A/N: I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY! I never meant to keep you all waiting! Life happened and I had an unexpected guest and the job happened. No excuse though. I promise to have more on the way right away after this and even shortened this chapter to make sure I could send out something this week.

Also: THANK YOU! For all your wonderful reviews. I don't think anyone ever has to review a story but it is immensely helpful to a writer. Even a 'Love it, keep going' is helpful cause it lets me know that what I'm doing is working. You guys also increased the percentage of reviewers: I believe it's now at 11%! So, well done :)

This one is weird...for...reasons... but maybe you should tell me if it's weird or not ;)

Goals:

Word count - 2,146!

No exposition - yeah, I may have actually made things too vague in this one, you let me know though, alright?

Grammar Police please see note at the bottom*


Bleep! Bleep! Bleep! Bleep!

Elsie pressed the button on the screen of her phone, silencing her alarm. It didn't matter, she needn't have set it, she was already awake. Truth be told she couldn't remember the last time she stayed awake all night. One thing was certain, she hadn't felt as horrible then as she did now.

Rolling onto her side, she bunched her pillows under her head. Stupidly she looked through her messages for the fifth time since she'd gone to bed. Joe's twenty-one texts jumped across the screen:

Elsie call me when you get this.

Hey Im worried about you.

Whered you go?

Are you at a hotel?

I know what I said

Was shocking but I
needed to say it and Im

Sorry I didn't tell you sooner

Elsie?

Did you go to Beryls?

Your upset, I get that but

I do still care about you
and I don't want you

getting hurt.

Call me.

Did you block me?

Elsie Im really worried
over here.

Call me please

Your being silly, dear

Are you arlight? Just tell me
your alright

ELSIE! For godsake!

Im sorry. Will you call
or text me? Its the
last time Ill ask.

Please.

She threw her phone across the room. The light thump against the carpeted floor was less than satisfying. Stupid phone. Groaning, she rolled onto her back and stared at the white ceiling, counting the tiny cracks that had appeared over the years of wear and tear. She wondered if Charlie knew those were there. Given his financial situation she decided not to tell him.

Slipping out of bed she slowly prepared herself for the day. Her shower took longer than usual as she stood there, eyes closed, letting the water wash over her, hoping maybe the water might also wash away her emotions. She didn't need them. Not really.

As she pulled on her new underwear she allowed herself to smile. It was the little things sometimes that made a difference. And now knowing what it felt like to go a half-day without underwear, she certainly appreciated the light cloth all the more.

Strange how the mind works. How she could smile at Charlie and Anna and get in a car and not quite notice that she was no longer in her room but on her way to breakfast with two of her favorite people. Stranger still was how, without being at all present, she could carry on a conversation with Anna about Highclere, annoying Charlie with their idle gossip about a show on telly.

A line had already formed outside of La Ronde but Elsie walked straight up to the front. Scanning the inside she waved as the tall man with slicked back jet black hair saw her.

"Ms. Hughes!" He said as he approached the trio, "How lovely to see you again."

"Henri! It's lovely to be here." Elsie said kissing his cheeks, "And this is Charlie Carson and his daughter, Anna."

Henri stepped forward and kissed Anna's cheeks as well. Charlie, however, held out his hand, which Henri graciously shook.

"Do follow me," said Henri.

As they entered, Elsie distinctly heard Charlie mutter, "Henri? He sounds like he's from West Country."

Anna and Elsie shared a look.

The table they were sat at stood in the middle of an old ballroom. Elsie glanced around, taking in the glittering jewels from long ago. The nightlife of the former ballroom must have been glorious and it felt oddly humbling to be surrounded by the outlandish leftovers of the 1920s.

"The wine is superb, I'll have you know," said Elsie, her worry catching up with her that Charlie might not enjoy a restaurant as French as the one they were in.

"I would expect nothing less." said Charlie, scanning the menu, "If the French do one thing right, it's wine."

Anna attempted to hide her eye roll by drinking her water. Elsie grinned at the girl, sharing an amusement of Charlie's disdain for anything un-English.

"How do you know Henri?" asked Anna.

"I did a piece about his mother - his aunt really," explained Elsie, "The Lady Shackleton. It's a rather sad tale. Henri's mother had a hard time of it - mental illness I believe. Lady Shackleton raised him instead."

"Is he in line for the Lordship then?" asked Charlie

Elsie smirked, "No, the Shackletons had a boy previous to Henri joining their family. Philip will be Lord Shackleton. Henri will have to settle as a restaurateur."

"What about Henri's father?" asked Anna, "The story sounds a tad familiar, but I at least had dad -"

"That was never properly explained," mused Elsie, "Though they're fiercely proud of how well they've managed as a family. They even allowed me to have Henri's story in the film. They simply left a few things out in the telling."

"And your mother wasn't mentally ill," added Charlie.

Anna drank from her water, muttering, "that's one point of view."

Elsie tensed at that. If she looked deep within herself, she often found she had one goal for Anna; which was to come to respect her mother regardless of the differences and problems the woman had created. After all, you only have one mother.

It wasn't easy to remain at the breakfast table, despite the interest Anna and Charlie took in learning about the restaurant. Elsie found herself floating between thinking about her upcoming Downton Project, wondering how long Charlie really wouldn't mind her staying, and pushing thoughts away about Joe and what he might be doing with Marla on a Sunday morning.

By the time the dessert crepes had arrived, Elsie's head ached. And while she didn't know it before hand, once it happened she knew the last thing in the world she wanted to hear was her name shouted by the voice of one Gladys Denker.

"Elsie Hughes!" the horrible woman approached their table.

Elsie looked up from her plate, a fixed smile on her face, "Gladys."

Deciding that anything Denker had to say was best said just to her, Elsie stood from the table and gave the woman an awkward hug. It didn't matter though, for Gladys always seemed to shout anything she had to say, especially if it was juicy gossip.

"Oh my darling, Elsie!" said Denker, loud enough for several tables around them to hear, "I heard you landed Downton - the Crawleys - you're quite the up and comer these days."

Elsie bit her lip. While she had won three Grierson awards and was once up for a BAFTA, Denker hadn't yet had a show make it to the BBC. Still, Elsie smiled, "yes, yes, I'm speaking with Lord Grantham tomorrow in fact."

"Oh that's good," said Denker, "You must be wanting to keep busy too, especially now after what's happened."

A block of ice dropped into Elsie's gut. She took a deep breath, saying, "I always like to keep busy."

"Oh I'm sure you do! Please don't mistake me. I only meant, what with Joe and everything."

How did this woman find out?! Elsie's mind screamed. Joe would never call Denker - she wasn't a friend, she never came to any of their parties. Unless he went through her address book, but that wasn't like him. But how else could she have found out? And from whom?!

The sly woman continued, "It's horrible, just horrible the way he ran off with a younger woman. Men, can't trust the lot of them!"

Elsie was surprised to find herself still standing. She had been certain she had just fallen off a cliff, or possibly fainted, but instead she was still standing staring at the woman in front of her. And even though she couldn't see them, she could feel the eyes of Anna and Charlie trained on her.

"No I suppose not." Elsie said, shocked at her grace, "I should get back to my meal, now. Good day Gladys."

"Of course, of course, please don't let me detain you, enjoy yourself!" Denker grinned all too widely and then slunk off.

Except Elsie didn't return to her table. She made a beeline straight for the ladies room knowing in the back of her mind that Anna would follow her soon enough. It didn't matter, she could live in a stall for a little while, stay out of sight, no one needed her around anyway -

When she entered the ladies she found herself instinctively standing over the sink, her hands under the rushing water. If she had it her way she would have dropped her head into a bucket of ice water, waking herself up or drowning. Drowning, that was a painless way out, wasn't it?

She shuddered. No, regardless of her life's situation it wasn't as bad as all that. Which somehow was a cheering thought, that drowning, quiet and painless as it was (was it?) was much less preferred to a divorce from her lifelong companion.

And really, this was the worst wasn't it? She reasoned, still staring at her hands. This was as low as she could get. Unless she lost her job, like Charlie, but even then she had enough money. It wouldn't make a dent if she didn't have a project for a few years.

And she still had Anna and Charlie, and Beryl and Bill, and even Rishi and Isobel.

And then there was her sister, doing so well in the USA.

Elsie sighed, a shaky breath falling from her lips as her chest shuttered with embarrassment and shame.

The door clicked open, Elsie felt Anna before she saw her. The girl placed her hand on her back, rubbing soothing circles.

"Who the hell was that?" Anna asked, almost jokingly exasperated.

"Denker," Elsie said, rolling her eyes, "Well known trouble maker."

"Someone whose opinion doesn't matter then?" Anna said. She was looking at Elsie in the mirror almost sheepishly. As if reciting one of Elsie's famous-Mumzi-lines was only for Elsie to do and not Anna. As Anna's words washed over her, Elsie felt herself smile, really smile, for the first time.

"Oh Anna," Elsie said, "You're quite right."

"I learned from the best," said Anna.

Sighing, Elsie looked from Anna to the door, still not quite sure if she was able to face the onlookers who must have heard all of Denker's shouting.

"Dad wanted me to ask if he could do anything 'manly and intimidating' for you," said Anna, "although I'm not entirely sure what he means."

Elsie laughed so hard Anna jumped in surprise. It took a moment, for the tears streaking across Elsie's face were tears of mirth, and she couldn't stop to breath to explain. Anna looked on in exasperation.

"It means," said Elsie, slowly pulling herself together, "that he's trying to repay a debt of sorts."

"Are you going to explain what that means?"

"No." Elsie said, then giggled as she tried to reign in another bout of laughter, "I'm afraid that's entirely a joke between your father and I."

Anna grumbled. The girl didn't press her, and the two slowly made their way out the door back into the dinning hall.

Charlie stood a few feet from the ladies. A glare seemed to echo from his face, as if he dared any of the patrons to even glance at Elsie as she reemerged.

"How are you?" He asked, almost whispering so as not to draw attention to them.

"Fine, fine," Elsie waved him off. "Shall we finish our dessert?"

"Oh," Charles pursed his lips, "I'm afraid they took everything while you were away."

"No matter," Elsie said, although a wave of sorrow washed over her at those words, she pushed it away wondering where it had come from, "I'll find Henri and then we can leave. Anna are you packed for this afternoon?"

"Yes," said Anna, "And Mary said they'll be arriving at two instead of three."

"Well then we had better get a move on," said Charlie.

Heading to find Henri, Elsie first stopped at Charlie's side. Standing on her tip-toes she kissed his cheek and squeezed his arm, whispering a soft 'thank you' as she pulled away. He grunted his response, but she knew he understood what she meant. That 'manly and intimidating' running joke always had her in stitches. Which Charlie knew all too well. And, as she thought about it, scanning the crowd for a tall skinny black haired man, Charlie was really the only one who could make her laugh like that.


*Grammar police: My grammar is not perfect, although I have as yet not run into you so I feel I'm doing well. That being said, just in case, Joe's text messages were purposefully written with spelling and grammatical mistakes. Anything else you can arrest me for, but not that ;)

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