Mr. Bates was laid up in bed with a terrible cold. Mr. Carson had met Anna in the corridor just after Elsie departed and she relayed the news. He would have thought his Lordship would have been content to have Molesley or Barrow assist him in dressing, but he had been called into service and serve he would.

Robert Crawley had intended to speak to Mr. Carson that morning, well before he knew of Mr. Bates' illness, but decided he would kill two birds with one stone by soliciting Mr. Carson's assistance in dressing while simultaneously asking him to run the errand that was the initial reason for his summons.

"I could send Barrow, milord."

"I thought of that, but please hear me out. I know you and Mrs. Hughes are taking your half days to look in on your rental property and I wouldn't dream of asking you to forego your trip. I only ask that you leave earlier- both of you-and take a full day. The shop is near several nice restaurants. Please take Mrs. Hughes out to lunch, my treat. I know you both have a month of Sundays due you in half days."

A compulsion to refuse the offer was almost instantly quelled at the thought of spending the time alone with Mrs. Hughes. "You are most kind, milord. It would be my pleasure to take care of the errand."

"Enjoy your day, Carson…and the company of Mrs. Hughes."

The last remark caught Mr. Carson off guard, but he refrained from giving his Lordship more than a polite nod before leaving the room. His exit was followed by an immediate entrance by her Ladyship. "So they are going?"

With a grin, Robert Crawley assured his wife, "They are. Your necklace will be retrieved from the jewelers, no fear."

"Oh, I have no need for it anytime soon; I just thought the destination might light a fire under Mr. Carson."

"And you are sure we are wise to encourage such a thing?"

Cora Crawley smiled warmly as she crossed to her husband, smoothing his tie. "Baxter says the entire staff has noticed there is something going on between them. It can't hurt to give them some time alone."

"Very well, if you are sure."

"And the houses in London are teeming with married butlers and housekeepers. We wouldn't be the first to entertain such a notion."

Giving his wife a kiss on the cheek, Robert sighed, "I suppose even we provincials must adapt to the times."

His wife stroked his cheek, "Just don't let your mother hear you say that."

Mrs. Hughes was on her hands and knees inspecting a worn bit of carpet near the entrance to the library when she suddenly caught sight of brown dress shoes and tan tweed pants heading towards her from the direction of the green baize door. Scrambling to her feet, she quickly offered, "Good morning, milord," but was startled to not only see a hand proffered, but to hear the voice that accompanied it.

"It is only me, Mrs. Hughes."

Charles Carson who was no longer wearing the mourning suit she had seen him only an hour before, but the new brown tweed she greatly admired because of the way it brought out his eyes.

"You changed clothes."

"I did. I have some news for you."

Mrs. Hughes felt a blush similar to the one she had experienced earlier in the morning cover her cheeks as Mr. Carson squeezed her hand rather than letting it go. "Well, please don't leave me in suspense. "

"In exchange for running an errand in Ripon for his Lordship, you and I have been given the full day off."

Mrs. Hughes looked him quizzically, "But we don't need a whole day to go to Ripon and Brounker Road."

"Ah, but I have been instructed to take you to a nice lunch at his Lordship's expense, so if you will be quick, I will meet you at the backdoor in fifteen minutes."

Mrs. Hughes felt the desire to fan her face; her cheeks now glowed with the anticipation of the day spent in Mr. Carson's company. "Make it ten."

The trip to Ripon was enjoyable, Yorkshire experiencing a mild January filled with lots of sunshine. A particularly rough patch of road had allowed Mr. Carson the pleasure of having Mrs. Hughes lean against him, her hand resting on his knee to brace her jostle.

"I am very sorry, Mr. Carson." She pulled her hand back as though his leg had been on fire.

"Not at all, Mrs. Hughes. The council needs to see to the road," Mr. Carson fought a smile as he reassured her.

The bus stopped a few blocks from the town square where the jewelers was situated, allowing the couple to take a stroll and observe the city come to life, Mrs. Hughes' hand nestled warmly in the crook of Mr. Carson's arm. Crossing into the square, he pointed out a small bistro opposite the jewelers as a proposed place to enjoy lunch to which she happily agreed.

Mr. Goodwyn had just unlocked his door when the handsome couple stepped onto the pavement in front of him. "Come in! Please, come in!" The older gentleman wore a happy smile on his face as he opened the door, "Good morning, Mr. Carson. You are here to collect Lady Grantham's necklace I take it?"

"Good morning to you. Yes, Mr. Goodwyn we are. I don't know if you have met Mrs. Hughes, the housekeeper of Downton?"

"A pleasure!" Mr. Goodwyn, a slight, but high spirited man, took Elsie's hand squeezing it warmly. "Welcome, Mrs. Hughes."

"Thank you, Mr. Goodwyn. You have such a lovely shop." Elsie stepped over to a case that held a collection of men's pocket watches and women's time pieces.

"You are most kind. Most kind. Please feel free to look around while I wrap up Lady Grantham's necklace." The small man practically bounced into the backroom, leaving his patrons to peruse the shelves of silver serving pieces, large clocks and cases of jewelry.

Mrs. Hughes grinned at Mr. Carson, "He is a jolly little fellow."

"He likes a pretty face, Mrs. Hughes. He is a friendly man, but I have never seen him quite so…enthusiastic."

She looked away and took a few steps further into the shop as she felt her chest tighten with happy embarrassment, the compliment quite unexpected. "I don't know about that, Mr. Carson." She turned back to find him looking at a shelf filled with mantle clocks, their workings all ticking away quite noisily. She hadn't intended on seeking out the wedding ring case, but its location directly behind her made it hard to miss. Feeling a sudden twist in her belly accompanied by a rush of heat to her head, she tried to distract herself by looking at a collection of music boxes which rested on the wall behind the case, but the glittering stones and glowing golden bands were too tempting and her attention was soon completely focused on the wares below the glass.

Unbeknownst to both of them, Mr. Goodwyn was peeking through the damask curtains that separated his storeroom from the shop. The telephone call he had received from Lady Grantham the afternoon before had piqued his curiosity about the bachelor butler whom he had known for more than twenty years. "He will most likely have a woman with him," she had explained. "Our housekeeper. I would be most appreciative if you would you let me know if they seem interested in anything particular in your shop, Mr. Goodwyn." The jeweler grinned happily as he watched the pretty woman lose herself in the contents of the wedding ring display.

His inspection of the clocks complete, Mr. Carson turned around to find Mrs. Hughes studying the wares of a case on the opposite side of the shop. "What have you found, Mrs. Hughes?"

She jumped at the sound of his voice, "Oh, nothing. I…just…the music boxes. He has a lovely selection of music boxes."

Mr. Carson crossed the room to examine the case, a sudden heat spreading up his neck as he realized the case was filled with more than a hundred wedding rings.

Mrs. Hughes glanced over her shoulder at him, his solid chest almost touching her back as he stood behind her. "I didn't seek this case out…"

He nervously interrupted, "Of course not."

In truth, neither of them had given much thought to wedding rings in the two weeks since they had become engaged. They had yet to discuss when they would be married, much less the purchase of rings.

Mr. Carson glanced over at her, having mustered the courage to ask, "Do you see anything in particular that stands out to you?"

She hadn't realized there would be so many options. "Oh, I suppose the simplest band would do quite nicely, Mr. Carson." She added quickly, "When the time comes."

He looked back down at the case, "Yes…when the time comes."

Elsie stole a glance at him, dismayed to find his face downcast. Her intent hadn't been to imply that they needed to wait to be married. In fact she had hoped the comment might inspire him to want to discuss an actual date.

Mr. Goodwyn witnessed the awkward exchange and took it as a cue to deliver Mrs. Crawley's repaired necklace. "Here we are. I am so sorry for the delay." Having provided Mr. Carson a book in which to place his signature, the man noticed Mrs. Hughes turn back to the ring case. "It was such a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Hughes. I hope you will stop in and say hello the next time you are in Ripon."

Mrs. Hughes looked up briefly, "I would like that very much, Mr. Goodwyn."

"Thank you, Mr. Goodwyn." Mr. Carson slid the book across the counter to the small man, turning his head just in time to catch Mrs. Hughes giving the ring case a last look. Impulsively, he turned back to the jeweler and whispered, "Please find out what size ring she would need."

The small man offered Mr. Carson a wink before bouncing around to the wedding ring case and taking Mrs. Hughes' left hand. "If you would indulge me, Mrs. Hughes? I have a game I like to play when I meet someone new. I have a very good eye and can almost always guess what size ring a person will wear. Would you allow me to take a guess as to the size you would require?"

"Oh, no, thank you, but no." She tried to pull her hand back, but he held fast. She looked up to find Charles stepping next to her, his smile and encouraging nod distracting her from her protestations.

"Oh, please? If you would just remove your glove it will take but a moment." As she removed her glove, he swiftly slid a small door open and withdrew a black velvet case in which dozens of gold bands rested. "Let me just look." He turned her hand over as he examined her left ring finger from top to bottom. "I would say…yes, well…oh. Ahh. Yes." He quickly pulled a thick gold band from the case and held it up to the light. "Oh, yes. This will do very nicely, I think." As if on cue, the bell over the door suddenly rang as a small but portly woman entered with a clock tucked under her arm. "Oh, Mrs. Porter! Let me help you." With a quick, but knowing smile, Mr. Goodwyn held out the gold band to Mr. Carson who reflexively opened his hand just in time to catch the ring as the jeweler slipped from behind the counter.

He looked down to find Mrs. Hughes staring up at him, her bottom lip firmly trapped between her teeth. "May I?"

Mrs. Hughes swallowed hard before holding out her hand. The warm flesh of his fingertips brushed over her finger as Mr. Carson easily slipped the gold band onto her finger. He then placed his hand so that her palm rested against his as they let the significance of the moment register.

"How does that feel?" His rumbled whisper caused shivers to climb up her spine.

"It feels…" She stopped herself from finishing the sentence, quickly offering, "It fits. He was right." Mrs. Hughes gave him a careful smile as she forced herself to look into his eyes.

Mr. Carson took a step closer to her, his thumb caressing her index finger as he asked, "Do you like it? Or would you rather try on another, one with a stone?"

"This one is lovely." She bit her bottom lip. "When the time comes, I would be more than happy with something like this."

Mr. Goodwyn suddenly popped back behind the case, "How did I do?" He looked down at the couple's hands. "It looks quite perfect to me. What do you think?"

Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson answered in unison, "Perfect."

The lovely moment quickly dissipated as Mrs. Hughes turned her attention to the jeweler. "You are very good at your game, Mr. Goodwyn, but we mustn't keep you from Mrs. Porter."

Both Mr. Goodwyn and Mr. Carson's faces fell as Mrs. Hughes finger was made bare, the ring swiftly returned to the small man.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hughes, Mr. Carson. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day."

Mrs. Hughes nodded her head before crossing behind Mr. Carson as she made her way to the door.

Charles let out a small sigh as he gave a sad smile to Mr. Goodwyn. "Thank you, Mr. Goodwyn. Always a pleasure." The two men shook hands before Mr. Carson joined Mrs. Hughes at the door. He opened his mouth to speak, but the sound of the bell as another customer entered the shop quelled his intention and he soon found himself on the other side of the door, watching Mrs. Hughes pull her glove over her ring-less hand.