Once again, thank you all so much. Yes, this story is taking the turn from cannon. It does skip over the attack, so there is no violence in this chapter. It all focuses on after the attack. This moment is very important to their story.
Chapter 17
1920s- Downton Abbey
Dame Melba's voice had been absolutely stunning. Mrs. Hughes couldn't remember the last time she had enjoyed a special event such as this. It had definitely been a while. She was busting with happiness, knowing that little could come in the way of it for now. She was light on her feet, as she opened her parlor door.
The moment she turned on the light, she heard a pained whisper.
"Shut the door!" Mrs. Hughes glanced up and all the air was sucked out of the room. She no longer remembered why she had been so gleeful just mere moments before. Hidden behind her cabinet sat a frightened and bruised Anna. Her normal tidy hair was torn down and her dress was badly ripped. Immediately, Mrs. Hughes knew what had happened.
"My god!"
"Shut the door!" Anna feverishly requested again. Her eyes were wild and full of pain.
The moment Mrs. Hughes shut the door behind her, Anna started to stand. Her entire body was shaking and it gave Mrs. Hughes a better view of the damage that had occurred to Anna's face and her dress. Mrs. Hughes heart clinched within her chest. Not Anna, not her sweet and kind, Anna.
"Will you help me?" Anna began, her voice frantic.
"Of course I will, Anna, but…."
"I….um….will you see to Lady Mary? Tell her….tell her…." Anna's words caught in her throat and she swallowed back the tears. "I….please tell her I had to go to bed early for a headache…that…that I'll feel better in the morning."
Mrs. Hughes pursed her lips together in worry.
"I can manage Lady Mary, Anna. Perhaps the doctor is still here," Mrs. Hughes began. She started to turn to try and search for him, but Anna grasped at her hand and tugged her back.
"No! No one must know. Please, don't tell anyone!" Anna cried, her voice desperate. "Please, please!"
"Anna, we must tell someone," Mrs. Hughes implored. "At least the doctor, what if…."
"No, no, no," Anna shook her head fervently. "Nobody must know! I only came to you because I needed help. Nobody else must ever know!"
Mrs. Hughes sighed.
"Alright, wait here. I'll fetch you some water and a comb, perhaps some tea." She brought her hand up to Anna's bruised cheek. "I'll also see what I can find in a way of a dress." Harsh sobs passed through Anna's lips and Mrs. Hughes could tell she was struggling to steady her breaths.
Slowly Mrs. Hughes dropped her hand from Anna's cheek and then she stepped back to go and head out of the parlor. As she turned to look at Anna once more, she found Anna hiding back behind the cabinet. It broke Mrs. Hughes' heart. Who had done this to her?
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Anna couldn't catch her breath. She struggled to calm her breathing, as Mrs. Hughes helped her step out of her torn and marked dress. Despite her attempts to appear calm, Mrs. Hughes couldn't control her gasp as she pulled the dress from Anna's frame. The undergarments below the dress were torn to shreds and covered in blood. Anna only glanced up, unable to look at the damage below.
Her tears had stopped, but her shaky breaths kept escaping, a sob nearly making the tears come yet again. Anna blinked harshly and glanced up. She tried desperately to take her thoughts away from here. But every time she closed her eyes, she could only see him, feel him, and smell him.
Her hands gathered into her hair and she tugged at it, trying to erase all the memories, to erase all of it.
"Anna," Mrs. Hughes lightly scolded, as she helped untangle her hands from her hair. "Why don't you sit now? I've changed your dress. Let me comb your hair."
With a feeble nod, Anna sat. Mrs. Hughes pressed a cup in her hands and told her to drink it. The cup felt warm in her hands and despite her parched lips, Anna couldn't sip on the liquid.
"Johnny!" Thoughts of her son hit her suddenly and she sit up, inhaling shakily. The tears fell again.
"He's asleep by now, dear," Mrs. Hughes soothed.
Mrs. Hughes kneeled down in front of Anna and met her eyes. There was complete sympathy staring back at her.
"Would you please let me bring Dr. Clarkson to see you, Anna? He would use discretion; I know he would."
"No," Anna whispered. "I can't….nobody must know," she repeated. "I won't have them speak about me….I won't have the whispers…..No one will believe me. Please…."
"I believe you," Mrs. Hughes strongly stated. "Anyone who knows you will believe you, Anna."
"No," Anna just repeated. "I only want to forget about it all. We mustn't speak of this again."
"Alright," Mrs. Hughes uneasily replied. She stood back up and finished Anna's hair. "There, you are ready to leave this room."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-XX-X-
Mary was thrilled to hear what Anna's thoughts were on Dame Melba's performance. She'd glanced over at her earlier on while the woman was performing to Anna. They had shared a quick glimpse at one another, smiling, before returning their attentions to the dame. Once it was over, there had been too many claps and discussions for Mary to find Anna again. She assumed she had to rush downstairs to help with preparations for one thing or another.
But Mary had since rung her bell and was anxious to see her friend. She had been held up in the main room for hours speaking with this person and that one, but she finally had been able to sneak upstairs.
Her door opened and Mary spun around, delighted. However, the moment she realized it was not Anna, but instead Mrs. Hughes, her smile faded from her lips. The housekeeper gave Mary a tight smile.
"Where's Anna?" Mary questioned, full of concern.
"She has a headache, m'lady. She went up to bed during Dame Melba's performance." Mrs. Hughes' answer was simple, but Mary felt as though there was something she wasn't telling her. If Anna had a headache, why didn't she just come in her room?
"Oh," Mary paused. She wanted to ask questions, but she knew that it would be difficult to cover up just how much concern she held within her. Though she and Anna were close, it was important not to draw too much attention to their closeness. Mary wasn't stupid. She knew people wouldn't understand.
"Would you like me to help you undress and take down your hair?"
Mary only nodded. Her thoughts were elsewhere. Why wouldn't Anna have come here? She allowed Mrs. Hughes to help her with the buttons on her dress and to take the many pins out of her hair. When Mrs. Hughes left her alone, Mary sat back at her vanity and twirled the hair around her finger. She tapped her toes against the floor, as many thoughts swirled around her head. Why was Anna ignoring her?
Taking in a deep breath, Mary stood. She wasn't going to just sit here and dwell in it. No, she would go upstairs, check on Anna and make sure she wasn't pulling away from all of this.
There was still plenty going on downstairs that it was likely Anna would be the only servant in the rooms upstairs. It would be easy enough for Mary to sneak up there and into her bedroom. And thankfully, she was Lady Mary. No one would question her anyway.
She reached the quiet hallway and stepped down to search for Anna. With the back of her knuckles, she tapped on Anna's door.
"Anna?" She whispered. There was no response. This time she tried a bit louder, "Anna?" Still nothing.
Mary turned the handle and found that it was unlocked. Pushing her way in, she saw that Anna's bed was empty. The room was silent. Her brows knitted and her eyes scanned over the room. It was then that she saw Anna sitting against the wall in the corner. Her knees were drawn up at her chest with her arms hugging around them and her head hiding within them.
"Anna?" Mary asked, stepping further into the room and closing the door behind her. She made her way to Anna, who hadn't even acknowledged her. As she grew closer to Anna, she noticed that her shoulders were shaking and that her knuckles were nearly as white as snow from how hard she was clutching them against herself. The worry bloomed in Mary's chest.
"Anna?"
Anna's head only shook. Mary slid to sit next to Anna and she touched the back of Anna's hand. Instantly, Anna drew back, hiding her head further into her knees.
"Anna? What's happened? Are you very ill?" Anna remained quiet, which only worried Mary more. "Please, Anna, tell me what's happened."
"Please just leave," Anna then whispered. Mary shook her head.
"No, I will not. You're scaring me. What is going on, Anna?" She stubbornly stated. Anna was foolish if she believed she would just leave her here like this.
Slowly Anna glanced up to look toward Mary. The light from the moon allowed Mary to see the cuts and bruises over her face.
"Anna!"
"I….I was drinking a powder for my headache and I fell…."
"That's a weak lie and you know it," Mary contradicted.
Anna's face crumbled and she began to cry.
"What happened to you, Anna? Who did this?" Anna shook her head.
"Please, leave me," Anna pleaded. But Mary ignored her request. The pieces were coming together in her head and the pain staring back at her made it hit her like a ton of bricks. She gasped.
"Oh my god! Who did this, Anna?"
Mary stood and reached her hands out, attempting to encourage Anna to stand with her. She needed to get a better view. Reluctantly, Anna allowed her to help her stand. The dress she wore was not one of her regular black dresses.
"We should ring for the doctor," Mary told her. Anna's head shook.
"No! I told Mrs. Hughes, no doctor! I don't want anyone to know. Please, just let me sleep. I…I'll feel better in the morning."
Mary's own throat began to close up, as the truth of the matter grew heavily on her shoulders. She nodded.
"Alright. Let me help you into your nightgown," Mary insisted. Anna didn't say yes, but she didn't say no either.
Trying not to lose it, Mary headed over to Anna's chest of drawers in search of a nightgown. There was one right on the top that she grabbed out of the drawer. She turned back to Anna, who had not moved from her spot.
Biting on her lower lip to remain calm, Mary gently began to unbutton the buttons on the back of Anna's dress. If this wasn't such a dark moment, she would have likely laughed at the change of roles between the two of them.
As the dress came unbuttoned, Mary saw the bruises on Anna's back. Her eyes filled with tears. Carefully, she pulled the dress over Anna's arms and there were harsh, cruel bruises on her upper arms where she must have been held down. There were no undergarments under Anna's dress and so she was fully exposed to Mary, showing her all of the bruises along her pale flesh. The worst of it was the stain of blood between Anna's legs.
Mary tried not to linger on it, placing the gown over her head.
"There," Mary attempted to sound cheery. She brought her hand up to brush along Anna's jaw, but she only turned her face away. Mary frowned, dropping her hand and then nodding. "Why don't you lay in bed?"
Anna walked toward her bed and Mary rushed before her to turn down the sheets.
"You could come downstairs with me," Mary offered.
"It's alright, m'lady," Anna whispered. "I'd rather stay here and I'd prefer if you'd leave me alone."
"I don't mind…"
"Please, just leave me be."
Taking in a shuddering breath, Mary nodded, "If you're sure…"
"I am."
Mary turned away and blinked back the tears, before doing as Anna asked of her.
Winter 1970
Mary handed Anna a handkerchief. Even though it had been decades away, Mary knew this time in Anna's life was still hard for her to speak about. She didn't speak of it, not unless she had to. Mary was so proud of her for telling her story today.
Jack sat in front of them, shocked.
"I…Oh Gran, I had no idea," Jack said.
"It wasn't for you to know," Anna simply answered. "I am only telling you this because it is important to our story. I won't have you pity me. It doesn't define me."
"No," Jack agreed. "Of course, it doesn't."
Mary squeezed Anna's hand. "That's probably enough for today."
"Yes," Anna replied, standing. She shuddered. "It does still haunt me," she whispered. "Not always, but something like that never truly goes away." She met her grandson's eyes. "It's another reason it was important for me to share with you. Do add it to our story when you write it, so others know they are not alone."
"I will. I promise."
To be continued...
