Chapter 35

December 1901

"I suppose it'll not be long before Jane hands in her notice," Mrs Hughes remarked as she sipped her tea and with her other hand crossed out a long line of details she had noted down in one of her lists. A frown played upon her face for a moment and quickly dissolved as soon as the sound of the pen scratching upon the paper disappeared.

"And why may that be?" Mr Carson asked rather absentmindedly, his eyes still focused upon the page of the book he was reading, seated in his usual chair next to the little table in the Housekeeper's sitting room. A tea cup, almost untouched, growing cold upon the table by his side.

"She's been rather impatient for her half days. And as always, there's a young man from the village who is rather keen on her. And I daresay she is keen about his attentions to her," she replied, watching him from the corner of her eye.

"What?" He shot his head up from the book, an eyebrow raised. "How could you possibly know?"

"I daresay Mr Carson there's a lot of things that go on down here that you fail to notice at times," Mrs Hughes answered looking at the surprised Butler for a moment and looked down back at her paper to avoid a bout of giggles escaping her due his ridiculous expression. She wondered if he ever realised that at times his expressions were terribly overly dramatic. "Besides I saw them in the village."

Her composure in relaying this tit bit of information rather surprised Mr Carson. How could she possibly be calm at the prospect of a housemaid misbehaving? Besides it annoyed him to know that there were things that went on under this roof that he was unaware of.

"When? How? What did you see?" he burst out in one breath and she let out a low laugh.

"That is a long string of questions Mr Carson. I must ask, how did you manage to say it all so fast?" she asked, faking an expression of curiosity deliberately to tease Mr Carson.

"That doesn't answer my question," he stated firmly and let the book down on the table with a rather loud thud as if to emphasise his point.

"Questions you mean?" Mrs Hughes bit down on her bottom lip to stifle any giggles.

Mr Carson's expression erupted into a frown and Mrs Hughes let out an exasperated sigh and she let the pen down the table with an unintended effort but the tip knocking on the ink pot let out a loud clink, in what seemed to be a matching retort against the thud earlier.

"Why do you always have to get so wound up about matters?" she asked, now turning to face him fully.

"Well… you aren't exactly helping it either," he pointed his hand in her general direction, his annoyance from earlier disappearing as the truth from her statement slowly dawned upon him, even though he would never admit it and in turn making him angry again.

"I was going down to the village to get some candid peel for Mrs Patmore—,"

"Why would she need candied peel?"

"For the pudding the day before yesterday. So when—,"

"Wasn't it mentioned in the grocery list?"

"Apparently she's forgotten it! As usual! And was blaming me. So when I went down—,"

"In this weather? Surely Mrs Hughes you could have sent a hall boy or a footman?" he regretted his continuous interruption of her statements the moment he saw her expression change into what forecasted a possible losing of her legendary temper.

"I see you're not interested to listen to what I've got to say at your request, mind you. Seems you're more interested in the household crisis, which I wouldn't even want to call a crisis, which had already been resolved two days ago. And before you start to worry, the family are all well and fine. I got back in time with the blessed candied peel, so none of them were indisposed or ill!" Mrs Hughes burst out with a huff and turned back to her paperwork in with an almighty swing of her chair which gave the keys on her chatelaine a violent jangle.

Mr Carson sat still in his chair, shaken rather heavily by the fine sample of Scottish temper that he had been subject to, wondering more about what he ought to do or say next without risking his very life.

"Mrs Hughes, I certainly did not like that tone you took with me. I was merely inquiring after a matter of this household, which I believe is one of my concerns!" he protested finally, having regained his sense of stability after a moment.

"The household maybe, but don't let Mrs Patmore hear you saying that the kitchen is your territory to be concerned with. To begin with you'll be 'lucky if you only end up in tonight's soup' so to say," Mrs Hughes said quoting one of the famous lines of the Cook, still not facing the Butler.

Mr Carson cleared his throat. It certainly didn't seem to take him anywhere but close to trouble. The prospect of getting both women who worked alongside him in similarly senior positions, both whose tempers were undeniably frightful, was something he truly dreaded.

The silence that settled over them was broken when a knock sounded on the Housekeeper's sitting room.

"Yes?" came the Housekeeper's reply to the knock.

The door opened a tiny bit and Lady Sybil peered inside, only her nose and one eye clearly visible through the small space. Mrs Hughes turned to face the door, her eyebrows gradually taking the shape of a frown, annoyed that whoever who demanded her attention were not making themselves known. Mr Carson turned in his chair too to face the door. Sybil slowly took one step inside. Mr Carson turned back to his initial position, just time to witness Mrs Hughes' frown ease and her face bursting into a light smile at the sight of the little girl. Mr Carson felt his throat tightened and the feeling of his stomach flipping invaded him as he watched the tender look on the Housekeeper's face. The hard line on his own face from their own argument earlier, eased.

"Lady Sybil? What are you doing down here?" Mrs Hughes began gently began softly and then proceeded to ask sternly, "where is Nanny and does she know you are here? Don't tell me you've sneaked out of the nursery again! This time I will most definitely inform her Ladyship!"

"Nanny brought me downstairs," Sybil replied with a wide smile. A certain glint of mischievousness in her eyes.

"And where is she now?" Mrs Hughes raised an eyebrow, tilting her head slightly to the side, her lips pursed. An expression so curiously unlike the usual Mrs Hughes that Mr Carson almost burst into a fit of childish giggles.

"She insisted that she stay… but… well… I told her that I'd be a few moments and… that you wouldn't mind bringing me back upstairs," Sybil answered, her gaze fixed on the floor where she drew circles on the stone floor with the tip of her shoe.

"You wouldn't mind, would you?" the little girl asked, looking back up at the Housekeeper, sporting the puppy dog eyes to which she knew the Housekeeper would certainly not say no to.

"What is it now?" Mrs Hughes asked entirely good-naturedly now. The smile from earlier now freely glowing upon her face.

"Shall I leave you both to it?" Mr Carson asked straightening himself in his chair in preparation to leave. Though he would have loved, or in fact would have given anything, to watch this exchange between the Housekeeper and the little Lady unfold, he felt that his presence in this delicate moment would make Mrs Hughes feel uncomfortable.

"No I don't mind actually. Not if Mrs Hughes doesn't. In fact I'd like you to stay. Perhaps Carson may have a few ideas as well. This is a quite important matter after all," Lady Sybil replied and stepped towards Mrs Hughes' chair. Placing her hand upon the arm of the chair, Lady Sybil lifted herself up to Mrs Hughes lap. Wiggling about, she made herself comfortable and finally settled her back against Mrs Hughes' chest as the Housekeeper held her hands awkwardly in the air till Sybil had settled.

Mr Carson chuckled at how the young girl settled herself on the Housekeeper's lap without any invitation. And he keenly noticed the sudden change in the Housekeeper's demeanour with the young girl's presence. She didn't seem to mind the familiarity that was reflected in the young girl's actions and it rather surprised him a bit.

Sybil twisted her neck a little to look up at Mrs Hughes and asked, "You don't mind Mr Carson staying, do you Mrs Hughes?"

"No. I don't mind," Mrs Hughes replied softly, not entirely sure of her answer.

"I have actually a favour to ask Mrs Hughes and I wouldn't mind Carson's opinion on it too," Sybil stated in a matter-of-fact voice, exuding more authority than her age demanded, yet in no demanding or disrespectful way, which amused both the Housekeeper and the Butler. Especially given her position on the Housekeeper's lap from which she commanded this authority.

"So My Lady, if I may ask, what is this important matter that you need Mrs Hughes' favours and my opinion on?" Mr Carson inquired in his most professional voice, mirroring Sybil's seriousness.

Mrs Hughes chuckled and shook her head lightly at Mr Carson's tone of voice. In fact she was quite surprised that Mr Carson had decided to play along instead of getting flustered about propriety.

"Dolls' dresses!" Sybil replied loudly with a very wide smile, eliciting laughter from the Housekeeper and making the Butler to raise his eyebrows and throw his hands in the air in defeat.

To be continued…

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