Feelings for you: Chapter 3
Authors Note: Thank you guys for your review I hope you enjoy this next chapter, although it faces one episode in which none of us really enjoyed as we see our beloved Anna get hurt. It was certainly a hard one to write but hopefully you guys like it.
Trigger Warning: Mention of rape
Anna's P.O.V
I awoke early in the morning, quickly getting dressed and brushing my hair before heading down to the servant's hall to see how I could help before Lady Mary wakes up.
The servant's hall is a hive of activity as we prepare for the arrival of our guest for the Nellie Melba concert tonight, Mrs. Hughes is in a tizzy sending servants left and right when her eyes meets mine;
"Ahh Anna, thank heavens, can you please go up and get the Princess Amelia sweet ready for Nellie Melba please" She asked me.
"Of course, Mrs. Hughes" I replied heading up the stairs heading towards the Princess Amelia room.
Once I reach the room, I make the bed and go around dusting and cleaning everything to make sure it is immaculate for Nellie Melbas arrival. By the time I have finished I head back downstairs just as the guests start arriving, I head towards the servant's hall as I see a young man heading towards me, probably one of the valets of the guest I surmise drops something. His hands are full so I pick it up for him.
"Stick under my arm if you can, (so I place it under his arm) you're and angel from above" He flirts
"I don't know about that" I reply half laughing.
"You don't know where Lord Gillingham's room is do you?" He queried; I didn't know but I knew Mage was on the Galley with a list of room assignments.
"There is a maid on the Galley with a list, she will show you where his room is" I replied
"See you have the answer to everything" he smirked, before walking away, I continued onto the servant's hall, just as the bell for Mary's room rang. I continued upstairs to Mary's room, once I reached Mary's door I entered, my eyes quickly scanning the room to find my lady. Did I just say my lady, I questioned myself in my mind. My eyes caught a glimpse of lady Mary just coming out of her bathroom
"Good Morning Milady, the guests have just started to arrive" I say
"Good Morning Anna, well then I must hurry up then shouldn't I" Mary muses. I continue to her wardrobe to pick out a suitable dress for today's events, as I scan her wardrobe, my eyes are drawn to one of her Lavender dresses, I grab it out and walk over to Lady Mary.
"How about this one Milady?" I ask, Lady Mary's eyes scanning the dress I hold over my arm.
"That's perfect, thank you Anna, what would I ever do without you?" She asks
"I don't know Milady have a different Lady's Maid I suppose" I reply back with a bit of cheek, but also a hint of sadness wondering what my life would be like if I had never met Lady Mary. My response seems to have caught her off guard and she reaches for my hand taking it in hers.
"Anna you know you are not just another Lady's Maid to me, you have made me think differently about life, about my life in particular, and without you here maybe I would have just married Matthew and done as my family had wished. But you made me see that life is about more than just doing as your family wishes, and I extremely thankful for that, so don't ever think for one second that you are just someone I would replace at a drop of a hat, if you ever leave it will be very hard to replace you" Mary declares, a few tears had rolled down my cheek at this point, I was gob smacked I never knew I meant that much to her, if only I could tell her how I really feel about her, I remove my hand from hers turning away so she can't see my tears.
"Milady thank you; you have no idea how much that means to me" I cry
"Oh, my sweet sweet Anna, look at me please" I turn around and she reaches her hand up to my face and gently brushes away my tears, I lean into the contact. "I didn't mean to make you cry I just wanted you to know I considered you to be someone whom I am very close to and could not live without" she pulls me into a hug, I comply wrapping my arms around her waist pulling her closer. We stayed hugging each other for a few minutes, I didn't even know if this was okay, neither of us wanted to pull away, but I decided I better before someone comes looking for us.
"Milady" I say wiping the last of my tears away "We must get you dressed so you can go greet your guests"
"Of course, Anna, are you sure you are okay, I didn't upset you, did I?" She questioned a concerned look on her face
"No Milady you didn't, it is quite the opposite, no one has ever been so sweet to me" I replied. I made my way behind her and started taking of her nightgown and replacing it with the Lavender dress instead, as I did so I couldn't help but admire Lady Mary's body, and how her body had felt against mine when we hugged. Once she was dressed, I motioned for her to sit at her dressing table as I started doing her hair, doing it a little faster than normal as our conversation and hug had taken up a lot of time and guest were arriving.
A few minutes later her hair was finished and she was ready for the day, I look into the mirror to see mirror, with a far off look on her face like she is in deep thought.
"Is that everything Milady?" I ask curiously as it looks like she has something else to say, the question seems to bring her back down to earth
"Yes, Anna it is, thank you, are you sure you are alright?" she asks concerned
"Yes, Milady I'm fine honestly, your words were very touching and just caught me off guard" I replied "If that is all, I shall take my leave I'm sure Mrs. Hughes needs help downstairs" I grab her discarded night gown and for the door
"Thank you, Anna, I shall see you later" Mary says just as I walk out the door, I feel bad for not responding, but my brain is going a hundred miles a minute trying to work out what on earth had just happened in that bedroom.
As I am walking down the hallway caught up in my own thoughts, Mr. Gillingham is just walking out of Lord Gillingham's room
"Have you settled in with satisfactory Mr. Gillingham" I ask with a slight smile on my face at the words Mary had said to me
"I wish could call me Green, that's my real name" He responds,
"I don't think Mr Carson would approve, he believes in the old ways" I laugh, noticing he is getting closer, I try walking away a bit to get my personal space back.
"And what do you believe in" he smirks and gets a little closer, I start getting a little annoyed at how he thinks he can just come into my personal space
"I believe in getting on with my work" I respond shortly heading for the door that leads down to the servant's hall
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and Jill a dull girl" he says somewhat smugly "Perhaps I should organize some games" he muses.
Having had enough of his nonsense I respond smugly "I will organize you if you don't watch out" before heading through the door and down the stairs not waiting for a response.
I head to my room taking the chance to just freshen up quickly before heading back downstairs. I got sent on a whirlwind of different jobs, still getting ready for all the events in the upcoming days. I finally got a break around tea time and was sat at the table playing with some cards, when Mr. Green suggested we play a card game later on, I agreed and then Mr. Bates asked for my help with his lordship's shirt, so I went to offer my assistance.
I finished my other chores and decided I would take Lady Mary's now clean nightgown up to her room, as I entered her room, I wasn't expecting anyone to be there but, I saw Mary laying on her bed looking rather sad
"Milady what's the matter?" I asked concern evident in my voice
"I was just thinking about some things Anna, and how I don't think I can be with the person I truly want to be with" Mary responded
"Milady you are a beautiful and strong young lady and can have anyone you want to have" Anna replied
"That's just the thing Anna, I am in love with someone who I shouldn't be and who could never love me back" Mary half-heartedly responded, I moved a chair close to the fire and placed Mary's nightgown on it before continuing, quite intrigued by what she is saying.
"Milady I'm not sure what I am meant to say, but whoever you are in love with is one lucky person, and if they don't love you back it is there loss. Anyone would be lucky to have you" I declare, just then there is a knock on the door
"Mary, are you going to come down, supper is almost ready?" Cora said to her daughter
"Coming" Mary responded before getting up and heading out of her room.
I head back downstairs and run into Mr. Green,
"Ahh Anna are you ready for that game?" he asks
"Of course, Mr. Green who else is playing" I question. We get a group together and he explains the rules and then we begin. I'm not sure exactly what I am meant to be doing but everyone is shouting and cards are going everywhere. It is quite fun I must admit; we play a few games until Mr. Bates comes in and tells us that the racket is not acceptable as Mrs. Patmore has been taken ill. We stop the game, packing up the cards just in time to head up stairs to listen to Nellie Melba sing.
I'm sitting there listening to her first song, well trying to anyway all the excitement and shouting in the game has given me a headache. Mrs. Hughes is sitting next to me so I lean over and say "I've got a bit of headache; I'm going to pop downstairs and drink some head ache powder"
"Would you like me to come with you" Mrs. Hughes queries
"No, I'll be fine, thank you" I reply. I quietly get up and make my way downstairs finding the medicine cabinet, I mix up some of the powder in the water and start drinking it. When I hear a noise behind me, I turn around noticing Mr. Green
"Would you care for something a little stronger" he says holding up a flask of what I am assuming is alcohol.
"Don't let Mr. Carson see you with that" I respond turning around and finishing my drink before rinsing my glass. Turning of the tap off I turn around and head towards Mr. Green feeling a little uneasy
"You look like you could use some real fun" he smirks, blocking my path so I can't get past
"Don't be silly let me pass" I calmly respond
"Do you want to have some fun" He smirks moving closer to me
"What I want is to go back upstairs" I respond getting annoyed with his behavior
"You can't tell me you are happy being single" He sneers
"If you must know yes, I am, and you aren't going to change my mind" I reply getting more annoyed "Now let me by" I wait a second before adding "Please" the look in his eye says it all, I know I'm not getting past soon but I didn't expect what happened next
"Perhaps you forgot what you're missing" he growls before grabbing my arms and forcing his lips on mine, I struggle to get away not wanting his lips on mine, finally I break free and start to turn away when I feel his fist connect to my cheek. He grabs me by my hair and forces me towards the boot room, I am screaming my lungs off, but no one can hear me. I can still feel the pain in my cheek from his punch, but I am trying my hardest to fight him off. We get into the coat room and he starts ripping at my dress exposing my naked body, before he too is removing his pants and forcing himself on me.
Mary's P.O.V
I wasn't really listening to Nellie Melba, but when she said the next song was dedicated to love and lovers, my eyes immediately started searching for Anna's, noticing the empty sit where I knew she was previously sitting, I excused myself knowing she may have gone down stairs, and how this might be my chance to catch her alone and tell her how I truly feel. Heading towards the servant's door I entered not being noticed by the other servants as they were too intrigued with Nellie Melbas singing. As I started to descend the stairs, I heard some screaming, my heart rate began to quicken not knowing who it was and praying to god that it wasn't Anna. I picked up my pace being careful not to trip down the stairs, following the screams I came to the boot room the door was shut, but the screams were definitely coming from inside I pushed open the door. What I saw was something I wish I would have never seen Mr. Green had Anna (my Anna) bent over the table and was pounding away at her, Anna had tears streaming down her face. At this I grabbed for the closest object to me and hit Mr. Green over the head with it, apparently, I had swung with enough force to knock him out he fell backwards landing on the floor and Anna looked at me tears streaming down her face.
"M- Mi- Milady" She cried before crumpling to the floor, I rushed to her side kneeling down beside her pulling her into me
"Oh my sweet Anna, come with me we have to get you out of here" I replied standing up slowly and bringing her with me, I had to go get help but I was not leaving her alone with that bastard, how could he have done that to my sweet Anna. I made my way to Mrs. Hughes office supporting Anna the whole way, entering her office I shut the door behind us and sat Anna down in a chair, before kneeling in front of her and taking her hands in mine.
"Anna, I have to go get help, when I leave this room, I need you to lock the door after me" I spoke softly as to not spook her, she looked down at me with such pain in her eyes it broke my heart.
"Please don't leave Milady" She cried pulling me closer. I hugged her but then released grabbing her hands and looking into her eyes
"I will be right back, okay, I won't let him hurt you anymore, you have my word" I spoke tears coming down my own face now, I started to get up and make my way to the door
"Remember to lock it once I leave okay" I said, I made sure she understood and she got up and headed to the door with me, when I left, I heard it lock behind me. With that I was sprinting up the stairs I came to the servant's door, I could hear that Nellie Melba was still performing, I stuck my head out the door, trying to get Mrs. Hughes or Mr. Carsons attention.
"Pssssst" I said in a whisper but loud enough for Mrs. Hughes to hear, she looked at me confused, probably wondering why I am behind the servant's door and why I have tears falling down my face, she quickly gets up and makes her way over, I pull her in startling her before closing the door behind her.
"Milady what's the matter?" she asks worriedly
"Its-its Anna, I think, rather I know she has been r-" I gulp "she has been raped" I stutter. Mrs. Hughes brow creases in confusion then into realization.
"How do you know this Milady" she queries
"No time to explain, look she was raped by Mr. Green, I knocked him out, I need you to get, Mr. Carson, my father, Dr Clarkrson and Lord Gillingham and bring them down at once, I need to get back to Anna, we will be in your office" I hurriedly say starting to run back down the stairs "Oh and Mrs. Hughes try and keep it quiet and don't let anyone else back down here" I say, she nods in understanding before going back out to get everyone I asked her too.
I head back to Anna eager to be back by her side and to make sure nothing else has happened to her, I could someone do this to my Anna I think angrily. I reach Mrs. Hughes's office, I knock on the door softly "Anna darling it's just me let me in" I say softly, I hear some muffled crying and then footsteps before I hear the door unlocking, I open and immediately bring Anna into a hug. My heart is breaking seeing the once strong Anna so fragile and so hurt. I pull her away looking at her face and noticing to deep lacerations on her forehead. "Oh my darling Anna why would someone do such a thing" I say before placing a chaste kiss on her forehead.
"Mary what on earth is going on" I hear my father say before he appears in the door way with Mr. Carson, Lord Gillingham, Mrs. Hughes and Dr Clarkson not far behind him, he looks to me then to the small woman in my arms, I try covering her up as best I could as her dress is pretty much ruined.
"What happened to Anna?" he questions softly, I don't know what to say.
"Dr Clarkson can you please check over Anna, and I will talk to the rest of you outside, Mrs. Hughes can you please fetch Anna a new dress" I say, Mrs. Hughes nods and Dr Clarkson make his way to Anna and myself. I tyr pulling away but feel Anna pulling me back
"Anna sweetie Dr Clarkson has to look you over, you have some pretty nasty cuts, and I have to go talk to my Father, I will be right outside, Okay?" I say looking into her eyes, she just nods, and releases me I walk outside closing the door behind me.
"Can you please tell what is going on?" My father says concerned
"Anna has been raped, and I'm afraid it was Mr. Green that did it" I say looking towards Lord Gillingham
"You what, he would never do such a thing" Tony defends
"You obviously don't know him very well then do you because when I found them, he had Anna pinned down and was forcing himself onto her I should I say into her, if I hadn't had knocked him out who knows what he would have done" I scream, the look at me surprised my father pulling me closer into a hug
"It's alright darling calm down" he tries to calm me down, I pull away from his embrace
"Don't tell me to calm down, this Mr. Green has hurt someone that I Lo- care about" I yell "Also Mr. Carson talking of Mr. Green can you please see to it that he does not leave, he should still be in the boot room and can someone please call the local bobby to have this man arrested" I say before turning back around and going back to be with Anna not allowing my father or Lord Gillingham to say another word.
I go back to Anna; Dr Clarkson has just finished cleaning her up
"How is she?" I ask Dr Clarkson; he looks at me
"Apart from the two cuts on her forehead and some bruises that are sure to develop, physically she is alright, but emotionally I'm afraid it is going to take some time" He responds, before exiting the room leaving me alone with Anna, I see her look at me and her tears start falling once again, I am immediately by her side pulling her into my embrace, she leans into me but the crying doesn't stop.
I haven't a clue how long I have a held her for but am pulled out of my thoughts when Mrs. Hughes enters bringing Anna a change of clothes, she stopped in her tracks when she saw me hugging Anna, but quickly composed herself.
"Milady I got the dress you wanted for Anna" She said
"Thankyou Mrs. Hughes, how are things going out there has Mr. Green been arrested" I asked
"Yes Milady, and the bobby would like to talk to you both" She replied
"Tell him he will have to come back tomorrow, Anna is in no state to talk to anyone, now if you excuse us I need to get Anna changed and then she is going to spend the night in my room" I could see Mrs. Hughes about to object "and before you object, I am not going to let Anna out of my sight, so unless you want me sleeping in her room"
"Of course, not Milady" Mrs. Hughes says hurriedly, before leaving the room to go talk to the officer.
I pull myself out of Anna's grip "Anna we have to get you changed" I start to remove her ruined dress, she flinches when I touch her bare skin "It's alright Anna, I won't hurt you, I won't let anyone else hurt you ever again" I continue removing her dress and getting the new one on her, she helped where she could but still has barely said a word.
"Anna darling, I am going to take you up to my room, you are going to stay with me tonight, I don't want you out of my sight" I say softly, she just nods her head. I lead her up to my room and sit her on my bed, I tuck her in, and kiss her on the forehead.
"I will sleep on the lounge; you just try and get some sleep" I whisper
"Milady will you hold me, I feel safe in your arms" She whispers back, moving over in the bed making room for me.
"Call me Mary please, and of course I will" I say before climbing into bed next to Anna pulling her close, comforting whichever way I could, I don't know how long we had laid there but I eventually heard Anna's breathing even out, and I knew she was asleep.
"Oh, my darling Anna, I don't know why anyone would hurt you, and I just wish I got to you sooner. I love you Anna" I say to the now sleeping Anna before I myself fall asleep with Anna in my arms.
Authors note: Hey everyone hopefully this wasn't too hard on any of you, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as you could anyway. I'm sure you guys will be pleased I have planned the next several chapters of this fanfic, but it may not be as regularly updated as I am busy over the next few days. Once again reviews are always welcome