Hi all, I feel like I'm coming at this from a weird angle. Let me know in the comments if this is still making sense to you all! I hope it does.
Anna left him to eat in peace and gave the keys back before retiring for home. She would confide in her husband over a cup of tea, she trusted him completely. Together, they would concoct a plan to keep the young man safe. The two had just moved into the little cottage not too far from the house. It was large enough for the two of them and just the right size for when they started a family. It came pre-furnished with everything they could possibly want; a bed and it's sheets, crockery and dinnerware, curtains, and sofas and much more. It was homely, but should they want to – if that time came, they weren't tied to the house and could move on if they so choose.
Mr Bates took his wife's coat and hat and hung them by the door as she began the tea. She had been rather quiet on the matter, just telling him that it was a conversation for the security of their own four walls. "Was it as we feared?" He asked walking into the kitchen.
"Far worse." She spoke before lifting the hob.
"I can see, it's got you troubled." Mr Bates shuffled through the cupboards, grabbing two cups and two saucers. He set them out on the table with care. "How much worse could it possibly be?"
"Well, Mr Crawley apparently isn't quite finished with Thomas. You were right hearing what you heard the other night." She phrased.
"He's a married man, and in Thomas' condition? It makes me sick." He replied angrily. "How was he, when you spoke with him?" He asked, concerned from the moment he'd heard the commotion.
"He's quite obviously shaken up. He blames himself in all this, which is the worst of it all." Anna sighed. "This is supposed to be one of the happiest times that any person can go through, and..." She trailed off, her own troubles starting a family had begun creeping into their married life. "It's not fair."
"Thomas can't even go to the police, or he'd be at risk of being thrown into jail." Mr Bates added, the accumulation of Thomas' dire situation was enough to make anybody frustrated, even just hearing so. "Mr Carson ought to know. He can protect Thomas, regardless of his views on the pregnancy."
"No. Thomas swore me to secrecy." Anna hushed, pouring the tea.
"Then why are you telling me?" He smiled, "you have a plan?" He could interpret his wife's grin to be her scheming beautiful brain in action.
"Yes, I do. I can't stay idle knowing that Thomas is in so much pain." Anna replied earnestly. "And despite your differences, I know that you can't either."
His wife was right, regardless of the chequered past between Thomas and himself, his strong moral compass wouldn't allow turning a blind eye to such injustices. "Go on."
"I'm thinking, if we make it impossible for Master Crawley to visit, then maybe he'll stop coming?" She proposed.
"How do you expect we'll manage that?"
"For starters, we have to make sure that the door to the sleeping quarters is properly locked at all times. It's entirely possible that Mr Carson forgot to lock the door behind himself that night."
"Mr Carson wouldn't likely forget something like that, it's been a part of his routine for the last forty years."
"He's beginning to become quite forgetful in his old age, haven't you noticed?" Anna noted. Mr Carson had unknowingly been forgetful the last few months, getting worse as the year progressed. He was still majoritively sharp as a tick but sometimes you'd have to ask him twice or remind him of things that he ordinarily would have remembered. It was only the other day where Anna had told Mr Carson that she was heading out into town, and upon her return Mr Carson appeared quite frantic, concerned as to where she'd 'run off to'.
"He's stressed, a busy man. We are all absent-minded sometimes, are we not?" Bates argued, he didn't want to think that Carson was losing his marbles so soon. "I will make sure that the door is always locked." He returned to the matter at hand.
"And should you hear anything, I'm trusting you to make yourself known." After last time, any bump or thud would likely have Bates kicking down the door.
"Of course."
"And I will try and keep watch during the day." Whilst her primary concern was still Thomas, she couldn't help but worry about Lady Mary and what possibly went on while she wasn't around. Anna would like to think that her Ladyship was strong enough to fight back and defend herself, but as she has so learned, it's not always easy.
"As much as I do not like to scheme, I feel this time, it's necessary." Bates held his wife's hand tightly. He admired how lucky he was to have found somebody so obviously caring and humble. "This would mean moving back into the house."
"Unfortunately so, but it'll only be for a while." The two weren't used to their own space yet and really Downton still felt like home. Their married life would have to be put on the backburner for now. Lucky they loved each other so dearly and were entirely practiced in abstinence.
"I hope so." Mr Bates smiled, finishing his tea.
"We've only enjoyed one night in our new bed, I was hoping that we could spend one more night as husband and wife." She asked coyly. Matthew had slipped off to London with little word as to why which meant that Thomas was safe for now.
Meanwhile, back at the house, Thomas was having a bath. After a few days of isolation, he desperately needed to wash away his funk. He'd only been in the bath for all of five minutes before he felt himself drifting off to sleep. The warmth of the water had relaxed the aching muscles in his back and lulled him to sleep. He wasn't sure for exactly how long he'd been asleep for but it had been long enough to slip into a dream, of him drowning in a public pool. The water that surrounded him must have transferred to a rather lucid nightmare.
It was the abrupt act of the person outside the door, ferociously banging that startled him awake, gasping for air. "Can you hurry up in there?" Came the voice. Thomas didn't answer but the voice went away anyway. There was no telling how long they'd been waiting already.
He dipped his head under the water briefly before reaching for the soap. He cleaned the best he could before dunking his heavy body back under the water, washing away any bubbles. His stomach breached the surface of the water, like a glacier in the arctic. He hated how heavy he was already and just wished that it would be over.
He towel-dried and released the water putting on some pajamas before leaving. His t-shirt perhaps a little too tight only accentuated his curvature. As it turned out, it wasn't just one person wanting to use the bath but a handful of his colleagues. Lined up with their soap and sponges, all waiting for the fiend to show himself. His towel and a bundle of washing went into the washroom for the laundry maid in the morning.
Mr Carson had just finished his walk-around of the house, checking windows and doors were securely locked. Mrs Hughes had done the same. They met at the end by the kitchen, having seen Mrs Patmore off to bed. "Everything okay?" Mrs Hughes asked.
"I suppose that you could say that, although I am concerned about Barrow. He's been acting rather off the last few days." He hated to admit it but Thomas' behaviour was out of the ordinary and whilst he had been given some leeway, the boy had to return to work sooner or later.
"I meant with the house," She smiled, Mr Carson appeared slightly flustered it being out of character to open up as he did. "Have you spoken to him?" She asked, knowing that Carson really had been fishing for advice.
"Well...no." He grumbled.
"Don't you think you ought to?" Mrs Hughes rolled her eyes, sometimes, in her experience men needed to be told directly what to do. "He's a boy, not a leper."
"I didn't say that he was." He replied proudly.
"You sure act like it." Mrs Hughes watch Mr Carson plod away, no doubt to pay Mr Barrow a visit.
Carson contemplated turning back, fearing that men didn't need to talk about their issues. That troubles should he worked out alone. It was a spur of the moment impulse that drove him to eventually knock. He immediately regretted his confidence. He was set to walk away after a few empty seconds had passed, figuring that Thomas must have been asleep by now. "Mr Carson?" Thomas asked, only seeing the back of the man who had knocked on his door.
"Mr Barrow, I, erm..." He stuttered, venturing back. "I wanted to talk to you about your recent conduct." Carson finished. "Mrs Hughes is worried about you, is all." He deflected.
"I'm quite alright. I went through a difficult patch but I'm better now." Thomas was relieved to be telling the truth. Whilst there was some lingering personal torment, he was largely better. Feeling more motivated, less embarrassed and most importantly, well supported.
"So you'll be returning to work then?" Carson asked.
"I think so, yes."
"Good. I was planning on reducing your roles even further if you have no objections." The last few days have been a bit of a pinch, so keeping Thomas healthy was in the interests of everybody. Even if he spent the day polishing shoes, it meant that somebody else wouldn't have to.
"No. I suppose not."
"I realised before that there are things that you cannotdo and shouldnotbe doing." He accepted. "I will adjust the day accordingly. From now, you should wake up with the rest of us and finish your day by four o'clock, unless told otherwise." Lady Mary had given Carson quite the earache about Thomas using the ladder. Whilst he was angry that Lady Mary knew about the baby, it wasn't Thomas' fault.
Carson was sitting in his office decanting some wine, as he did a few times a week. He'd been concentrating before he'd heard the gentle knock on his door. Not wanting to disrupt the flow of his work or leave the wine uncorked for too long, he yelled, "Come in."
Lady Mary opened the door slightly and squeezed through before quickly shutting it behind herself. "Carson, I was wondering if I might have a word with you?" She asked. Carson had stopped immediately and stood to welcome his guest. "No please sit, I need to talk to you as my friend, not my butler."
"Of course." The two sat down, Lady Mary taking a seat on the opposite side of the desk, a seat usually reserved for those receiving a bolocking. "How can I help?"
"I wanted to let you know that I will be taking a trip into London sometime this week," She began.
"Very well, might I enquire as to the purpose of your trip?" He asked. Whilst Lady Mary had not confided in him as to why her mood had recently changed, he knew that she would eventually. He would often lend a friendly ear whenever she had a troubling problem.
"It's nothing of particular interest," She started. Her purpose had been rather personal and the journey she vowed, was one she would undertake alone, "I will be requiring transportation to the station, I have already booked my tickets," Mary breezed over the sentiment behind the trip.
Carson cleared his throat, not having believed the conversation would flow the way that it had. He respected her privacy beyond anything else and refused to press for information. "Is there anything else you wish to discuss with me, M' Lady?" He questioned, noticing Lady Mary still sitting comfortably.
Mary paused, wondering whether she had the nerve to bring the matter of controversy up so brazenly, "I know," She hinted.
"What do you know, My Lady?" Carson reiterated, obviously not having caught onto her train of thought.
"Of the scandal at Downton." She put playfully.
"I can assure you, I don't know what you mean." Carson denied. There was only one real scandalous scandal at Downton at this very moment but he'd taken proper precaution as to isolate such a problem from the family. It surely wasn't that scandal. It couldn't be, he assured himself.
"Don't play that game with me, I'm far more observant than I seem." Carson avoided all eye contact. "I ran into Mr Barrow, he's looking much better." Mary dangled. She had the upper hand and relished in the happiness it brought her. Carson's expression had been truth enough, mouth agape and stuttering slightly. "I take it that all the hush hush is father's idea?"
"With good cause, M'Lady." Carson he broke through the muted silence to defended Lord Grantham's actions, being of the same mind.
"I wonder when I was to know, what with the house being mine." She commented. "I don't have anything against the man, by any means." A twinge of jealousy is the extent of any ill will. "It was nice of Papa to keep him on." She smiled. "I find myself quite surprised actually." Mary let out a small chuckle, her father was by all means conservative to the core. His lenience was uncharacteristic coming from the same man who refused to see Sybil in trousers or have Edith write for the paper.
"Indeed." Carson agreed, too nice.
"The man looks exhausted," She changed the subject. "Perhaps you could go easy on him from now?" As lighthearted as it sounded, Mary intended for her words to have more impact in the way of an order rather than a simple suggestion.
"What would make you say that, M'Lady?" Carson felt somewhat threatened by the accusation.
"You can't possibly think he can carry on this way, I walked in on him climbing a ladder, a ladder. He could have fallen. His balance isn't what it used to be – in account of his -" She trailed off awkwardly. "I'm sure you understand."
Carson gulped. Whilst he wasn't directly aware of the incident in question, he could hardly deny putting the boy through more than he deserved at a time like this."You have my word, no more ladders." Lady Mary was right, the ladders stood for much more, and he would change his ways.
"I should hope so." She smiled.
"Really, I am more than capable-" Thomas began.
"Thomas -" Carson exhaled, skimming over how informally he just addressed his subordinate. "That is the last word on the matter." As begrudgingly as it was, he would have plenty of time to adjust to these new measures. Perhaps it was the little knowledge that he had on the pregnant anatomy, or how he resented Thomas for his past actions, and how they still desperately needed the ship to sail smoothly, all had Carson frustrated. It wasn't fair to take his frustration out on Thomas any longer. "Good night."
"Night, Mr Carson." Thomas found the entire interaction bizarre at best. Carson was a man of his word, and so Thomas had no reason not to trust his mentor, but he could hardly be optimistic about what lies ahead.