Thank you all! Enjoy!

Chapter 60

1930s – Downton Abbey

"Yes. Yes, Pippa. He did." Mary felt sick to her stomach, but she forced herself to remain calm.

Pippa stepped further.

"What was his name? Why….why Mama? What…."

"Pippa, I know you have questions, but I think it's best you let me find Anna. Then you can ask her," Mary answered. Oh god, she thought. She would have to let Anna know that Pippa now knew.

"But…." Pippa paused. "I don't want to hurt her by asking her."

"She'll want to answer the questions, darling," Mary gently said. She walked up toward her daughter and brought her hands into her own. "How do you know what rape is? Do you know really, what it is?" Mary cocked her brow up. "Did whoever told you what happened to your mama use that term?" Mary was trying to gage what all their twelve year old really understood.

"No, no one told me. I was able to figure it out on my own," Pippa said. "And yes, I know what it means. I read a lot." Pippa's lower lip was quivering slightly.

Mary began to chew on the inside of her lip.

"Oh," she whispered. Then she shook her head and worked on forcing herself not to seem unnerved. "Wait right here and I will find Anna."

"Can't you just ring the bell?" Pippa suggested. Mary's eyes moved to the rope, but she shook her head. There was no way she would allow Anna to be ambushed by this. Mary needed to find her to prepare her for what was coming.

"No," Mary said. "I can't. I know you have questions, and they will be answered. Wait here, Pippa."

Mary then stepped out of the bedroom. As the door closed behind her, Mary let out a loud breath. She fell back against the wall for a brief moment. This was really happening and there was nothing Mary could do about it.

Even though Pippa said no one told her the truth and that she had figured it out, Mary was not sure she believed it. There had to be something that someone said.

Mary heard footsteps around and pulled herself up. She needed to gather herself. This was no time for her breaking down. She would have to be strong for Anna and Pippa. Both of their worlds would change today.

She headed right down the stairs and turned to go all the way downstairs, when she heard Anna's voice in the library. Turning, she headed toward Anna's voice. She reached the library door and peeked in. There stood Anna speaking with a couple of the maids. After she spoke, the two maids rushed out of the room to do whatever they had been told. For a brief moment, Mary smiled. It was nice to see Anna in this new lead role. She really was a wonderful Head Housekeeper and had a great mentor in Mrs. Hughes.

Anna then turned and spotted Mary. Her lips curled up. But Mary's heart dropped. Now she would have to tell her. Mary swallowed hard.

"Darling," Mary began. Immediately, Anna knew something was wrong. Her smile faded and she quickened her steps towards Mary.

"What's happened?" Anna whispered. Her eyes darted around them. It was odd for Mary to call her darling out freely in the house. Mary should have known better, but it just slipped out. She longed for the day when she no longer had to watch how she spoke in her own home.

"It's…" Mary also glanced around to make sure no one overheard them. She lowered her voice slightly, even though they were alone. "Darling, Pippa knows."

It took Anna a moment to process what Mary was implying. The color drained from her cheeks, and she began to take in a shuddering breath.

"How?"

"I'm not sure," Mary said calmly. "She came into my room and asked if you had been…raped by her father."

"She said raped?" Anna's body was shaking slightly. Mary reached forward and grasped at her hands, not caring if someone walked in and saw them. "How does she even know….?"

"I don't know," Mary answered. "But she's upstairs and she has questions. We don't have to rush. We can sit right here and wait until you are ready. I can also go up and tell her she needs to wait for another day."

"No," Anna whispered. "We can't put it off any longer. I'll be alright."

"Are you sure? You look like you might just fall right over."

"I…I'll be fine."

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

Anna slowly sat down on the corner of the bed. Pippa was on the other corner, and Mary sat across from them. She stayed partly away, allowing this moment to mainly be between Anna and Pippa. Anna was grateful for that.

With a deep breath, Anna slowly began telling Pippa the straight and forward details about her father. Anna couldn't look directly at Pippa as she said this. Instead, her eyes fell to the corner of her lips. It didn't matter how many years passed. This was always hard.

"Your father's name was Alex Green. He was a valet for Lord Gillingham. We met downstairs near the Servants' Hall," Anna said. Her fingernail began to dig into the side of her thumbnail. Just saying those words made her stomach lurch.

"When did it happen? Were you friendly with him before? Why you?"

Anna too in a sharp breath.

"Um….Before it happened, I had spoken to him a few times. He had seemed nice enough. It happened the night of the performance. There was an opera singer who came to sing and everyone was allowed to watch, even the servants. I believe he chose me because he um…well, I went downstairs to get a powder. He must have followed me." She dug further into the skin beside her nail.

"Where did he find you?"

"In the kitchens. I was grabbing a powder for a headache."

"Is that where….?"

Anna shook her head. "He hit me and dragged me to the boot room."

"Were you scared? Did you think you were going to die?"

"Yes," Anna simply answered. She blinked harshly in an attempt to keep from allowing the tears that were coming to fall. Her eyes shut momentarily to try and block out the memories. Only it made them sharper and she had to open her eyes to keep from seeing his face again.

"How did he hit you? Did he leave marks? Was he cruel? Did he speak unkindly to you? Did he know about me? Did he try to get me?"

Anna shook her head.

"I cannot tell you everything about that night, Pippa. I can't….I can't speak of it. What I can tell you is no, he didn't know about you so he could never have asked about you. He died when you were a few months old."

"How did he die?"

"He was hit by a bus in London."

"Oh," Pippa said.

Anna finally met Pippa's eyes. Looking back at her was her curious Pippa, but it was also her overwhelmed Pippa. This was way too much for someone to have to carry, but especially at twelve. Anna slid closer to Pippa and placed her hand on her cheek.

"But I got you," she whispered. "And I will never regret you, Pippa. You must know how much I love you."

"I do, Mama," Pippa murmured. "I do. I…I'm sorry. I wish…"

"Shh, now," Anna lightly commanded. "You have nothing to apologize for. Do you have any other questions for me?"

"He really is dead?" Pippa asked.

"He is," Anna answered. "We can find out more for you, if you'd like. Where he was from and maybe if he had any likes or dislikes. I don't want you to wonder."

"I don't need to know," Pippa said. She stood from the edge of the bed. "I have you and Mary and my brothers. He's not really my father. Can I go now?"

Anna chewed the inside of her lip.

"Yes, darling. You can go."

Pippa walked out of the room. Once she was gone, the room felt even heavier. Anna collapsed against the bed, but she didn't cry. Quickly, arms surrounded her and she felt Mary kiss against the nape of her neck.

"Oh darling," Mary whispered into her ear.

"I'm alright," Anna said. "I just….I need a minute."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Anna sat herself back up. She ran her fingers over the top of her hair to make sure it was still in place. "Now she knows. So now…now it's over."

"Right," Mary carefully said.

"I should get back to work." Anna stood. She didn't miss the way Mary's eyes searched her face. "Really, I'm fine." Anna promised. "She seemed to handle it well enough"

"She did," Mary said.

"Yes," Anna tried to convince herself. "I have to get downstairs. Ring me when it's time to get you ready for dinner."

Anna escaped the room as quickly as she could. She knew if Mary pushed her with any more questions she might break. But she couldn't break, not now. She would be alright. She would survive this. She had survived everything else.

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

Mary needed to escape the house. It felt stuffy and hot. The conversation between Pippa and Anna had gone well enough for what it was about. But it still brought back so much of the trauma from that night. And now Pippa could no longer be protected from that truth. Anna had to relive that night. It was incredibly hard to watch.

Also, Mary hadn't known that the snake dragged Anna from the kitchens to the boot room. It wasn't anything she had ever thought to ask her. Now her thoughts went to all the marks and bruises on Anna's body from that night. She recalled the harsh bump on the back of Anna's head. Had that been to subdue her?

Mary leaned forward and grasped on the wooden fence before her for some support. A harsh sob escaped her lips. She could only break down now, here, alone. Never in front of Anna. Anna was the one who had been through the worst trauma. Mary's was nothing in comparison to her.

She felt hands on her shoulders and pushed back.

"Lady Mary." A calming voice said to her. She turned to find Carson. His brows were knitted, and he wore a frown on his face. "Oh Lady Mary," he said again. He drew her into his arms and held her close.

There was always something inviting about Carson's embrace. Mary leaned into it and allowed more of the tears to fall.

"Does this have anything to do with Pippa?" He asked. Mary nodded against him. "I am sorry. I feel I may have told her too much unintentionally."

Mary stood up and looked up at Carson.

"What did you tell her?"

"Well, she was asking me things about her mother and what happened. She tried to insinuate that I looked down on Anna for it and I said her mother did nothing that it was done towards her. I didn't mean…."

"It's alright, Carson," Mary said. "She's a bright girl. She was going to figure it out eventually."

Mary wiped under her eyes, but more tears continued to fall.

"She's a strong girl as well, my lady. She has a great mother in you," Carson told her with a small smile. "She will come out of this just fine. You have raised her to be independent in herself. Plus, she has a lot of you in her. She isn't easily taken down." Carson winked.

Mary tried to quirk up her lips, but they trembled instead. Carson allowed her back into his arms. She wept some more, for their daughter and for Anna, but also for herself.

"Thank you, Carson," she murmured against his jacket.

"Any time, my lady."

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

Anna paced back and forth in front of Pippa's bedroom door. She finally gathered the nerve to open it and peek inside. Pippa was at her vanity combing through her curls. Upon seeing Anna, she turned and smiled.

Anna stepped further in and closed the door behind her.

"I hope it's alright that I came here right now."

"Of course it is, Mama."

"I just…I wanted to know if you had any more questions for me," Anna said. "I know this is a hard topic."

Pippa twisted her lips.

"Do you resent me?" Pippa asked. Anna gasped.

"Resent you? No, I never have resented you, Pippa. I have loved you from the moment I felt you move in my belly." Anna's hand came to rest subconsciously on her belly. "You are one of my greatest gifts. I will forever be grateful for you."

Pippa stood from the vanity and wrapped her arms around Anna.

"I love you, Mama," Pippa whispered into Anna's hair. "And I'm sorry you went through that. But I'm alright," she promised. "I know you're my mama. I know I'm Mary's. He was just some evil man."

Anna stepped back slightly.

"Are you sure there isn't more you'd like to know about him?"

"No," Pippa answered. "There is nothing to know," she repeated. "I know about the people who matter."

Anna hugged her daughter once more.

"I'm so glad to hear that, Pippa. I love you so very much."

"I love you too, Mama."

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

"Lady Mary?" Mary turned, surprised to see Mrs. Hughes in the house. Now that she was retired, she often kept busy outside of the big house.

"Yes, Mrs. Hughes?" Mary said. She stepped closer towards her. She must have come in through the downstairs.

"I wanted to apologize for Mr. Carson. He didn't mean to let it slip. I've let him have it," Mrs. Hughes added. "But he said you're upset. I gather Pippa knows all of it now."

"She does," Mary nodded her head. "Anna spoke with her."

"You know," Mrs. Hughes said lowly. They were near the front door, anyone nearby could hear. However, the timing meant no one was around. So they were relatively safe. "Pippa and Anna are both lucky to have you. I've seen with my own eyes what all you've done for them. And I know holding that secret has been hard on you too."

"Thank you, Mrs. Hughes."

"You're good for them. You keep them safe, but make sure you take care of you too, dear."

Mrs. Hughes patted her hand and then walked back down the stairs. Mary stood shocked for a moment. She had not been expecting that visit from Mrs. Hughes, but it had been nice to hear. Mrs. Hughes was the only person who also had been there through all of it.

Mary let out a low sigh. Yes, it was nice to hear indeed.

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

Anna crawled into bed late that night, but Mary was still awake. She turned and ran her fingers through Anna's hair.

"Hey," Mary murmured. "How are you feeling?"

A rush of tears came that Anna didn't expect.

"I…" Anna tried to say. Mary pulled her close.

"These are relieved tears," Anna murmured. "I'm so relieved it's over, Mary. She knows and she's handled it better than I could ever have expected. The secret is out."

"Oh darling, I'm so glad," Mary said. She rubbed her hand over Anna's back. "Now go to sleep. It's been a long day."

Summer 1971

Mary was enjoying the summer breeze as Anna sat beside her on the bench. Their granddaughters were running around the backyard playing a game of tag. Their grandsons were watching, all acting as if they were too old to play. George and Johnny were further away, likely speaking about the property. It was what they often did. George asked Johnny legal questions about any ideas he had. Little Annie was in Mary's lap and she bounced the bonny babe in her lap. She cooed.

"Mother," Pippa said, taking a seat beside them.

"Yes, darling," Mary answered. Anna didn't seem to notice the talking beside her. She was deeply enamored by the girls playing on the lawn.

"Thank you," Pippa stated.

"For what?" Mary chuckled.

"For handling all that trauma about what happened to Mama and how I came to be with such grace and dignity. That couldn't have been easy."

"Where on earth did that come from?" Mary asked.

"I just….there was this girl…" Pippa shook her head. "It just means a lot to me that you were so calm and understanding with Mama and with me. Mama needed that." Pippa bent over and kissed Mary's cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too, Pippa darling. You and this family is my greatest gift, our greatest gift," she added, touching Anna's knee. "We wouldn't be complete without you."

To be continued...