Chapter 29 - Helping

Everyone was sad and upset. The family was wandering about in a fog, all numb until they knew more, so when Edith returned with news from Mr. Mason, William's father, it got worse. It was the day before Mary had her own struggles at Dr. Clarkson's hospital, that Lady Edith and Duchess had their role to play.

Mrs. Hughes was by the door when Lady Edith came in from the carriage house. She held herself as calm as possible, but when she saw the look on Lady Edith's face she knew it was bad. Elsie cried out. "Bad, my lady?"

Lady Edith pulled off her gloves and smoothed them, all in a bid for time, so she could collect her thoughts. She had pulled off on the side of the road driving back to the house and had a good cry. Now she was ready for speech. "Yes it is, I'm afraid."

"Oh dear," said the head housekeeper and her hand flew to her face.

"William was wounded in a shell blast. He and Matthew are both alive, at least we know that much. William's been taken to Leeds Infirmary, as they had room for enlisted men."

"Can't the boy come here, to the village?"

"I don't know. Mr. Mason asked that question and got no real answer. Now excuse me, I need to speak to my father."

"But about William…"

"Oh, Mrs. Hughes," gasped out Edith. "Mr. Mason said he's hurt quite badly. Something with his lungs. The poor man didn't really understand what they told him. He's setting off there at noon to see his son."

"Very bad then?" asked Mrs. Hughes, her Scotch accent coming back when she was upset.

"I assume so."

As Edith walked off, Elsie put her hand to her heart and felt it leaping about. "That poor bairn. Poor bairn."

Mr. Carson rocked back in his office chair as Mrs. Hughes informed him of the sad news. He exclaimed "Good God!" then thought better of it. "I am sorry, Mrs. Hughes. Very, very sorry."

"As are we all, Mr. Carson." She turned to go.

"What can we do?"

"Pray Mr. Carson. We can pray."

Mr. Carson stood up, settled his black coat and shot his cuffs. "That we will." Carson cleared his throat. "He's a good lad, is William."

Elsie stood at the door and looked at the butler, whose craggy face now held a mournful look. "They all are, Mr. Carson. Everyone blessed one of them." Then she left to speak to Daisy and Mrs. Patmore and the rest of the staff.

000

Edith found her grandmother attending her father, and Violet shot into action when she heard the gloomy news that William seemed to be mortally wounded.

The old lady climbed briskly to her feet and with a determined expression on her face said, "Come, Edith! You will drive us to the hospital. Doctor Clarkson, like it or not, will be having another patient. Leeds Infirmary, indeed!"

"Mama," cautioned Robert, "the military has a system…"

Violet whirled on him in a fury. "I'll not leave that boy… miles away… from his father and family."

"To the best of my knowledge, mama, I do not believe that William has any family other than his father," said Robert but as faced his mama knew he had already lost the battle from the way she rolled her eyes.

She stamped her cane, which she carried more for effect than anything. "Robert… do NOT presume to think that that poor child," she sniffed and wiped at her eye, "does NOT have a family." She whipped her head around to her granddaughter. "Well, Edith? What are you standing there for? You like to drive so much, don't you? Get the other motor going and bring it to the front. You don't think I'll go out the back door, do you?"

Edith gave her gran a look of surrender. "No. Of course not." She fled.

"Mother…," Robert started to say.

"No, Robert!" Violet cut him off with a wave. "I have decided. Something shall be done. Goodbye." Then she swept from the room.

Robert watched his mother leave and felt entirely left out of the entire proceedings.

000

Violet and Edith were rebuffed soundly by Dr. Clarkson. The two women had pled and wheedled to bring William to the village hospital but to no avail. Clarkson was adamant that he could not and would not do so. He harangued them about rules and regulations and acted every bit the bureaucrat he had become to run the hospital.

Violet swept from the man's office in a fury with Edith trailing behind.

"What shall we do, granny?"

"My dear," Violet began and her bosom heaved with emotion. "We shall make a telephone call. Now where is that new-fangled thing?"

Edith was wide-eyed. She knew that her grandmother was very used to getting her way but had rarely seen her like this. "In the hospital office, I suppose?"

"Of course, my dear." Violet put a smile on her lined face. "They really have no idea, do they?" she smiled wickedly. "Now to the telephone; no matter the Jules Verne experience, I shall use it."

Having made a phone call to Shrimpy, a family nickname for a distant cousin, who happened to be a government Minister, the wheels were set in motion. Edith watched in amazement while Violet negotiated, more like directed, and then hung up the telephone earpiece. "There," she said in satisfaction. "Now my dear, we go."

Edith followed numbly not quite sure what had just happened.

Violet stomped along the path from the hospital door with Edith at her heels. "That's the problem with these little people, Edith! Give them an ounce of power and it goes to their heads!"

"Well now what, granny? You said go. Go where exactly?"

Violet turned her smiling yet determined face on her granddaughter. "Now, Edith, we shall go to Leeds Infirmary to ensure that things are carried out." She cleared her throat. "Carried out to our satisfaction. I hope you don't mind driving a bit further."

Lady Edith knew better than to even say a word so she led granny to the auto.

000

The village grapevine carried the news back to Downton that William was rejected by Dr. Clarkson. The message was by rumor from the butcher's boy, who, although he was a man of thirty, had a club foot. He had gotten it from the hospital cook, who'd heard it from an orderly, who'd been told it by a nurse in the corridor who just happened to be near the doctor's office, that the answer was a resounding NO.

This message caused even more dismay downstairs than the original report of William's injuries.

The servants discussed this in ways and words that if Mrs. Hughes or Mr. Carson heard they would have been severely chastised by the housekeeper and butler.

So Daisy stomped about, her petite frame seething in both anger and alarm.

Mrs. Patmore was working away on luncheon, as Daisy muttered at her elbow.

The cook said "Well aren't you glad that you let him have his little daydream?" She threw that out, mentioning the marriage plans of William. Although those plans, she knew, were his alone and not Daisy's.

"Led him up the garden path, more like. I'm ashamed, so ashamed," Daisy said miserably. She stood with shoulders slumped and jaws trembling.

The cook's heart went soft, so went to the kitchen maid. "Oh, no, my dear," Mrs. Patmore went on. "It doesn't matter now," she said as gently as possible.

She had a hand in forcing Daisy onto William, even arranging the time and place they could meet when the boy had last been at the house. And him all dressed up in soldier's uniform as well. She thought of Archie, her nephew Archie, who'd not ever be coming home. Well at least William would get that much.

The girl shook her head and hot tears were flung from her pink cheeks. "Yes… yes, it does." She'd known the whole engagement was a huge mistake – worse a lie – and as Mrs. Patmore tried to comfort her, she felt her little world coming down around her ears.

000

Violet turned on the charm at Leeds Infirmary when she spoke to the attending doctor.

Doctor Miles was very polite, yet factual. William Mason was dying. His lungs had been burst by a shell blast. He went on. "All we can do is keep him comfortable. That's it, I'm afraid."

As the doctor spoke, Edith looked about the long ward, where men lay in rank and file, most bandaged to some extent, but the smell of carbolic, peroxide, and iodine took her breath away. She'd also seen how blankets were draped over missing legs and arms and that made her queasy. Worst of all were the head injuries clumped together at the far wall. Edith could see that some must have been burned as well since the entire face was wrapped, leaving only a mouth slit and air holes. That sight almost made her faint imagining what had happened to them.

She hugged herself with her arms, standing on weak knees, yet she lifted her head and smiled at the men if they looked at her. These were her countrymen, men and boys, sent off to this ghastly war; a war that had gone on entirely too long. These boys, no these men she corrected herself, had paid the terrible price.

She had walked to William's bedside and he was genuinely glad to see her.

"Lady Edith?"

Edith kept smiling, bent down and touched his hand. "William, how are you?"

William tried to rise but Edith pushed him back down. "I'm… fine," he said. "Glad to see dad, let me tell you. Sorry…" he coughed and choked a little. "Seems I can't always get my breath."

She knelt down by the footman. "Don't you worry about a thing. We're taking you to Downton Abbey." She kept her voice soft as she rubbed his arm. She stood and said, "Won't be gone a minute."

She went back to stand by her grandmother. Mr. Mason followed her down the aisle and touched hand to forehead. "Milady. So good of you to come," he said in a half bow.

Violet smiled at the man, who had lost his wife, and now was to lose his only child. "We were just discussing the move. It's all arranged."

"I'm sure he'll get better once he's home," Mr. Mason said with enthusiasm and hope. "He'll have to."

The doctor tried to interrupt the hopeful father with the brutal facts, but Violet stopped the man.

"Let's get him ready," Edith said and led William's father back to his son and out of earshot. Edith talked gently to William and his father, and she felt herself drawn to both, as they acted so humble by her side.

Yet she was humbled in this place filled with the wounded and dying.

Who was she, she wondered? Just a silly girl, who'd never done anything at all. Her mind was awhirl. These men and boys; some would pull through. But William, they were told by the very matter-of-fact doctor, would not. She found a small cloth bag under his bed holding insignia, some tattered letters, and a Bible. The Bible was new.

"This is yours?" she asked.

William nodded. "That's mine. The insignia, they took it off my uniform I guess. The letters were in my pocket in the battle and the Bible a volunteer gave me in London as they put me onto the train." He coughed and wiped his eyes. "That's the last I saw Captain Crawley."

"How was he?" Edith asked dreading the answer.

William squeezed her hand. "He was alive, Lady Edith. He was alive."

Violet set sad, yet practical eyes, on the doctor as she watched Edith lead Mr. Mason back to his son. "Sometimes it is better to let the blow fall by degrees. So that he will be prepared to face the end."

The doctor looked very closely at the Countess. He'd known this lady all of five minutes, although he knew of her and he liked what he had experienced. "If I was dying, I'd want to be home."

"Yes," said Lady Violet. "Yes." She would have liked to retire and have tea, but she and Edith had gotten this far. "Let's do what we can for this boy. At least this one."

The doctor nodded. "He won't last long. But I thank you my lady."

"No need to thank me," she looked about the filled ward. "If only we could help all of them."

"You're doing quite a lot, though."

Violet looked about the ward again. "I hate this war," she whispered, but kept her face unmoved.