CHARLES AND ELSIE-RETIRED TOGETHER

Hello everyone. It's nice to be here with you again. After a week from hell, writing Chelsie is pure bliss. As you may recall, in the last chapter, I left you in the interesting moment, at the pig show, where Joe Burns has suddenly appeared. How will Elsie and Charles react for this unexpected meeting? Let's see...Hope you will like this one.

"I can't believe it's really you Elsie. I wasn't expecting of meeting you here."

"Hello. So good to see you again, but how are you here?"-Elsie was trying to have a poker face, even though she was a little terrified, seeing Joe standing in front of her. It was a bit surreal...

"I came for the show. I've been dealing with pigs for few years now and I try to attend all the most important events. When I found out about this one, I knew I had to came here, because this is the village you live in, so I couldn't miss a chance of seeing you again.."

Charles standing next to Elsie, furrowed his brow, not understanding who exactly is this man, who felt so familiar with his wife..He gathered that it must be an old friend of some kind, but he did not understood why he looked at Elsie in that way? What gave him a right to do that...His hand which was hidden in the pocket of his coat, suddenly clenched into a fist, as a strong feeling of jealousy took control over him...

"Elsie, are you going to introduce me?"

"Yes Charles. Of course I am..."-Elsie was still in a state of shock..."Charles, this is my old friend from Argyll- Joe Burns. And this is Charles Carson-my husband..."

Both men stiffened suddenly, when they realized who are they dealing with. Charles couldn't believe his own eyes and ears...So that was Joe Burns, man from his worst nightmares, the man who was trying to steal Elsie away from him in 1913, the man who was part of her past, that she really never talked about much. Charles may not have known a lot about Joe Burns himself, but he was sure of one thing. He hated that man. He hated him from the bottom of his heart. He still remembered that dreadful moment, when he appeared proposing to Elsie for the second time. He still remembered his own pain, his fear and his uncertainty from that time. This horrible fear, that Elsie will leave Downton and him, to live with this man. It wasn't the first moment when he realized that he loved Elsie, but it was crucial..Because it was the first moment, when he considered telling her about his true feelings that he had for her...It was a first wake up call for him, the real threat of losing her to somebody else...And now this cheeky man was standing here,in his presence, looking at his wife like he owned her. Like he had the right to speak to her that way...Charles felt that he would like to beat him him in the head, to wipe that little smile of his from his face..But that wasn't necessary, as Joe's face suddenly frowned, when he heard the word "husband" and he wasn't that cheeky anymore...

"Nice to meet you Mr Carson.."

"Same here Mr Burns..."-Charles triumph was clearly written on his face...

"So you got married after all Elsie...I would have never expected that, I have to admit.."

"I did...How long are you planning to stay in the village?"

"I'm actually leaving tomorrow...I was wondering...If you could have a coffee with me maybe...We could talk about the old days...Of course, with both of you..."

Charles looked at this man in disbelief...What was he doing? What was he thinking? He was actually believing that Elsie will agree to have coffee with him?

"It would be very nice to have coffee with you Joe. What do you say Charles?"

Charles couldn't believe what he heard...Elsie agreed to talk to this man? Was he hearing it right? There was no way for him to sit by one table with this person, so he used the first excuse that came into his mind instantly...

"Elsie you know that the family invited us for a glass of wine in the house, to celebrate Lady Mary's prize...We shouldn't let them down..."

"I know..But I'm sure they will understand. After all, it's not everyday that I meet an old friend.."

"As you wish Elsie...In that case, I will go to the house, to have a drink with the family and you and Mr Burns can have a trip down the memory lane, as long as you wish...I'll leave you to it...It was nice to meet you Mr Burns.."-Charles turned around, not looking at Elsie and went towards the Abbey, leaving Elsie in a state of greater shock than she was before. She was astound, that he left her all alone, without any explanation at all, with some pathetic excuse about having a drink with the family. She knew it wasn't true...She knew that he will probably not go to the Abbey. Her astonishment suddenly transferred into an anger. How could he have left her all alone? How could he behave like that? It was infuriating for her...She tried to pretend that everything was all right and she followed Joe to a little coffee house nearby...

They were talking about different things, old friends from Argyll, old way of life, reminiscing how happy they were as young people...Elsie was participating in this conversation, but her mind was really somewhere else...She still couldn't get out of an awe of Charles's behavior...It was unthinkable...She came to a reality, only when Joe suddenly said something that brought her back to reality...

"You know Elsie...When I came here, it wasn't totally unplanned...I knew that there is a big chance of meeting you here, so I risked, but I would have never expected that I will hear that you are married...I didn't predict that..."

"Well, I am married. For four years now.."

"So, how did you meet?"

"We worked together in the Abbey. Charles was the butler."

"And you've gotten together? Just like that?"

"We knew each other very long..."

"You knew me much longer than him, but in spite of that you refused to marry me...Twice.."

"That's because I didn't have feelings for you Joe...Sorry to say this, but it's the truth.."

"And you had feelings for him? Was that the reason that you rejected my second proposal in 1913? You already knew him then, didn't you?"

"I did...But I do not wish to go back to that subject anymore...We shouldn't be talking about it..It's a past now..."

"Maybe for you..But for me...Elsie...So, you had feelings for him, but does he have feelings for you?"

"Of course he does! We are very happy! Isn't it obvious?"

"To tell you the truth it isn't...I would have never left you alone with a strange man like he did, if you were my wife Elsie..."

"But I'm not your wife Joe...I'm Charles's wife and we love each other very much..."

"I don't believe that Elsie..He doesn't love you...Not the way I do...I came here for you Elsie...I wanted to propose again...You know what they say...Third time is a charm..."

"Well, you've missed it, because I'm already married..."

"There are always ways to fix that Elsie..."

"I don't want to fix that! There is nothing to be fixed! We are perfectly happy and I think we should definitely end this conversation now...I must go home..Go back to my husband..."

"Please stay Elsie...Don't go...I want you to stay..."-he grabbed Elsie's hand, trying to hold her in place

"I won't stay and if you do not let go of me, I will start to scream right now...I do not wish to ever see you again. Do you hear me? Never!"

Elsie stormed out of the coffee place, pacing towards the cottage, as quickly as she could, with all those feelings dancing inside her madly.. She was furious..At herself for being that stupid, to believe Joe's good intentions, for Joe for being pushy on her, when she clearly stated that she is happily married and for Charles, for leaving her like that, without explanation...

At the cottage...

Charles was walking all over the cottage uneasily...His anger was now gone, substituted by a deep hurt...He didn't understand why Elsie was so disloyal to him..Why she wanted to spent time with this man? They were old friends, that's true, but they also had a romantic past behind them..What if he was imposing to her right now? What if he wanted to steal her away from him? Charles knew he couldn't take it..He was normally sure of her feelings and her deep love for him, but the saddest and most darkest thoughts came into his mind, when he was all alone in the cottage...Elsie was his whole life and his whole world..The very thought of her with someone else was unbearable...Suddenly he felt that he couldn't possibly take it anymore..He had to go back there and tell this man to go to hell and bring his wife back home, where she belonged. Here. In this cottage. With him. Forever...This is how it was and how it always should be. He reached for his coat, ready to go back and deal with that damned Joe Burns, when he the door opened and he saw his beloved wife, with anger written all over her face, entering the cottage:

"Charles Carson! We have something to talk about! I can't believe your behavior today! You have a lot of explaining to do!"

I really hate to end it here, but I have to...I promise to go back tomorrow and end the Joe Burns question, with a crucial conversation between Charles and Elsie...Sorry for any mistakes and I hope you liked this chapter a bit. If so, you know the drill ;-) Thank you for everything and see you soon!