The day went on like all others, one hand short had begun to stress Carson out but it wasn't something that he couldn't cope with. Downstairs was full of chatter, but nobody actually had any idea as to what was going on. Carson had intended to keep it that way, asking Mrs O'Brien to refrain from telling anybody about anything. Although, he knew that he wouldn't be able to rely upon the promise. There was little to guarantee that Mrs O'Brien would keep any of this a secret.
Which was exactly on the money. Mrs O'Brien had been tending to Lady Cora, getting her ready for the evening meal when Her Ladyship began to ask questions, "all of you must be so worried about Thomas, Anna told me that you stayed with him that night. I'm sure he was grateful for that." Lady Cora made eye contact through the dressing table mirror.
"Oh yes, he was M' Lady." She replied, sliding pins into Lady Cora's curls.
"Do you know what happened exactly? I have a feeling that Robert is in the know but he's remaining quiet about the whole thing." Lady Cora often relied on Mrs O'Brien for her gossip updates, since Carson was too prudish and Robert too overprotective, often meant she was the last to know something even in her own home.
"You know that I don't like to tell tales, M' Lady. It's not my secret to tell." That had only made Cora more enticed, which had been Mrs O'Brien's intention, to coaxes her into spilling the tea. "There's a secret! You have to tell O'Brien, especially now." She pleaded.
"I will say this M' Lady, it's set to change Thomas's life forever." Mrs O'Brien hummed inconspicuously. Lady Cora couldn't help but gasp in response.
"That big?" She stropped frustrated, shaking off her silk dressing gown onto the bed. Mrs O'Brien picked up after the Lady of the house.
O'Brien handed Lady Cora a clean pair of stockings, "Literally, M' Lady." Mrs O'Brien grinned smugly as Lady Cora had her head down looping her feet through the socks.
"Robert knows, doesn't he? That's why he went to visit Thomas this morning. What use is a husband who doesn't give me what I want?" Lady Cora smiled jokingly.
"Now that you mention it, Dr Clarkson and His Lordship did leave the room for a while. I had assumed that the two had a private business, but now that I think about it, it would make sense for His Lordship to be talking about Thomas." She lied, stirring the pot. It was her specialty, other than sewing and hairdressing, she was a pro at spreading gossip. If there were awards for how fast information spread in this house or around town, then she would be the titleholder.
"Thank you, O'Brien, I'll take it from here." Lady Cora had a look of determination about her. The two exchanged a mutual parting glance. Mrs O'Brien counted this as another victory.
Once the coast was clear, she shuffled down the corridor wrapped in her dinner coat. She eventually reached her husband's dressing room and lightly tapped on the door. His Lordship straightened out his jacket before answering the door. He was moments away from heading to dinner and so was all alone, fortunately for Lady Cora.
"On God's Earth woman, what do you think you're doing?" He muffled his discontent, surprised that his wife would be even this bold. "What should anybody think if they saw you sneaking in here like this?"
"I've come for answers." She dropped down to the bed in protest. She was not leaving until she heard exactly what she came for, so why not make herself comfortable?
"If this is about Thomas again, he's perfectly fine." Lady Cora glared at him, dissatisfied. "What would you like to hear? That the boy is dying? Which he isn't by the way, heavens forbid." Her silence was grating him. "You'll be late for dinner." He nudged. When his wife refused to budge he sighed. Perhaps it was the American blood in her veins that made her the most stubborn woman to grace this Earth.
"I know that you've spoken with Dr Clarkson." She piped up, refusing to reveal her source.
"O'Brien..." he cursed under his breath, "that is most definitely not true."
"I know that you know. I also know that the thing you are hiding from me is going to change Thomas's life, so you might as well tell me if it's something I'll find out naturally." She pouted. Robert huffed heavily before throwing himself on the empty space on the bed next to her.
It was increasingly clear that Cora was not going to give up regardless of how many times he tried to restore her faith. "Fine, but you must promise never to tell the girls." She smiled cheekily, loving that she had her own way. "It may sound like an outright lie, but please believe that I wouldn't make this up."
"You're scaring me." She glared. Lady Cora hadn't prepared for news of such magnitude, in fact she had greatly thought that O'Brien had been exaggerating, like usual. However, Robert's reluctance to talk with her, had her begin to believe the contrary.
"I suppose that there's something at the heart of the story which you need to know first. Thomas is one of those men who aren't attracted to women." Lady Cora rolled her eyes and tutted.
She bit her lip and looked up at him with admiration, her husband was incredibly naive. "Oh Robert, I've known that since we first met him." She playfully slapped Robert's hand. "I thought it was obvious." She added.
"Of course, you did," he emphasized, hinting at her more liberal American heritage. "Thomas, the poor fellow, was the victim of an assault. That tragic incident has left the boy in a delicate state,"
Lady Cora interrupted, "Poor thing. I couldn't imagine what that's like." Whilst the explicit words were not stated, she knew from the refrain exactly what had happened to Thomas in one form or another. The area they lived, and the startling lack of social change still meant that homosexuals faced large stigma. It often meant that individuals faced prison, violence, and much more. However, they still faced the same troubles as heterosexual couples, sexual abuse being a leading strife.
"Please, let me finish. Thomas is pregnant, a mouthful to say out loud, but his attacker left behind something far worse than a physical scar. I hope that you feel better for knowing, if you weren't so stubborn, I could have protected you from such a wretched situation."
"I feel sorry for the boy, I do, but I don't see what that has to do with us. He can't raise a child in the house and still perform his duties. Surely you know that?" An awful thing to have to say, but Lady Cora picked her moments. "Why are you doing him any favors?"
"That's just it...I feel personally responsible..." He sunk into himself.
"Robert?" She arched her voice curiously.
"Oh please," He spat. "I invited the assailant into our home and when I saw something untoward, I kept to myself like a coward." His mind ran back to a night that he'd put his best efforts into forgetting.
Robert had heard a loud thud in the silence of the night. It echoed through the house. Perhaps it sounded louder as he'd been struggling to sleep and needed a reason to get out of bed. He'd investigate and slip down to the library for a drink. It was probably nothing, just something falling from a high shelf or blown over by the wind through a forgotten window.
He tucked his feet into his slippers and suited in his dressing gown. He contemplated taking the poker from the fireplace with him for a line of defense but scoffed thinking himself to be fretting over nothing. As he got closer to the sound of the crash, he began to hear whimpering and stifled yelping. The sound became even clearer when he approached Matthew's room. For a moment he stood outside of the door, disgusted by the prospect that his heir was partaking in pre-marital sex, or being unfaithful to sweet Lavinia. Although, he wasn't the lad's father and ultimately second-guessed his own authority. He had unknowingly been lingering around the door long enough for the bed frame to cease squeaking.
Without time to run somewhere unseen, he hid behind a door on the opposite side of the corridor. Curiosity had him leave a gap in the door to see exactly who came out. In fact, he barely believed what his own eyes had witnessed. It wasn't Lavinia or one of the maids, it was Thomas. It wasn't just Thomas, it was Thomas with dried blood traced down his cheek, it was Thomas but shivering, it was Thomas but crying desperately. If he hadn't heard anything behind the door to prove otherwise, he'd have guessed that the two had engaged in a punch-up.
Matthew came out seconds later to use the bathroom, an innocent act which rid Robert of any deniability. If Robert hadn't just seen Matthew, he'd have persuaded himself with every fiber of his being that Matthew was too nice to commit such an act. He couldn't look any longer, as soon as he was able to slip back to his bedroom he did. He undressed and took comfort under the duvet, kept warm by his loving wife. He lay, staring at the ceiling the entire night.
When he saw Thomas at breakfast the next morning, a bandage over much of his face and grey bags under bloodshot eyes, his heart dropped into his stomach. Guilt danced around him for days before he managed to eat something and sleep the night through. He hadn't spoken to Thomas about what he had seen or evicted Matthew from the family. In truth, he was far too much a coward to do anything and hated himself ever since.
"Oh Robert, I wish you'd have said something before." Cora stroked his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm your wife, you can talk to me about anything, you know that." She comforted.
"I was ashamed. I let my own greed cloud my judgement." Despite knowing of the atrocities that occurred under his roof, he still invited Matthew back. For Thomas to serve him at the dinner table as though nothing had happened. For the sake of Downton, the family, and its reputation, he may have enabled the abuse. After Thomas recovered from his injuries, he was sure that Matthew had sorted his behaviour and there hadn't been another night with any bumps in the dark.
"I give you my full support, whatever you think is best." She clasped her husband's hand tightly.
"I was hoping to give Thomas a helpful hand, let the child be raised in the nursery?" Robert suggested.
"With Sibby?" She paused for a moment, evaluating the situation. Who was she to turn down a parent in need, "That's a wonderful idea. It's the least we could do." She agreed. If the child was an illegitimate heir, then it should be treated like one of the family. Besides, she absolutely loved having children in the house.
"I'm glad you think so. I'll tell him about our plans after dinner." Robert checked himself in the mirror once more, "speaking of." He gave her a prompting stare.
"I'll be a little late down." She apologised before taking her to leave.
Matthew around their dinner table this evening had been dreadfully awkward. Lady Cora kept herself to herself the best she could but was caught out a few times staring at Matthew. It was perhaps the uncomfortable silences that made Matthew compelled to start a conversation, "I heard that your Footman, Thomas took a turn last night. I trust he's doing better."
"Yes, he's doing just fine. Dr Clarkson has declared that he be put on reduced duty for the next few weeks until he's back in tip-top shape." Robert shared over the table. For most, it was pleasant news to hear.
"I hadn't realized that it was all so serious. I do hope that he gets better soon." Lady Edith pleaded.
"It's nothing for you to concern yourself with." Robert dispelled, taking a sip of wine.
"What happened exactly?" Matthew asked brazenly.
"It's hardly a conversation to be had over dinner. Let us all just enjoy our meal." After such a comment, the table fell quiet. Not much was spoken the entire dinner through. The tension kept everybody mute, barely looking up from their plates. Instead, Robert spent dinner nudging his wife under the table, to remind her of her manners.
After dinner, His Lordship excused himself from tea and went straight to see Thomas. To his surprise, the young man was dressed and out of bed. Had he chosen a moment even a little later, he'd have missed Thomas entirely. "Feeling better, Barrow?" He asked, knocking on the open door.
"Much better M' Lord. Once again, thank you." He replied sheepishly.
"I'm glad to hear it. I came to speak with you about your future here at the house," Thomas' heart sank, "no need to look so glum. I have spoken with Carson and he's agreed to some kind of routine for you. I'm sure that it won't be around the house, as I'm sure you'll understand."
"Of course, M' Lord." Even without being explicitly told not to, he would rather not show his face in front of the family, given that he still relished in a large amount of embarrassment. A scene like that is not going to be forgotten any time soon.
He need not waste any time before the man in front of him melted from anxiety, "After the child is born, I'd like for you to consider leaving the baby with the nanny."
"I couldn't ask that of you," His Lordship interrupted.
"Which is why I'm insisting. You would have contact time during the day, and if you so wish, you can take custody of a night-time in a separate room on the top floor. I baby would surely disrupt the others if you remained downstairs." He hadn't given the plan much thought, he would have done the same for any of his children had they been forced into such a situation.
"If I may speak freely?" His Lordship nodded, "Why are you helping me? I've brought this on your house." Nobody had ever been so nice to him, not that he'd given anybody reason to. In the past few years, he's stolen and lied, bullied, and framed, all for his own selfish motives. Lord Grantham knew about most of these wrongdoings which is why he was so curious. There was no reason for him to remain in the house, none at all.
"I believe that you're a good man, whose been dealt an awful hand. I am giving you a chance and some compassion. You do not deserve to lose your job and your home." Thomas seemed satisfied with the response, which was fortunate. The last thing Robert wanted to do was talk about what he'd seen which might shame the boy or worse, force him to leave. Had the circumstances been entirely different, Thomas would have been handed his notice, but guilt had saved him.
"It's a great kindness, Your Lordship. I hope to be able to repay you someday." He wasn't sure how he'd defend such a promise, having very little, but his pride would push for it. For he was in Lord Grantham's debt.