Chapter 30

The half an hour that took the Doctor to arrive seemed like forever. The seconds passed idly and the minutes even more so, while everyone waited for the yellow lights of the car to appear on the driveway piercing the darkness. The night was alive and listening to the fear creeping into every heart and its darkest fangs reached out to the final shreds of patience in everyone's hearts, snapping them mercilessly and flooding fear.

Lady Grantham was in the nursery, kneeling by Lady Edith's bed and wiping her forehead with a wet cloth as the little girl whimpered in pain. Mrs Hughes, having given Sophie instructions to prepare a bed for Nanny in another room, was alternatively attending to Lady Mary and Lady Sybil. Anna stood by the door, clutching the door frame as hard as she could with one hand to give her some stability, waiting for any instructions in case of an emergency, the other fiddling with the loose button on her dressing gown. Mr Carson was near the front door, pacing while waiting for the doctor to arrive.

Lady Edith was whimpering. Lady Mary was more silent, only her warm body giving away her illness. Lady Sybil was in a feverish haze, mumbling and whimpering alternatively. Lady Grantham was growing frightened by the minute but Mrs Hughes tried to maintain an alert state of mind, trying not to dwell on the horrible memories of illness from her years on earth had shown her.

The front door creaked rather loudly and the hushed voices emerged. Anna left her post by the door and turned her head round the corner by the staircase to see what the voices were about. She quickly turned back, having made her observations and returned to the nursery.

"Doctor Clarkson is here," she announced but her voice faltering slightly on the final sounds to reach a somewhat higher pitch.

Mrs Hughes left the cloth that she was wringing by the bedside table and hurried outside, to stand in front of Anna. The young girl took a few steps back to allow the Housekeeper.

"Mrs Hughes," Doctor Clarkson gave a small nod to the Housekeeper and entered the nursery. Behind him Mr Carson stopped a few steps outside the door, on his face a very distressed expression.

"How are they?" he asked in a calm voice but his expression betraying his emotions.

"Lady Mary seems to be less ill compared to Lady Edith and Lady Sybil. It's a rather nasty case of flue, their foreheads were burning," Mrs Hughes replied, calm at first, but the second sentence carrying the hints of fear and distress.

"What should we do Mrs Hughes?" Anna asked leaning a bit towards the Housekeeper in order to keep her voice down. Her eyes wide open.

"All we've got to do now is wait, Anna. Wait for instructions," Mr Carson replied in a forced mechanical tone instead of Mrs Hughes.

Mrs Hughes looked back the young girl and her frightened expression. Without a word Mrs Hughes took Anna's hand in hers and squeezed tightly, reassuringly.

Doctor Clarkson stepped outside of the nursery leaving the door ajar and three pairs of expectant eyes, waited for him to speak.

"I've left the medicines inside. But what is important is that we keep their temperatures under control and make sure they are given mainly soups or broths to eat. Nothing that is hard to be digested. Mrs Hughes I hope you can see to that" he replied to the unvoiced question posed in all eyes, shifting his bag from one hand to the other and Mrs Hughes nodded.

Mr Carson proceeded to show Doctor Clarkson out. But the doctor turned back towards the Housekeeper and the housemaid who were still by the door.

"And also let me know at the slightest change," he added, looking over his shoulder.

"Yes Doctor," Mrs Hughes replied and sighed as she watched the receding forms of the Doctor and the Butler down the corridor.

With the events of the day turning from bad to worse, Mrs Hughes found herself unable to go to sleep. She sent Anna up to bed, firmly denying the girl's pleas to stay awake in case of an emergency, because she had to have her strength for the following day, which most probably was meant to be a long one. She asked Sophie to stay up at the nursery and warned the girl about falling asleep.

"Don't let me catch you falling asleep or you'll have no half days for the next two months," she warned the girl though she knew that she wouldn't be able to hold the resolve beyond a month even if she had to act upon her threats.

The blurred and dark images from the dream she had earlier before Anna woke her up played across her mind. She opened her eyes for a moment and closed them tightly shut trying with all her willpower to fall asleep for a few moments. But the images only gained clarity when her eyes were closed. A few drops of tears emerged from her half shut eyes and dribbled along her cheek to her pillow and a soft sigh escaped her, her whole body shuddering. Young people falling ill always brought her mind back to one place.

Becky. How she missed Becky? And one if something happens to Becky she'll be all alone in the world, she thought.

What about Mr Carson? Charles Carson? A small voice whispered from the corners of her head. And she quickly brushed away that timid, expectant sliver of hope. No. No. No. They'll always be colleagues, co-workers. Friends perhaps, but nothing more. He'll forever remain in the shell of the Butler he had formed around himself. But one day? The small voice spoke again. This time she shook her thoughts away even more ferociously.

Tonight was not a night for fantasies.

Elsie's eyes fluttered open. The room was still bathed in a soft silver light. She turned to the small clock by her bed side and narrowed her eyes to read the time in the darkness. A quarter of an hour to five. She flopped back on bed. The sudden awakening drained all sleep out of her. She felt tired after the very eventful night and the exhausting day before. Her eyes shut for a moment trying to claim the sleep that was robbed of her. But they failed. After and exhausted sigh she swung her legs out of bed. Now that sleep had shown very well its intention to avoid her, she might as well start her day.

Elsie walked through the corridor that led to the nursery. The early morning silence was hauntingly quiet and quite disturbing given the state that the occupants of the nursery were currently in. Elsie love the early hours of the mornings, when everything seemed new and the beautiful solitude echoed in every one of her bones. Unlike late nights when her mind took flight across lands of thoughts that would ache her heart and plague her eyes with involuntary tears shed at times along with sobs that she swallowed away trying to hide in the painfully quiet silence of the dying day facing the empty hours that separated the morning about to be born.

She took softer steps as she reached its door and peered inside. Sophie was half awake. Her eyes evidently engaged in a fearsome battle with sleep. Yet still managing to hold on, her will powered by a certain Housekeeper's solemn threats. Threats that Sophie knew were not to be taken lightly. Sensing the presence of someone, Sophie looked up to meet the eyes of Mrs Hughes. She opened her mouth to address Mrs Hughes but Mrs Hughes placed a finger against her lips eyeing the three sleeping girls and hearing their soft occasional soft whimpers. She beckoned Sophie to come outside.

Sophie rose to her feet and took a few uncertain steps, her stability still hindered by the sleep and awake state that she delicately hovered in. But was more alert by the time she reached the open door. She stood before Mrs Hughes, her slumped shoulders and tired sleeping speaking for her exhaustion.

"How are they?" Mrs Hughes asked, her voice a whisper.

"Lady Mary's fever is nearly broken. Lady Edith and Lady Sybil are still much the same. A bit calmer, I suppose," Sophie answered in a tired voice, that didn't need any more softening at all to meet the standards of a whisper.

Mrs Hughes was grateful that young girl had actually managed to stay alert, a feat which Sophie was usually unable to accomplish. The faint hints of a smile appeared on her smile, but Sophie did not notice.

"You have the morning off Sophie. Get some sleep m'lass," the Housekeeper said softly gently patting the young maid on the shoulder.

"Thank you Mrs Hughes," Sophie smiled and made her way towards the green baize door that separated the stairs from the corridor. Mrs Hughes watched the girl leave till she disappeared behind the closed door.

Her gaze settled on the three sick girls ahead of her. Worry tinted with the unexpected shades of affection flooded her expression as she walked inside checking on each one before she sat of the chair which was previously occupied by Sophie. To her side was a shelf which was filled with children's books. Her fingers fluttered across the spines of the books. She had read several of them much later than when they were expected to be read. The small village school didn't have much in the way of books. And she had to make the best of what was available. That was how Elsie Hughes became the excellent story teller that she was. A young farm girl spinning tales and speaking them under breath as she worked around the farm and walked back from school. And when the night embraced the skies and the stars shyly looked down below at the isolated Scottish farm, she retold those to her little sister and together they wandered across half mythical lands that were fashioned in her mind.

Lady Sybil stirred in her bed the little doll that she had clutched to her chest landed on the floor. Mrs Hughes rose from her chair and picked up the doll. She placed it next to the little girl whose eyes weakly fluttered open.

"Mrs Hughes?" she whispered.

"Yes, Milady. It's me," the Housekeeper replied as she ran her hand across Sybil's damp hair.

A smile, tinged with pain, lit up on the girl's face as she clutched the doll back against her chest and closed her eyes. Her heavy warm breathing pierced Elsie's skin through the material on the sleeve. Elsie ran her hand once more across Sybil's hair and returned to her chair. Her feelings paradoxical. Reassurance and fear in a delicate balance of power.

To be continued…

I'm so sorry for taking this long to update, so here's a longer chapter as an apology. University has been getting in my way so often. Just two weeks more and I'll have lots of more free time to myself. Thank you so much for all your reviews on the last chapter! I'm glad you liked it. Writing this chapter was quite tricky but hope you like it. I'd appreciate any reviews on your ideas about this chapter and the story so far. See you soon with a new chapter!