Chapter 21
Elsie felt utter joy as Charles held her snugly to his side. He had said that he loved her; her heart fluttered with excitement. Not only that but he had declared his love in front of the entire downstairs staff, as well as Lord Grantham and Lady Mary. She suddenly had a moment of panic; what on earth would his Lordship think? The respect Charles enjoyed from the Family meant everything to him and Elsie wanted to do nothing at all to impair this. She instantly looked up to her Butler and the soppy smile that greeted her gave her much reassurance; if Charles was not concerned by the inevitable fall-out from his declaration then neither was she. They would face this together. Elsie reached up to cup her Butler's face and planted a gentle kiss to his cheek.
"I love you," Charles whispered, as her face drew close to his.
"I love you too," she breathed happily.
It was their own shared moment; no-one else heard their words. Most of those present simply smiled merrily as they watched the steely but kind Housekeeper give the proper but lovely Butler a sweet kiss.
"Oh for goodness sake! This is all a pretence … Charles is my beau! Mrs Hughes is simply a colleague!" Alice shouted, one last-ditch attempt to snare her man.
"Miss Neal please be quiet … your desperation is quite unseemly," Lady Mary interjected.
Alice looked stumped, not sure what to say next. Lord Grantham was still standing, open-mouthed and dumbfounded. He did not understand this situation at all. He stared at Charles and finally found words.
"Let me get this right … you do not love Miss Neal and you have never courted her? She invented the whole thing?" he asked.
"I courted Miss Neal forty years ago Your Lordship. She broke off that courtship. I have not seen her for four decades and then recently she made contact with me again … and we met up as friends …" Charles explained calmly.
Charles had dropped his arm from Elsie's waist as he spoke to Lord Grantham but Elsie was pleased to note that he had, instead, taken her hand in his. Therefore Charles and Elsie stood facing His Lordship together, holding hands. Lady Mary stood to the left of Lord Grantham, with Alice on his right. The other staff were gathered in a crowd behind the Butler and Housekeeper.
"And yet she thinks you are sweethearts?" Lord Grantham continued, still totally bemused.
"No … she does not think that Lord Grantham … she is lying to cause trouble. I made it very clear to Miss Neal that we are friends only … she is in no doubt about that. However, she decided to attempt to use you to trap me in some way … requesting a meeting with you this morning was part of her plan. She returned to the House whilst we were all at Church … we have been trying to get her to leave for the last half an hour," Charles finished.
"Well it looked like Mrs Hughes was succeeding …" Lady Mary added, sharing a happy smirk with the Housekeeper.
Despite his earlier confidence, Charles was now feeling decidedly anxious. He was uncomfortable that all of his subordinates were listening to this conversation; although he realised that they had already heard the lies from Alice and so, he thought, they might as well listen to the truth as well. However, he was even more uneasy that he had been forced to declare his love for Elsie to Lord Grantham. Charles had no regrets or second thoughts at all about Elsie; he loved her with all of his heart. However, he was not sure how his employer would view such a union and he would have liked to have spoken to him in private, in his own time, to avoid causing any worry or hurt to Elsie should His Lordship not be favourable to their partnership.
"And as for Mrs Hughes …" Lord Grantham began, stumbling with his words. He was still quite flabbergasted but managed to continue,
"You said that you are in love with Mrs Hughes, Carson?"
"I am Your Lordship …" Charles replied firmly, tightly squeezing Elsie's hand.
"And Mrs Hughes … are you in love with Carson?" Lord Grantham asked, still totally bemused by events and not quite believing that he was asking these questions of his two most senior staff.
"I am Your Lordship … very much so …" Elsie smiled, as she stroked Charles's fingers at her side. The Butler stood even taller on hearing his love's most sincere words and he gave a blissful, contented sigh.
Lady Mary smiled happily. She had always suspected that her beloved Butler cared for Mrs Hughes. However, as she looked at the pair in front of her it was crystal clear just how much he loved her, as well how much the love was reciprocated by the Housekeeper. She was thrilled. Beryl had tears in her eyes as she heard her two friends finally admit so publicly their love for one another. Daisy and Anna were clinging to each other, so moved to see Elsie and Charles so obviously in love. Even Thomas had a tiny smile on his face; it did his cold heart some good to see Mrs Hughes so happy.
"Well then … that is a quite a revelation …" the Lord finished.
Elsie and Charles stood in front of Lord Grantham feeling like naughty teenagers. It was difficult to gauge exactly what his view was on the matter; he simply seemed staggered. Charles waited for His Lordship to say something further, the silence was deafening. It was Lady Mary who finally spoke.
"I think it is time for Miss Neal to leave Downton …" she said, glaring at Alice.
Alice made to speak again but Lady Mary stopped her in her tracks.
"No … not another word … it is quite clear to all present that Carson wants nothing at all to do with you and so please do not speak another word of your nonsense. Hear this loud and clear Miss Neal … Carson loves Mrs Hughes and not you," Lady Mary said confidently.
"Mr Carson always did have good taste …" Beryl added drolly, not being able to help herself.
Elsie bit back a smile and gave her friend a happy wink. Lady Mary gave a light chuckle.
"Therefore Miss Neal, I would kindly ask that you take your leave … and know this …" Her Ladyship began, quite menacingly.
"… Carson and Mrs Hughes mean a great deal to my family and I ... and should you ever attempt to cause trouble for them again … you will have the full weight of Downton upon you … do you understand?" Lady Mary asked.
Alice did not reply and made a grumbling noise.
Elsie let go of Charles's hand and stepped forward to stand beside Lady Mary.
"I believe Lady Mary asked you a question Miss Neal … it would be courteous to answer Her Ladyship," Elsie said firmly.
Alice rolled her eyes pettily and gave a long sigh.
"Fine … I understand …" she began, and then looking at Elsie muttered, "… and you are welcome to him! Never was my type anyway … far too sensible for my liking …"
"Thankfully, sensible enough to know that you are a horrid old witch!" Beryl added, and then looked a little abashed. She seemingly could not help herself! Elsie smiled at her friend and then turned her attention to Alice.
"You really are a despicable woman Miss Neal … now ... be on your way … and do not come back to Downton ever again," Elsie said finally.
Anna had collected Alice's coat and purse, predicting her departure was nigh, and so she handed them to her. They all watched as the woman finally made her way to the servants door. She stropped along the corridor and with a final flourish, slammed the door on her way out.
The gathered staff broke out into a spontaneous round of applause. Elsie's shoulders sagged in relief, as she turned to look at Charles who looked equally relieved. He smiled broadly at her, taking her hand once more and bending to kiss her forehead softly.
As the applause quietened, Lord Grantham addressed his Butler and Housekeeper formally,
"Carson, Mrs Hughes … I would ask that you meet me in the Library in thirty minutes … thank you."
Elsie and Charles watched as His Lordship turned swiftly and made his way back upstairs to the main house. They both gulped in anticipation, clasping each other's hands tightly as they began to realise the enormity of what had just happened.
A/N: Thank you once again for your reviews- they are a pleasure to read and they give me lots of ideas for future chapters! x