June 1920
My dearest husband,
The mood is very low around here right now. Yesterday was Lady Sybil's funeral, and everyone is very downcast. It pains me every time I come across Mr Branson. He looks so desperate, poor man. My heart aches for him as well as for my own grief. His Lordship and Her Ladyship are having a very hard time too of course. Lady Mary tells me there's a current disagreement upstairs about the baby's christening. Mr Branson wants to have her christened Catholic, as he is, and his whole family. Of course that doesn't please His Lordship. But Lady Mary told me Lady Sybil had confided in her before her death, and she wanted the baby to be Catholic too, so that unsettled His Lordship…
Mr Barrow seems very touched too by Lady Sybil's passing. I don't think there are many people whose death he would mourn, but she was one of the few who had been kind to him. As Jimmy said at dinner yesterday, his grief speaks highly of her.
I have discussed our own latest news with Lady Mary too, and she was so kind. She was so eager for you to be released, it warmed my heart. She said "this is the moment we've all been waiting for". Not "you", "we". As if we were part of the family. I must say I cried in front of her. I spend my days and nights going back and forth between hope that this nightmare might finally come to an end, and fear that it might unravel if Mrs Bartlett won't tell the truth to Mr Murray. Sometimes I find myself trembling from anxiety. It's been a long time since I've spent so much time praying for God's mercy. I think last time was before your trial, and when we were waiting to know if the Home Secretary would grant you a reprieve.
Johnny is doing good, I think we have finally put this awful whooping cough behind us. Leslie and I can finally spend some more peaceful nights. He still wakes up once or twice to nurse, but it is nothing compared to what it was a few weeks ago, when we spent all night rocking him and he coughing until he vomited, and I thought he was going to choke at any time. I've enclosed in this letter the photograph I've had taken a few days ago, so you can see how much he's grown. He's starting to crawl on the floor these days. Not really efficient yet, but I think in a bit of time, we'll have to track him down.
I can't wait to hear from Mr Murray. Until then, I'm sending you all our love.
Your loving wife, Anna.
x x x x
My beloved,
Thank you, thank you so much for this lovely picture. I'm so happy to see how much our son has grown, how beautiful he is, and so glad he is doing better and you can get a little rest. I am very grateful to Leslie for all the help and support she's offering you. We are lucky to have her by your side when I can't be.
I am so grateful for Lady Mary's concern too. It is so kind of her to bother about my being set free. I know I already said that, but I count ourselves lucky to have found such good employers.
Mr Murray wrote to me, and told me he was going to see Mrs Bartlett tomorrow. I am eager to hear about that meeting. I must say I am bit nervous about what she is going to say, if she is going to stick to her previous words or not. I can feel that Craig and Durrant are still mad at me, and don't intend to let things lie. I don't see how they could mess with her, but unfortunately I wouldn't put anything past them… Let's hope things are going to work out for us for once.
I still think about Lady Sybil very often. I can't say I find the religious feud over the baby's Christening very relevant. How important is it, really… What really matters is that she is happy and healthy. I hope His Lordship will come to see that in time. He will have to, if he doesn't want to lose her and Mr Branson. I guess Mr Branson won't bother to stay with a family who doesn't accept him as he is. Anyway, as you often wisely say, this is up to them to handle.
I can't wait to see you again, my dearest one, and until then I'll be dreaming of holding you close all through the night. I love you forever more.
Yours truly
John Bates.
x x x x
Anna couldn't hide her disappointment as she sat down next to Mr Murray and across John a few days later. This emotional roller-coaster was starting to weigh on her. But she tried to keep her feelings to herself and smiled at her husband as they settled down.
- So, began Mr Murray. I'm sorry this interview didn't work out as we hoped.
- Yes, stated John. I expected her to deny everything the moment she realized her testimony would release me. From what Anna said, she really loathes me.
- You know she did say every word of it, pointed Anna.
- Of course, agreed Mr Murray. But I'm afraid someone tipped her off before I went to see her.
- I think I know who, replied Bates, looking behind them, to Durrant who was standing in the corridor a few yards away.
- The question remains as to what we do next, continued Murray. I wonder what Mrs Bartlett is thinking at this moment.
- That she's glad Mr Bates is still in prison, stated Anna spitefully.
- I'm not so sure, argued Murray. It's a big thing, for a woman like that, to lie to a lawyer, to flout the law.
- They would have bribed her to do it, or frightened her.
- Well. We cannot offer a bribe, but perhaps we can try to… persuade her into returning to the path of truth, said Murray with a raised eyebrow.
- Let me see what I can do.
- Nothing foolish, warned Anna with a stern look. You mustn't do anything stupid. Promise me.
But what he had in mind, was definitely what she would consider as foolish, and he couldn't lie to her, so he only looked down, and didn't reply. She couldn't understand what one had to do in that place, to fend for oneself. If he kept to playing nice, he would never get out of here.
- Leave it with me Mr Murray, he concluded.
- Alright, said the lawyer. We'll be in touch.
x x x x
My dear John,
What a disappointment this whole thing has been. I had hoped against all likelihood that Mrs Bartlett would be honest and would tell the truth, no matter unpleasant it is to her. I feel down tonight, like this nightmare will never end. How can one be so unkind as to willingly keep an innocent man locked up away from his family… And if, as you say, this wretched dishonest guard had her bribed or blackmailed, how did he even know about her? How did he find her? I know you will want to do anything in your power to overturn this situation and turn the tables on them, but please, please my love, be reasonable. I'm scared for you. I am so afraid you'll end up getting hurt, or reported and sentenced to more time in here, even though you shouldn't be here in the first place. I'm begging you to weigh your actions carefully. For my sake, and Johnny's, please don't put yourself in danger. I love you so much, and I want you back, but I wouldn't bear it if they came to tell me that you've been wounded, or worse, in a prison brawl.
Tears came to her eyes as she wrote this sentence. No, this could not happen. They could not have fought their way so close to success, only for their efforts to fail.
Here are the latest news from Downton. Mrs Crawley has hired Ethel as a cook/housekeeper. I gather you remember Ethel, who worked as a housemaid at Downton during the war, and was fired when Mrs Hughes discovered she was fooling around with this Major Bryant. Well now she works for Mrs Crawley, which came with some scandal, since apparently she had fallen into "bad ways", as Mr Carson so elegantly put it… But we know that Mrs Crawley is not afraid of scandal. But the thing sort of blew up between His Lordship and Her Ladyship, who were still on frosty terms since Lady Sybil's death, when Her Ladyship accepted Mrs Crawley's invitation for luncheon, with Lady Edith and Lady Mary, and even the Dowager… His Lordship apparently made a scandal at Crawley House, or so Lady Mary told me, but none of them listened to him, and they all stayed throughout lunch, against his Lordship's orders to go home. I heard Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes discussing it later in the day. Poor Mr Carson was all very shocked, poor man…
On another topic, Daisy went to visit Mr Mason, who offered her to take over his farm! He seems to have taken a real liking to her. I think he has been very lonely since William's death, poor him. So he and Daisy are starting to build a real bond. I guess it's good for the two of them, he without any child left, and her without a family either (except if we consider Mrs Patmore her family…). She doesn't seem to be ready to leave Downton's kitchen though. But it's nice for her to know that she'll have somewhere to go if ever she wants to leave service.
Well I think this was all that happened lately. Johnny is fine, and Leslie too. I'm wondering if she's not being courted…Yesterday she went out for an errand in the village, and she came back with some kind of dreamy smile, and flushed cheeks… She reminded me of how I felt when we were getting to know each other… She didn't tell me anything, and I didn't ask, not yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if she introduced me to a fiancé some time in the future. One more reason to have you back soon, if she wants to go and get married again herself. I will check closely on the chosen one though, I don't want her to make the same mistakes she made with her first husband. Anyway, this is all speculation for the time being.
I'm looking forward to your next letter. Please receive my best wishes and loving kisses.
Yours forever, Anna.
x x x x
My dear Anna,
The days are endless without you. You could think I'd get used to it, after more than a year, but I don't. Especially after last week's glimpse of hope, the loneliness is weighing on me harder than ever. I used every means in my power to try and get Craig and Durrant to change their ways and make Mrs Bartlett tell the truth to Murray. I know you are afraid for me, and I understand that, but I've got nothing to lose. I must do what I must, to get away from this hellhole. I hope what I've done will be enough to get them to act. I think it might be. I wrote to Mr Murray to tell him and ask him to get in touch again with Mrs Bartlett. You ask in your last letter how they have known about her, how they have found her, and my opinion is, they've gone through my letters while I was out of my cell. Durrant has the keys to all the cells, he could very well have gone in while I was in the workshop, or during meals. It's the most likely explanation. Anyway, now, once again, we must wait for Mr Murray's word. I am so sick and tired of hoping and waiting. All I want is to hold you, touch you, kiss you and love you. All I want is to hold my son, tell him I love him, and see him grow every day. I feel I am wasting away in this place, so far from you and your love. I know I must keep strong and not let go, but this is so hard.
New tears streamed down Anna's face as she read John's words, and imagined oh-so-well how he felt. She felt pretty much the same, although she at least had the chance to be outside, to have some friendly support, and most of all, their son with her. But yes, it was all so hard.
Thank you again for telling me all of Downton's gossip, it helps take my mind off things for a little while. I must say I smiled at your telling of the Ethel-related scandal in Crawley House. Although it is not so funny when you come to think of it. Poor Ethel surely has paid the high price for her youthful mistakes. I hope she finds her way in life. And I am glad for Daisy, who is a hard-worker, and deserves some familial affection. It is always a good thing when two lonely people find each other, and can make one another's lot better. And I hope you can soon tell me more about Leslie's new suitor, if you can learn more about him. She too deserves happiness, and I hope she will find it.
What can I say to conclude this letter… except that once again, we must hope to get good news from Murray. I'm sending you my deepest love, for you, and Johnny.
Your loving husband, John Bates.
Not much longer until John is set free! ;)