A./N.: Hi lovelies. A much lighter chapter than the previous ones, but just as emotional. Enjoy and please leave a review if you feel so inclined, they are my life-line and tell me I'm on the right track or getting it terribly wrong.

A Bride's Treasures

By tea time Mrs Hughes was readying herself once more to go upstairs and have her meeting with Lady Grantham. Beryl and Glenna were cosily ensconced in Elsie's parlour and regaling each other with stories of a younger Elsie. The woman in question had given up on reining those two in; she was only glad that they hadn't yet found the bottle of Whiskey hidden in her desk drawer. Shaking her head woefully, she gathered her notes and made one last attempt to appeal to their responsible side.

"Don't forget dinner, Mrs Patmore, and please, Glenna, try to stay out of their way," she implored earnestly.

Both older women looked at each other for a moment, shocked to silence apparently, then fixed a wry look on Elsie before bursting into peals of laughter.

"Giving me orders, are ye?" Glenna gasped out between huge breaths of air. "You know what that will get you."

Elsie's eyes widened noticeably and she took a step back from her sister, but was brought up short by her settee. With a small cry she lost her balance and gracelessly plopped onto it. Glenna advanced on her menacingly, her hands up and a wicked grin on her face.

"You wouldn't, Glenna," Elsie pleaded. "Don't you dare!" She tried another tactic. "We aren't children anymore."

But there was no deterring her sister as Glenna was now upon her, tickling her sides while she lightly pushed her down. Elsie erupted into full-throated laughter, trying to stop her sister's hands and pushing her away. She begged her to stop between drawing breath and laughing hysterically. For a short moment the ugly ghost of Grigg reared his head and invaded her mind, but he was quickly banished by the complete trust in her sister. The feeling of being pinned down onto the settee was not as overwhelming as it should have been considering her experiences. Instead of feeling helpless and at Glenna's mercy, Elsie knew without any doubt that one word would stop Glenna immediately and that gave her peace and trust. She laughed boisterously and felt Grigg's hold over her slip away.

Glenna had also seen the dark shadows clouding her sister's eyes for a heart-stopping moment, but then it had been chased away by something else. Hesitating, not sure how she should react, Glenna stopped tickling her sister and stood over her, undecided and waiting. That was a mistake as Elsie instantly grabbed her wrists and tugged on them so that Glenna pitched forward and landed next to Elsie on the settee, feeling Elsie's hands now tickling her sides. The older woman squealed in surprise, all dignity of age or position gone. After a few seconds Elsie let go of her and the two sisters slumped side by side, grinning broadly and trying to catch their breath. Then Glenna turned her head to look at her younger sister and cupped her cheek softly in her hand.

"See, a leannan, you are not a victim, you're a survivor," she said quietly, her eyes soft and still tenderly stroking Elsie's cheek with her thumb. "You're the strongest woman I know."

Tears welled up in Elsie's eyes, but did not leak out. She smiled gratefully at her sister and leaned her cheek more snuggly against her sister's hand. A mischievous smile spread over her lips and she teased, "It still means you two should act more adult."

Now even Beryl joined in their laughter.

oOoOoOo

Lady Grantham sat regally on the sofa in the small library and sipped on her tea as she furtively observed her housekeeper. Mrs Hughes looked much better since her sister's arrival. Her cheeks were rosy and a certain spark had returned into her eyes. Most importantly though, Cora could see her smile into her own cup every so often and her voice was once more light and carefree.

At the beginning of their meeting Cora had also detected a bit of unease in the housekeeper and the other woman had needed a few moments to find a comfortable spot and position, but once she had the household business had been quickly and efficiently been discussed between them both. Now Mrs Hughes was fidgeting again, her right hand automatically going to her stomach and covering it. Cora could understand too well what the other woman must be feeling. Her own experiences had taught her that one's skin was overly sensitive during pregnancy, especially one's breasts, and that a corset was even more torturous than ever before. Again her eyes surreptitiously swept over her housekeeper and she could see the tension in her body language. Before she could stop her impulsive urge, Cora blurted out, "You must be frightfully uncomfortable."

Mrs Hughes nearly dropped her cup into her lap in her shock. She hadn't thought that she was that obvious or that Her Ladyship would directly address that. She lowered her eyes shyly and her cheeks tinted bright red. In her embarrassment her cup rattled precariously on its saucer, but before she could spill anything Lady Grantham reached out and wrapped her steady hands around Elsie's trembling ones.

"Please don't think me insensitive or rude," Lady Grantham pleaded earnestly. "I have three children and I know what you are going through." She smiled endearingly at Mrs Hughes, trying to ease the tension from the room again and return to the relaxed atmosphere from before.

A wry smile appeared on her housekeeper's face and she inclined her head in acceptance. "You simply took me by surprise, Your Ladyship," she said quietly, and then she smiled tiredly up at her employer and mumbled faintly. "If you have any advice about how to get rid of this beastly morning sickness, I'll be all ears."

Cora threw her head back and laughed uproariously. When Mrs Hughes raised her gaze, eyes wide open in surprise once more, she reined herself in, but couldn't contain her chuckles. "I'm afraid you'll have to endure that, same as we all," she said finally, her eyes still dancing merrily. "It usually stops in the second trimester …" Mrs Hughes' dazed and embarrassed look stopped her mid-sentence. Somehow the other woman seemed overwhelmed and Cora tried to puzzle out what it could be. Cocking her head to the side she contemplated the other woman's life. She had to admit to herself that she knew very little about her housekeeper. In all the years of faithful service Cora was ashamed to realize that she had never made any attempt to get to know the other woman apart from her profession. "I … that is … how much …" She trailed off; she couldn't ask these questions. It was highly uncomfortable and embarrassing for them both.

"I should know more – considering I grew up on a farm," Elsie admitted almost inaudibly, "but it is entirely different if it's you." Shyly she peeked up through her lashes, cheeks pink.

Lady Grantham nodded slowly, her own cheeks pink and her eyes downcast. "Maybe Cousin Isobel or your sister would be better to … explain things," she suggested softly.

Now Elsie had a question burning on her tongue and asked quietly, "Who did you have to help you?"

Cora sighed before answering wearily, "She's always more hindrance than help …"

Both women shared a significant look and then started to giggle, hands daintily held in front of their mouths to somehow stifle their mirth (to no avail). "I have no doubt, My Lady."

Now that both women were relaxed again Cora felt that she could bring up something else that had been on her mind for quite some time. There was no better moment to broach this subject so she might as well just say it.

"O'Brien told me that she wants to sew you a wedding dress," she opened the conversation again.

"I assure you that I won't have it interfere with her duties," Elsie was quick to reassure, sitting up straighter once more.

Cora held up one hand to silence Elsie and then smiled impishly. "She has my permission to let it interfere with her duties," she interrupted the other woman softly. "In fact I have also told her to use the fabric that I had brought with me from America for my wedding dress. Before I could do much more than look at pattern books, Lady Grantham had deemed it too un-English and had something else made up for me. Please accept it as my wedding gift to you … something old if you will …" Her words died away as she saw tears running down Elsie's face and a soppy smile appearing on her lips. Getting up she crossed over to the other sofa and sat down beside her housekeeper, taking both her hands in her own. "I didn't mean to offend."

"Oh, My Lady, I can assure you the very last thing I am is offended," Elsie could get out around the lump in her throat. "I don't know what to say to thank you."

"There is no need for thanks," Cora said softly. "It is the very least I can give you after your many years of service to me and my family. You are very highly valued by us all."

oOoOoOo

Brian McKenzie nervously approached the Butler's pantry. He wanted to make amends with the other man. They had gotten off to a bad start and that only thanks to him and his need to show who the alpha male was. Glenna's uncertainty this morning and Elsie's pain had effectively shown him how ridiculous he had behaved. Instead of respecting Charles Carson for the difficult decision he had made and his honourable behaviour towards Elsie, Brian had attacked the man and called him out. Wretchedly ashamed, Brian scoffed his boot on the floor outside the Butler's pantry before mustering enough nerve to actually knock on the door. When he did, though, no answer came. Unbeknownst to Brian the butler stood behind him, silently observing the conflicting emotions on the farmer's face. Something was troubling the man and his heart sank. He prayed that this time it had nothing to do with Elsie. There was only one way to find out.

"Mr McKenzie, can I help you with something?" Charles asked, his voice booming off the stone walls of downstairs. He had the smug satisfaction to see the man startle and whirl around. It was hard not to smirk, but his professional mask stayed firmly in place.

Brian acknowledged the man with a curt nod and then mentioned to the shut door of his pantry. "If we could maybe …?" He let the rest of the sentence hang in the air between them.

Charles inclined his head and then strode over to his door, swiftly opening it and waving Mr McKenzie to follow him. He, too, had no intention to discuss anything private in a place where any of the staff might overhear them – especially anything that had to do with his fiancée.

"What can I do for you?" he asked as soon as McKenzie had shut the door behind himself, firing the first salve before Brian could once more catch him unawares.

"I know that our first meeting wasn't exactly … friendly," Brian acknowledged easily, surprising Charles with his honesty. "I'm here because I wanted to apologize to you for my behaviour. If Glenna or, God forbid, Elsie found out, they'd have my head." He chuckled wryly, but also rubbed his neck.

Charles' prominent eyebrows shot skywards in surprise. He himself had never found apologies very easy; his pride had always stood in his way and had cost him much already. His years of foolishness were a prime example of how his false pride and bravado had caused him trouble. Now he could only graciously accept this honest man's heart-felt apology and mumble one of his own. "No need for that, Mr McKenzie. We both uttered things we didn't mean and should never have said aloud."

Brian also nodded silently. He had found a man similar to himself. Neither of them was a man of many words and they both found it hard to talk about their feelings … but maybe they had even more in common.

"Elsie's a lucky woman," he carefully began to feel his way into the conversation, "to have you stand by her side, I mean. She was always full of praise for you," he added, his old mischievous flame returning quickly.

Charles' shoulders came up in a defensive shrug and he replied gruffly, "She's the kindest woman I have the pleasure of knowing." He faltered for a moment, and then bravely raised his eyes to the other man, squaring up for muster and hoping to God he would pass. "She's so very dear to me. I can't bear to see her like this …"

Both men were lost in their own dark thoughts for a while; they were united in their protectiveness of Elsie and her unborn child. Brian's eyes narrowed a little and he looked hard at Charles. Unconsciously Charles drew his shoulders up and anticipated a stern judgement. When Mr McKenzie's words came, he felt almost prepared to hear them.

"You'll stand by her child as well, will you?"

Charles exhaled softly. His eyes shone with unshed tears, but a small smile was also playing around his lips. "I already love that child as my own," he admitted honestly. "Elsie is the one who still hasn't accepted it and in any way warmed to the idea of being a mother." He sighed quietly, his hand instinctively reaching up to pat his livery over the place his inside pocket was. Then he shrugged and reached inside to withdraw a little object wrapped in a handkerchief and holding it out to Brian for inspection. As the other man carefully unfolded the bundle, he sucked in his breath at what he revealed. Inside the handkerchief nestled a beautifully crafted brooch in the form of the Gaelic motherhood symbol with a small sapphire splinter carefully cradled in its middle. "The baby will have my name, my love and my protection – not just for its mother's sake."

A lump had formed in Brian's throat at his future brother-in-law's words. He had heard it said often enough that Charles Carson was an honourable man, who didn't do things by half or without considerable thought beforehand. Now here was proof for that in the man himself. Impulsively Brian grasped Charles forearm and locked his eyes with Charles'.

"Then, brother, there is only one thing to say." His voice was grave and full of emotions. "It is an old Scottish wedding blessing … and a little bird tells me you're a traditionalist." He winked at Charles; both men knowing who the little bird was.

"May God be with you and bless you.

May you see your children's children.

May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings.

May you know nothing but happiness

From this day forward"

Emotion threatened to overwhelm both men and Brian felt that he should retreat now; he had said what he had come to say and had been reassured that his sister-in-law was loved and protected. Seeing Mr Carson fight to hold in his tears, Brian stepped back and silently turned to the door. Maybe it was time to find his own wife and have a breath of fresh air while he reassured himself of Glenna's love. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw Mr Carson stare out the window, lost to the world.

"Síochána a bheith leis", he mumbled to himself as he left the pantry. It was a heart-felt prayer to whatever deity felt inclined to listen; Peace be with him – and her come to think of it.

A./N.: I have seen the brooch described in this chapter on Tumblr. A quick explanation for those who haven't seen it: The Motherhood knot is more or less a bigger heart intertwined with a smaller one, symbolising the mother and child bond. For each child a stone is added to the symbol. It's usually the birthstone of the child, but I thought I could get away with the sapphire as a symbol for Elsie's eyes.