"You bet against me?" Elsie exclaimed in wonder. She couldn't believe this was the first she was hearing of this.
"I bet for you getting married. I bet against you remaining at Downton," Charles corrected. "I'd seen plenty of pretty young maids come through Downton just looking for a husband in the village to save them. I thought some Yorkshire Casanova would sweep you off your feet."
"Casanova? In Downton? Not likely," Elsie laughed. "And I was hardly a pretty young maid. I was nearly forty."
"But you were very pretty. I knew you were too tempting a prize for the Downton men to pass up."
"You really thought I was pretty?"
"No," Charles claimed, much to his wife's consternation. He let her stew for a moment before continuing. "I didn't just think you were pretty. I knew that you were beautiful."
He kissed her cheek lovingly. "And you still are, Mrs. Carson."
"To you at least," Elsie humbly appended.
"Always to me, but also to others."
Elsie laughed at him and kissed his lips lightly. "I love that you think so."
Charles grew suddenly earnest. "You do know that it isn't just empty flattery, don't you?"
Elsie shrugged.
"Elsie?" Charles frowned at her noncommittal answer.
"I'm not sure what you want me to say, Charles." She was bemused by his change of mood. Only Charles Carson could take something like this so seriously.
"I want you to say that you believe me when I say that you are beautiful." He couldn't explain why it was so very important to him that she accepted her beauty as fact. He only knew that it was.
"I believe that you believe it, Charles, which makes me very happy," she answered with a broad smile. "Your opinion is the only one that matters to me."
This placated him a little, but he would not be diverted from his objective. "I'm glad you are happy and I'm proud that my opinion means so much to you," he said. "But you need to understand that it isn't just my opinion. In any time or place you would be objectively considered a handsome woman."
Despite her natural humility, Elsie found herself moved by his conviction. "Daft man," she tried once more to dismiss him.
"It's the truth, Elsie. You know it's true because I said it and I couldn't lie if my life depended on it."
She chuckled at his little joke and tried one of her own. "Are you trying to make me vain, Charles?"
"You're too sensible to fall into the trap of vanity," Charles dismissed.
"If you persist, I don't know how I can possibly avoid the trap."
"One can be proud without being vain," Charles insisted. "If physical beauty was all you possessed, then vanity might be your only recourse, but on top of everything else you are, Elsie, you happen to also be very beautiful. It is high time that you accept that indisputable truth."
Elsie rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in surrender. "Very well, I'll admit that I could have married any eligible widower in Downton if I'd chosen to. Are you happy now?"
"Yes. I'm especially happy that you didn't marry any of them."
"I was too busy trying to impress the butler at Downton to worry about the men in the village," Elsie smiled coyly. "I thought that first garden party would be the death of me."
"With His Lordship due to leave for Africa, it was important to get everything just right," Charles defended his actions over twenty years earlier.
"Yes, so I heard, a thousand times in those three weeks leading up to the event," Elsie reminded him. "The maids started joking that it would be easier if they sent us to the war and let His Lordship stay home. Candice thought they ought to send you to organize the Boer's into submission."
"Was I as bad as that?"
"It was rather sweet to see how much importance you put on the event. You wanted to give Lord Grantham a happy memory to take with him," Elsie said understandingly. "However, it wasn't much fun for the staff. It was all Mrs. Curtis and I could do to keep them from turning on you."
"But between the two of you, I was protected," Charles acknowledged.
"The thing that kept me going was the hope that you would smile when all was said and done. Mrs. Curtis said you always beamed with pride on the day of a successful event."
"And was my smile worth all that work?" Charles wondered.
"I'm sure it was, but I didn't see it. I was in the kitchen with Mrs. Patmore seeing that all the trays were in order, so I never had the chance to see you," Elsie admitted with a chuckle. "Mrs. Curtis said you'd asked her to pass your compliment on to me, but you didn't thank me directly."
"It wouldn't have been proper for me to seek you out to thank you," Charles argued. "Even if I wanted to."
"So, it was a long time before I saw you actually smile," Elsie remembered.
"Was it? It can't have been too long," Charles insisted.
"Not until after Christmas, just after Beryl…"
"Don't remind me," Charles interrupted with a huff.
"It was the first time we met over sherry," Elsie reminded him. "You were a different man with that door closed and a little Jerez nectar in your glass."
"I suppose I always considered that time as 'off stage'," Charles ruminated. "I still do."
"And our house? Is it off stage?"
"Our house is the boarding house room to which I've convinced the most beautiful lady in the audience to come back home with me," Charles purred seductively.
"Did that happen often?" Elsie asked, knowing full well the answer.
"Never, until now," her husband smiled.
"You do have a lovely smile, love," Elsie praised him. "I wish more people knew that."
"I can't go around grinning like a fool, it would undermine my authority," Charles maintained.
"It used to be a game of mine to get you to smile when other people were around, it was quite the challenge at one time, but there's not much sport in it recently."
"I wonder what could be the reason for that," Charles teased back.
"Lady Mary never had any trouble getting a smile out of you," Elsie recalled. "Even when she deserved a scolding."
"I know you think it would have done her some good, but I was never much good at scolding her," Charles admitted. "But I'll always save a special smile for my special lass."
Elsie knew he was trying to distract her from her thoughts on Lady Mary, but it was too late. A specific memory leaped into her mind.
"It didn't take long to see how Lady Mary had you wrapped around her finger," Elsie grinned. "It was frustrating to see, but it did give me my chance to see you laugh for the first time."
"Oh? When was that?"
"It was not too long into the New Year. Mrs. Curtis had just returned from her sister's so I was just the head housemaid again, though I was sometimes invited to have sherry with you and Mrs. Curtis. The young ladies were nine and ten, I think."
-00-
Elsie was walking up the laundry corridor when she heard raised voices coming from the servant's hall. Amongst the shouting, Elsie could hear crying. It was a cry she recognized. What could Lady Mary have done to Lady Edith now, Elsie wondered.
Elsie reached the scene just as Mr. Carson arrived.
"Enough! I will not have such pandemonium below stairs," the irate butler roared as he burst into the servant's hall. The next moment he realized that he was not chastising two maids, but Ladies Mary and Edith. Carson's demeanor softened at once. "May I ask what brings Your Ladyships downstairs to honor us with your visit?" He sounded remarkably calm, but he did not sound honored.
"I was merely showing Edith where she'll be working when she's old enough," young Lady Mary said confidently.
"Lady Edith," Carson emphasized the title. "Will not be working anywhere, milady, least of all in the Downton kitchens."
"Not immediately, of course, but she will when she turns twelve," Mary claimed, causing her sister to break into fresh fits of tears. "Isn't that so, Carson?"
Mr. Carson was in the difficult position of contradicting a Lady of the house in front of others. To avoid this, he suggested a change of venue. "Both of you, in my parlor. Now."
At his gruff demeanor, Lady Mary's confidence waivered, but she remained stubbornly haughty.
"Now," Carson repeated.
Lady Edith skittered down the hall to the butler's pantry. Lady Mary followed slowly, complying with Carson's request while making it clear that she was doing so of her own free will.
"Would you please bring us some tea, Elsie?" Mr. Carson asked wearily. Elsie nodded and hurried to the kitchen to prepare a tray. If she hurried, she might get to hear Mr. Carson telling off the little minx. The water took an age to boil as Mrs. Patmore stomped around the kitchen in a rage. Elsie knew better than to ask for an explanation from the cook.
"It used to be adorable when they'd come and visit, but now they're little terrors," was all Mrs. Patmore would offer.
By the time the water was in the tea pot and Elsie knocked on the door, she was sure that she'd missed everything of interest. Fortunately, she saw that very little progress had been made in her absence. It seemed Mr. Carson was waiting for her. He looked completely baffled by the situation.
The young ladies were seated in the chairs that normally flanked the hearth, but now faced Mr. Carson's formidable desk. The butler was not seated behind the desk, but stood menacingly in front of it. Mr. Carson didn't mean to be menacing, but that was the effect. Elsie could tell that Mr. Carson thought he would be less intimidating if he were not at his desk, but he was wrong. Lady Edith sat sniffling into a man's handkerchief, clearly belonging to Mr. Carson. Lady Edith was still trying to share her grievance with Mr. Carson, but was too terrified to get through more than one sentence at a time. Lady Mary sat beside her sister, smirking.
The little imp knows she won't get in trouble for whatever it is she's done, Elsie realized.
Mr. Carson was visibly relieved to see Elsie arrive with the tea. He took the tray from her and set it on his desk.
"Here now," he said kindly. "Have a biscuit, milady." He offered the plate of biscuits to Lady Edith who did as he suggested with a quick, hopeful smile. Lady Mary frowned when the butler did not extend the same courtesy to her. Mr. Carson did, however prepare two cups of tea and give one to each girl.
"Let me get this clear," Mr. Carson said calmly. "Lady Mary, you claim that you overheard Fraulein Kelder say Lord and Lady Grantham were blessed that they had 'an heir and a spare'?"
"Yes," the little Lady insisted.
"She went on to say that one of you young ladies was redundant?"
"Yes, she said Mama and Papa should keep the pretty one and the sweet one," Mary declared with a devilish smirk. "I think it is clear she was referring to myself and Sybil."
"I hope you're not claiming to be the sweet one," Elsie muttered. When Lady Mary and Mr. Carson both glared at her Elsie added, "Milady."
"I assumed they would not send Edith away so I thought she would likely work downstairs. I thought it would be a good idea to show her the kitchens. Mrs. Patmore used to be very kind to us," Mary explained. "She wasn't very welcoming today."
"You brought a distraught child into her kitchens in the middle of afternoon preparations," Mr. Carson turned his scowl towards the eldest Crawley girl. Still, in his glowering countenance, Elsie could see in his eyes the tenderness he had for the girl. Luckily, Lady Mary did not see this and became contrite. She dropped her eyes from his face to his shoes.
"I'm sure you must have misheard, milady," Mr. Carson said more kindly. "'Heir and a spare,' indeed! Fraulein Kelder well knows that vile phrase, if it must be used, does not apply to the daughters of noble houses, but to the sons."
Both young ladies looked confused at this information.
"But I'm the heir to Downton," Lady Mary asserted raising her eyes up defiantly. "I'm the eldest!" She stamped her tiny foot to emphasize her claim.
Mr. Carson gave Elsie a panicked look. His eyes told her if Lady Mary believed herself to be the future Countess of Grantham, he did not want to be the one who informed her otherwise. "I'm afraid that is not how it works, milady," Elsie stepped in before Mr. Carson was forced to break his favorite's heart.
If Lady Mary must associate someone with the loss of her future home, Elsie was happy to have it be herself rather than Mr. Carson. "Daughters do not inherit. They marry and become mistress of their husband's estates. The only distinction given to the eldest daughter is that she might marry first. She is expected to, in fact."
"Then who will be the Earl of Grantham when Papa is gone?"
A part of Elsie was actually impressed by the young girl's lack of sentimentality. Elsie could have told Lady Mary that her cousins Mr. James Crawley and his son were in line to inherit her home, but she did not think now was the time to explain the intricacies of progenitor to the young Crawley girls. Nor did she think it her place.
As much as she might want to take the spoiled child down a peg, Elsie sensed that Lady Mary and Lady Edith had heard enough for now. She did not think it wise to explain to them that all the Crawley daughters were equally precious and useless in the eyes of society. Elsie looked to Mr. Carson to rejoin the conversation.
"That is a topic for another day," Mr. Carson said sternly. He had apparently decided to gloss over the question and bring them back on point. "I think you owe Lady Edith an apology for accidentally upsetting her."
"But…"
"Because I'm confident that it was accidental," he frowned down at the child who was more accustomed to his smiles than his frowns. "If it were intentional, that would be most disappointing."
Lady Mary sighed and slumped in defeat for the briefest of moments. She then sat up straight and addressed her sister coolly. "I am very sorry, Edith. I misunderstood or misheard Fraulein Kelder. I thought you would be sent to work in the kitchens one day and I thought you might benefit from visiting."
Elsie shook her head at this backhanded apology, but Mr. Carson recognized that it was the best they could hope for. Mrs. Patmore could still be heard crashing pots and pans about in the kitchen. It was high time the young ladies return upstairs before they learned any colorful new phrases.
Mr. Carson took the girls' now empty tea cups and offered Lady Edith the last biscuit. Lady Mary pretended not to care, but her jealousy was evident to all. Lady Edith munched on the biscuit happily and smiled at Elsie.
"Alright, upstairs with you," Mr. Carson urged gently. Elsie opened the door and Lady Edith was gone like a shot. "Lady Mary?" Mr. Carson stopped the child at the door with a word.
"Yes, Carson?"
"The next time you overhear something, milady, I suggest you forget what you've heard," he advised. "And if you are ever confused about something or have any questions, you should ask Fraulein Kelder, your parents, or me."
"Yes, Carson." Lady Mary nodded her stubborn acknowledgement. She was not pleased that she had been treated so coldly by her butler. "It's a good thing I'm the eldest, though. If I have to wait until Edith finds a husband, I'll be an old maid."
With this parting shot, Lady Mary followed her sister up the stairs, chasing her back to the nursery.
As soon as he heard the green baize door close, Mr. Carson burst out laughing. "Just like her grandmamma," Mr. Carson chuckled. "She always has to have the last word."
-00-
That evening, Elsie related the whole story to Mrs. Curtis. The housekeeper sat in her desk chair while Elsie occupied the guest chair located furthest from the door.
"I don't understand why he indulges her so," Elsie concluded.
"It's one of those things that cannot be explained," Mrs. Curtis offered. "If you wish to keep the peace with Mr. Carson after I've retired, you will keep your opinion of Lady Mary to yourself. Most of the time."
"Thank you for the advice, but I wish you wouldn't speak so casually of retiring," Elsie answered.
"Who's retiring?" Mr. Carson asked in dismay from the doorway. As he had promised earlier, he carried the left over wine from dinner and three glasses on a tray.
"No one, Mr. Carson," Mrs. Curtis assured him. "Not yet, at any rate. Miss Hughes was just telling me about your exciting encounter with the young ladies this afternoon."
"I wouldn't call it exciting," Mr. Carson dismissed, setting the tray on the side table and taking his accustomed seat nearest the door. "I'm afraid Lady Mary is in for a nasty shock when they explain inheritance to her."
"Hopefully she'll have recovered from the shock she had this afternoon," Mrs. Curtis said with mock concern. She gave Elsie a wink that was unseen by the butler who was pouring the wine.
"What shock was that?" Mr. Carson demanded.
"Apparently, you disciplined her, Mr. Carson. Are you sure you weren't too severe?"
"Severe?" The confused butler asked.
"You denied her a biscuit with her tea," Elsie reminded him. "Twice."
Mrs. Curtis laughed but tried to hide it behind her hand. Mr. Carson was not amused.
"I take it from your tone that you think I should have done more?" Mr. Carson observed.
"You might have," Elsie agreed.
"Might I point out that it is not my place to discipline the young ladies," Mr. Carson maintained. "My role is to maintain order amongst the staff. It is for Fraulein Kelder to do so for the young ladies."
"It isn't just about discipline, Mr. Carson," Mrs. Curtis argued. "It's about raising three girls to be proper ladies."
"That is what a governess does," Mr. Carson reasoned. "That is how it is done."
"Yes, but is it wise to leave a governess to perform such an important service alone?" Mrs. Curtis pressed.
"She has nursery maids to help her."
Mrs. Curtis gave up and tasted her wine. Elsie thought she understood what the housekeeper was trying to say and took up the cause. "But Mr. Carson, a governess may teach them what is proper in the eyes of society, but who will teach them what is right? From whom are they to learn compassion; from Fraulein Kelder?"
"Lady Grantham selected Fraulein Kelder from dozens of candidates," Mr. Carson challenged.
"Fraulein Kelder is about as compassionate as an ice sculpture," Elsie quipped.
"I trust Lady Grantham to choose who will raise her children and how they will be raised," countered and indignant Mr. Carson.
"But…"
"I am not comfortable with this topic. It borders on sedition." Mr. Carson emptied his glass and rose to his feet. "Enjoy your wine, but I will not sit around, drinking The Family's wine and second-guessing the established way that children are to be raised. Good night, ladies."
He left without another word.
"Good night, Mr. Carson," Mrs. Curtis called after him. She smiled at Elsie, who was still in shock that Mr. Carson had so rudely dismissed them and left.
"We were just having a harmless discussion," Elsie said incredulously. "It isn't as though we were plotting a revolution."
"In Mr. Carson's world, questioning the establishment is only one step removed from inciting revolution," Mrs. Curtis informed her head housemaid. "We must pick our battles carefully, Elsie."
"I shall bear that in mind," Elsie answered. The two women enjoyed their wine in silence. After putting her glass back onto the tray, Mrs. Curtis shivered visibly.
"Are you cold?" Elsie asked in concern.
"No," the housekeeper smiled. "I was just picturing Fraulein Kelder as an ice sculpture." She shuddered again as Elsie laughed.
-00-
"I should have listened to you," Charles admitted to his wife. "I taught Lady Mary to insist on having everything done properly, but I neglected more important lessons."
"As you said, it wasn't your responsibility to teach her anything," Elsie argued.
"I wouldn't have been able to teach her compassion in any case, never possessing much of it myself," Charles frowned. "I'm not even sure it's something that can be taught."
"Charles, do not sell me a lie about you having no compassion," Elsie barked sharply, startling Charles. "I have seen you be sympathetic to many people; Lady Mary, Mrs. Patmore and myself for a start. You just keep it hidden under a gruff exterior."
"Still, I failed to show Lady Mary the importance of caring for other people," Charles insisted.
"Maybe you didn't fail completely. She learned the value of loyalty from you," Elsie comforted him. "She has always been loyal to Anna. It's one of her few redeeming qualities."
"Did you just pay Lady Mary a compliment?" Mr. Carson teased. "Will wonders never cease?"
"If miracles are possible, perhaps Lady Mary will spare a kind word for Lady Edith someday," Elsie laughed.
"Even miracles have their limits," Charles chuckled. "I can't believe you remembered that day."
"Not remember Mr. Carson putting the little Miss in her place? Never," Elsie trilled in an exaggerated brogue. "That was a memorable time for me."
"How so?"
"Mrs. Curtis began grooming me to take her place. I kept asking why she was accelerating my training, but she always evaded my questions," Elsie recalled. "Still, I was excited to learn as much as I could from her; about Downton and about you."
"I remember the house seemed full of women that spring," Mr. Carson crinkled his brow in thought, trying to conjure up the memories. "His Lordship was off at the war, the recently widowed Lady Rosamund returned to Downton for her mourning, and Lady Violet practically moved back into the Abbey."
"And Mrs. Curtis' sister continued to decline," Elsie added. "With each letter she received, I could see her moving closer to retirement. I was very sorry for her, but the prospect of becoming housekeeper thrilled me. I wasn't sure if I was ready."
"I remember the day she called us into her sitting room to tell us her decision," Mr. Carson reminisced.
TBC…
AN/ We are VERY close to the end (1 or 2 more…plus an epilogue…plus an appendices…plus a graphic novel…) I will TRY to post everything by Saturday so we can all just sit back and bask in the Chelsie goodness (I hope) of the Series 6 premiere.
FYI, I made a video and ChelsieFan was kind enough to post it on her Tumblr page. I forgot to mention it in the past few updates. I know at least ten people have seen it;) I suspect it's pretty buried by now with spoilers, etc, but if you are interested, look at her archive page for September 8th. It's just called Chelsie Vid. Her tumblr name is chelsiefan71.
Alternately, if you have Tumblr, I can send you a link.
For the video and these stories, I own nothing. I do this as homage to the work created by Mr. Fellowes and company.
