YOU WILL NEVER BE ALONE
Hi guys...Today I want to share a short story with you. By writing it, I hope to chase away some of the anxiety that is in me recently-whoever said that writing has therapeutic properties was right.
Story summary: Elsie receives a very sad news from the nursing home in which her sister lives. That news will change her previous life forever. AU-meaning it never happened in the series or the movie.
Legal note: Nope. I still don't own any of the wonderful DA characters.
Elsie had a suspicion that she might receive a bad news...Ever since she got a telegram few weeks ago, informing her about the deteriorating condition of Becky's health, she lived in a state of permament stress. Her work didn't allow her to visit her little sister often, but knowing what she knew, she decided to take few days off and see her.
Becky was indeed in a bad shape..All her health problems which were dealt somehow until now, by the swiftly effecting team of the nursing home, hitted with a powerful force. When Elsie came to see her, she was very weak, so weak, that she didn't show her usual enthusiasm, when she saw her older sister.
Elsie had tears in her eyes the whole time..She pushed off the thought, that something may happen to Becky, but deep in her heart, she felt that her little sister was heading in one direction.
It was too much to bear for Elsie. It was true, that they didn't see each other very often, but their sister bond was still very strong. Elsie had extraordinary caring instincts to everyone she loved and there weren't many people in her life that she loved.
Becky was one of the few. She was her younger sibling, her last tie connecting her with her past-her childhood home-Argyll in Scotland, her parents and this totally different life, that she led there when she was young.
Her sweet, shy, innocent and helpless sister, who relied only on her support,was now on her way to join Elsie's parents in heaven.
The awarness of that hurt Elsie so much, that sometimes she thought that her own heart won't handle that..She knew that with Becky's death, the last link to her past being gone, leaving her all alone in this world.
She had her friends of course-dear Mrs Patmore, who knew about everything and supported her the best way she could and Mr Carson-who was more than a friend to her, as she loved him passionately, ever since the day she came to work to this house. She had her well-wishing work collegues, who were repaying her for her kindness, being nice and sympathetic to her, whenever she needed that, but it was not the same.
Her parents and Becky were the only family she got and now, the last person of this family was on the road to eternity.
Elsie tried to stay postitive, to deny the facts, but when one day the telegram came from the nursing home, with an afternoon post, her heart clenched and she took it to her own sitting room, to open it in private, with shaky hands, still hoping, that maybe this will be a good news this time, that maybe Becky's condition has improved.
Unfortunately it was not. As soon as she opened the telegram and read the first sentence, she was weak in the knees and she had to sit down, because she was afraid that she may pass out..
The telegram fell off her hands, to the floor and she cried, from the bottom of her heart, when she realized, that the thing that she was afraid of the most-being all alone in this world, has just happened... She hid her face in her hands and the sobs made her body shake uncontrollably...
The world has not stopped because of this news, everything went on, but she felt like her world did...
Later, in the evening...
Mrs Patmore has just left her sitting room, with a tray almost as full as she brought it in..Her hopes to feed her friend has failed, as Elsie was not able to eat anything...She was completely devastated... She asked Mrs Patmore to let all the lower staff know, that she was not feeling well-just to make sure that nobody will disturb her that night...Nobody besides Mrs Patmore and Mr Carson was aware of her family situation and Elsie wanted it to stay that way...
Mrs Patmore was doing the best she could to comfort her friend, but it didn't give any results... She knew Elsie so well and she sensed, that she was not the person that Elsie needed the most now... She needed Mr Carson and the bad luck was, that he was extremely busy tonight, as the family had guests for dinner and it was lasting endlessly...
Mr Carson even allowed the rest of the staff eat earlier, without him, because he didn't want them to starve, waiting until he will finish to serve the guests upstairs.
When he finally went back downstairs, all the staff was already preparing to go to bed and the only person left in the kitchen was Mrs Patmore. She even send Daisy upstairs, wanting to give him the sad news on her own. She waited until he finished his dinner-knowing how tired and hungry he was and then she gave him the sad information.
Mr Carson was shaken to the core...He knew all about Elsie's situation and he knew how much Becky meant for her. He immediately wanted to know where she was and Mrs Patmore told him, that she hasn't left her sitting room, since the afternoon and that she hasn't eaten anything...
Mr Carson was worried...He asked Mrs Patmore if she could prepare a tea and some biscuits and he also took a bottle of Sherry, hoping that Elsie will at least grab some bite and drink some Sherry, to get back to balance.
Mrs Patmore prepared the thing that he asked for, cleaned the kitchen and she left upstairs, leaving her devastated friend in the best possible hands..
Mr Carson took the tray and he knocked quietly into her sitting room. When he entered, his heart was full of pain, when he saw a woman that carried a key to his heart for years, broken and bereaved...
He put the tray on the table and sat next to her, taking her little hand in his...He would have given the world to her, if she asked him to and the awareness, that he couldn't really do much for her, hurt him the most...
"Mr Carson..You know already?"
"Yes Mrs Hughes..Mrs Patmore told me, when she gave me my dinner...I'm so really sorry for your loss..It must feel terrible for you...If I could do anything, just tell me..."
"Thank you..."-Elsie had a big lump in her throat, trying not to cry in front of him, but she felt like it will be very difficult not to..."There isn't much you can do...I was expecting that...When I visited Becky few weeks ago, she was in a very bad shape, but I was still hoping that..."
She couldn't finish that sentence...She lowered her head, looking at the floor...He still kept on stroking her hand, which made her shiver inside...Waves of warmth came through her body, when she felt his big, firm hand, touching hers so gently...
"Will there be any formalities to take care of due to the funeral? Maybe I can help you with this?"
"There won't be...The nursing home will take care of everything...The already told me the date of the funeral...It's in four days...She will be buried on the small graveyard, nearby the nursing home..."
"Would you..? Would you like me to go there with you?"
Elsie raised her head and she looked at him with amazement...She didn't expect him to propose such thing..They were good friends, for sure, but this was a surprise..
"Would you like to go with me? Will it be possible for both of us to be away from the house?"
"I suppose so...Lynthams St Anne is not that far away. I believe we will be able to go there and go back within a day...I will speak to His Lordship about that personally..."
"All right...But please, I don't want this news to spread among the staff...It's private and I..."
"You needn't worry about that Mrs Hughes...I will make sure that nobody will know..."
"Thank you Mr Carson...You are a true...Friend...And I'm not sure what I would do..."-there was another sentence that she wasn't able to finish...The tears which she tried to hold back all the time, has flown freely now and there was no way to stop them...Elsie couldn't hide her pain anymore...Sobs shook her body and she wasn't able to control them anymore...
When Carson saw that, he wasn't thinking much about things that normally were craved in his mind. He rejected propriety, rules and all those silly nonsenses, which were only helpful in his contacts with his subordinates, but didn't have any purpose in contacts with the woman that he loved...
Without hesitation, he drew her to him and held her in his arms, letting her cry...
She was so taken aback by his actions in the beginning, that she didn't know what to say or how to behave, but after a while, she also forgot the rules and focused on how wonderfully she felt in his arms..He was so strong and powerful..His body was warmth and she felt in his arms like she was in a safe cocoon, divided from all the harshness of this world, from all the bad news and from all her tragedy, that fell on her today..
She put her head on his chest and sobbed quietly, not noticing that she was wetting his jacket. He noticed it, but he didn't mind...He tightened his embrace and smelled the scent of her hair, which invided his nostrills with a powerful force...He wanted to coddle her and let her know, that she was everything for him...
"Sh...Mrs Hughes...It's all right...Everything is going to be fine...I promise..."
"No it won't...From now on nothing will be all right, because I'm all alone now...All my family is gone...Nobody left...I have nobody to live for..."
"That is not true and you know it...You have someone to live for and that is me..."
"You are my friend, that's true, but it's not the same...We are not family...We will never.."
"It's true for now...But not for much longer...I want us to be family...I..."
"What?...What do you mean by that...? Mr Carson..?"-she rasied her head, with eyes still full of tears, a swollen face and tousled hair...In spite of that, she was the most beautiful woman in the world for him in this moment...
"Mrs Hughes I...Elsie..."-He let her go out of his embrace and bent on one knee..."Elsie, I want to marry you, to take care of you, to be your family...Will you take me?"
Elsie's eyes widened in surprise...That was the last thing that she would have expected today...She waited so many years for that, she was dreaming about this moment during her sleepless nights, she was imaptient about it, but now...The thrill and excitement coming from the fact, that he just did the thing that she wanted so much, has passed quickly, when she realized, that he was probably doing it because for the first time that they knew each other, she has shown such weakness to him...
Until now, she was always a strong and independent woman in his eyes. That was the first moment when she was vulnerable in front of him and she was struck by the thought, that this was the reason for his proposal...
"Mr Carson..I...I wasn't expecting this...Not tonight...I'm very flattered, but why are you doing this? Is it because you see a weak woman in me, which need to be taken care of? Because if you are, I have to tell you that I..."
"No! No Elsie! That is not the reason at all! You are the strongest woman that I know...And one night, when you show your vulnerability to me won't change that...I'm proposing to you, because I love you... I always have...And I always will...I wanted to marry you all the time, ever since I have known you...I was dreaming about marrying you..But there was never a good moment...We were both focused on our job, but we are not getting any younger and I want to spent the rest of my life with you, unless it's not something you want..."- He looked at her in anticipation and hope in his eyes...
"Mr Carson...Charles...Of course I want that..I always have...I've loved you from the start, but I already lost hope that you will ever have courage to..."
"I know..I should have asked yo earlier...Many years ago...We wasted a lot of time, but let's not do it anymore...I want to be with you my love...Want to love you, care for you and give you everything that I have..Will you let me?..."
"I will...I will marry you...You may get up now...You will strain your knee by kneeling for so long..."
"Elsie...You are the sweetest person on earth...Always taking care of everyone else, even when you are in despair..."-he sat so close to her, that she felt a little abashed...She wasn't used to having him so close..."Elsie...Can I...Can I kiss you please?"
"Yes Charles...You can..."-He took her face in his hands and kissed her so gently, with such enormous doze of emotions...She felt how he was trembling inside and so was she...She put her hands on his chest, to have something to hold on to, while he was caressing her lips tenderly...
When they've stopped kissing, he drew her closer again and she felt how quickly his heart was beating in his chest...She clung to him and enjoyed the soothness of his presence..
"I love you Elsie...I have always loved you...I'm so happy that I will be able to take care of you..Just like you took care of me for all those years..."
"It was natural for me Charles...I couldn't imagine this any other way...It won't change when we will marry..I will still take care of you..."
"I know you will...I will speak to His Lordship tomorrow, informing him about our decision..."
"What if he won't like it?"
"That is going to be his problem...Not ours Els...I just want you to remember one thing- from now on, you will never be alone...I will be your family and you will never lack of love.."
Elsie looked at him with love in her eyes, wondering how it was possible, that one of the worse days of her life, has unexpectadly turned into such happiness...She nestled into him, thanking God that he he didn't let stay alone in this world...
I really needed such a short, cute story...Everything is adorable when it comes to these two...Hope you liked that fluff a bit. Your thoughts are always appreciated...Stay safe my dear people!