CHARLES OR CHARLIE?
Hello my dear people...I'm so happy to be here with you again. I was going to write a story related to the new movie, but then I realized, that most of US fans haven't seen it yet, so for now I will just write another story, that's been on my mind for a while. Hope you will like it.
Story summary: Elsie is musing about two sides of her husband- the formal one from the Abbey and the private one-just for her...
Legal note: I don't own any of DA characters.
Elsie liked those rare moments, when she could just lie in peace, not having to do anything and when she was able to think about her life. Normally, she was so focused on other people's problems, that she didn't have time to think about her own matters, but this was one of those moments.
Charles was called to the Abbey, by Lady Mary of course, to help sorting out something and Elsie just enjoyed her quiet, free afternoon in the cottage..She wasn't particularly happy, that Lady Mary was taking her husband away from her, in their free time, but she was used to the fact, that Lady Mary didn't have much consideration for other people's feelings..
Besides Charles was so eager to go, as he always was, when it had something to do with helping Lady Mary. Elsie shook her head and sighed. This was one of the questions, that she and Charles will always be arguing about, but other than that, now, after first few, rather rocky months of their marriage, she really didn't have a lot of reasons to complain.
She smiled lightly, thinking about her husband...He was grumpy and grouchy for most people, but his heart was full of love and devotion for two women-Lady Mary and her, although in totally different ways...
When Elsie agreed to marry Charles, she had a lot of doubts of a different kind...She was worrying, because she knew Charles so well.. After all they've been working together for such a long time and she knew all his pros and cons, like nobody else did. He had a difficult character. He was strict, he was demanding, he was picky. She was wondering, how it will look like in everyday life. Won't it be too much of a burden for her?
In the first few weeks of their marriage, with all this cooking confusion that's been going on, she had a heavy heart, thinking that she wasn't wrong, when she had doubts if she will be able to cope with Charles on regular basis. But Elsie was a smart woman, so she won this battle much more quickly than she could predict...
Of course before they got married she had tons of other doubts too...Doubts of a different nature...Doubts, that almost caused the broke of their engagement..Intimate relations kind of doubts... Elsie was so practical and so reasonable, that she wasn't able to imagine, that any man could like what he saw...She had a mirror...Beautiful, young girl, full of passion was gone and replaced by middle age woman, with a body that was far from perfect. Charles quickly made her get rid of those doubts, when he stated, that he had absolutely no second thoughts about wanting to be close to her.
She was very surprised back then, that he was so sure of that and that tickled her ego nicely...But even his reassurrment wasn't enough to make her feel confident...
Marital relations were a complicated matter and she was really afraid of few things- pain, lack of experience, embarrassment..She was wondering, if Charles will be as demanding in this sphere of life as he was as a butler. Will he judge her so severely as he was judging his employees, who were clumsy in the beginning?
Now, after few months of their marriage, Elsie came to the conclusion, that her husband consists of two, totally different sides. She even named him differently in her mind, to distinct those two sides of him.
Charles was the severe and demanding butler, the head of the Downton Abbey household and Charlie was her sweet and loving husband, who show her so much affection and tenderness, that she would never predict he could...
Until they married, Elsie mostly knew Charles...He was so distant, so grumpy, so annoying at times, until the point of being mean, with rare moments of being kind. That's the side of him she knew so well and that was exactly the reason, why she was hesitating about accepting his proposal.
Now, luckily for her, she also knew Charlie...And Charlie was nothing like Charles...Charlie was the most loving husband she could ever dream of...Charlie was not hesitating to show her how much he loved her, ever since the first moments between them.
Even on their wedding night, or maybe especially then, when she was particularly nervous, about upcoming events, he swiftly erased her fears, showering her with all the deepness of his love...It was like something magical happened, as soon as they left their wedding party and finally stayed alone, without so many people, surrounding them all the time. Like Charlie finally felt free, for the first time in his life and he was not afraid to show Elsie this side of his personality, which was always in him, but he kept it hidden...Until their first night together...
His kisses, his touches, were the most delicate that she has seen...His eyes expression, when he looked at her showed pure love...In fact, Elsie could hardly remember, if ever before in her life, someone was looking at her with such immense love in his eyes...
He made her anxieties of the bride disappear quickly and she soon found out, that the wedding night that she was dreading so much, could in fact be the most wonderful experience...
It was really kind of funny in a way, to see this giant man, who she only knew as severe and difficult, to be so delicate and soft...She loved that side of him and she was wondering, if this was only for their first night together, or will he stay that way...
To her relief she discovered, that whenever they were alone, Charlie was exactly the same, as he was during their wedding night...And not only in their marital bed...But everywhere...She could never expect, that he would surprise her with sweet kisses during the day, delicate touches, when they were for example sitting on the sofa and reading a book, or tender cuddles in the evening, when they were sitting in front of the fire...
Elsie never suspected, that he could be that way...The butler who she knew, since she came to the Abbey, didn't have much in common with this wonderful, full of love man, who was totally focused on showing her how much she meant to him...
She was doing all she could, to be the best wife for him...She was taking care of him, as she always did, but didn't expect, that he will reciprocate in such amazing way...
Elsie spent most of her life without the feeling of being loved by someone, but now, she had a feeling like she was being rewarded...Charlie was so romantic and he often surprised her with a simple bouquet of flowers, box of chocolates, or simply tender and loving gestures, which all constantly reminded her, that he was loving her and taking care of her the best way he could...
Their intimate relations, which scared her so much in the beginning, were the most unique moments ever...If Elsie had some doubts, about the attractiveness of her body, Charlie soon convinced her, that those doubts were unjustified...The way he admired her body, the way he touched her, caressed her, the way he looked at her, when she was naked, which made her blush at first, but later on, she was addicted to it...She enjoyed the feeling of being so loved, adored and fully accepted by her husband..And she felt the same way about him...
Even though Charles never openly confessed it to her, he was as unsure as she was, about his own attractiveness...He was also scared, that she would not find him desirable...But she certainly did...And if in the beginning she was too shy to show him that, with time and as soon as she found out how appealing she was for him, she let him know, that she felt the same way...
Elsie was gradually breaking the barriers of shame, until she was able to enjoy sex with her husband with no inhabitations...She wanted to love him and adore him with the same passion as he did her... After all, he gave her so many wonderful moments...Elsie could never imagine, that she will experience such levels of pleasure...
She was wondering, how was that possible, that Charlie was so skilled in that area...In the beginning, she was to shy to ask, but on one memorable night, when they drank too much Sherry and they landed in bed, having such a wonderful intercourse, Elsie was bolder than unusual and she finally had the courage to ask Charlie, how was he so good at loving her and his answer swept her off her feet, when he told her, that it's because he has been dreaming about it for many years, imagining how he will love and cherish her, when they will finally be together...
That answer made her be even more in love with him, than she was before and she responded with fervent kisses, which led to a continuation of their adorable love making...
When they were at the Abbey and she watched, as Charles was barking the orders to the staff, being grumpy and always unsatisfied with everything, she was wondering, how is that possible that the same man, will transfer into Charlie in a few hours, a Charlie who will brush her hair, feed her with grapes and give sweet kisses to her temples, or the tip of her nose...
It was simply amazing, that two, such different sides could be in one man and he was able to go from Charles to Charlie so easily...
She smiled again, seeing that Charles entered the cottage with glum face expression, that she knew so well..It meant, that there was something at the Abbey, which didn't make him very happy and before he had a chance to tell her all about it and let his "Charles" side, she surprised him, by kissing him so lovingly and with such enormous doze of love, which caused an imminent change in him...
The wrinkles around his lips have vanished and his eyes turned from grim to loving...
To be sure, that Charles is gone and Charlie is here now, Elsie gave him few more sweet kisses and she ran her hands through his chest lovingly, showing him how much she missed him and how eager she was, to be close to him...
She looked him in the eyes and now she was sure, that now she had the version she preferred- Charlie...
That's all folks...I just needed a silly story, to make my afternoon better..Of course in the series and even more in the movies, we constantly see that worst version of Carson- strict Charles...But I like to believe, that the Charlie version exists too and it's only Fellowes who is reluctant to show us Carson as loving husband, as we would all prefer to see him...I hope I gave you a moment of joy...Have a great day and good week!
