Thanks to Pixie for the proofreading and her kind help.
Here is the fourth OS written about Downton Abbey and especially about Mrs Elsie Hughes and Mr Charles Carson that I love so much !
I hope you'll like this one, I had a lot of fun writing it.
DIVINE
1925
Mrs Patmore was rarely prone to insomnia, her work as head cook at Downton Abbey really took its toll on her and as she grew older it was not unusual for her to be asleep just after putting her head on the pillow.
That night, however, she was unable to fall asleep. She glanced at the little alarm clock Mrs Hughes had given her three years earlier for her birthday, it said two thirty. She counted the hours of sleep she had left and sighed as she got out of bed.
Fortunately, the day would be fairly quiet, the family would be leaving in the morning to spend a few days in a nearby house. She put on her dressing gown, her slippers, put her nightcap back on, and lit a candle so she could see a little while she went down to the kitchen to make herself some hot chocolate.
When she got downstairs, she enjoyed the silence of the night and this little moment of solitude. It was so rare, she really hoped she could savour the moment.
Mrs Patmore heated the milk, added a pinch of cinnamon and a dollop of cocoa before pouring it into a bowl and savouring the smell. She took a seat at the large servants' table to enjoy her hot drink and lose herself in her thoughts.
Thoughts that led her directly to her two colleagues, Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson. She had watched them circle each other for nearly 25 years before Mr Carson finally decided to propose.
Mrs Patmore had suspected that the two of them had something together shortly after Mrs Hughes' arrival, a romance that would have lasted a few weeks. But she had never seen any evidence of it, and even if her suspicions had proved correct, no 'accidents' had occurred and no lives had been ruined. She thought with a smile that they must be looking forward to finally becoming husband and wife now. After all, they had been holding back for over twenty years.
She was sincerely happy for them, they were her friends, and she even considered them family. The cook was sure that they would make a very good domestic team, as they were at work, since they had already been behaving like an old couple for so long.
Since Mr Carson had proposed and Mrs Hughes had said yes, she had seen them both literally glowing with happiness.
She would sometimes tease the housekeeper about the gestures of affection she saw them exchange or the enamoured looks Carson gave her when his eyes fell on his bride-to-be.
Mrs Hughes would blush and gently scold the cook with a laugh.
Mrs Patmore thought back to some of the affectionate gestures she had seen between them. Like the morning ritual where, during breakfast, Mr Carson would reserve the least toasted toast for Mrs Hughes and ensure that she was the first to be served porridge. Elsie, on the other hand, would prepare his tea with the addition of sugar and milk, knowing perfectly well how he liked it. The way they helped each other put on their coats when they had to go out, or when she handed him his tie or his bow tie with a look of tenderness.
Their love was palpable and Mrs Patmore, though very happy for her friends, could not help but feel a touch of jealousy. Falling in love at their age was rare, they were certainly closer to the grave than the cradle, and to experience that feeling again that made the heart beat so fast and set up that strange feeling in the pit of the stomach... Beryl would have liked to experience it again too. Her thoughts drifted for a moment to Bill Mason but she quickly shook her head and returned to the futures bride and groom.
She let out a small laugh when she remembered the evening a few weeks earlier when the butler had announced his future marriage to the housekeeper to the family upstairs. The news had been received with great joy and Lord Grantham had offered a bottle of champagne to the lovers.
As usual, Beryl was one of the last people to go to bed. She made sure that the kitchen had been thoroughly scrubbed and that everything was in place for the next morning. She had just untied her apron and taken off her headdress and as she went to put them down to go to the laundry she heard muffled laughter coming from Mrs Hughes' office. When Mrs Patmore had approached, the door had opened abruptly to reveal a rather flushed Carson, his eyes shining. His gait was uncertain, he was carrying his jacket and waistcoat under his arm, his bow tie was undone and his shirt was completely out of his trousers. A big happy smile graced his lips as Mrs Hughes followed close behind. When he caught sight of Mrs Patmore he stopped dead in his tracks and Elsie bumped into him, causing the lovers to laugh.
"I bid you goodnight, Mrs Patmore."
Carson had said in an uncertain voice, before turning to Mrs Hughes to take her hand and place a kiss on it:
"As for you, Mrs Hughes, I leave you tonight, but only in body, for I can assure you that my thoughts will not leave you all night."
And he staggered off up the stairs, leaving a blushing Elsie, her dress crumpled, her bun partly undone, and the chatelaine askew.
"You've had far too much to drink for your own good, Mrs Hughes. You and Mr Carson will be biting your fingers off in the morning," Mrs Patmore had said, unable to help smiling as she thought that if the butler remembered what he had said to Elsie in front of a witness, he would have a stroke of apoplexy.
"We were just toasting our engagement Mrs Patmore." Mrs Hughes had sighed wearily.
"Besides, I have to clean up, I don't think I'll have the strength tomorrow."
She was about to go back to her office, but Beryl had taken her arm and said:
"Oh go to bed, I'll throw away the bottle and clean the glasses. Take this as my engagement present.
-Thank you Mrs Patmore." said a rather drunken and mostly exhausted Elsie before heading for the stairs in turn.
As she entered the housekeeper's study, Mrs Patmore noticed the empty bottle lying on the floor and the two glasses on the small table. The same table where the lovebirds had shared so many glasses of wine, sherry or cups of tea.
She had bent down with difficulty to pick up the empty champagne bottle, sighed heavily as she straightened up, her poor back cracking with the effort. She had then picked up the two champagne flutes to find that they were perfectly clean. Mrs Patmore had been shocked to realise that the bottle had been drunk straight from the neck.
She could hardly imagine Mr Carson agreeing to do such a thing, he who was scandalised if anyone dared to put an elbow on the table while they were eating.
oOo
Beryl returned to the present moment and her hot chocolate which was being drained as it warmed her ageing joints. Once she had drunk it all, cleaned up and washed the used utensils she decided to go back up to bed hoping to get back to sleep for the few hours she had left. But once in the hallway, she realised that the servants' entrance door was ajar.
Her first thought was that a young hall boy and a scullery maid must have sneaked out to fool around in the sheds or stables, so she stomped out to catch them. After all, it was better for these stupid souls to run into Mrs Patmore than Mr Carson, who would send them away on the spot without any recommendation. She was walking across the courtyard with her ear to the ground when she heard a thud, like a door slamming or something banging against wood. She walked towards the source of the noise, trying to be as quiet as possible.
"BOM!" The same dull sound that came, this time she was sure, from the storeroom that was located next to the bike shed. She crossed the distance in a few quick steps. She moved her hand to the door handle, ready to yank it open and drag the fornicators back into the house by their ears, vowing to give them a hard time. Mrs Patmore in the daytime could be scary, Beryl at night, in her dressing gown, curlers, nightcap and slippers was terrifying.
As her hand gently came to rest on the handle she heard the "BOM!" again which shook the door and was followed by a grunt and a very familiar voice. She almost scream in surprise as she realised what was going on inside the storeroom and who was there.
Mrs Patmore, completely dazed and stunned, was unable to move her legs and, transfixed, heard the bride and groom engaged in morally reprehensible activities.
"Mmmmm oh Elsie! Oh... my love, oooooh my god...! Yeeessssss, oh this is good, so good. Mmmmm oh, stop! stop my love, get up, I don't want to finish so quickly.
-Charles, I want you so much, I want to feel you inside me, come on Charlie, take me, my love."
There were soft footsteps, followed by another "BOM!" on the door which startled Mrs Patmore.
"Bend over Elsie, lift your lovely bottom, oh yes, like this... Oh my love, you are so beautiful."
Beryl heard Charles' appreciative grunt followed by Elsie's laughter.
"Charlie stop tickling me. Let's hurry up, the girls will be up soon to light the fireplaces and I wouldn't want that..."
"BOM!"
"You talk too much Elsie," Charles grunted with a sigh.
"BOM!"
"Oh yes Charles, yes, yes, oh I love you! Ooooooh, aaaah my god Charles, yessssssssssssssss!"
"BOM-BOM-BOM!"
"Damn it Elsie, O my Divine! Oh yes my love, it's divine, me in you it's divine, us together it's DI-VIIIIINEEE. I love you OOOOH oh oh ooooh "
BOMBOMBOMBOMBOMBOMBOMBOM !
"AAAAAAAAOOOOOHHHHHH!" "BOM!"
they shouted in unison as the banging on the door stopped.
Mrs Patmore's eyes widened in horror. She had never thought or wished she would witness such a scene.
She came to her senses and rushed into the house, not caring about the sound of her footsteps or the front door slamming behind her. After all, they hadn't cared about the noise they made either.
She went upstairs to lock herself in her room, knowing full well that she would not sleep at all.
At breakfast the next day it was a frazzled-looking Mrs Patmore who brought the tray containing the teapot and the dish of porridge to the servants and a dapper Elsie Hughes and Charles Carson with only the faintest of dark circles under their eyes.
"Are you all right, Mrs Patmore?" asked Elsie with a worried look.
"Indeed, Mrs Patmore, you seem to be on the verge of exhaustion. Would you like us to call Doctor Clarkson?" added Charles seriously.
"Oh no, Mr Carson, Mrs Hughes, don't worry about me. I've been up all night, that's all."
Charles nodded, and took the cup of tea Elsie handed him. Beryl didn't miss the small smile they exchanged, nor the not at all accidental brushing of their fingers.
"You haven't slept? Perhaps you are coming down with something, Mrs Patmore. Enjoy the quiet of these few days without Lord and Lady Grantham to rest." Elsie told her sympathetically.
Beryl couldn't help but resent them a little, not for loving each other and showing it, after all they were past the age of being cautious. But for having inflicted on her, even involuntarily, the demonstration of their love. So she decided to have a little fun at their expense.
"Yes, Mrs Hughes, perhaps I'll sleep better during the day. By the way Mr Carson, last night I went downstairs to make myself a hot chocolate hoping that it would help me get some sleep, when I realised that the back door was open. I took a few steps outside, heard the storeroom door slamming, but the light breeze of the night was probably responsible for that. But just in case, Mr Carson, we should be careful. We don't want a vagrant breaking into the house or staff having clandestine meetings to do God knows what in the storeroom.
-Ah? Erm... Yes indeed Mrs Patmore, I'll see to it myself that the door is securely locked in future." Mr Carson replied, squirming in his chair in obvious discomfort.
"Yes, that's wise, Mr Carson," continued Mrs Patmore, looking at Mrs Hughes. She looked totally absorbed in her porridge and only the cook's trained eye could see the blush on the housekeeper's cheeks. She then said:
"Fortunately I was able to relax a little with my hot chocolate, it did me a world of good, it was DI-VIIINE !"
Charles nearly choked on his tea, while Elsie raised her head to stare at the cook with a frightened look in her eyes.
"Well, I'll leave you to finish your breakfast. Daisy you clean up, I need to rest for an hour," she said with a yawn as she headed down the corridor.
She didn't miss Charles and Elsie jumping as their eyes met.
FIN
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Take care :)