The next morning all was quiet upstairs as everyone slept on, but downstairs it was pandemonium once again. Everyone was rushing around as Mrs Patmore got the breakfast together with the help of Daisy and the three guest valets and three Lady's Maids were just getting in the way again. The others were trying to help them where they could, but they had their own jobs to be getting on with. Mr Carson was in his pantry pouring the wine into the crystal decanters and Mrs Hughes was doing her rounds through the house, ensuring that everyone was where they should be. So you can imagine her frustration and dismay when she saw Lily and Mr Carlton standing on the gallery corridor in a door way chatting and flirting.

'Lily that's enough! Both of you get downstairs this instance!' She said in strict whispers, trying not to disturb the sleeping household.

The two servants skulked quickly down the stairs and into the back passage that led to the servants' quarters. Lily instinctively stood outside the room used as Mrs Hughes' living room and waited until the older woman joined her.

'In!' She barked in anger and practically slammed her door as she followed the maid inside.

'If I have warned you once I have warned you a thousand times Lily; that kind of behaviour will not be tolerated here. You are here as an employee, that means you work for the money you earn; you are not here to flirt and canoodle with ever Tom, Dick and Harry that enters this house!' She said with her voice raised although she wasn't shouting; she didn't need to shout to be intimidating.

'Now I will not have this conversation with you again Lily; this is your final warning. If there are any more incidences such as this you will be asked to leave without further pay or a character. Do I make myself clear?'

'Yes Mrs Hughes.' Lily replied sheepishly, barely able to make contact with the housekeeper.

Just as she answered Mr Carson opened the door and looked in at his colleague.

'Very well Lily you may go.' Mrs Hughes said calmly, very different to the tone she'd been using before.

The girl quickly vacated the room and passed Mr Carson, whom she also gave no eye contact to, and out towards the kitchens.

'Is everything alright Mrs Hughes?' He asked and received an irritated glare.

'That girl is going to be the death of me yet!' She snapped angrily.

'Is Mr Carlton still distracting her?'

'Yes and any other male that comes within a two foot radius of her. I don't mean to sound harsh; we were all young once, but she needs to put a stop to it immediately if she wishes to continue her career in service.' Mrs Hughes replied a little calmer.

Down the corridor several of the bells rang at once and the sound of clattering feet heard as Miss O'Brian and Mr Bates began ascending the stairs. Anna appeared at Mrs Hughes' door and peered in.

'Mrs Hughes, Lady Aurelia has just rung her bell. Would you rather I saw to her today? I'm sure she wouldn't mind.' She said with concern for her superior and friend.

'No no Anna that's quite alright. You see to Lady Mary and Lady Edith as normal.' Mrs Hughes replied and watched as Anna smiled at her and disappeared.

'Are you sure you don't want Anna to look after Ladies Aurelia and Sybil Mrs Hughes?' Mr Carson asked with concern as he observed how tired his friend looked.

'I'm quite sure Mr Carson, but thank you for your consideration. I have looked after those girls for the last twenty years and I have no intention of stopping now.' She explained.

Mr Carson never did quite understand why the arrangement between Mrs Hughes and the Crawley girls was the way it was. Whilst he loved the girls as if they were his own, a housekeeper never played Lady's Maid in all the years he had worked in service and yet, in twenty years plenty of suitable maids had come and gone in the Crawley household, and none of them had been given the opportunity to serve the youngest Crawleys. It was a very odd arrangement and one he had asked Mrs Hughes about on several occasions, but he'd always received the same answer.

'The girls were put into my care the day they were born and I have no intentions of passing them over to just anyone now or ever.'

He assumed that it must have been some sort of maternal instinct in her that drew her closer to the two girls; unlike the two older daughters whom Mrs Hughes had not been working at Downton Abbey when they were born. Deciding not to dwell on it any further he disappeared up into the dining room to serve breakfast for his Lordship and the girls.

Elsewhere Lily was getting fresh linen from the linen cupboard in preparation to make up the family's beds. She was feeling hurt and upset by the backlash she got from Mrs Hughes and felt especially aggrieved. She didn't plan to be in service for her whole life, it was just a temporary fix until she found something better and if she wanted to have a little fun flirting in the meantime then she didn't see why Mrs Hughes should stop her.

'You're not upset by what that old bag said are you?' Mr Carlton said as he sidled up to her discreetly.

Lily thought about it for a moment before replying.

'It's not just that. It's everything about this place. The way "they" talk about the family, you would think they were royalty or something.' She explained in whispers, referring to Mr Carson and Mr Hughes. 'The rest of the staff seem to worship the ground Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes walk on and I'm fed up of it. I'm fed up of working in service, I'm fed up of waiting hand and foot on a family that are only better than me because they have fancy titles and I'm fed up of some closed minded, wrinkly old crone telling me how to live my life all the time.' She added with exasperation, much to the amusement of Mr Carlton.

'Well this lot might not be so quick to treat the Crawleys so respectfully if they knew what I know.' He said coyly.

'What do you mean?'

'Well one of the Crawley daughters is an imposter.' He claimed boldly.

'Don't be so ridiculous.' Lily replied as she stuff some linen back into the cupboard, but her tone was hesitant.

'I'm not. Downton's beloved Lordship had it off with a housemaid here and got her pregnant. She had the baby in secret and rumour has it that they took the baby off her.'

'You're kidding! And what happened to her? The housemaid I mean.' Lily asked sounding shocked, forgetting all about the linen.

'They sacked her I suppose, sent her packing into the night.'

'Wait, how do you know all this?'

'Well Mrs Briars is our cook back home and she used to have a niece who was a maid here about twenty years ago. She told her aunt all about it and then Mrs Briars told me.' Mr Carlton explained darkly.

But before either of them could ponder on the matter any further, they both had to make a hasty exit as Mrs Hughes walked down the stone staircase. However, Lily felt determined to find out more about this sinister secret held by the Crawleys. Perhaps her big chance to break free was coming.