Chapter 14
Mrs Hughes was working at her desk in her sitting room. She heard a knock on the door and turned around to see Mr Bates,
"Hello Mr Bates, how can I help you?" Elsie said warmly.
"Lord Grantham asked me to give you this note, Mrs Hughes," John replied.
"Oh, I see. Well thank you Mr Bates. Are you well?" Elsie asked.
"I am very well Mrs Hughes … and you? Looking forward to this evening?" John asked with a twinkle in his eye.
Elsie had the good grace to laugh, she knew he meant well.
"Yes, I am thank you," she smiled, shaking her head as he left the room.
Why was everyone so interested in her dinner with Cormac Branson? She realised that she had only went out with a man for dinner once in the entire 15 years she had been at Downton, with Joe Burns, but surely it was not such big news. She opened the note from Lord Grantham. It read, "Meet me at our bench in 10 minutes?" Elsie smiled, although she was surprised that he had asked Mr Bates to pass on such a note.
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"So … someone has a date tonight?" Robert jested, as Elsie sat down on the seat beside him.
"Oh, not you as well? That's all anyone can talk about downstairs!" Elsie said.
"Well … it's not every day that our wonderful Housekeeper has a date … you realise that if you marry him, we'll be related!" Robert said cheekily.
"Oh my! Calm down Robert … I don't even know the man yet … there won't be any weddings I can assure you of that … just a nice, friendly dinner between two mature adults …" Elsie said, with much certainty.
"If you say so …" Robert continued to tease.
"I do …" Elsie responded.
"How did Mr Carson react to news of your date?"
"It is not a date but … quite rudely actually … I tried to have a word with him about it last night … but he said that what I did in my personal time was no concern of his … he obviously does not care one jot if I go out to dinner with a man …" Elsie said, sadly.
"Are you serious Elsie? He's jealous!" Robert said excitedly.
"Robert … when will you give this up … he is not jealous!" Elsie replied, starting to get annoyed.
"You'll see … anyway … let's not bicker … it seems that tonight is a big night for both of us … Cora has agreed to talk to me this evening … the children headed off to London this morning … so we are going to meet in the Library following dinner … to allow us to chat without anyone listening in …" Robert explained.
"Oh, that is wonderful news … and have you planned what you are going to say?" Elsie asked.
"I am going to do as you suggested … I am going to explain exactly how I feel and give Cora the chance to do the same … and I am going to keep reassuring her how much I love her … and then … well then we'll see what happens …" Robert finished.
"That sounds like a good plan … I am sure it will go well … I hope so much that it does Robert …" Elsie smiled at him.
Robert returned her smile and bent down to place a soft kiss on her forehead.
"And I hope your dinner goes well Elsie … you truly deserve a man who realises just how lovely you are and who will cherish you forever," Robert added.
She reached up to kiss Robert on the cheek; he does say the most adorable things to me, Elsie thought. He immediately wrapped her up in his arms and they enjoyed a warm, friendly hug.
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Janet had been sent by Mrs Patmore to find the gardener. Lord Grantham had requested a bouquet of the finest cream roses for the dinner table this evening. Robert knew they were Cora's favourite and thought this would be a nice touch to start their evening together. Janet did not know why she had to go on this errand but she had been pleased to get some fresh air if truth be told. However, as soon as she began to walk through the grounds, she realised she had no idea where to find Mr Jacobs, the gardener. She therefore continued to walk and walk through the grounds until she thought she heard voices, presuming that must be him. However, when she peered through the gate that led to the final section of the garden, what she witnessed stunned her to the core. She gaped in disbelief as she saw Lord Grantham and Mrs Hughes cuddled together on the seat at the end of the garden.
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Elsie was grateful for Anna and Beryl's help once again to get her ready for dinner with Mr Branson. She was not wearing anything as glamorous as the previous night; they were only going for dinner at a small restaurant in Ripon, no need to overdo things. However, she was pleased with how her outfit had turned out. She wore a blue, cotton summer dress, with short sleeves, decorated in tiny white daisies. It was nipped in at the waist, with a bow fastening, and then it flared outwards. She had dressed it up with some delicate blue beads that she had borrowed from Anna and some high-heeled matching blue shoes. She looked smart and womanly.
Cormac had said he would come downstairs to meet her, even though Elsie had argued there was no need, she could easily meet him at the car. However, he wouldn't hear of it. Therefore, Elsie stood in the staff dining hall, surrounded by her friends. Beryl had delayed dinner for the staff by half an hour so she could see Elsie off on her date. Charles sat silently, reading his paper at the head of the table. He had barely spoken to Elsie all day, other than to check a couple of routine household matters. He hated not spending time with her but he felt this was for the best, to keep his distance, at least until he could work out if she was serious about this Irish man or not.
All heads turned to the door as Cormac Branson walked into the room, with the biggest bouquet of red roses Elsie had ever seen. Charles and the others seated at the table, stood up as was customary.
"Good evening to you all and good evening Mrs Hughes," Cormac said cheerfully.
"Good Evening Mr Branson," Elsie replied.
"My Mrs Hughes, you do look a picture … simply stunning …" Cormac replied, in his deep Irish accent.
"Thank you very much … that is very kind …" Elsie said, blushing profusely in front of her friends and colleagues.
"These are for you …" Cormac said, handing the flowers to Elsie with a huge grin.
"They are beautiful Mr Branson, thank you," Elsie replied and then handed the roses to Beryl so she could put them in water. Beryl gave her a delighted smile.
Charles stood motionless as this interaction took place, holding his breath. It was unbearable to see Elsie being courted by this man. Charles wanted to buy her flowers; he wanted to pay her compliments and take her to dinner. You may well have missed your chance now you old fool, he thought painfully. He then wondered if Elsie had felt even a little bit of what he was feeling, when he had foolishly paid Janet compliments. He mentally cursed himself for his stupidity.
"Right, well shall we get off Mrs Hughes… the car is waiting for us upstairs ..." Cormac said happily.
He then looked at all of the downstairs staff standing around and added with a wink, "I will have her back no later than midnight … I promise." Elsie and the others laughed, although Charles did not. Anna then handed Elsie her coat and handbag and Elsie and Cormac said their goodbyes and walked out of the room.
As the rest of the staff chattered excitedly about Cormac Branson, and the kitchen maids headed off to finish dinner, it was only Beryl who noticed the dejected appearance of their Butler as he slouched down at the table without a word.
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Robert sat nervously at the dinner table, waiting for Cora to arrive. He felt as if they were going on their first date all over again. He knew they wouldn't properly talk until after dinner, it would be impossible to talk about such private matters whilst they were surrounded by servants. However, it was important to him that the evening started well. He smiled as he noticed the vase of roses on the table; Mrs Patmore had done him proud.
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Upstairs, Cora was almost ready. She felt distinctly anxious for the evening ahead. However, she knew that she and Robert needed to talk and she very much wanted them both to be happy again. She had created a distance between the pair and she wanted so much to regain their closeness. She loved Robert dearly and she was certain that he still loved her; otherwise why would he have gone to such efforts for this evening. She hoped they could resolve matters and put the last horrendous year behind them.
"Are you ok Your Ladyship?" Janet asked. She had noticed that Cora had been unusually quiet as she dressed her this evening.
"Yes, I am quite well Janet, thank you," Cora replied.
"It must be a long time since you and Lord Grantham have had dinner just the two of you …" Janet commented, as she continued to pin Cora's hair.
"Yes … yes … it is ... we are always normally joined by our family and friends …" Cora agreed.
Janet smiled at Cora and asked, "Does Lord Grantham have lots of friends Your Ladyship?"
"That's a very strange question to ask Janet … whatever do you mean?" Cora asked, baffled by this question.
"Oh nothing, nothing at all … he just seems to have spent a lot of time away from the house lately and I just wondered if he was spending time with friends?" Janet said innocently.
Cora grasped Janet's hand, to stop her continuing to pin her hair, and swivelled around on her stool to look at the Ladies Maid,
"Janet … what on earth are you suggesting?" Cora said fearfully.