea had gone cold. She walked over to the stove, her favorite blue teapot in her hand and filled it with fresh hot water. He would be walking back now, he would arrive at any moment. She was rather excited to hear what he had gotten up to in London, perhaps he might drop a few hints about what he had gotten her. As she walked back towards the table she heard him enter. She turned to look at him with a beaming smile on her face. It had only been a day, less then that in fact but she had missed him terribly. As she looked him up and down, she noticed the air around them had changed. What once had been filled with the scent of breakfast and tea was now replaced with another scent. A strange one, it was powerful and feminine. It reminded her a bit of…then she recognized the scent, it was one of the thousands of cheap perfumes sold on the London streets, but worse she had smelled this particular scent on him before, and with that thought she dropped the teapot and it shattered into a thousand little pieces.
A/N: Don't hate Charles too much, he might have some good reasons for his bad behavior…