LOVE IN THE TIME OF A PLAGUE

Hello my dear friends. I promised myself that I will use this social distancing thing in the most creative way I can. Since we are all now living in the times of a plague, I thought that I could write a story, which title is a paraphrase of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's book, but with a reference to Downton Abbey.

I think we all remember well episode 8, of season 2, when Spanish Flu strikes at Downton. We saw just a bits of Carson's illness, because the storyline was focused on Cora and Lavinia. So let's take a look inside the curtain and see how it really went, behind closed doors. How he survived the illness with Elsie's love and support. Hope you will like it. Please stay safe!

Elsie knew that something was wrong. She noticed how quiet Charles was at breakfast. He didn't say much, he didn't eat much, he didn't even barked his commands, as he used to do every morning. She wanted to check if everything was all right with him during the day, but she couldn't make it, because of her hectic routine. There was so many things to do. All the time. It wasn't earlier than a teatime, when she finally reached his pantry to find him in a very serious state. Of course he wanted to carry on, to go back to his duties at once. But she wouldn't let him. When he tried to get up, he almost collapsed and she was there, by his side, to give him a steady hand. She gently touched his arm and he put his hand on hers and asked her to make sure that everything was ready for dinner. She calmed him down and assured him that everything will be fine. That she could manage. He was so pale and so weak, that her heart crumbled when she looked at him. She lead him to his bedroom, just to make sure that he will lie down and promised to check on him later. That was really a very long evening. Elsie knew, that now she was in charged of the whole thing. Given that there were guests at dinner, she had to control every little detail, not wanting to let Charles down in any way. So she swiftly and effectively commanded and made sure, that the downstairs group was working properly. One thing was certain-it wasn't meant to be a quiet evening. Elsie was doing the best she could, but with every passing moment, she had a feeling that she was fighting with a greater enemy. There was no doubt about Spanish Flu taking it's toll. Her Ladyship and Miss Lavinia were feeling bad and the family decided to call dr Clarkson, Elsie asked if he could check Mr Carson as well, when he will arrive. Meanwhile she had to deal with Mr Molseley, who as unfortunate as it was, has chosen this evening to get drunk, by overdoing the wine tasting. At first, she and Anna were convinced that he was the next victim of the Spanish Flu, but Dr Clarkson, who was just around, quickly assured them that they had nothing to worry about, as he wasn't ill, but simply drunk. In the meantime, she asked Thomas to get a dinner tray to Mr Carson's room, to get him something to eat, but what she didn't see, was that the tray came back untouched. By the time the dinner was over, Elsie was so exhausted, that she barely found a strength to eat anything. She was simply sitting by the dinner's table, feeling very sad, by the lack of the solid man figure on her left side. She wasn't used to having meals without him by her side. It was so odd and rather strange, without him nearby. She shuddered a bit suddenly, when a frightening thought has crossed her mind. What if something bad was to happen to him and he would never sit here again?

"Stop it Elsie Hughes, you should not even think that"-She scolded herself. Still, there was some anxiety deep inside her. The man that she loved with all her heart, the man that she almost lost not so long time ago, when he was planning to leave Downton to go to Haxby, was absent at the dinner's table and the thought itself was enough to let her feel uneasy. She hurried through her dinner, just to check on him at last. She felt a little ashamed by not doing that earlier, but she was so busy with all the dinner stuff, and as much as swift and effective she was, she wasn't able to be at two places at once. All the other servants were slowly finishing their dinners and getting ready to go to sleep, as she hurried into his bedroom, with her heart full of worry. She had a very bad feeling, a very disturbing thoughts inside her, but she was not prepared for what she saw in there.

Charles was lying on his bed, pale as a ghost, with only his cheeks reddened from the fever. His face and his body were covered in sweat. He rejected his quilt, obviously he was very hot and his body was shaking inside, tormented with shivers over and over again.

Elsie was terrified when she saw him in that state. At first she felt anger. Why didn't Thomas or any of those other fools, that she asked to look after him, didn't inform her that his condition was so bad? All her tiredness left her at once. She knew that it wasn't time to take a rest. She had to act now. She had to be with him. All the time. Not to leave him even for a second. To save him. To pull him away from death. At any cost. She neared him and said:

"Mr Carson, do you hear me? It's me. Elsie. Mrs Hughes. Do you want anything?"

"Elsie?... Mrs Hughes...? Is that you? Are you here?"

"Yes, I'm here. With you. Do you want something?"

"Water...Please give me some water...I need to drink some water.."

"I will fetch it right away. Just wait a minute."

Elsie went downstairs, as quickly as she could. They didn't even gave him a glass of water. Oh, she will certainly speak with Thomas tomorrow! She was angry and whenever Elsie was angry, she was more focused than usual. She got down very quickly and found Anna, who was still in the kitchen with Mr Bates.

"Mrs Hughes, is everything all right? You look terrified."

"I'm afraid not Anna. Mr Carson is very ill. I asked Thomas to take care of him and he didn't even brought him a glass of water. He is in a terrible state. I have to take care of him."

"Mrs Hughes, maybe you need help? If you want to, Mr Bates can sit with him?"- She looked at Mr bates with silent question in her eyes and he agreed immediately.

"Of course I can. You are very tired Mrs Hughes, you've handled all the dinner today, maybe I can cover for you?"

"Thank you, but no. The only thing that I will ask you to do, is to get me some cool water in the bowl and also some towels. I need to cool him down a little, with cold compresses. He is burning up and I'm afraid that his temperature can still rise."

"Of course Mrs Hughes, I will fetch it to his room at once, but are you sure you don't want me to help you? To sit with him, so you can have some night rest?"

"I'm sure. Thank you. I'm the one who needs to be with Mr Carson in this difficult moment. I want to be with him..."

Mr Bates nodded understandingly and when Mrs Hughes left, with a glass of water, to hurry to Charles's room, he and Anna exchanged meaningful eyes expressions.

"Poor Mr Carson. I wonder when will he finally understand?"-Anna said to Mr Bates.

"Understand what?"

"That he is as much in love with Mrs Hughes as she is with him. It is obvious for anyone who spends few moments with them.. Just look at her. She is terrified. I bet she won't leave him till the morning. This is love John. True love."

"You are right Anna. This is love. I hope that he will understand it quickly, because Mrs Hughes is such a good woman. He should appreciate her love. No time to talk about that now. I will get that bowl with cold water for him."

"Thank you John."

Elsie came back to Charles's room and handed him a glass of water. She also insisted on taking his medicine, which he reluctantly obliged. He drank some of the water, but not as much as she expected and he fell into a half sleep-half awake state. Soon Mr Bates was there, with a bowl of water and towels and he asked her, if he could help her in any other way. She told him that there was all he could do at the moment, thanked him for the water and towels and bad him goodnight.

As soon as he left, she took one of the towels, she soaked it in the water and she applied that compress to his forehead gently, wiping all the sweat from his forehead. Her heart cleanched, seeing his dry lips, barely catching an air. Gradually, she was cooling him down, by applying the towels to the rest of his burning face. He was so restless. He was crawling on the bed all the time, like he was fighting some invisible enemy. Elsie figured, that she should do what she was doing and not stop that, because she noticed that it clearly had the desired effect. After a while of those cool compresses, Charles was much calmer and he didn't move so restlessly as before. So she decided to take her actions a little further. She unbuttoned few first buttons of his pyjamas and when she soaked another towel into a cool water and she put it into the top part of his chest, she noticed that his breath became calmer. So she continued her actions, while her mind drifted to forbidden areas. Suddenly, the thought struck her, that she has never seen or let alone touched any part of his body before. Well, at least not like now. She blushed a little, realizing that what she just did, was a little over the rules of friendship or any other rules for that matter. She was a little grateful for him not being totally conscious at the moment, because if he was, he would certainly flipped out right now.

She touched him reverently, gently wiping his sweat off him and she was hoping to help him the best way she could. She looked at his chest. His broad, manly chest, with soft, silver hair and for the moment, she let herself wonder, how would it feel like to run her fingers through it, to touch him slowly, exploring that part of his body, that she was never allowed to see before...How would it feel like for her to be able to do it? And how would it feel for him? Would he be pleased and happy if she did that? Would he liked that? Would she finally saw a happy and contented smile on his face, if she did that? "What am I thinking about? My beloved man is lying here, fighting for his life and there I am, thinking about things like that. I must be a very wicked woman.." Elsie scolded herself again, feeling incredibly guilty about that, but to justify herself, she had to admit that those thoughts were not strange to her, ever since she fell in love with him. That she often wondered, especially during long, sleepless nights, what was hidden under that livery? Now, for the first time, she had a chance to see at least some of the things that she was dreaming about...Even though the circumstances were not the best, it was still the moment for which she was waiting for very long time. When she finished with the compresses, she clasped the buttons back and covered him gently with his quilt. He was sleeping now or at least that's what she thought it was. So she moved the chair, nearer to his bed, she sat in it and took one of his hands in hers and stroked it delicately.

He seemed much calmer now, he wasn't wriggling in his bed anymore, as before and his face was a lot cooler. She checked it, by putting her hands on his forehead and by caressing both of his cheeks. The temperature was clearly lower and she was very happy about it. She took his hand again in hers, just make him (and herself as well) feel more steady and before she knew it, she drifted to an uneasy and short slumber.

In one point of the night, she woke up, sensing that something was not all right. Charles was moving on his bed again, in very feverish movements. He was sweating again. Elsie felt so devastated, she rushed into the man's bathroom, to get some cold water, because it was clearly time for giving him another cool compresses. When she returned to his room, walking by quiet, sleeping corridors of the Abbey, she looked at her beloved man and she thought that she was about to cry. He looked so helpless. He was fighting, fighting with an invisible enemy. He was somewhere between life and death. He wasn't sleeping, but he wasn't totally conscious either. When Elsie restarted the cool compresses, he calmed down a bit again, but instead of falling asleep, he suddenly started to mumble, not very loud, but clearly enough that Elsie could hear him.

"Mother, that is all that I've earned today..I don't have anything else...We have to ask Mrs Palmers for a loan, we won't have anything to eat..."

Elsie was astound, his mind was obviously going back into his childhood memories, somewhere along the way, he used to tell her how difficult his childhood was...Before she was able to remember what exactly had he told her, all her thoughts were interrupted by another of his mumblings:

"Charlie, why are you doing this? Why did you took Alice away from me? You didn't love her like I did...You had so many women, why did you have to take her? You two are worth each other. I don't need any of you in my life..Go away.."

Elsie felt terrified hearing all those things, because she suddenly remembered, that when she was a little girl, her mother's friend from the village told her, that when you are dying, you see all your life before your eyes. Was that the case now? Was Charles dying? No! She won't let that happen. Never! She will not let him die yet. Not before they can..Not before they would be able to express their love. She will not let death to take him away from her. Not now and not for many more years to come!

"Your Lordship..I made the arrangements for the meeting...Silvers were polished...Everything is taken care of..You can rely on me.."

Elsie smiled hearing this, in spite of herself. He was so dutiful. Even facing death, he never seemed to forgot about his first duty-to serve the family, the best way he could. Her dear man..She took his warm hand in hers, stroked it and kissed it gently. That was one of the things that she loved him for the most, but at the same time, it was also the thing that sometimes made her want to kill him...While she was touching him with such great affection, suddenly he mumbled something that brought tears to her eyes:

"Ask Mrs Hughes about it...I'm sure she knows..She always knows everything..She is the best housekeeper that this house had...I wish to speak to Mrs Hughes..Mrs Hughes!...Elsie! Elsie..Where are you? I really need you know...Elsie...My darling Elsie..."-there was an expression of torture on his face, when he was calling her...

"I'm here Charles. By your side. As I always was and as I always will be love...I'm with you..All the time...Please fight for me my darling..Don't leave me here all alone..I won't be able to take it...I need you here love..It's not time for you to go.."

Elsie was quietly whispering all those sweet words to him...Wiping sweat off his brow, and soothing him with gentle kisses...She didn't care if the illness was infectious. She didn't think about herself at all right now. The only thing that she cared about, was to pull him out from the death zone. She wanted him back, with her...At any cost...

"Charles...You know that I love you...I always have..You mean the world to me..You always have...You know that I can't loose you yet. Not before we can confess our love to each other...It wouldn't be fair of you, if you would leave me now..Please don't.."

Tears were running down her face, her heart hurt physically. She was suffering seeing him like this. She tried to pray, but her mind was so tired, that she couldn't even remember any prayer at the moment.

"I love you Charles...I love you so much...Stay with me..."

She shivered, noticing that after her words, his face expression changed. The tormented face was gone, for a minute she even thought that he was actually smiling in his sleep. That was the last thing that she saw, before her exhausted mind drifted into sleep land again, for a while. She woke up few times more, during the night, just to check if he was all right, just to make sure that he was still alive. When in the early morning hours, she noticed that his forehead was not so hot as earlier, which was a clear sign that the temperature was lower, she sighed with relief and she fell asleep again, this time it was much deeper and relaxing sleep, than before.

The sun was shining brightly and the birds were already singing, when Charles slowly began to wake up. For few, first moments, he couldn't even see all the objects in front of his eyes properly. They were all misty, but after a while, his sight went back to normal and he realized that he was in his bedroom. The firs thing that he saw, right in front of his eyes, was a bowl with water in it and few wet towels, around it. He felt that his right hand was warmer than usual and surrounded with something extremely soft. He turned his head cautiously, to his right side, just to see that his right hand was held tightly in Mrs Hughes hands. His hand was trapped in her hands.

When his eyes went further up, he saw the face of the woman that he loved the most in this world...The face of his very own, Scottish, dark-hair angel...She was sitting in the armchair, near his bed. She was deeply asleep. Her eyes had dark rings around them, which certainly meant that she must have spent there all night. With him. She spent the whole night with him. Charles wasn't exactly sure what was happening that night, but he felt that he was very near of crossing the border between life and death and whatever was to happen, she was with him. Suddenly, even though he was very weak, he wanted to sing from joy. The fact that she was there, with him, caring about him, told him everything he needed to know. Was there anyone else in this world who ever cared so much about him, as she did? No, there wasn't. His most precious Elsie...He wanted to reach to her and cover her with a blanket, to kept her warm, but as soon as he moved, she started to wake slowly. She opened her eyes, her beautiful, blue eyes, shining like the beautiful lakes of Scotland and when she realized where she was, she looked at his direction with a concerned face. In the moment when their eyes met, she knew that she won. She won the battle for his life. She conquered death this time. She wouldn't let it take her Charles away from her. She was still holding his hand and his hand was still in hers. Neither of them felt a need of stopping this. There was no need for words also. They were both silent, looking each other deeply in their eyes, smiling warmly. Sometimes eyes can say more than words and so it was this time.

She knew that she saved him, in every possible meaning of that word and he knew that he survived only because of her. Because of her fight for his life and his love. Although she didn't have to fight for his love, as she already had his love and he had hers. That kind of love that enables to conquer everything, even a plague and even death.

The death went away and they've gained a new life. It was no longer his life or her life. It was their life...Together..Forever and always...

I know, I know..I got a little poetic by the end, but hey...Virus panic gets to me too..I hope you will forgive me this time ;-) I also really and sincerely hope, that you've liked this timing story. I realize that we all have enough of the pandemic thing, but I just couldn't help it. It crossed my mind and so I decided to go with the idea. As always, sorry for any mistakes. If you had some fun reading it, please let me know. I hope that you are all safe and healthy. See you soon!