Thank you for your patience...
Picking up where we left off: Charles has just said goodbye to Elsie and the children as they prepare to travel to London with Daisy. There is some unfortunateness in this chapter; a certain canon Nanny providing a bit of inspiration.
Thank you so much for your continued kindness and encouragement. It is so incredibly appreciated. How lovely you all are.
A last sweep through the house as Daisy and Andy situated the children in the car, Elsie let out a little gasp as she caught sight of a small pink foot sticking up above the ruffled edge of the girl's toy baby carriage.
"Tildy! You poor thing. You almost got left behind." She lifted Poppy's most beloved baby doll out of the carriage and tucked her into the large woven bag she had filled with paper, crayons, and books to keep the children occupied on the trip.
Turning off the last few lights in the front of the house, she gave Barley's head a kiss. "Your chum will be home in a bit and you'll have lots of fun with Andy, sweet boy. Be good."
She paused as she reached the closet near the front door, sticking her head inside to find the four kittens curled around each other as they tucked up against their mother. "Bye-bye, Mumma cat." The mother lifted her head briefly before rubbing it against Hope's. "She's going to be alright. Just give her love. That's the best thing a mumma can do." The cat closed her eyes as she continued to gently caress her baby. "Good girl," Elsie whispered before closing the door and making her way out to the car.
Their bags checked, Elsie grimaced as she searched for a secluded first class carriage. Charles had insisted they buy the more expensive tickets, although she had insisted they would be fine in a lower class, and now the least crowded space was already being occupied by two elderly women who were clearly nonplussed to be being inundated by five new companions.
"Daisy, girls, why don't you three take the empty seat."
She tucked Pete between her and the wall as they joined the women on the other bench.
"Why do people insist on bringing children on trains? We've paid good money to travel and now we are going to have to contend with sniveling and squealing all the way to London."
The larger of the two women spoke in something akin to a stage whisper, her intent obviously for Elsie to overhear her while not addressing her directly.
The judgement set her teeth on edge; her children were seasoned train travelers having been all over Great Britain with their parents given Elsie's contractual obligations regarding the Barley and the Babies books. She had almost made up her mind to inform the women of this fact when Poppy suddenly let out a shocking cry.
"Poppy!" Elsie was across the car and on her knees in front of the little girl in a flash. "What is it, baby? Are you hurt?"
"Tildy! I forgot Tildy, Mumma!" The child was beside herself as large tears ran over her plump, pink cheeks.
"Shh, shh, baby. You can't scream like that. It's alright." She pulled Poppy into her arms and patted her back before making her way back to her seat, consciously ignoring the dirty looks she was receiving from the two biddies.
"I need her, Mumma," Poppy whimpered against Elsie's chest.
Her siblings soon got in on the comforting, Pete patting his older sister's back while Livy joined them, stroking Poppy's hair as they both whispered, "It's okay, Poppy, it's okay."
Elsie was fighting her own tears, but smiled as she reached down into the rattan bag and produced the baby doll.
"Mumma wouldn't let you forget your Tildy, baby." Gently lifting her daughter's arm, she nestled the doll in its crook.
"Tildy!" Poppy pulled the doll tightly to her and whispered little apologies that only she and the baby doll could hear.
Looking up at the two older women whose eyes were nearly as misty as her own, Elsie offered a gentle smile. "I promise that will be the last peep you hear out of them. They are really quite good little travelers."
"My favorite doll was named Millie," the smaller of the two women confided.
"Marigold," the other offered before asking, "May they have a sweet? I have a stick of Rowntree fruit gums." She held out a freshly opened paper wrapped stick of the candies.
The children each looked at their mother for permission which was quickly granted.
"Thank you," they each said softly before taking a proffered sweet from the car mates they spent the rest of the ride charming and impressing with passages read from the fairy tale book and singing silly songs.
The train pulled into King's Cross at just past noon and with more than a bit of trepidation Elsie held Pete on one hip and her purse and bag in the other as Daisy held tightly to each of the little girls' hands. They had barely put their feet on the pavement when a cheery voice called out, "Hello, sweet peas!"
The sound and sight of Isobel Crawley set Pete to bucking against his mother in an effort to be put down, while Daisy was nearly dragged off her feet as the twins took off towards the brightly smiling woman.
"Auntie Izzy!"
The girls were wrapped around her legs as Pete stretched his little arms as far as he could in her direction.
"I think they are mildly happy to see you." Elsie teased.
"I am over the moon to see them," she cooed as she wrapped her arms around the girls and gave them a tight squeeze before reaching over and taking Pete from his mother. "Hello, my darling boy. Oh, I have missed you all terribly!"
Elsie leaned over and kissed her cheek. "And we, you, love."
Isobel looked over at Daisy whose expression was one of wonder as she looked about the large and ornate terminal. "This is your first time in London, isn't it, Daisy?"
"It is," she confessed.
"Well, no worries. We will make sure you don't get lost," Isobel promised before looking at the children. "Lunch is awaiting us at Grantham House. We must get going!"
Having been deposited at the front doors by Elsie's old friend, the family's chauffer Davies, she stopped short of the front door and bent down in front of the children.
"Now what voices are we going to use?"
"Our inside voices." The all chimed together.
"And are we going to run?"
"No."
"Are we going to interrupt when grown-ups are talking?"
"No."
"Are we going to be patient and calm?"
"Yes."
"And what are we not going to talk about, Miss Olivia?"
Livy broke into a smile. "Poo."
"Very good." She gave the little girl a gentle poke in the tummy before asking all three, "Do you know how much Mumma loves you?"
"More than there are stars and snowflakes and strawberry seeds."
"That's right."
She straightened up just as the family's butler Hilliard opened the door. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Carson, Mrs. Crawley."
"Good afternoon, Hilliard." Isobel answered as she pulled Pete onto her hip. "I hope we've not kept everyone waiting for lunch."
"Not at all. His Lordship is waiting for you in the drawing room."
The group walked into the entry, the little girls' heads twisting and turning as they took in the high ceiling and winding staircase.
"Mumma, it's like where Eloise lives in the books," Poppy murmured with wide eyes.
"That's a hotel, sweetheart. This is a house."
"Do they have kittens?" Livy asked as the group moved towards an open doorway.
"No, they don't have kittens," her mother answered with a laugh.
They were almost to the drawing room when she felt a tug on her skirt. "What, baby?"
Livy lifted her hand to her mother's ear and whispered, "Well, if they don't have kittens, I like our house better."
Treated to a wink, the little girl was answered back with, "Me, too."
"Penelope Joan Carson!" Robert Crawley bellowed as the oldest Carson child led the delegation into the room. "I can't believe what a grown up little lady you are! What are you? Sixteen? Seventeen?"
"I'm only four, Uncle Robert!" Poppy answered with a giggle as she was lifted into his arms.
"But I swear you were fifteen the last time I saw you."
"Nooooo." The child continued to giggle as she was placed back on the ground.
Robert reached over and squeezed Pete's knee. "Pete, my boy! I can't believe how big you are!"
The little boy clung to Isobel, not as familiar with Robert as the girls were.
"I think we might be a tad sleepy. The train ride was far too exciting for anyone to be able to nap on the way," Elsie quickly offered.
"I should say." Robert gave Elsie a wink before he announced, "Well, I am so disappointed that Olivia Violet didn't make the trip."
"I'm right here, Uncle Robert!" Livy answered, bouncing from her place at her mother's feet to right in front of the man.
"Such a shame. I was so looking forward to seeing her." Robert continued his charade, his face drawn up in an exaggerated grimace as he looked all around the room except for right in front of him.
"I'm right here! Olivia is right here, Uncle Robert!" She reached out and gave his trousers a tug.
"I suppose she just didn't want to see me."
"Here! Right here in front of you!" She waved her arms over her head.
"Is she ill?"
"Ughhh!" The little girl let out an exasperated groan. "Mumma!" She held up her arms for her mother to pick her up and when she was lifted to a higher elevation she stretched her arms towards the tall man until she was able to grab his lapels. "I. AM. RIGHT. HERE."
"My heart is just broken."
Everyone was laughing at the game as Livy reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, her feet now in Elsie's hands as she lifted her face even to his. "Livy is here, Uncle Robert! I am at your face!"
"Oh, hello. When did you get here?"
The room was bubbling with laughter when a voice suddenly sounded from across the room. "It seems the fun has started without me."
"Good afternoon, Lady Grantham."
Elsie gave Violet a warm smile as Robert and Isobel each lowered their respective child to the ground where they joined hands with Poppy and carefully walked across the plush carpet until they were standing only a few feet in front of Violet. Releasing one another's hands, the girls each gave a curtsey as Pete performed a little bow.
"Well, well…that is a lovely greeting."
Livy looked up with a silly smile. "Daddy said to do that when we saw you."
"Because you are Majesty goose!" Pete added.
Violet got a queer look on her face. "What is a Majesty goose?"
Elsie's cheeks burned and she quickly made her way over to the children. "It's a…I'll show you soon." She gratefully gave Violet's offered hand a squeeze before they exchanged kisses on the cheek.
"I look forward to it."
Robert met Hilliard's gaze from the doorway. "Lunch, it appears, is ready."
The group was almost to the dining room when Elsie managed to catch Robert's eye. "How is Cora? Is she up to visitors?"
He sighed, "She had a rough night. Most nights are rough. Things went so smoothly with Mary, but this baby…she's been sick nearly every day. She's barely seen Mary in the last two weeks, she's felt so awful."
"Poor thing. Well, I hope I get to hug her neck before we leave, but we certainly don't want to disturb her."
"Where is Mary?" Isobel asked as the adults were seated at the dining room table, the children relegated to a small nearby table that had been set with sandwiches.
"We have a new nanny who insists that Mary eat at very specific times so she has already had lunch." Robert said with little enthusiasm.
"Oh." Elsie felt a surprising feeling of foreboding. "What happened to that lovely young Irish girl? Clara, wasn't it?"
"Yes. The lovely Clara has unfortunately fallen in love with a lovely young Irish policeman and they have moved back to a lovely little cottage in lovely Galway." Robert lamented.
"Oh, how lovely for her," Elsie laughed before asking, "So this new nanny?"
"Nanny Eunice."
Isobel half laughed, half coughed into her napkin.
"A name befitting the lady, I quite assure you," Violet noted.
Robert nodded, "She is...quite unlike Nanny Clara. She's, I suppose you could say she is…"
"Built like a lorry."
"Isobel!" Robert and Violet cried in unison.
"Well, she is."
"Does Mary like her?"
Elsie's question took Robert and Violet aback.
"She, well, I suppose she does." His pink cheeks betrayed his embarrassment at not knowing such an important detail regarding his own child's life. "She's more of a governess than a nursemaid. She has impeccable references and has worked for some of the best families."
Elsie had to refrain from making a face, the phrase best families setting her teeth on edge. She knew Charles' upbringing gave him a sense of understanding regarding the Crawley's lifestyle, but even having known them and cared about them for years, she knew she would never be able to attain the same sense of tolerance.
"It isn't right to inundate the poor woman with three extra children. Perhaps they can play for a bit with Mary, and then Daisy can take them over to Isobel's after an hour or so."
"Nonsense," Violet quickly countered. "Your three are quite well-mannered. It won't be much of an imposition."
It still didn't sit right with her, but Elsie refrained for arguing further.
Lunch finished, the group made their way to the nursery where they met Cora's lady's maid O'Brien at the door.
The concept of a personal servant was an antiquated notion to Elsie's thinking and if pressed she would have to admit that Sarah O'Brien had never struck her as particularly warm, even occasionally detecting a cool, unfriendly air so it was no surprise when the woman barely nodded her head in their direction as she passed.
"Mary, look who's here to see you!"
Robert's entrance into the room barely drew a glance from the toddler who was playing with a stack of blocks in the floor.
"Hello, children," said a large, ruddy faced woman in a pinafore who stood at the far side of the room, her smile as disingenuous as her enthusiasm in regards to the three small children who timidly hung back, leaning on the legs of their mother and Isobel.
"It's alright. Come on," Elsie encouraged as she reached down and took Livy and Poppy's hands before leading them over to Mary. "Hello, Mary. We have been looking forward to seeing you."
"My blocks."
The little girl had never been overtly bubbly or friendly, but this was by far the most unsocial Elsie had witnessed her behaving.
"They're very nice. You are a good builder."
The child ignoring her, she glanced up and had to fight a sudden wave of nausea. She had been back in this room a few times since the horrible incident with Alice the evening before Robert and Cora's wedding, but the sight of the English garden mural on the wall and the plush green carpet in which she had trapped her attacker were triggering unwanted memories.
Livy willingly plopped herself down in the floor and picked up a few scattered blocks, gently handing them to Mary to add to her small pile, but Poppy continued to cling to her mother as she stared up at the large stranger who had joined them in the center of the room.
"Hello. I'm Elsie Carson. It's very nice to meet you."
"Eunice Bottom." The brusque woman shook Elsie's proffered hand.
"Are you sure you don't mind their joining Mary?" She turned and nodded towards Daisy. "I brought our friend Daisy and she can certainly take the children over to Mrs. Crawley's home after they've played with Mary for a bit."
"It's fine. Lady Mary and I have made it through most of her lessons already and she just had a nap. I am sure the children and I will get along just fine."
The use of Mary's formal title did not go unnoticed by the uneasy mother who knew it was a subtle dig at the Carson's children's lack of pedigree, but she somehow managed to conjure a warm smile. "Thank you. We'll only be gone a few hours, but Daisy is going to stay here just in case. Please don't hesitate to call on her for assistance."
"It won't be necessary." Nanny Eunice said firmly.
Elsie nodded her head before crouching down, patting Poppy's back reassuringly as the little girl joined her sister and Mary on the floor, Pete soon following with Isobel's guidance.
"Have fun and behave please, and when Aunt Izzy and I get back from the reading, we'll go over to her house."
"You'll be back soon?" Poppy asked, her little face still colored with worry.
Elsie kissed her head. "You're going to have so much fun, the time will fly by." She kissed her other children before standing. "Thank you, again."
"We'll be fine, Mrs. Carson."
"See you soon." Giving the children a last smile, she headed out the door, her heart lurching as she glanced over her shoulder when passing through the doorway, Poppy's little face filled with anguish as she clung to Tildy.
"You'll let her have that doll!"
The adults hadn't been gone five minutes when Mary had reached over and begun pulling Tildy away from Poppy.
"But that's Poppy's baby!" Livy cried, moving towards her sister and the child.
Nanny Eunice grabbed Livy by the upper arm and roughly pulled her away from the group. "Get back! I'll not put up with ruffians! I know all about you. You're lucky to even be in the same room with Lady Mary."
Mary's face was growing red as she continued to struggle with Poppy.
Letting go of Livy, the woman reached down and jerked the doll from the tug of war and handed her to Mary.
"But she has all those other babies," Poppy reasoned as she pointed at a group of toy prams and cribs filled with an assortment of the beautiful dolls with fine china complexions not unlike their owner.
Livy rubbed at her arm, unaccustomed to be handled so roughly, but her spirit was intact as she marched over to the collection and fetched a beautiful doll with yellow curls and bright red lips from a bassinet. "Here, Poppy. Play with this one."
Tucking Tildy under her arm, Mary ran to Livy and began pulling the doll away.
"Here." Livy offered the baby to Mary. "But you have to give Tildy back," Livy demanded.
Nurse Eunice grabbed Livy's arm again and harshly chided her, "Don't touch her things. You keep your grubby hands to yourselves."
"Poppy!" Livy cried, her arm stinging as fear began coursing through her veins as she struggled to keep her balance as the woman suddenly let go.
Pete was whimpering as Poppy took his hand, her eyes never leaving the cruel woman as they rushed to Livy's side. "Let's just sit over there." She pointed to a small, empty table in the far corner of the room.
"But Tildy!" Livy cried, wiping her eyes with her free hand.
"It's okay," Poppy bravely managed as large tears escaped her eyes. "Just stay with me and Pete. Just stay together."
Elsie and Isobel having set off for the afternoon's reading at a nearby bookshop, Violet into the library to make some calls, and Robert retreating to his study, Daisy was unsure of what to do given that she wasn't welcome in the nursery. She had been left in the drawing room with the suggestion to read some magazines, but seeing a young girl about her age pass by the doorway, she quickly followed her down a set of stairs set behind a nearby door.
"Hello."
The girl turned just outside the kitchen, startled by Daisy's presence, but managed a polite, "Good afternoon."
"I'm Daisy."
"Ivy."
An awkward silence filled the next few moments until Daisy managed to ask, "Have you worked for the Crawley's for very long?"
"Only a few months. The housemaid is sick so I have been helping out upstairs, but I am really the cook's assistant."
"I work in a restaurant, well a tea room really."
A flash of judgement passed over Ivy's fair face, but she covered it quickly as she asked, "Do you get to bake much?"
"Oh lots. Cakes and biscuits, tarts, and I make sandwiches, of course. Lots of…"
The twosome was interrupted as an annoyed Mrs. Landower, the cook, suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Excuse me, miss, but I am afraid Ivy has too much work to engage in much more idle chat."
"I'm sorry," Daisy quickly apologized. "I didn't mean…"
"It's alright, dear, but we really must get back to work."
"You work? That'll be the day!"
The hearty voice of Lily Purley caught all three women off-guard as they turned to see the large form of the former cook and her small husband making their way through the backdoor.
"There's work aplenty going on here, Miss Lily Purley, I'll have you know. We have visitors." Mrs. Landower informed her before bouncing her stout and portly figure over to the woman who pulled her into a warm embrace.
"Who is visiting?"
Lily turned and looked at Daisy, staring for a moment before bursting into a bright smile. "Daisy! Oh, you sweet girl! What on earth are you doing in London?"
"I'm here with Mrs. Carson."
"Ohhhh!" Lily threw her hand over her mouth. "My little mother is here?"
"And the children. She's at a book reading with Mrs. Crawley, but the children are upstairs in the nursery with Mary."
"Well what are we standing around here for? I need to love on my peanuts!"
Lily, Daisy, and Purley were quietly making their way down the corridor towards the nursery when they suddenly heard Poppy yell the word, "NO!" which was followed by an acid tongued Eunice Bottoms hissing, "Don't you talk back to me, you little bastard."
The threesome were nearing the door when Pete cried out, "No hit, no bite, no push!"
Rushing into the room, Lily pushed past Purley and Daisy just in time to grab the woman's raised arm before she brought it down on Poppy's bottom.
"Don't. You. Dare."
Shocked, the woman let go of Poppy's arm which freed the child to run to her brother and sister.
"Come here, come here!" Daisy quickly offered, rushing towards the children. She had all three wrapped in her arms when Livy suddenly broke free and ran across the room, picking up a discarded Tildy from the floor and returning it to her sister.
"Let go of me! How dare you!?" Nanny Eunice struggled, but was no match for Lily's vice-like grip.
"How dare I? You are lucky you are still on your feet!"
The event had unnerved even the steely nerves of Mary who suddenly burst into tears.
"Purley, fetch his Lordship." Lily ordered as she dragged the woman as far from the children as possible.
"Who are you? You've no right. I'm in charge here!"
"Not for long." Lily assured her.
"I'll call the police!" Nanny Eunice warned, still struggling in vain to escape Lily's clutch.
"What is going on here?" Robert Crawley stood in the doorway, utterly bewildered by the scene in front of him.
"She was going to hit, Poppy, milord. We caught her just as she raised her hand."
"Hit a child? I never! This is preposterous!"
"Quiet!" Robert commanded the indignant woman before making his way to a sniffling Mary whom he pulled into his arms. He turned to Daisy and the Carson children. "Daisy?"
"We heard Poppy yell "no" and then," she pointed at Nanny Eunice, "she called her a very bad name and then Pete yelled "No hit, no push, no bite" and we made it to the door and it was just as Lily said. She was raising her arm to hit Poppy."
Robert glanced angrily at the woman before turning his attention back to the children. "Poppy, what happened before Daisy and Lily and Purley got here?"
The little one glanced nervously towards the menacing woman being held by Lily, biting her little lip in much the same fashion as her mother when upset.
"It's alright, darling. You can tell Uncle Robert."
"She wouldn't let us play with any toys because she said we were grubby and then when Mary let go of her ball and it rolled to Pete, he picked it up, and she went like this," Poppy made a slapping motion with her hand. "…and she hit his hand and knocked the ball out and I said "No!" because people aren't supposed to hit." She burst into tears as she tried to continue, "And that's when she grabbed my arm." She moved her hand to her arm as she turned her face into Daisy's chest.
"You're going to believe the word of a child over mine?"
Robert turned, all of his might focused on maintaining his temper as he held his daughter. "That child? Absolutely. Get your things and leave. I'll write you a check for your salary through the end of the week, but you'll receive no reference."
Lily let go of the woman who huffed her way towards the door, only to stop short to give her former employer a vitriolic tongue lashing. "You, sir, are no better than the company you keep! You let this trash near your child? The staff told me all about these children. Their mother comes from murders and scum and from what I hear those girls are bastards."
"Get out." The words barely escaped Robert's clenched teeth.
Hilliard suddenly appeared at the doorway.
"Milord?"
"Please see that any trace of her having ever set foot in this house is removed and if she isn't gone in ten minutes, call the police."
The woman now under Hilliard's watchful eye, Lily and Purley made their way over to Daisy and the children.
"Oh, peanut," Lily whispered as she pulled Poppy into her arms, the teary child burying her face into the comforting woman's neck. "Ol' Lily is so sorry, sweet thing. So sorry."
"Will you take them downstairs, Purley? I'm sure there's some ice cream. Here, Mary, it's alright. Go with Daisy and Lily and have some ice cream." Purley holding Pete on his hip, Daisy had a free hand which Mary soon took.
"I promise nothing like this will ever happy again." Robert whispered as he leaned over and kissed Poppy's cheek. "You are a good, sweet girl, my dear Poppy. Uncle Robert will see to it that no one ever tries to hurt you or Livy or Pete ever again."
Robert found his mother just finishing a call in the library and soon had her filled in as to what had transpired upstairs. His explanation still hung in the air as Violet grabbed her cane and took off towards the entry.
"Mama!"
Her son's call ignored, Violet was up the staircase and into the corridor as Eunice Bottom emerged from her room, Mr. Hilliard nearby from standing post just outside the door.
"You've given me a busy afternoon, Miss Bottom."
The woman responded with nothing more than a hateful stare.
"I now have to call all of the families from whom you provided references, as well as every other family I know with children under the age of fifteen and let them know that under no circumstances should any of them ever consider taking you into their employ."
Bag in hand, Eunice was almost to where Violet stood when she spat out, "You don't know everyone."
"Oh, but between the boards I sit on, the members of my club, the boards my son sits on, the members of his club, and not to mention his American mother-in-law who knows everyone from Eleanor Roosevelt to Lucille Ball to the Vanderbilts, you won't be able to find a place with a good family on either side of the Atlantic. I hope your typing is decent."
Miss Bottom began to take a step past Violet, but was stopped by the sudden and startling swoop of the heavy wooden cane which came to an abrupt halt just short of the woman's chin.
"And you should count yourself lucky," the grand lady hissed. "If it had been me who had found you instead of Lily, you'd be on your way to hospital to have this removed from being shoved where the sun doesn't shine."
The woman remained frozen in place as Violet lowered the cane at an excruciatingly slow rate.
"Check her pockets before she leaves, Hilliard."
The book reading had been a tremendous success, a much larger crowd of children and parents gathering at the book store than Elsie's publisher had expected. Exhausted, but in good spirits, Elsie was eager to see the children as she and Isobel returned almost an hour later than planned.
A bright smile on both their faces, they were surprised when Robert met them at the door instead of Hilliard.
"Elsie, I'm…oh, God. I am so, so sorry."
"What? What is it?" Her heart jumped into her throat as she stared at Robert's grave expression, it being shockingly similar to the one he wore the day he met her, Violet, Isobel and Cora at the hospital after Charles had been stabbed by Joe Burns.
"Good God, Robert, what's wrong?" Isobel grabbed Elsie's hand as they followed him into the house.
"If I had had any idea that the woman was capable of…"
"The woman? The new nanny?" Elsie's mind spun in a thousand directions. "Where are my children?"She took off towards the stairs, but Robert followed her, begging her to wait.
"They're downstairs with Lily and Purley and Mama. They are alright. Please. I will take you to them, but you have to know what happened first."
Isobel took her hand once more as they followed Robert into the drawing room.
He tried to be as comforting as possible, but didn't hold back telling her everything that he knew had occurred while they were away.
"She's been dismissed and Mama has already been on the phone calling anyone and everyone to make sure that her name is absolutely dragged through the mud. Jesus Christ, Elsie. I will never be able to tell you how incredibly sorry I am."
She hadn't said a word since he had begun his explanation, but suddenly jumped to her feet. "Do you know where she went?"
"What? No. No idea."
"You know people. Do you know someone who could find her?"
"Elsie…" Isobel stood, placing a hand on her friend's arm. "You can't do anything. She's never going to get a decent job ever again. There's nothing else to be done."
"I can claw her eyes out. I can…"
Robert and Isobel exchanged looks.
"It took every bit of my restraint not to beat her to death with my cane."
They turned to find Violet in the doorway.
"I'm so sorry. It's terrible and it's unforgivable, but the best thing you can do is keep calm and be with your children, Elsie."
"She…she…" Elsie's breaths were stunted as she struggled to maintain control. "She called them trash…that bitch called my children bastards."
Isobel pulled the trembling woman to her. "Shhh…shhh…."
"I'm going to call Charles," Robert offered.
"No." Elsie shook her head. "Don't. We'll go home tonight. We'll just…we'll get tickets for the next train."
"Elsie, it's alright. You don't need to leave, especially when you are this upset. We're going to get the children and go to my house. You have your dinner…"
"Sod my dinner."
Isobel nodded her head. "I'll call Mr. Pettigrew and cancel, but you are going to stay with me. Let's go see the children and make a move. You can call Charles from mine and decide what you want to do then, but I really think you should still do the reading at the hospital tomorrow and that we should take Daisy and the children along."
Her adrenaline waning a bit, she nodded her head and after a few deep breaths and the application of a handkerchief, she felt calm and cleaned up enough to see the children.
They were mid-stair when she heard Lily and the twins giggling and singing:
"If you're happy and you know it clap your hands! If you're happy and you know it, clap you're hands! If you're happy and you know it then your face will surely show it, if you're happy and you know it clap your hands!"
The adults remained on the stairwell through the stomping of the feet, their own faces drawing up into smiles at the sound. The others stayed behind as Elsie made her way down the last few steps alone.
The children's backs to the doorway, they were unaware of being observed until Elsie stepped into the kitchen and called out, "Hello, my sweet peas."
The three Carson children shot off like rockets to their mother, each calling her name.
Lowering self to her knees, she held onto them tightly while whispering, "I'm so sorry. Mumma's so sorry." She began stretching her neck and looking at the ceiling to keep the children from seeing the tears running down her cheeks, but after letting out a slow breath, she mustered a smile as she looked back down to find Poppy gazing up at her, the little girl's hand reaching up to gently rest against her cheek.
"It's okay, Mumma. It's okay."
Her little girl's gentle smile brought about more tears, but she maintained her smile, lowering her head and gently rubbing it against Poppy's, reminding herself of what she had said to the Mumma cat that morning. "She's going to be alright. Just give her love. That's the best thing a mumma can do."