CHAPTER 45: MERRYMAKING
A few minutes later
Thomas Barrow's Room
As stifling as the attic was, Thomas was glad to be back in his own room. At the Abbey, he knew the rules. He had mastered the rules. Yes, he had survived one week in London living as the other half do, but Novello and Morgan had watched out for him. He gazed about his room and wondered if, when the time came, he would have the courage to make a life for himself away from Downton. He pulled Novello's note from his pocket, read it once more, and tucked it in his top drawer where he kept the notes from Anna.
Thomas headed down the servants' stairs, paused, and ran up to the bathroom where he washed away the last traces of Tabac Blond. He checked himself in the mirror and combed his hair. He was eager to see the staff and wanted to look his best. There were only two people Thomas was reluctant to see: Lord Grantham and Carson. They both would be displeased by the publicity he had received in London. That was tomorrow's problem.
As Thomas ran down the stairs to the servants' hall, he heard Minnie behind him. No doubt, she had been serving port and savouries to the family in the drawing room. "Mr Barrow, Mr Barrow!" she called as she flew down the steps to meet him. "I missed you, Mr Barrow!"
"Minnie Childs," chided Thomas, "you forget yourself!"
Chagrined, Minnie stepped back.
"Minnie, I was only teasing!" apologized Thomas. "I missed you, too, and I missed those dimples!" Thomas had never spoken to her in such a personal manner, but he was on holiday and that made it all right. He extended his arm gaily. "May I escort you?" They walked down the steps arm-in-arm but wisely separated before they entered the corridor.
Thomas found Morgan happily surrounded by the entire house staff. Even Molesley and Mr Mason were there. And towering above all of them was Carson. Thomas caught sight of Bates and pulled him aside. "What's going on?"
"It's a party!" replied Bates. "We'd been waiting for you two to arrive."
"A party? That's fine. I don't want to be the only one enjoying my last day of freedom." He pulled Bates farther from the crowd. "John, was Mr Carson upset by the newspaper stories?"
Bates laughed. "He certainly was!"
"He doesn't seem upset now," observed Thomas.
"You know how he is. As soon as he saw that Lady Mary was amused by the whole thing, he accepted it."
Daisy announced that dinner was ready, and Mrs Hughes and Thomas all but forcibly ejected the day hires. As the staff and their guests took their seats, Thomas declared, "I'm not the butler tonight. I'm still on holiday. Mr Carson, would you care to sit at the head of the table?"
Carson shook his head. "No, Mr Barrow, those days are over for me. Mr Morgan, why don't you take the seat of honour? We all want to hear your account of Mr Barrow's holiday!"
Thomas was surprised by Carson's response. He looked at Bates who smiled and gave him a wink. Thomas took a seat between Minnie and Anna. "Anna, I'm so happy to see you!"
Anna was pleased to see that Thomas wasn't putting on airs after his adventures. "Mr Morgan's been telling us the most fantastic stories about Mr Novello and his friends. Are they true?" she asked.
"Probably," answered Thomas. "Ivor leads a charmed life."
Daisy came from the kitchen with a tureen and ladled bowls of julienne soup.
"Why aren't there chairs for Mrs Parker and Mrs Patmore?" asked Morgan. "I won't enjoy one bite unless they eat with us." He asked Thomas to bring two more chairs to the table and marched into the kitchen. He returned with Mrs Patmore, whose face was almost as red as her hair. "I'm sitting between my two new favourite ladies," he announced.
"None of that fresh talk, Mr Morgan!" scolded Mrs Patmore, but she was smiling as she took her seat.
"That's right, Mr Morgan," added Daisy. "Mrs Patmore has a sweetheart now."
"Oh? And who is that?" queried Morgan.
Mr Mason replied cheerfully, "That would be me!"
"Well, now, everyone must sit next to their sweethearts," proclaimed Morgan. Thomas and Minnie were the only partygoers without sweethearts. Thomas squeezed Minnie's hand and nodded to let her know that they would be a couple for the night. Daisy sat opposite Mrs Patmore. The others exchanged seats until everyone was properly paired: Mrs Patmore and Mr Mason, Minnie and Thomas, Anna and Bates, Baxter and Molesley, Mrs Hughes and Carson, and Andy and Daisy.
"Mr Morgan, we've enjoyed your stories, but you haven't told us about Mr Barrow's holiday. We want to hear about his shenanigans," urged Mrs Hughes.
Morgan laughed. "I thought it only fair to wait until he was here to defend himself."
"There's not much to tell," remarked Thomas.
"I think I can manage to recall something of interest, Mr Barrow. Let's see." Morgan tapped his cheek thoughtfully. "Oh yes ... only this afternoon, Mr Barrow critiqued some paintings for a gentleman whose name we all know. He stood in the man's own home completely unaware of his identity as both the owner of the house and the artist in question."
"Who was it, Mr Barrow?" asked Minnie.
Thomas shrugged nonchalantly.
"Tell us, Mr Morgan!" insisted Daisy.
"Only Winston Churchill." Morgan was rewarded with a loud gasp from his audience.
Carson almost choked on his soup. "Winston Churchill? You're having us on!"
"I can't believe it myself," confessed Thomas.
"You should have seen Mr Barrow's face when Mr Churchill introduced himself. I thought I'd have to bring him home on a stretcher."
"I dined with him," added Thomas.
"That's right. Mr Barrow had roast beef and potatoes while I sat in the kitchen eating a ham sandwich. And that witch of a cook said she had no ice cream to spare for me, even though I saw her hoarding an extra pan of it. She lacked your generous nature, Mrs Patmore."
Daisy interrupted before Mrs Patmore could respond. "I'd like to give Mr Churchill a critique on his return to the gold standard."
"Mrs Parker, do you understand that gold standard business?" asked Morgan. "You could explain it to me."
"She does," assured Molesley.
"... and she will!" added Baxter.
"I look forward to it, Mrs Parker, but I can't allow my lack of education to bore your co-workers. Not when they've all been so kind."
"I have to bring the next course now, anyway, Mr Morgan. Come by while I'm preparing breakfast tomorrow, and I'll lay it out for you," offered Daisy on her way to the kitchen. "The gold standard is child's play."
"That was neatly done," Mrs Patmore whispered to Morgan.
"I believe in education, Mrs Patmore, but I also believe in supper," Morgan whispered back.
"Tell us another story about Mr Barrow's holiday," begged Minnie.
"I'll wait for Mrs Parker. Don't any of you have news to share with Mr Barrow?"
"There's not much to tell," reported Anna. "We've all been waiting for Lady Mary's baby. Dr Clarkson says it will come any moment now."
"Yes, he's been telling us that for three days," added Carson.
"Well, there you are. Someone needs to tell the baby!" concluded Morgan, and everyone laughed.
Daisy returned with two substantial pigeon pies. "Will you serve, Mr Morgan?"
"I'd be delighted, Mrs Parker," responded Morgan as Daisy turned and strode back to the kitchen. "Where's she going?" he asked.
"She'll be right back," replied Mrs Patmore. Morgan served up the pies, and Daisy returned with a tray of individual moulded lobster salads and a galantine of veal.
Thomas was astonished. "This truly is a party!"
"Of course it is, silly," teased Baxter. "Don't you know what we're celebrating?"
"No. What?" asked Thomas.
"It's your welcome home party, Mr Barrow!" bubbled Minnie.
Thomas thought she was joking, but when he saw that he was surrounded by a ring of warm smiles, he realized it was true. "I don't know what to say."
"You say thank you," instructed Morgan, "so we can eat."
"Thank you!" repeated Thomas. "Let's eat!"
As the merrymakers ate and chatted, Thomas noticed Mrs Hughes discreetly cutting Carson's serving of pie into manageable bits for him. His palsy must have progressed a bit. Thomas quickly diverted his glance.
The women asked Morgan about Ivor Novello. The men asked Thomas about Gladys Cooper and Tallulah Bankhead.
Morgan shared more stories about Thomas. He seemed to have witnessed every moment of Thomas' holiday, even when he was absent. He told about the crisis at Cecil Beaton's party when Thomas was backed into a corner and had to prove he could speak Russian. Morgan grinned with satisfaction when he felt his audience hold its breath.
"What did you do, Mr Barrow?" asked Minnie, her round eyes even bigger than usual.
Thomas looked at Minnie calmly, then slammed the table with his fist, which made everyone jump, and followed with a vociferous stream of nonsensical Russian.
"Minnie, I'm shocked!" exclaimed Morgan. "Was that any way for you to speak to Thomas about Mrs Hughes?"
Minnie turned on Thomas. "Why Thomas Barrow! You know very well I never said any such ... OH!" Minnie started to giggle.
Daisy turned to Thomas in amazement. "I didn't know you could speak Russian!" Everyone burst out laughing, some more slowly than others as they worked out what had happened. Daisy alone sat frowning.
Mrs Patmore stood. "Come with me, Daisy. I'll explain it to you while we fetch the sweet."
Because Billy had gone home for the weekend, Andy cleared the table.
Minnie approved. "You're a thoughtful husband, Andy. I'll help you."
As Andy and Minnie resumed their seats, Mrs Patmore returned followed by Daisy carrying a tray.
Morgan grinned. "Is that what I think it is?"
"It's strawberry ice cream," replied Daisy.
Morgan took Mrs Patmore's hand as she sat. "Mrs Patmore, if I weren't already married ..."
Daisy interrupted impatiently, "I told you, she has a sweetheart!"
Mr Mason chuckled. "He's teasing, Daisy."
"Oh." Daisy returned to her seat. "Mr Morgan, may I ask you something?"
"Certainly, Mrs Parker."
"If Mr Barrow was speaking false Russian, then how did you know what he was saying?"
Morgan suppressed his laugh, and the others did their best to swallow theirs. "Tomorrow, you'll explain the gold standard to me, and I'll explain the Russian stunt to you. How's that?" Daisy nodded.
Morgan had exhausted the stories he could tell about Thomas' holiday with propriety, so Thomas told about Bobbie Andrews making muscles for Morgan so that Morgan could be his bodyguard.
"Who's Bobbie?" asked Daisy.
"He manages Ivor's career," explained Morgan before Thomas could put his foot in it. "He was a child actor himself and still performs."
"Bobbie Andrews? Does he have a sister, Maisie Andrews?" asked Carson.
"Maidie," replied Morgan. "How did you know?"
"I took Lady Mary and her sisters to see Alice Through the Looking Glass in London when they were children. Maidie Andrews was Alice. A lovely child. She made quite an impression on the girls. They acted out the story again and again for weeks." Carson sighed. "I was always the Mad Hatter."
"Did they take turns playing Alice?" asked Baxter.
"No, Lady Mary was always Alice." replied Carson.
"No surprise there!" commented Mrs Hughes.
Carson ignored her remark. "Lady Edith was always the Queen of Hearts, and Lady Sybil was everyone else."
When everyone had been refreshed by ice cream, Daisy stood once more. "I'll fetch the cheese, now, Mrs Patmore."
Mrs Patmore nodded. "Mr Barrow, would you come to the kitchen with us? I'd like you to approve the port."
"He's the man for the job," noted Carson proudly.
In the kitchen, Barrow asked, "What are you serving, Mrs Patmore?"
"Stilton and biscuits."
"This port is an excellent choice, Mrs Patmore. Do you have something for Mr Bates?"
"Lemon goes with Stilton, so I thought a lemonade would do. How's that?" asked Daisy.
"That's fine, Mrs Parker." Thomas thought it was about time he called Daisy by an adult name, and she grinned as she handed him the glass of lemonade.
Thomas picked up the bottle. "I'll serve the port." He turned towards the servants' hall but hesitated.
"Did we forget something?" asked Mrs Patmore.
Thomas turned back. "The party's been lovely. I want you both to know how much I appreciate it."
"We couldn't have London showing us up, could we?" teased Mrs Patmore.
"It's only that ... I can't believe how much everyone has changed in the last year. Everyone's been so kind to me."
Mrs Patmore looked at Thomas quizzically. "Is that what you think, Mr Barrow? You're the one who's changed. Don't you know that?"
Thomas thought about it a moment but shook his head. "No, Mrs Patmore, I've hardly changed at all."
Mrs Patmore stared at Thomas in disbelief. Then she laughed and nudged him towards the servants' hall. "Let's not keep everyone waiting."
