Thank you all so much!

Chapter 9

"You are to eat everything on this plate and then relax the rest of the day," John lovingly commanded, as he placed a tray of food on Anna's lap in bed. She had just gotten back at home the day before and John was not taking any chances.

Anna sat up slightly and her lips curled upwards.

"Are you putting me on bedrest for the entire second half of my pregnancy, Mr. Bates?" Anna playfully asked. John's head shook. He took a seat beside his wife and pulled the syringe off her tray.

"No," he then answered. "But I do want you taking it easier, Anna. You gave me quite the scare." As though he was trained, he pinched Anna's skin and inserted the insulin into her body without any resistance. Anna winced slightly as the needle punctured her arm, but she quickly settled back into her pillows, taking a bite of her toast. "We move into our new home next week, but I already have people ready to help us move. You'll be allowed to do the organizing, but no heavy lifting."

Anna laughed. "Yes, Lord Bates," she teased. John leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose.

"I only want you and the babies to be alright, Anna. Please take it easy."

Anna's hand came up to brush along his jaw, before it rested on his cheek. She gently kissed him.

"I will," she promised. She brought John's hand on top of her belly. "I will for them, for Jack, and for you, John. I want the rest of this pregnancy to go healthily."

"Me too," John breathed. He felt a kick against his hand and he couldn't help but smile. His babies were safe and were growing every day. It wouldn't be that much longer until they were with them.

His own hand came up to Anna's cheek and he pressed their foreheads together. There was much he still needed to tell Anna, but he hadn't been able to bring himself to tell Anna that her mother was dead. He knew it needed to happen and it would. However, she had only just gotten home and he wanted to make sure she was truly going to be alright before hitting her with such news.

After he heard of Sandra's death, John went to make sure that this wasn't some crazy ruse to make Anna take her back into her life. While it seemed extreme, he had learned that Sandra was not a stable woman. But he found out that she had truly died. This wasn't a ruse and now Anna had to know the truth. Yet, he would wait a few more days to tell her.

"I love you, Anna," he whispered, almost like a fervent prayer.

"I love you too, Mr. Bates."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"Why do you think there is a question mark by Mabel's name?" Mary mused aloud for about the millionth time. She had poured over the list of names over and over, forcing Matthew to glance over it and see if he recognized any of the women on the list.

"Darling, I don't know," Matthew replied. "I'm not sure it is right for us to look at these names. I feel like it's an invasion of their privacy."

Mary nodded, folding the sheet of paper back and sliding it over on her desk. She did feel the same. She didn't want to hurt any of the women who had more than likely been victims of Pamuk's. However, she couldn't let this list go. She knew none of the other names, but she did know Mabel's. This list was written by Richard Carlisle from Pamuk's own book. She assumed they were written in order and Mabel's was the last one. The question mark had her wondering what it meant. Had Pamuk chosen her in advance, written her name in the book, but there was nothing else next to it? Had he died before he could write his thoughts on her?

A shiver ran up the back of Mary's spine at the thought of it all. She could feel her body shaking at the thought. Matthew seemed to notice; he sat down next to her and covered his hand over hers.

"Perhaps you are obsessing over this to try and understand," Matthew said. "But you can't understand men like this, Mary. They are predators; evil humans."

"But there has to be a method to this madness, Matthew. Had he chosen me as his prey days in advance? Was I a last minute option? I need to know." She pressed her hands firmly together in front of her lips, closing her eyes. She could feel the control slipping further and further from her fingers and she hated it. It was the worst part of all of this. Loss of control made her spin deeper into her dark thoughts. She felt as though she'd never escape this.

"Alright," Matthew placated. He placed his hand up to her back and moved himself closer to her, resting his head against her cheek. "We'll figure this out."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Anna had been back home for several days now. She had a few boxes packed, all with small items, as per John's requests for her not to overdo it. John had been working long hours and then coming upstairs to pack the things Anna could not. He cheerfully did as Anna asked with the dishes and all the other things she asked him to pack. Even though he had been carrying the load, he never complained.

They would be moving in a couple of days and Anna had been searching online for items they would need for their new home. The new house was much bigger than the home they had created upstairs above The Servant's Hall. Her eyes went over the home the two of them had built and she felt her eyes filling with tears.

"Pregnancy hormones," she murmured under her breath. The door opened and she wiped under her eyes, not wanting to worry John over nothing.

Jack's little feet pattered over the floor and in a moment he was sitting next to Anna, wrapping his arms around her belly.

"Love you," he said, glancing up. Anna ran her fingers through his light hair.

"I love you. Were you good for Daddy, Alfred, and Ivy?" He nodded. "Good boy."

"He was," John agreed. "Jack, come on, it's time for bed."

"I can do it," Anna insisted. She stood from the couch and was glad when John didn't argue against it. She missed her time with Jack. John had been insistent that she not have him upstairs when she rested. And while she knew he was right that she would not be resting with him with her, she missed not having him around her all day.

She kissed John's cheek and walked Jack to his bedroom. He went to his chest of drawers to find his pajamas, bringing them to Anna to help him change. Then he laid down in bed and Anna grabbed a couple of books to read to him. By the second book, he was already out. The long days in the restaurant had that effect on him. Anna hoped the twins were as good of sleepers as their older brother.

After kissing Jack's forehead, Anna stepped back into the living room. There sat John, thoughtfully. His brows were creased and he glanced up at Anna, sighing.

"I need you to sit," John began, sighing once more.

"Have I done something wrong?"

"Nothing like that, my darling," he promised, patting the cushion beside him. "I need to tell you something."

Cautiously, Anna made her way to sit down next to her husband. He gathered her hands within his own and slowly met her eyes.

"What is it? You're scaring me, John."

"Anna, your mother has died," John replied, jumping right to the point. Anna's head cocked to the side slightly, before beginning to shake. She pulled her hands from John's and stood, turning away. She began to rub her hands back and forth.

"No," Anna whispered. "That doesn't….no." She heard John stand beside her and then placed his hands on her shoulders.

"My darling," he attempted to soothe her.

"How long have you known?" Anna asked, turning back to face John. She searched his face for an answer. She watched as John's lips curled downwards.

"Since you were in the hospital," he quietly replied. Anna inhaled sharply, feeling as though she was being stifled by a ton of bricks. Dead. Her mother was dead. And John knew all this time. She took a few steps back, nearly tumbling over the coffee table behind her. John's hands came out to steady her and she immediately shrugged them away.

"Anna…."

"I…I need a moment," she got out, her lower lip trembling.

"Anna…"

"Please," Anna now pleaded. "Please give me a moment."

John stood with his mouth agape, but didn't make any more attempts to get her to stay. Anna quickly made her way to their bedroom and the moment the door shut behind her, she burst into harsh, overwhelming sobs. It hit her so severely, that when loving arms wrapped around her, she was grateful. She turned into John's embrace and cried into his top, never knowing that her mother's death would have caused her to be this unhappy.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"So, I have a theory," Mary informed Matthew right as he walked in from work. "And to see if I am correct, we are taking a short trip to visit Lavinia and Simon."

Matthew put down his briefcase, surprised by this change of events.

"What is this theory?"

"My theory is that I am correct and Pamuk chose his victims in advance. I believe he knew Mabel was going to be there and had written her name already in that disgusting book of his."

Matthew furrowed his brows. "But can't that theory be solved by a simple phone call?"

"Well, perhaps it might be able to. However, we haven't seen Lavinia or Simon since George was little and I thought this might be a fun family holiday for us."

Laughter bubbled up Matthew's throat, earning a glare from Mary.

"Why are you laughing, Matthew Crawley? None of this is a laughing matter."

He strode across the room and shook his head.

"No, what happened to you and those other women is not a laughing matter at all, darling," he agreed. "But I don't think you want to travel all that way to the Duke's house just to say hello."

"I'm not sure what you mean," Mary coyly replied, ducking her head slightly.

"You want to see Simon in person, snap some fresh pictures," Matthew playfully told her.

"Oh, Matthew, do you really think I am that shallow?"

"I do not think you are shallow, but I do think you would like to look at Simon."

Mary rolled her eyes, "Oh Matthew." She then gave him a quick kiss and glanced at the clock on the wall. "I need to go upstairs and relieve Nanny of her duties. We leave first thing in the morning. Oh, and bring your swim trunks. Apparently they have an indoor pool." She winked then and rushed upstairs.

To be continued...

A fun trip off to see the Duke of Hastings ;). And some solving of the mystery for Mary...