Chapter 42


Downton Abbey – 1910


The letters on the page in front of her appeared to be blurred and the deep black of the ink screamed at her eyes. Mrs Hughes closed her eyes and sharply pinched the bridge of her nose. She couldn't bear to look at even her own handwriting, let alone the sound of the pen nib scratching the paper. The afternoon's light didn't help either. Her occasional headaches were usually bearable, but today the incessant pounding in her head, she felt, was sure to drive her absolutely insane.

Mr Carson had already rung the gong for dinner. Mrs Patmore was bellowing at the kitchen maids. The clattering and clanging of pots and pans in the kitchen, the sound of footsteps on the stone floors outside her door seemed a thousand times louder and irritating. The familiar sounds downstairs that were a part of everyday life suddenly felt too overwhelming. Mrs Hughes gritted her teeth and gripped her pen with a force so powerful that her knuckles turned white. With her other hand she rubbed strong circles onto her temples, willing desperately for the headache to ease off.

Mrs Hughes breathed deeply in an effort to shut out all the noise from outside to calm herself… and that is when she heard it. For the first few seconds she thought she must have imagined it, that her mind annoyed by her headache might have conjured it up. But when it was repeated a second time Mrs Hughes knew that she had definitely heard it and it was as real as her own heartbeat.

Slamming her pen on the table, Mrs Hughes rose to her feet, the keys on her chatelaine clinking ferociously at her waist.

Mrs Hughes stormed across her room in a couple of strides and flung the door open calling out "Anna! If you've let that stray cat back into the kitchen I swear I will…"

But as the door opened the burning rage in her eyes faded to a questioning look and she faltered, "Lady Sybil? What…"

The young woman tiptoeing towards the staircase turned swiftly to face Mrs Hughes. Her right hand disappeared rapidly behind her back while her left hand still clutched her skirts. "Ah Mrs Hughes," she grinned widely when her eyes met the Housekeeper's.

"I'm afraid the dinner gong's gone already milady," Mrs Hughes said, her eyes drifting towards Lady Sybil's right arm suspiciously.

"Oh… well… I must have lost track of time then. I better hurry up I suppose," Sybil replied as she shifted from one foot to the other, but made no effort of actually making her way upstairs.

Mrs Hughes raised an eyebrow and cast an unimpressed look at Lady Sybil. The little girl in short, frilled dresses and ribbon tied hair had grown into a beautiful young woman at the brink of adulthood. But definite traces of the little girl still remained. Her deep brown hair stuck out from beneath her hat at all angles. Several splashes of mud along the hem of her lavender skirt and a distinctly large splash of mud starting at the cuff of her left sleeve extended well up to her elbow. Her unkempt hair and mud-splattered clothes and the general windswept appearance resembled the mischievous girl little girl she once was. Her appearance was very familiar to Mrs Hughes. She'd often advised Anna on how remove a wide assortment of stains and a large array of tears and rips on Lady Sybil's clothes. And she'd seen Lady Sybil sneak back into the House through the back door countless times after her adventures.

But what intrigued the Housekeeper was the curious nature of Lady Sybil's behaviour. Her gaze darting from one direction to the other and not quite meeting the Housekeeper's eye, her shifting feet and most curiously whatever it was that she was holding behind her, which Mrs Hughes guessed, was probably why the young Lady was making no effort to move which would involve turning her back towards the Housekeeper's sitting room, inevitably giving away her secret.

When she sensed the unconvinced air about Mrs Hughes, Sybil gave in. Just as Sybil's lips parted to speak, a feeble "meow" sounded from behind her and she smiled sheepishly at Mrs Hughes.

"Well…" Sybil smiled again and paused to choose her words carefully. "I was visiting Burkett's Farm this afternoon."

"Hadn't His Lordship mentioned something about going there all by yourself milady, especially this late in the afternoon?" Mrs Hughes asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh well yes… but I did go with Edith," she paused noticing Mrs Hughes' knowing look. "Only… we both went into the village and I told her I had to go to the post office and that it might take a while, and I'd be right back afterwards. So she left to come back on her own."

"Except you didn't go to the post office," Mrs Hughes said pointedly and Sybil bit her lip to contain her smile.

"I heard someone mention in the village that there were some lovely little kittens over at Burkett's Farm. It wasn't very far and I had plenty of time… so I went there," she stopped to take a deep breath and brought her right hand in front of her to reveal a basket.

Mrs Hughes peered inside and there they were. Two little kittens wriggling around and playing with each other in the basket which was lined with a few pieces of soft cloth. They were black and white tiny things. White paws, black heads and patches of black on their bodies. Their wide eyes were a very bright blue, a blue as bright as an autumn night's sky.

"They are old enough, so I can keep them. Aren't they lovely Mrs Hughes? The sweetest of creatures!" Sybil said and tickled under the chin of one kitten with her other hand. "This one's a little bossy, I noticed and I'm tempted to name it after Mary."

"Have you mentioned about them to Her Ladyship, milady?" Mrs Hughes asked, though Lady Sybil's eyes gave her all the answers she needed.

"No, not yet. But I am going to. Tonight. After dinner, I think, would be best."

Mrs Hughes nodded slowly. Despite Lady Sybil's enthusiasm, the Housekeeper knew that neither Lady Grantham nor Lord Grantham were fond of kittens, and certainly not the Dowager Countess. She knew, though she didn't voice it, that Lady Sybil would need a great deal of persuasion.

"Speaking of which… I've had a small idea just now and I wondered if you could do a favour for me Mrs Hughes," Sybil said as Mrs Hughes stepped away from the basket.

"Why don't I like the sound of this," Mrs Hughes commented, knitting her brows.

"Could you perhaps keep…"

"No, I certainly do not like the sound of this," Mrs Hughes interrupted.

"I thought I'd perhaps break it to the family quite gently and I wondered if… if you would be able to keep these two with you till then? I promise to take them off your hands the minute I've won them over to my side. They'll behave, I'm sure."

"If I know kittens milady, the very last thing they'd do is behave," Mrs Hughes resisted. Her headache could do without the addition of two unruly little kittens to deal with, when she already had enough to deal with.

"Oh please Mrs Hughes, just this once, please," Sybil pleaded looking at the Housekeeper from beneath her lashes, her eyes wide. "There's no one else I can ask."

Mrs Hughes sighed. She couldn't refuse the request, not when Lady Sybil was that excited about keeping the kittens. Looking after them for a few hours might not be very hard even with her terrible headache, she assumed.

"Very well Milady," she nodded. Observing Lady Sybil's sparkling eyes and wide, excited smile, she added. "Just for these few hours mind!"

"Of course. Thank you so much Mrs Hughes," Sybil said as she handed the basket over to Mrs Hughes. "You are a treasure," the young lady added as she dashed upstairs.

Looking down at the tiny kittens playing with each other inside the basket, Mrs Hughes mumbled to herself, "What have I got myself into?"

To be continued…


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