'Papa I can't be in the same room as that man, I just can't! Please don't make me! He is horrid and vile and I can't bear to think…' Ella paused as she began to sob. 'I don't want to have to sit opposite him and be reminded of the fact that I am the bastard product of a heinous crime that he committed!' She said angrily and it was the first time Robert had heard her refer to herself in such a harsh term and he didn't know what to say to her as he watched her sobbing.
He had called her into the drawing room as soon as she had returned from her trip with Mary and had broken the news to her about her grandmother's plans for the evening, which, of course, had not gone down too well.
'Oh my little one is that honestly what you think? Has your mother and I raised you to think so little of yourself?' He said as he moved from his position by the fire onto the seat beside her.
'Well it's true Papa; I have spent six months trying to come to terms with this element of my life and it's the one thing I just can't. I've come to terms with the fact that naturally you and Mama are not my parents, I've come to terms with the fact that Mrs Hughes is and I've come to terms with the relationship I now have with all three of you. But I cannot and will not come to terms with the fact that he is my natural father and I certainly will not accept him into my home and into my life!' Ella said forcefully.
'My darling I do not expect you to accept him into your life; I want him here as little as you do. But until I can think of a way to get rid of him from our lives for good, I have to put a brave face on it for your grandmother's sake.' Robert explained.
Ella sat and thought about it for a long time as she rested her head against her father's shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her. She didn't often get to enjoy these moments with him, as it wasn't the kind of thing an English gentleman did, but she very much enjoyed them when they did. Both she and Robert probably wouldn't have admitted it outside the room, but Ella was a daddy's girl through and through, which made the arrival of Robert's brother all the more difficult.
The fact that she was so accepting of Elsie into her life as her mother was no reflection of her relationship with Cora, as she was exceptionally close to her too; but it was the fact that Elsie had had the situation thrust upon her, forced to become a mother after something so vile had been done to her and the fact that after all that she had been put through, she had still fallen so madly in love with her baby; that was what made it so easy for Ella to accept her. It was also this that made her so fiercely protective of her now.
'I do not expect you to sit with him, or be anywhere near him for that matter; I can make your excuses at dinner, I'll tell them that you have a headache and I'll send a tray up to your room.' Robert said as he tried to figure out a way to protect his daughter and his mother.
'No, it's alright Papa, I could possibly do this for granny's sake, if I absolutely have to; it isn't her fault that he did what he did and it would destroy her to find out the truth. So I will come to dinner to keep up appearances, for her sake, but not for his.' She replied bravely and Robert admired her for her courage.
'Are you quite sure my little one? Your mother and I do not expect you to sit with us if you don't want to. We do completely understand.' He reasoned, fearing that she may only want to come down to dinner as a sense of duty; something neither Robert nor Cora expected of her.
'I'm quite sure Papa; I can be strong enough to do this.'
'I'm quite sure you are my darling.'
'However, you cannot ask Ma…Mrs Hughes, to stay in the same house with the man who attacked her and Mr Carson would do something he would later regret if he was allowed anywhere near him.' She explained calmly as she wiped her tears from her face.
'Carson, but what's he got to do with any of this?' Robert asked with astonished confusion.
'Oh that's right you don't know; but it's not really my secret to tell, although I feel that I must to protect them both.' Ella said as she contemplated her dilemma, but she felt that her father needed to know all of the facts so that she could truly defend her mother and future step-father. 'After Larry Grey's outburst at the dinner, just before Mary's wedding, Mr Carson figured out that it is Mrs Hughes that is my mother and when he asked her about it she confided in him. They've always been exceptionally close, which is partly why I wanted them to come with Henry and me and because it also meant that, away from Downton and away from their duties, they were able to finally declare their love for each other and he asked her to marry him, which she of course accepted.'
'Good Lord, did he really?' Robert said, rather shocked to discover this piece of news, but he was a little pleased for the two stoic members of staff. However, it did now pose an additional problem to the already volatile situation.
'He did and he will do anything to protect her and her honor Papa.' Ella explained with the tiniest of smiles. She didn't want Charlie to get into trouble, but she was a little pleased that her mam was in good, safe hands at least.
'I don't think there's anything more I can do about the dinner tonight I'm afraid my little one, but I'll sit you next to me tonight and keep you away from him as much as possible, and perhaps you can find a way for Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes to go out for the evening. As they are to be married anyway I'm sure they won't mind.' Robert explained and, even though the situation wasn't great, both he and Ella felt a little bit better than they had done. Now all Ella had to do was break the news to Charlie and Elsie.
She rehearsed exactly what she was going to say in her head as she walked up the back passages to the servants' sleeping quarters in the attics. She had instructed both Elsie and Charlie to stay upstairs and out of the way for the day. She didn't want her mam to hear what was going on from the other servants and she wanted Charlie to keep her company, whilst also keeping him from finding out something that she wanted to tell him first; just like the piece of news she was about to deliver.
As she had done before, she knocked on the door before letting herself in, where she was glad to see both her mam and Charlie still sat waiting for her. They had a pot of tea between them, but they still looked very grave.
'What did his Lordship have to say?' Elsie asked apprehensively.
'Granny has insisted that we have a dinner party for him, here at the house, tonight. We tried putting her off Mam, but Papa has run out of excuses and Granny is having none of it. She's just so happy to have her son back that she wants to celebrate.' Ella explained as she sat down on Elsie's bed and Elsie poured her a fresh cup of tea, but her hands began to shake slightly at the sound of Ella's words.
'I hope his Lordship doesn't expect me to serve him! I would much rather resign than have to face the likes of him!' Charlie spat angrily.
'Well I certainly won't be having that Mr Carson; I have told him that you will not serve him, but I had to tell him the reasons why; I know you wanted to tell him yourselves about your engagement, but I couldn't avoid telling him, I hope you don't mind too much.'
'Under the circumstances I don't mind, but what are we to do?' Charlie asked.
'Well Papa and I have talked about what should happen, because I don't want to put you through having him in the house Mam. So I had a thought. As you know we've been renovating some of the old farm cottages on the estate and there's one that's just about finished; I have access to the keys so you can both go there for the evening. It might be nice for you both to spend some time together and also it will keep you out of the way of him.' She explained, completely unsure of the reaction she would get.
'And what about you?' Elsie asked with concern.
'I wish I could be there with you, but I have to stay here to keep up appearances.' Ella replied with a grimace.
'Surely there has to be another way?' Charlie defended. He wanted neither of his girls to be anywhere near this man.
'I wish there was Mr Carson, but if I disappear then Granny will want to know why I am not at dinner and if she starts asking awkward questions then Papa might just have to tell her the truth. So I will have to grin…grin and bear it.' Ella said as tears began to well up in her eyes and her voice faltered. 'I won't even have Henry to support me; he's been called away to deliver Mrs Jack's baby, so he could be hours.' She added as realised that she wouldn't even have the help and support of her husband and she allowed her choked sobs to be released.
She covered her face with her hands and then felt the bed beside her sink lower as the weight of someone joined her and they wrapped their arm around her shoulders. She had expected it to be her mam, but when she glanced up it was Charlie who was comforting her.
'This is most unfair on you Ella, most unfair.' He whispered softly, hiding his true feelings of anger. His paternal instincts were kicking in furiously now and he felt so protective of the beautiful, kind young woman he now held in his arms. 'Perhaps I should stay after all and give you moral support.'
'No Mr Carson, I want you to stay with Mam,' she whispered and then glanced over to her mother. 'You will need his support far more than I will.'
The three of them sat in silence for a few moments, but Charlie still kept a firm grasp on Ella, wishing he could remove her pain and that of her mother as well. He couldn't really imagine what either of them must be feeling and especially his Elsie.
'I feel as if I have failed you as your mother.' Elsie said after a long time and so quietly that it was almost inaudible.
'You could never fail me Mam; you've made so many sacrifices…'
'But I've failed to protect you from this; I made the sacrifices so that you would never be hurt by him or by my secret, but I failed to shield you from the truth and I've now failed in keeping him from you.' She said as she allowed herself a choked.
Ella removed herself from Charlie's arms and knelt beside Elsie, wrapped her into a tight embrace and rested her head against her shoulder. The beautiful time they'd shared together in London, was beginning to feel like a distant memory, as all the pain and torment that they had both endured on and off over the past six months returned. They were both beginning to feel that they would never be allowed to move on from this. After a while Ella sat back slightly and took Elsie's hands in hers and looked up into her face.
'Mam, you are one of the bravest people I know and I am so proud of you, so very proud. I don't know of many people who would have been strong enough to give me up and then be so close to me, but so far removed from the role that you should have been in. That took more courage and strength than anyone could possibly imagine and in my eyes that is not a failure. I am so proud to call you my mother and I can't wait to see what lovely things our future holds.' Ella said, which, in some respects, made Elsie cry all the more.
'Oh Ella, I sometimes forget that you're a strong young woman and not my gorgeous wee girl anymore.' She said with a smile and it amazed her to think that someone so beautiful could have come from someone as vile as Richard Crawley.