A./N.: Again I have no better excuse for why you had to wait this long for an update except that my life is pretty crazy at the moment. Too much to do and not enough hours in the day. Anyway …

Here is the next chapter.

Before you read it, I would like to thank all of you who left reviews. Thank you so much, guys, they really mean the world to me.

Sheps888: I wrote such a detailed description because I work through what happened to me and to a very dear friend with this story. I learnt that you need to speak about what happened, to confront yourself with it, because you can't forget or run away from it.

eva. chrisovitsanousweety: I'm glad you're enjoying this story so far. Here are some answers to your questions.

evitamockingbird: Thank you for your kind review. Some women shut themselves off from men after being raped, and others need emotional intimacy but shy away from the physical one. I don't think Elsie is a weak woman and I believe she would need her friends around her to get her through what happened. I'm a German and can't watch season 4, but after I started this story I read on tumblr that Anna was raped and Elsie encouraged her to go to Bates. So I let her take her own advice.

Now on with the story.

Where There Is Shadow There Must Be Light

Lord and Lady Grantham regarded the lovely but heart-breaking scene with interest. Cora, a true romantic at heart, felt deeply for her housekeeper and could only imagine how overwhelmed she must feel by these sudden and frightening events. She remembered well how the usually so stoic and practical woman had broken down after her attack. For the first time in her life Cora had felt downright murderous towards another living soul. As far as she had understood - and she had heard nearly the whole story - the assailant had attacked this dear woman to hurt the butler. It was unbelievable! To see said butler now trying his best to mend the damage was heart-warming and restored at least a little of her faith in the male portion of the species. Robert, standing somewhat uncomfortably next to her, shifted from one foot to the other, clearly lost as to what to do or say next. Cora couldn't supress a giggle at his face. He looked like a child seeing its parents kiss … utterly out of his zone of comfort. Robert glanced over at her and lifted one of his eyebrows at her, making her giggle even more.

"Oh hush, you," he mock-admonished quietly, rolling his eyes at his wife's swooning.

"I can't help myself," she whispered back. "They deserve all the happiness in the world … especially after …"

"Yes, I know." Robert stepped closer to his wife's side and gently wrapped her in his arms. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw tears forming in Cora's eyes. That Grigg fellow had not only physically assaulted their beloved Mrs Hughes, but in doing so he had hurt the entire household. Even he had noticed the changes, oblivious male that he could be at times. The most shocking change had to be his mother. Before she and Mrs Hughes hadn't usually seen eye to eye, but now his formidable mother wouldn't tolerate a word uttered against the housekeeper. She was supported in this by his three daughters. Cora and Isobel were more emotionally involved. Both women were observing Mrs Hughes, making sure her chores were as light as they could be. Robert had even been told by Bates that Cora had been seen in the housekeeper's parlour going over the accounts while the woman was out and about doing her rounds through the house. Naturally Cora and Isobel would be the two most affected … not the only ones to be sure … but the two women had seen Mrs Hughes through the worst. Robert knew that Cora would never forget what she had seen that night. To be sure, young Matthew carrying a battered Mrs Hughes through the front door of the Abbey wasn't a picture that would ever leave him either.

oOoOoOo

The family was all sitting in the dining room … well, all but for Matthew Crawley. He had been delayed at work due to some will he had to revise for a wealthy merchant from Ripon. Now he was finally done with his work and had agreed to meet his mother at the Abbey to join them for the main course and to accompany her home afterwards. He was quite looking forward to it tonight. Listening to his mother and Cousin Violet spar against each other was certainly entertaining - not to mention that he would see Mary again. He hadn't given up hope yet to convince her that he was a good match for her. Yes, he had been against 'having one of the daughters thrust on him', but once he had seen Mary he had changed his tune. As he strolled leisurely down the road towards the Abbey, enjoying the quiet after the day he had had, he contemplated how to approach her yet again. He sighed as he came up empty and watched how his breath condensed a little in the air before him, creating a light mist. It was a bit chilly since it was already autumn, but he really didn't mind. The breeze seemed to blow away the cobwebs that the monotonous paperwork had left behind.

All of a sudden he saw a dark figure sprinting out of the forest to his right side. In his haste the stranger didn't seem to mind where he was going - in fact, he was turning around even while running straight towards Matthew. Before Matthew could step out of the way or make himself known to the other man, he was nearly run over by him. As the stranger realized that he had collided with another person, his face showed true fear and he scrambled to get away as quickly as humanly possible. This seemed even stranger to Matthew. If the man was running from something or someone, why would he be frightened by a potential ally? … That was if the man was running from someone … but what if the man had committed a crime and was now trying to get away? A cold shudder ran through Matthew and in an instant his mind was made up; he would investigate what had happened. Carefully he crept closer to the side of the road. He knew that there was a smaller path following parallel to the road he was walking on. It was for the pedestrians so they wouldn't be endangered by the motorcars ... now it seemed that the pedestrians were more endangered by robbers. Coming through the undergrowth and onto the path, he couldn't make out anything at first. Since the trees there standing closer together, the light was sparse and the atmosphere considerably scarier. Slowly he moved further onto the path and suddenly spotted a crumpled person lying on it. There was no sound coming from the person, and Matthew felt his courage desert him. What if that person was dead? What if he had happened upon the scene of a horrible crime? Still he had to make sure. If there was even a tiny chance that he could help, it was his God-given duty to. Creeping closer, Matthew tried to steel himself for what he might see … but he was wholly unprepared …

Before him on the ground lay Mrs Hughes. She was badly hurt and bleeding. Her clothes were torn, wrinkled … and Matthew could clearly see what had happened to her. His eyes filled with tears as he looked down on her, his heart clenching at the sight of her. Since her eyes were closed and the light was dim, he couldn't make out if she was still alive. He prayed fervently that she was, but he had to make sure. Hesitantly he extended his hand and knelt down by her side. When his trembling fingertips came in contact with her skin, he could feel her warmth and a rapidly beating pulse. Furthermore Mrs Hughes' eyes flew open and she whimpered in pain. Fear was clearly evident in her face and the tension of her body, but it seemed that she had no more strength left to fight.

"Please no more …" she whispered brokenly, not recognizing the man leaning over her.

"Sshh, Mrs Hughes," Matthew said softly, stroking the hair out of her face. "It is me, Mrs Hughes, it's me Matthew Crawley. You are safe now."

"M-Mr C-Crawl-ley," Mrs Hughes whispered, her eyes focusing on him at last. Tears began to fall freely down her cheeks, making tracks in the blood and dirt. "Oh, thank God."

Gently Matthew helped her to sit up. Elsie whimpered and hissed in pain, and leaned heavily against Mr Crawley's chest, trying desperately not to faint or vomit all over the young man. He let her rest against his frame and slowly opened his coat, removing it. Elsie's eyes widened immediately and the fear returned to her eyes, making Matthew hate himself. With a little flourish he draped his coat gently around her shoulders, wrapping her securely into it.

"I am very sorry," he mumbled, not looking into her eyes. Then he lifted her into his arms, slowly standing up, causing her to wince in pain and nearly losing consciousness.

oOoOoOo

As soon as Matthew saw the heavy front doors of the Abbey in front of him, he heaved a deep sigh of relief and shifted Mrs Hughes in his arms to get her in a more comfortable position, drawing a hiss of pain from her. Shouldering his burden manfully, Matthew began to move again towards the safety of the big house. Only a few moments later he became aware of the unusual silence from the older woman in his arms and her violent trembling. When he chanced a quick glance down, Matthew saw large tears streaming across her face. What surprised him most though was the fact that Mrs Hughes seemed to trust him. Her head lay snugly against his chest and her right arm lay around his neck. She trusted him to get her to safety. She trusted him not to rape her again.

For a second or two he paused in his steps honoured and touched, then he squared his shoulders and trudged on with renewed energy. He would rather die than ever betray the woman in his arms and her trust in him, he would rather die than to ever hurt any woman. Suddenly he felt her tremble more violently in his arms, and again he faltered in his steps again. Looking down on her, he saw her eyes closed tightly and a pained expression on her face. Her tongue darted out and wetted her dry and split lips.

"Please", she whispered hoarsely. "Please, don't let them see me. Not like this ..."

Not for the first time Matthew silently cursed that devilish man, who had so hurt this usually strong woman. He wondered what he should do; bring her through the front door and straight to his mother, or bring her round to the servants entry. He shook his head in disbelieve over his own folly. His (and hers, one would think) first priority was to get to safety, no matter how. Sighing irritably, Matthew picked up his pace and approached the front door. Not letting go of Mrs Hughes for even a second, he kicked at the door lightly. To his relief the door swung open immediately. Charles Carson stood in the door frame, ready to rebuke whoever dared to interrupt the family's dinner. When he saw Matthew with his burden, and recognized who it was, his composure slipped dramatically.

"What happened to her?" Charles asked in shock. He looked positively murderous and very scared for his housekeeper. "Who hurt her?"

And again Mrs Hughes surprised Matthew by bursting into new tears at the sound of her friend's voice. She still clung to him and even tightened her grip around his neck.

Quickly Matthew indicated to Charles to follow him as he quickly strode towards the library. Charles had seen, to an extent, how hurt his dear Elsie was and didn't even try to take her from Mr Crawley's arms to carry her himself, even though he dearly wished he could. Every few seconds, though, he glanced over to his housekeeper's trembling form. Matthew was aware that Carson felt very protective of Mrs Hughes because of the many years they had worked diligently beside each other. Over the years he had to have developed feelings for the woman and now, Matthew was sure, his heart was broken seeing her like that. As a matter of fact, Carson looked ready to kill whoever had done that to her, and only his concern and the wish to be near Mrs Hughes was what kept him in the house right now and chasing whoever had done that to her.

"She doesn't want to be seen like that, Carson, but she needs to be seen to by Mother and the doctor", Matthew informed the older man. "Could you ...?"

"Uhm ... oh, yes, certainly ..." Carson mumbled and only reluctantly left to enter the dining room and inform the family of what was going on. Before he could, though, His Lordship strode into the entrance hall ... and stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes widened in apprehension and pity as he saw the sorry burden Matthew carried. The young man stepped closer and now the earl realized who it was and a barely contained gasp escaped him.

"No," he whispered, as if this feeble word could change the truth. Then he mustered his military bearing and simply waved Matthew to follow him into the library. "Carson, get Mrs Crawley and Her Ladyship, then be at the ready to get whatever they might request. Matthew, come with me. She must be freezing, let's get her settled on the settee."

"Mother will want to check you for injuries and make sure you will mend," Matthew murmured gently to Mrs Hughes. He had observed his father on the occasions when a battered woman had shown up at their house after the doctor's office was closed. He could almost hear his father's voice in his mind; "Be gentle and don't move abruptly. Never spook them."

Elsie nodded dully but didn't verbalize an answer. Subconsciously she hid her face in Matthew's shoulder and tightened her arm around his neck. Surprised, yet again, Matthew just held her tight to his chest and started humming a soft tune his father had always hummed to him on the rare occasions he had been home for a bedtime story. His gaze was tender as he regarded the wounded woman in his arms.

"Thank you," Mrs Hughes whispered. It was barely audible, but Matthew suddenly felt like the hero in his mother's stories. Heaving a sigh, he relaxed his shoulders a little and widened his stride, confident now that he would really get Mrs Hughes to safety.

oOoOoOo

It was true that Lord Grantham would be haunted by the scared expression on Mrs Hughes' battered face as Matthew had brought her into the house. His wife and Cousin Isobel had been able to help her on the long road of recovery. And now he witnessed Carson helping Mrs Hughes in a way neither woman would be able to. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable seeing his butler and housekeeper giving each other comfort, strength and – yes he had to admit it – love. He was made uncomfortable by the obvious heart-felt sincerity of it all … he felt like an intruder on a very intimate and private moment.

"We should give them some privacy again," he whispered into his wife's ear and felt her nod against his cheek.

Silently both aristocrats left the room, allowing Charles to draw Elsie tentatively closer to him. He had been acutely aware of his employers with them in the room and it had made him feel uncomfortable in equal measure as it had made Lord Grantham. Now he could gently nuzzle Elsie's hair and gently stroke her back, all the while drawing her closer into his embrace to give her willingly whatever she needed from him. He sighed softly when he felt Elsie's arms coming shyly around his back, holding on to him.

Maybe their marriage would be based on more than mutual respect and fondness after all, he mused.