When Bates entered the servant's hall that afternoon after luncheon, he found a peculiar situation: his wife Anna was standing on a low stool, while Baxter was taking her measurements. Mr. Barrow was overseeing the work with a critical eye, while the long table was full of big pieces of fabric, thread, pencils and pieces of paper.
"What is going on?" asked Bates, curious.
"Mr. Barrow is taking a stand", answer Baxter with her usual, sweet smile.
Bates raised an eyebrow. "With my wife?"
"Not only your wife," said Thomas, without looking at him. "Also with Ms. Baxter and Lily".
"Mmm". Bates looked while Baxter took the last measurements for his wife, and while Thomas helped her getting down the stool.
"I think I have everything, Mr. Barrow. We just need to be sure of the style that you want to give to these... female liveries".
Bates was now definitely curious. "What is going on?" he asked, smiling at Anna.
Thomas answered with another question. "What do you think of the fact that women are not allowed to serve at table, Mr. Bates?"
The valet looked surprised. "I... never thought about it, really".
"Well, think about it now. Why a woman can't serve at dinner?"
"I think it's just an old, unwritten rule. I don't think there is a reason, really".
"Exactly. And since now women are successfully fighting for their rights, as a butler I decided to take a stand in their favor".
"By making them serve at dinner?" Bates looked doubtful.
"It's not the act of serving at table," answered Thomas. "It's the idea behind it. Serving at a nice dinner in a noble house is considered a prestigious job. So prestigious, that women are not considered suited to do it. I disagree. Is the same idea behind the rule that a maid shouldn't answer the front door. Why a footman or a valet can, and a maid can't?"
"I don't disagree with that, Mr. Barrow. But... exactly, when are you planning to do this?"
"Next week, when Mrs. Levinson is going to be here, with the other guests".
"Don't you think it's too much to do it at that kind of dinner? Maybe you should try it on a normal night, with just the family".
"Mrs. Levison is American, she wouldn't mind," said Baxter. "Actually, I think she would like it".
"And the other guests are not noble, and some of them are also involved with the movement for the voting rights and other fights for women," said Barrow. "I think everyone will appreciate it".
"Maybe... but your problem will be His Lordship... Have you cleared it with him first?"
"Of course not".
"Of course". Bates shook his head. Then he met his wife's eyes, and they shared a small smile."Did you agree to this?" asked her Bates.
It was Thomas who answered, surprised. "Of course she did! I asked everyone first".
Bates wasn't really surprised. While his wife had never joined personally the movement for women's right, he knew that she supported it. Also, Anna had inside her a very combative side. She was the sweetest person he had ever met, but she was also the strongest.
"Well, then, may I suggest something, Mr. Barrow?"
Thomas looked impatient. "Yes, you may, Mr. Bates" He had spoken with the "old Barrow" inflection, the one that suggested that you may very well say something, but he wouldn't listen to that. While he had changed a lot since a few years before, sometimes the "old Barrow" was peeping out again.
Bates pretended not to notice it. "I would suggest you to speak about your idea with Lady Mary first. Maybe also Mr. Talbot and Mr. Branson. They are young, and I think that they will back you up, if things shouldn't go as you wish. It's not ideal to risk jeopardizing everything that you worked for in all these years".
Thomas seemed to reflect on that. "Thank you, Mr. Bates. Maybe I will do that".
Bates felt a little bit better. He would never have thought it was possible, but he liked Barrow as a butler, and he didn't want to see him sacked over something like that.
"He will not get sacked," said Anna, like she could read his mind. "I can't imagine Lord Grantham sacking him for something that in the end is also kind of funny. Also, while it's true that he is the butler, we all agreed. If Mr. Barrow gets sacked, we will all resign".
Oh. Well, they were serious, that was for sure.
Ms. Baxter, that until then was focused on writing something on a piece of paper, raised her face, to look at the butler. "What about trousers instead of skirts?"
Thomas' face lit up. "Trousers for women? What a great idea!"
Bates looked very doubtful again.
Thomas' heart was beating so fast he thought it was about to jump out of his ribcage. In the end, he had decided not to talk to Lady Mary or anyone else. He was scared that she could say something that could be enough for him to change his mind. He didn't want to change his mind: he was a different person from Mr. Carson, and they needed to know that. This dinner was a way for him to show that. Carson represented the old times; he was a representation of the new ones.
He looked at Andy, Anna and Baxter, plus the new young maid, named Lily. They were all smiling, and Lily was beyond excited. Andy was wearing his usual livery, while the women were wearing a new creation by Baxter. Some kind of female version of a livery, with a black skirt, a white shirt, black jacket and a white, silk scarf in place of the tie. In the end, they had thought that maybe wearing trousers would have been too much. Next time, perhaps.
"So, everyone ready? Andy will serve the meat, Anna the fish, Ms Baxter the vegetables, and Lily the sauces. I know that many of you have never done it before, but don't worry too much. Just remember what I told you, and if you don't know what to do, just look at me or Andy. Everything is going to be fine". Anna, Lily and Phyllis nodded and smiled at him.
Mrs. Patmore was checking for the last time the trays with the appetizers, and Thomas went upstairs to announce that dinner was ready, and the guests followed him in the dining room, sitting at the long table and amiably chatting with each other.
Then, the butler went downstairs to tell the others to come up with the trays. It was they entered in the dining hall, following Thomas that was holding the wine carafe, the butler surreptitiously looked at the reactions of the guests. Lord Grantham's eyes went wide with astonishment, and he couldn't take his eyes off Anna, Lily and Baxter that were going from guest to guest with their trays. Mrs. Levinson and Isobel Crawley smiled openly, and Mrs Levinson also exclaimed: "Oh, maids serving dinner! How nice!".
Sir Branson and sir Talbot were chuckling, watching Lady Mary, who looked amused and smiled at Anna, who reciprocated the smile. The other guests too looked pleasantly surprised, and Thomas started relaxing a little. Maybe he wouldn't have been sacked. Maybe.
"Barrow, Molesley wasn't available?" asked Lord Grantham, serving himself from the vegetable tray brought to him by Baxter.
"Actually, My Lord, I decided to try something different, for once. Our maids are trained in every aspect of the job, and I wanted to show you how good your staff is".
"And your idea had a great success, I would say," said Isobel Crawly, smiling at him.
"Those... uniforms are really nice," said Lady Grantham. "Did you create them?"
"It was Ms. Baxter's idea, my lady".
"Oh, Baxter! I knew you were good with clothes, but I didn't think you were able to come up with something like this. You should sell them on a catalogue".
Baxter smiled. "Thank you, my lady".
Lord Grantham looked a little confused, but the talk around the table quickly went back to business.
Barrow definitely relaxed. It looked like everything went well.
"Did you know about it, Bates?" Lord Grantham was in his dressing room, and his valet was helping him undress for the night. Bates hesitated before answering."Yes, my lord, I knew about it. After all, my wife was involved in the idea. I was present the other day, when they were taking measurements and talking about the uniform".
"Mmm".
"Are you upset, my lord?"
"I don't know, Bates. I don't know. I don't have anything against maids serving at table... I'm not like Carson on this. At the same time, I would appreciate if my butler told me about any idea he might have, instead of surprising me in front of my guests. What should I do?"
Bates stayed quiet for a moment. "I think you can tell him how you feel, my lord. You don't look angry, so it shouldn't be an unpleasant conversation. I think Mr. Barrow wanted to show you that he is capable of taking a stand, and that he is... more modern than Mr. Carson".
Lord Grantham smiled. "I didn't have a doubt about that".
Thomas was surprised that His Lordship hadn't talked to him about the maids serving at dinner. He almost feared that he would have been summoned that very night, in order to get a scolding, or a request for an explanation. Instead, nothing happened. It was after breakfast the next day, that Lord Grantham asked him to meet him in the library.
"Barrow, I wanted to talk to you about what you did last night at dinner", started His Lordship, without any cleared his throat.
"My Lord, I apologize if that inconvenienced you..."
"Let me finish, Barrow".
"Excuse me, My Lord".
"I'm not mad at you. Actually, I spoke to some of my guests, and they were all enthusiastic about that. I'm not joking, they absolutely loved it. And Anna, Baxter and Lily were very professional. It almost looked like they always served".
Thomas smiled: he couldn't help but feeling very proud of them."I'm also thinking about implementing it", said again Robert.
"E... excuse me, My Lord?"
"You heard me right. Not every day, of course, but sometimes. And I would like to pay Baxter for creating the uniforms. It must have took her a lot of her free time".
"I already paid her, My Lord. But that is nice of you, and I'm glad to hear that you liked our little experiment".
"What do you mean, you already paid her?"
"I did. I gave her some money from my salary. To her and to Anna and Lily. All of them used their free time to really learn how to serve, and to try on the uniforms. So I gave them something".
"Barrow. I'm impressed. It was really important for you, was it?" Lord Grantham sounded almost surprised. He hadn't expected Barrow to be the kind of person to care so much about something.
"It was, My Lord. I wanted to show you... what I want to do as a butler. I agree that times are changing, even for families like yours. But not necessarily it's a bad thing, like Mr. Carson thought. I'm convinced it's a possibility to bring some positive changes into everyday life. Our world doesn't have to disappear, it only has to change to follow the transformations in society. And maybe to anticipate them. If we don't change, that is when we'll disappear. If we want everything to stay like it is, everything has to change, My Lord".
Lord Grantham kept his eyes on Thomas. He looked moved, and he had to clear his throat before speaking again.
"Barrow... I really appreciate your efforts. I understand what you mean, and believe me, I can't say how I am touched by your affection for my family. Thank you. Thank you so much".
Thomas looked moved too. "I'm glad to be the butler of Downton, my lord. I hope you know that".