Many thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review previous chapters, I am so very grateful that you took the time to write down your sentiments. This chapter is rated T for some violence.

Chapter 12

Isobel glanced over to Tom as the constable and Soames wrapped McRyan into a sheet from the bed. "You knew the man?"

"It's a long story."

Soames gathered McRyan's documents and weapon, "Mr. Branson, get back to Downton with Constable Barnes. Make certain the mansion is evacuated. You'll want to assemble a few men. They must scour the estate for Slowther before Lord Grantham's return tomorrow."

Soames looked blankly at the wall thinking out loud, "We'll have to get a message to him. We have twenty four hours to find Slowther and clap him into irons." He handed McRyan's revolver and a box of bullets to Tom, "Take these, for your own protection. I must emphasize how dangerous this man is. If an independent Ireland means anything to you we must stop him."

"I understand." With that Tom and Barnes were off to the house.

Soames wasted no time. He ran to the telegraph office after McRyan was taken to the undertaker. Isobel was off to the clinic to assemble a medical kit for the Dower House.

When Tom and Constable Barnes arrived at Downton he posted the man at the front door to meet the army unit that was on the way. "I'll get a maid out here with some tea for you," Tom left the man.

Upon entering he saw that Carson had the entire downstairs staff huddled into a semi-circle in the saloon. The butler turned to acknowledge Tom. "Mr. Branson we have been advised by the authorities to evacuate the house. Is this true?"

"Yes Carson it's true." He held up an index finger for the man to pause as Mary rushed from the library "Tom, Mamma and Anna took the children to Grand mamma. Farmer Oakwell and his son are watching the house, shotguns in hand."

"Very good." Tom laced his fingers through Mary's. He beckoned Carson, Mrs. Hughes, and Thomas for a quick huddle. Tom spoke calmly, deliberately, and clearly.

Years later, when Tom ran for Parliament, Carson would relate the tale of that night to voters: how Tom possessed a calm authority; that he seemed to know exactly what to do, that it was a source of deep comfort for all of them on such a frightening night.

Tom began with the worst of the bad news, "A bomb has been found in the library near the conference table to be used by the negotiators. The army is sending a unit to conduct a thorough search of the house. We must get everyone out except for a small crew. Mrs. Hughes, please make certain everyone has a place to spend the night. Can Mrs. Patmore manage something for dinner?"

Mrs. Hughes nodded her head.

Tom turned to Carson. "Ask for volunteers to stay in the house until the all clear is sounded, if no one joins assign three men and two women. They will escort the military personnel as they search. We don't want anything of value walking away."

Carson looked at Mary.

"I agree," she nodded.

"Thomas, please call Gallion and the gamekeeper to round up a few of the farmers for a search."

"How many men Mr. Branson?"

"At least a dozen, more if you can persuade them."

"What can I do?" Mary asked.

"We'll need a centralized location to record the clearance of every room in the house. We'll use it as a central hub where the stay behind staff, police, and army can coordinate."

Carson interjected, "I should be glad to offer my office sir. I have all the plans of the structure."

Tom nodded, "Thank you Carson." Then he turned to Mrs. Hughes, ",We want everything and every room searched every floor, every closet. As each room is searched mark it off, send a report to Carson and Lady Mary." Tom examined everyone's faces for any lack of resolve but found none. He squeezed Mary's hand, "Right, then let's go."

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A platoon of from Catterick Camp made it to Downton a few minutes after most of the house had been evacuated. The officer in charge, a Captain who had survived the trenches met Carson's volunteers in the saloon. After breaking down into teams he and a pair of soldiers searched both ends of the libraries. They operated under Thomas's watchful eye so as to demonstrate the preferred way each team should conduct a search. An older Sergeant with a pair of missing fingers watched two soldiers gingerly remove the bomb in the clock placing it in a heavy metal case before taking it outside to completely disarm.

Immediately afterward the officer in charge sent the teams on their way through the house. Very soon after the team in the Library called Tom back into the room, "You'd better see this Mr. Branson."

Carson and Soames followed Tom. The officer pulled back a cabinet door hidden between the wall and Robert's credenza. Inside were five more rolls of dynamite wrapped into three stick bundles. No wiring lead to a timer. The entire apparatus appeared inert. "Oh I shouldn't think that sir." The Captain quickly corrected Tom. "The bomb in the clock would have been sufficiently powerful to create a sympathetic detonation of this one. No one would have walked out of the library or saloon alive; and half of anyone else in the drawing room or music room would have been severely injured." He looked around with an all-encompassing appreciation. "I daresay this grand old mansion would be so damaged she would have to come down the rest of the way."

Tom, Carson, and Thomas looked at one another in disbelief. Finally Tom spoke, "I think we have a pair of guardian angels on our side."

Soames spoke up, "That's why we're here everyone. To find anything that could doom these talks." Soames patted Tom's shoulder, "We have a good chance of finding Slowther."

"Well we should," Tom mused, "A dozen men from the estate searching the countryside; a platoon of soldiers searching the house, and the police scouring the villages around the abbey."

By this time darkness had set in broken only by a full moon peeking sporadically through the clouds. Soames and Tom stepped down to the kitchen passing a team of soldiers under the watchful eyes of a junior house maid as they searched cabinets, baskets, and drawers. They walked into the staff hall to see that Mary had set up the hub there so couriers could obtain refreshment after turning in their reports. Tom heard Mary on the telephone in Carson's office.

Mrs. Patmore was already pouring two cups of tea for the men. As he sat down Tom sighed, "I didn't know how tired my feet were."

Soames agreed. "You should know I called my office and spoke with the Detective Constable counting Mr. McRyan's money. He told me that there was over a million American dollars. When I asked him about the envelope atop the blanket the man said the most remarkable thing."

"Which was." Tom yawned.

"It was McRyan's last will and testament."

"Go on." Tom leaned forward.

"He said since he had no family, he was leaving everything to you. Said he knew how the entire Dublin event led to a great deal of unnecessary suffering on your part. Unfortunate of course that he smuggled foreign currency past duties and customs, but even with the fines and taxes you'll have to pay, you're going to be coming into a nice little pot of cash someday soon."

Tom ran a hand through his head. "I will not accept it. He probably made it from illegal liquor sales to gangsters. I'd be as wrong as a bootlegger."

Soames chuckled. "Mrs. Crawley at the inn said you were a man of principles. She said it would be hard for you to accept such a windfall. I think she may have an idea or two for how to ease your conscience."

Mary walked into the servant's hall with a roll of schematics of the house. When she saw Mrs. Patmore she asked why she didn't evacuate like most of the house staff, "And why the rolling pin?"

"Bomb or no bomb I'm staying put milady." Mrs. Patmore shook her rolling pin in one hand, "What with a whole troop of Tommies snooping about the house, and that lot always hungry they'll raid the pantry quicker than you can say 'mutt and Jeff!'"

Mary smiled, "I'm sure that Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes have them sufficiently watched over Mrs. Patmore. There should be nothing to fear from soldiers conducting a search."

She walked around the table to sit next to Tom. She flipped a stray lock of hair from his face winking slightly.

Soames looked from Tom to Mary, "To set your minds at ease I'll say we've probably found everything there is to find already."

Carson entered then and sat down at the head of the servants table. "I can't tell you my lady how uncomfortable I am over all this. Maps strewn about my office; you sitting here at table like a common housemaid."

"Carson I will not hide from protecting my family and home."

Tom looked from Mary to Carson to Soames, "But why here? We're only hosting the Banking and Agriculture Committees."

Soames leaned back in his chair rubbing his chin, "I suspect the radicals considered Downton a softer target, less well guarded, ergo, the bombs, and Slowther. Your little girl has sharp eyes Mr. Branson. She should get a medal."

Mary's head was bent over plans of the house as she sipped the tea. "Carson, what is this passage here?" She pointed to a faint stairwell.

Carson stepped over to examine the blue print. "That is a passage that was walled in years ago, when you were a little girl Lady Mary. At one time it was the access from the basement to the attic."

"According to this it goes up to the central tower?" She looked at Tom.

Tom looked over her shoulder, "It certainly looks that way to me. Where would the stair well start?"

Carson rubbed his chin. "The only current access to the attic is from the third floor. There is a faux wall panel kept locked unless a workman requires entry."

"Yet the stairwell begins in the basement." Mary pointed out the section of schematic.

"That would be the laundry room my lady. Before the remodel in 1870 it was the servant's hall.

Tom looked over to Soames. "Shall we check it out?"

"Might as well." Soames drained his tea.

Mary smiled as if she were riding in a hunt. "I want to come as well. I never knew my own home could be so exciting. Hidden passages, walled off doors, what's next a skeleton in a closet?"

Carson escorted them to the laundry room. The four of them searched and searched yet no entrance to the sealed off stairs could be found.

Finally Mary dropped her hands in exasperation, "Well is there entry or not? Surely repairs must be done. How are the workmen to get to it?"

Soames called for a torch, "I agree Lady Mary, and there should be a kick out panel, something to get to the stairs."

Tom felt a couple feet above the floor behind a rack of clothes where he found a frame of molding in the shape of a window. He knocked lightly hearing a hollow echo from the other side. "Found it!" He pushed slightly and the panel gave way. Carson was over his shoulder handing him a torch. Tom flashed the light onto a staircase little used and even more infrequently cleaned. Faint outlines of boot prints ran up the steps. Cobwebs and dust, debris and bits of mortar littered the stairs that spiraled up into a dark void.

Soames asked Carson to get an army team to meet them at the third floor access. He then followed Tom with Mary following him. The steps were shallow and narrow adding to the difficulty of climbing. The staircase went up in a sharp spiraling twist. Up, up they climbed, past the first and second floors, to the third.

As soon as they unlocked the landing door Tom clicked off the torch. He listened for the repeat of a sound he thought he had heard.

Then he heard again the unmistakable creak of a floor board from the darkness ahead. They were ten steps away from the tower attic. He turned to Soames and Mary with a finger pressed to his lips pulling McRyan's revolver from his jacket pocket. Another floorboard creaked.

Tom held a finger up and ahead.

Again the sound of movement ahead of them. Soames pulled his revolver.

Tom quietly padded up the remaining steps until he entered a low ceilinged room.

Weak shafts of moonlight shone through the sky lights at either end of the loft illuminating it in pale gray.

As his eyes adjusted Tom could see well enough to make out shapes of things stored or forgotten, an old brass bathtub, a torso for making women's dresses, trunks with stamps and stickers from ports of call ranging from Cairo to Marseilles, from Kiel to New York. Wooden crates were stacked against the walls to the rafters.

Too late Tom saw the silhouette of a man in an old rocking chair about six feet in front of him.

"Well, didn't know anyone would have found me, thought me little hideout quite the secret."

"Give it up Slowther. We found your bombs and the delegations are safe." Soames stepped beside Tom.

Tom hoped she had not, but Mary stepped around Soames to Tom's other side.

"You know what they say about gunfights, don't ye' Soames?" Slowther called back. "You got to be willing to use it." He fired.

Tom heard Soames fall hard to the floor. The detective's revolver dropped into the stairwell bouncing down the staircase.

Mary fell backward as Tom dragged her over a stack of scaffolding boards. "For God's sake stay down!" He shoved her head as he fired the revolver twice.

Slowther followed up with two quick shots.

Tom fired.

Both men kept it up until they had each shot six rounds.

"That's six Tom Branson. Were you counting?" Slowther called, standing up.

Tom crouched behind the scaffolding boards. Mary panted. Even in the wan light Tom could tell she was sweating from fear.

"Too bad for you, I win," Slowther crowed.

"Yeah well I'm guessing you've fired six as well." Tom called. He cursed himself for leaving the extra bullets on the table below.

Slowther stood up. "You traitorous bastard, you're not worth a bullet, think I'll just stick you like I did that worthless McRyan. Then slit the throat of your English woman. You see, we have to have a consolation prize. You may have saved the house, but she'll lose her head."

Tom checked his revolver then whispered to Mary. "My bluff is your only chance."

Slowther stepped around his cover flicking open a switch blade.

Tom whispered, "Once I point the gun at him you get away."

"I'm not leaving you." Mary reached for a short steel scaffolding bar.

"Do it. Besides, I don't feel like dying today." Tom kissed her then crawled over the scaffolding.

Tom stood opposite Slowther pointing his revolver at the man's belly.

When he saw the revolver in Tom's hand Slowther laughed. "What are you going to do, throw that at me?" He sneered.

Tom scoffed. "No, I'm going to shoot you. You see, McRyan carried a Russian pistol with seven shots." With that Tom cocked the hammer back to make his act look good. He saw Mary stepping around him out of the corner of his eye.

When the pistol roared Tom didn't expect it. It rose in his hand as the bullet hit Slowther in the shoulder.

Slowther dropped the knife collapsing into a pile in front of Tom.

Mary was shouting for Tom. "I'm o.k. Mary, check on Soames."

The sound of boots pounded up the stairs.

Tom turned to Slowther. The man tried to kneel but fell, unable to get up. "But, but I counted, I counted them." Slowther kept saying.

Mary rushed to Tom once the soldiers arrived to take Slowther into custody. She threw her arms around him "My god." After pressing her against him Tom gazed into her eyes, and brushed a hand over her face, "See, you aren't such a Black Widow after all."

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