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Chapter 59

Summer 1971

Violet skipped along the pathway around the gardens. She paused at the end of the first row and turned to find both her sisters and mother paused. She sighed.

"Are you coming?"

"Hold on, Vi," Pippa called after her. Violet decided to sit on the bench to wait. She knew how long they all could take. As she sat, she heard a knocking on the window of the house. She glanced up. Her gran was there, knocking on the window. She waved.

"Look! There's Gran!" All of them looked up and waved. Gran seemed to want to open the window and say something. "Do you think she doesn't know who we are?"

"It's likely," Pippa answered, growing closer to Violet. "But maybe not." Her voice was strained.

"I'm sorry your mama is sick," Violet then said. She moved closer to her mother and grabbed her hand. "Well, both your mamas."

"Me too," Pippa solemnly replied. "But they are both strong women who have lived great lives. Your gran and granny have battled many things. We're lucky they are ours."

"How did Granny become your mother?" Violet asked.

"She was her ward," Zinnia reminded Violet.

"But why? Why couldn't Gran raise you as her own?"

"That's a very long story," Pippa said.

"It's a huge garden," Violet pointed out.

Pippa smiled. "You're right. I guess you're old enough now to learn it all. Come on, let's talk."

1930s- Downton Abbey

Winter moved to spring and there were many changes at Downton Abbey. The biggest change was Mrs. Hughes' retirement. With her retirement, they promoted Anna to head housekeeper. Many years ago, Anna had dreamed of such a position. Now she was adjusting to these new things on her plate. She didn't mind it, but it was different. In some ways, it made her relationship with Mary easier. She could control where maids were throughout the house during the day and knew where she and Mary could meet.

Thomas already knew of their affair, so she didn't have to worry about that. Not that they ever discussed it. Anna did not see her or Thomas ever being friends. But they were cordial with one another.

During this time, Mrs. Molesley also retired. Mr. Molesley had gotten a teaching position in another town, further away. Anna was sad to see them both go, but she supposed that was how it worked. People moved forward in their lives. At least the Carsons were still nearby in their cottage on the property.

"I can now sneak and see you in here, Mrs. Bates," Mary said, entering the parlor. Anna looked up from the desk and smiled. With her promotion, Anna was now known as Mrs. Bates by the staff and the family. Mary quite enjoyed calling her that, taking every opportunity to be a bit cheeky and fun with it.

"That seems a bit scandalous, m'lady," Anna replied. She quickly glanced up at the grate above and covered her finger with her lips to remind Mary to be quiet.

Mary moved forward and wrapped her arms around Anna's neck.

"When have we not been scandalous, darling?" Mary bent down to kiss her. Anna's eyes darted to the door. It wasn't fully closed. She kicked toward it with her foot, grateful she managed to reach it and get it closed.

"You can't do that," Anna said beneath her breath.

Mary ran her fingers down Anna's back, drawing her closer to her.

"Oh, Mrs. Bates, I cannot wait for the day we can be open in our own home."

Anna let out a low laugh.

"You really think that day will come?"

"Yes," Mary said. "It may be awhile yet, but it will come."

Anna frowned. She was not sure about that. The world would never accept them, at least not in their lifetimes, she was sure of it. They would always have to remain in the shadows.

"Darling, I promise you one day that will happen. One day, George will be the Earl. We will be able to vet the people who work here."

"When did you become so optimistic?" Anna questioned her. Mary nuzzled her nose against Anna's cheek.

"You have that effect on me, Mrs. Bates."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Pippa loved the gardens in the spring. The blooming colors always made her smile. She walked around the gardens and pulled some flowers to take to Mrs. Hughes and Carson. She shook her head; she could call them both the Carsons now. Though she wasn't sure she would ever adjust to that.

As she skipped along the path that led to their cottage, she heard chatters out in their backyard. It was a lovely day, and she knew they both enjoyed the outdoors. Her mama said she was sure it was partly because for so much of their lives they had worked indoors.

Pippa made her way around the cottage and toward the gate that would take her to the backyard. She knew that it would thrill them to see her. They always were. And she enjoyed seeing them. Mama told her that Carson saw a lot of Mary in her and that Mrs. Hughes saw a lot of her in Pippa. It made Pippa wonder if Carson knew that Anna was her mama or if he thought there was a chance Mary was. Though he held Mary to such high standards, he probably believed the story they told about her being found at the orphanage.

"I know Pippa is Anna's child, but she does have so much of Lady Mary in here that it's hard to remember at times," Carson said then. Pippa paused her steps. So he did know. She tried to look around the corner without them seeing her. Maybe they would give away something about her father. All of her attempts at finding out anything about him were always thwarted. Perhaps the best way to figure it out would be by listening into conversations she wasn't supposed to listen in on.

Mrs. Hughes laughed.

"She even has Lady Mary's eye roll down."

Pippa rolled her eyes. Why did everyone always say that?

"Well, she has Anna's gentleness," Mrs. Hughes added. "And her eyes. Pippa has those beautiful eyes of hers."

Pippa leaned a bit forward, not realizing that the fence was unlatched. It forced her to fall forward with a loud crash.

"Oh dear! Miss Pippa, are you alright?" Carson moved toward her as quickly as he could manage. Pippa stood up and wiped the bottom of her dress. She had fallen into a pile of dirt. Her granny and Donk would not be pleased to see her covered in a mess when she returned to the house. And, of course, it was almost lunchtime. Hopefully, she would find time to change.

"I'm alright," Pippa promised. She quickly bent down to grasp at the flowers that had fallen all around her. "I had brought you these." She handed them out towards Mrs. Hughes.

"They're beautiful," Mrs. Hughes said. She smiled and then pulled Pippa further into the back garden. "Would you like some tea?"

"No," Pippa answered. "I have to go back for lunch soon. I only wanted to come by and see you both. It's still strange with M….I mean, Anna, being in your parlor. Everyone calls her Mrs. Bates now." Pippa smiled. She then glanced at Carson. He knew that Anna was her mama. Could she get away with calling her that in front of him? She decided it was probably best to wait. She needed to get him alone to see if he knew who her father was. Mrs. Hughes would certainly keep him from giving anything away.

"Well, it's about time," Carson said. "She deserves that title."

"I agree."

Pippa sat quietly for a moment. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but she knew now was not the time. She would come back when she knew Mrs. Hughes would be away. Pippa had a way of getting whatever she wanted out of Carson. It was a skill she had acquired from Mary. He struggled to tell either of them no, and she planned on using it in her favor.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Mary very much enjoyed having this new place to be with Anna. She sat in Anna's lap, kissing along her neckline. Her eyes looked up at the covered grate above. Anna had managed to make some sort of haphazard cover for it that she would climb up and use whenever Mary came into the room. Odds were that no one would listen in, because they shouldn't. But it was better safe than sorry, she supposed.

Regretfully, Mary needed to go. She wanted to continue making out with her love. However, there were things she needed to do. She pulled away from Anna, but left one extra kiss upon her lips.

"I will miss you, Mrs. Bates, " Mary whispered with a wink.

"And I'll miss you, m'lady." Anna chuckled.

Mary sighed. Then she adjusted her hair with her hands. They had both gotten a bit handsier than they probably should have this morning.

As she exited the parlor, she walked right past Barrow. He gave her a knowing look before he allowed his eyes to move toward the parlor door. Mary straightened her back.

"Good morning, Mr. Barrow," she said.

"Good morning, Lady Mary," he replied.

There was an understanding there now between the two of them. What went on in the parlor would not be mentioned out loud, but Barrow was not naïve enough to believe that nothing went on when Mary was in that room.

Mary enjoyed Anna's new position at the Abbey. She was able to find more excuses to see Anna downstairs throughout the day. It made sense for the Lady of the house to come down and speak with the head housekeeper about upcoming events and the going ons of the house. Plus, Anna still remained her lady's maid, as it was the 1930s, and things were continually changing with how the staff worked. Mary just didn't want Anna to feel overworked. But Anna insisted she could handle it all.

She turned to go up the stairs. It surprised her when she saw Pippa coming down the stairs.

"Shouldn't you be in your lessons?" Mary asked.

"She said to go on and that I was giving her a headache," Pippa shrugged.

Mary sighed and rolled her eyes. That did sound like Pippa. Even with the new governess, there still seemed to be trouble.

"Well, don't be gone too long. You do need to focus on your studies."

"I will!" She promised.

Mary watched Pippa continue down the stairs. She had assumed she was off to visit Anna, but instead she watched her going outside. What was that girl up to?

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Just as Pippa suspected, Mrs. Hughes left not soon after breakfast to go into town. She made sure Mrs. Hughes was far enough from the house before going up to the front door of the cottage and knocking on the door.

When Carson opened it, he was pleasantly surprised to see Pippa.

"Ah, Miss Pippa," he greeted.

"You know you can call me just Pippa, right?"

Carson blushed slightly. He widened the door to let Pippa inside.

"I'm afraid Mrs. Carson has left to go into town."

"That's alright. I've come to talk to you." Pippa grinned up at him.

"Oh?" He smiled.

"You know that Anna is my mother, correct?"

Carson's face immediately fell. "I do. But Miss Pippa, I do not believe this is something to speak about right now. It is not my business to…."

"So you do know. Why did that upset you?" Pippa continued with her asking. She had assumed that her father was some man who had seduced her mother. That could be why Carson was so uncomfortable with what she was saying. He would look down on her mother likely for it.

Pippa technically probably shouldn't know or understand what seduction even meant. However, she was well read. She understood much more than the average upper class twelve year old.

"It doesn't upset me. Anna is a fine woman."

"When she had me though, you looked differently towards her? It wasn't really proper," Pippa pushed. Carson shook his head.

"I didn't even know until more recently, Miss Pippa. But no, I would not have looked differently towards her. She did nothing wrong."

Pippa pursed her lips. She was well aware with how the world worked and even more aware of how Carson preferred everything to be proper. Her mother being unwed and having a child was not considered proper in any way.

"Well, you'd think she was improper, correct?"

"Your mother? Anna? Absolutely not!" Carson said out of breath. "She has never done something improper! It was done to her." The moment the words left Carson's mouth, he turned bright red.

"Done to her?" Pippa breathed. "Done to her?" She repeated.

"I shouldn't have said that. You should go," Carson stated. He opened the door back up.

"What does….Carson, was my mother…."

"This is not for me to speak about. You should go, Miss Pippa, please."

Pippa felt the world spinning around her. But she nodded. As she stepped out of the house and heard the door close, her hand rested over her heart. Her mama?

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Mary's meeting ended up being canceled. She didn't mind. She debated ringing her bell to have Anna come up and spend some time with her. But that was the downside of this new position of hers. It was harder to draw Anna away in the middle of the day.

The door of her room swung opened and Mary turned. Pippa was standing there, breathing heavily.

"Pippa, darling?"

Pippa stepped further inside and closed the door behind her. She was rubbing her hands anxiously in front of her.

"Pippa? What's happened?"

"Mama…" She just said, her head was shaking.

"What about Anna?"

"Mama," Pippa repeated. "Was my mama attacked by my father? Did he….did he rape her?"

Mary's heart fell into the pit of her stomach. She could see the pain etched on Pippa's features and she brought her hand up over her lips. This was not how this was supposed happen. They were supposed to sit with Pippa and explain it all to her. She was supposed to be older. But she knew now and Mary knew she couldn't lie. She slipped her hand off her lips.

"Yes. Yes, Pippa. He did."

To be continued...