And hello again! I made some time to write more, I do love this story! And here I am, with the sixth chapter of 'Not Every Royal Wears A Crown', I hope you enjoy this little piece. I wrote this rather quickly and it's short, but I wrote it! Don't mind the typos! I'll be back soon with a new chapter, until then!
Two hours later, Saturday 14th, Downton Abbey, the library
"Carson, what a surprise! Please do come in, Mrs. Hughes.", Lord Grantham beamed when he looked up from his letter.
"Milord, milady.", the couple greeted in unison.
"I hope there is nothing wrong.", said Lady Grantham from her seat on the red couch, sounding extremely interested in the Carsons' visit.
"Not exactly, milady.", Elsie replied.
"Well, do tell.", Robert smiled as he stood up from his chair.
With a glance towards her husband, Elsie proceeded with their news;
"Well, milord. We -I, that is…I received a telegram, which Mr. Carson kindly delivered to the Abbey just a moment ago. And we thought it best to inform you of the contents of the telegram."
"And what pray tell is it?", asked Robert."That is, who is it from?"
Only hesitating a bit, Elsie answered;
"From the Royal Court of England, milord."
That made the lord and lady silent, their faces turning to face each other in wonder.
"From the Royal Court?", asked Cora Crawley.
"That's right, milady."
"Are yo- Are you quite sure? What did it say? Have you read it already?"
"We did read it, milord.", answered Charles.
The Carsons' watched the couple process the things. Elsie stepped forward to place the telegram into Lord Grantham's hand. He looked at the piece of paper in his hand, casting a questioning look at his housekeeper before opening it and starting to read it out loud;
"The Royal court has inspected the information that was sent, and it had been discovered that you are indeed the lost princess of Scotland, the sister to King George V of England…"
The lord lifted his gaze from the telegram with the speed of sound, to face his housekeeper. Lady Grantham followed his lead not long after, when his words sunk in.
"The princess of Scotland?!", he felt his jaw drop down to his feet.
Elsie took a deep, shuddering breath and nodded. She wasn't waiting for such a shock, but she couldn't have predicted anything else now that she thought about it.
"It seems so, milord.", said Charles calmly.
"Did you know about this?"
"We didn't milady, it came quite as a shock to the two of us too."
Elsie couldn't do but wonder how her husband managed to stay so calm…She was herself having a hard time controlling all the worry, and the slight panic, over the future inside her.
"Well…Well, I don't know what to say.", struggled Robert.
His wife walked over to stand next to him.
"I guess since you are a royal, that makes us obliged to bow, or curtsy before you…?", said Lady Grantham with a smile.
"Oh no, of course not, Lady Grantham.", Elsie rushed to reassure the lady before her."That won't be necessary."
"Very well.", Lady Grantham nodded."Does anyone else know about this?"
"Just the two of us, you and Mrs. Patmore. She managed to walk in on us reading the telegram.", answered the housekeeper.
There was no need to tell them everything…And certainly not the fact that she had been tearing up, just a couple of hours before, in great shock.
"And do you wish…Us to change something. That is, do you expect a room upstairs, or to stop your duties now?", asked Robert, rather impolitely.
"Robert! You don't have to be so rude."
"Thats quite alright, milady, milord. Of course, I don't expect anything from you. I think we should let things process and then we shall see what to do."
The housekeeper was, as always, a wise woman, who always knew what a good solution was. And thank God for that…She watched as Lord Grantham walked closer and handed her back the telegram.
"Will you be able to write to the…Royal Court, was it?", Cora Crawley asked kindly.
"I will, milady, thank you."
The lord and lady both nodded their heads, implying for the couple to leave. Charles placed a hand behind his wife's back and they turned to leave.
"Oh, and milady. I have to ask one thing from you.", Elsie turned quickly to face her employers.
"Of course. What is it?"
"I wish this would stay between us. I don't think this is something that could be shouted from the rooftops, at least not yet."
"Well, you have nothing to worry about, Mrs. Hughes. We shall grant that to you.", Lord Grantham smiled warmly, he must have gotten over the first shock.
"Thank you, milord, milady."
The Carsons made their way out of the library. They heard the door on the other side of the library open just as they pulled the door closed behind them, and after that, Lady Mary's voice could be heard.
"Who was that?"
Cora and Robert looked at each other before he answered her;
"It was Mrs. Hughes. She came to tell your mother about something over the plans for Tom's wedding…", lied the lord.
That seemed to put the young lady at ease. She sat down on the couch with a shrug, taking a book from the side table, and started reading. She didn't see the worried looks that her parents wore on their faces, and the way that her mother tried to reassure her father in the state that he was in…
Elsie collapsed on her desk chair, letting out a sigh and brought her hands to cover her face. She was shocked, that was for sure. This was far more surprising that the proposal of her husband a couple years ago…No one could expect something like this to happen. No one. She lifted her gaze in time to see her husband pull a chair next to her.
"And before you say anything, I did lock the door."
"Bu-"
"No buts, Elsie. We both need a moment alone, I'm sure.", he whispered.
"Well, in that you are right.", Elsie forced a smile for him.
And there they sat, in complete silence. Both lost in thoughts.
"I just don't understand. How is this possible?"
"Life has a weird way of living up."
"I think we both can agree with that.", Elsie said with a sigh.
"But I'm sure things will get better. You are awfully strong, my darling. And you'll manage."
With his hand to her cheek, he leaned closer to kiss her lips lovingly. Maybe things were going to change, but they had each other, and that made all the difference.
One day ago, Friday 13th, Buckingham Palace, London
The footman burst into the room, facing the king and queen in their seats, Lady Bagshaw sitting in the corner of the room.
"Your royal highness!"
They all turned to the footman.
"This arrived from the Royal Court, your royal highnesses.", he made it to hand the king a telegram and bowed low after that.
"Thank you, you may go.", said the King.
The royal family was left alone in the yellow drawing room. The king tore the telegram apart, rushed to read what it said.
"My darling, what is it?"
"They have found her."
"What?", his wife rushed to him.
"Her name is Elsie May Carson. She lives at Downton…", her lifted his face to look into the eyes of his wife.
"At Downton?"
"Yes. At Downton. She works there."
And the shock filled the room.