Ella walked with Elsie and Charlie to the little farm cottage and delighted in showing them in. It wasn't quite complete yet, but it was looking much more homely than it had done when they had first started renovating it. From the outside the garden needed weeding and new grass planting, but with that done, a rose arch over the gate and plants and flowers in the beds, the garden would look most presentable and Charlie had to pull himself up as he thought about the things he would do to it. He had to remind himself that he was only there for a night.
Inside everything was freshly painted white and the smell still lingered in the air. But neither Charlie nor Elsie minded it. The house was beautiful and a proper little sanctuary away from it all. Ella had asked one of the ground's men to light the fire in preparation for their arrival, which was now roaring in the fire place and emanating the most luxurious glow. There was one very old looking sofa beside the fire, a couple of rickety dining room chairs, a small occasional table and an empty bookcase in the corner.
'I know it's not a lot, but it'll do for a few hours I hope. When everyone has gone I'll come back down and get you. Papa is going to try to get rid of them as soon as he can.' Ella explained.
'It's fine Ella, but I wish you would stay here with us.' Elsie replied nervously as she held on to her daughter's elbows.
'I know you do Mam, I wish I could stay here with you too, but you know that I can't. I have to do this for Papa and Granny's sakes, not my own.' Ella explained bravely.
'Well if it gets too much for you, excuse yourself and come straight here.' Charlie added in a fatherly tone. He was just as concerned about Ella as Elsie was and felt annoyed at his Lordship for putting Ella in this position.
'I will Mr Carson and in the meantime, you two enjoy your evening together. Look at it as practice for when you're married.' She replied with a cheeky smile.
She then left the cottage with a heavy heart, wishing that she had stayed with them instead of having to brave the storm that waited for her at the house. At least she felt a little more comfortable that Elsie was away from the house and in the company of a man who loved her and would protect her. She just hoped and prayed that they would be able to relax and enjoy themselves and not be worrying about what was going on at the dinner.
By the time she got back to the house everyone was starting to arrive. Isobel was there along with Rosamund, who looked as comfortable about their circumstances as everyone else did.
'My darling Goddaughter, why don't you come sit next to me?' She asked as Ella walked into the drawing room.
'Hello Aunt Rosamund,' Ella said as she approached her aunt with a genuine smile and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
'How are you my dear?' Rosamund asked softly.
'As well as can be expected; but I have to remember that I am doing this for Granny, certainly not him.' Ella replied in a whisper.
'Well you are to sit between me and your father and that man will be at the other end of the table, as far away from you as possible. With any luck we can get through dinner together.' Rosamund replied as she placed her hand over Ella's, just as the door opened and Thomas entered.
'The Dowager Countess and Mr Casey.' He announced and David walked in with his mother on his arm. Violet looked delighted to have her youngest son beside her and to have her whole family there to celebrate.
'Hello Mama,' Robert said as he gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. 'David,' he added as he gave a slight nod of his head, but rather stiffly.
'Come along and let me introduce you to my granddaughters. This is Edith, Robert and Cora's second daughter,' Violet said as she led David over to where Edith was talking with Matthew and Mary. 'And then their twins Sybil and Aurelia.' She said as she took him over towards the back of the room, where Ella had been trying to avoid him as much as possible.
She felt all the eyes of her family turn to her and give her worrying glances. She looked at him intently and felt her heart plummet to the floor as she observed his honey coloured hair, which was starting to become much lighter in his later years, he had the defined Crawley chin much like her own and he was very tall and still quite slim. It wasn't something that she'd thought about before, but she realised that she must get her height from him, as she was in fact three or four inches taller than her mother. The similarities between them made her feel sick and she struggled to find the words to speak to him.
'Well aren't you going to say anything to your uncle?' Violet said sharply; keen that they should all be accepting of her son.
'What? Oh, yes, of course; please forgive me Granny, it's just that I'm not used to addressing someone who should be dead.' Ella replied coldly and very unlike herself. She chastised herself for her blatant rudeness and gave herself a warning.
'Aurelia, whilst I know that this situation is most unusual, there is no need for such rudeness. Now apologise to your uncle.' Violet rebuked.
'You're quite right Granny; I apologise to you Uncle, you must think me terribly rude.' She said as she held out her hand to him and her tone was much more like her usual self, but it took every bit of effort she had to do so.
As Violet walked away with David to introduce him to Isobel and Rosamund, Ella felt Sybil wrap her arms through hers, as Ella sunk a little into her embrace.
'Oh Aurie I'm so sorry; I can't imagine how hard this is for you.' She whispered.
'I'll be fine Sybbie; I've got to be fine, for Mam and for Granny…and for Papa too.' Ella replied. 'Just make sure you're sat opposite me at dinner.'
When it was time to go through Ella was glad that Violet went in first with David and that Robert led her in last. She felt glad that her grandmother looked very happy, as it meant that all her pain was worth it just for that, but she did pray for strength and that dinner might be over as quickly as possible, just as the first course arrived.
In the cottage Elsie and Charlie sat together staring into the flames. If anyone was to look in through the windows, they might have thought their positioning on the sofa most improper, but after all of their experiences together, they no longer seemed to care about propriety; they just cared about each other and Charlie especially cared about comforting and caring for his Elsie, no matter what.
She was sat with her shoes off and her feet up on the sofa beside her, with her head resting between his shoulder and chest. He had one arm draped around her and he was holding her hand with his other. They were trying to concentrate on their future together, rather than dwelling on Elsie's past and on what was happening up at the Abbey, which did take a lot of the strength Elsie had left.
'Now that we're home we should consider setting a date for our ceremony.' Charlie said.
'If Ella were to have her way she'd have us both up the aisle tomorrow.' Elsie replied with a happy laugh.
'Yes I believe you're right there. It's nice to know that she's so very supportive of us, I just hope the rest of the family are as responsive.' He replied with a slightly creased brow.
'Why? Do you think they won't be?'
'Well, it's not common place for a butler and a housekeeper to be married whilst in service and not usually to each other…that is, if you still want us to be at Downton?' He asked with concern. If he was honest, he couldn't imagine being anywhere other than the house, then again, he'd never imagined himself as a married man either.
'Well, where else would we be? It's where my daughter is, she's one of the only reasons I stay; unless you have something else in mind?' She asked apprehensively at his answer.
'I wouldn't do anything that would separate you from your daughter, I think you've both had enough of that; but have you never thought of your life in retirement and about what you would do after Downton?' He asked.
'I've never really thought about retiring because, well, because I can't retire. Do you remember, when we were in London I told you about my sister Becky?' She asked and received a curt nod from Charlie. 'Well whilst my mother was alive she took care of her, but when she died Becky and I had no one except each other. So my choice was simple, either I gave up working to look after her, which would have meant us living on a pittance and me giving up any contact with my daughter, or I went on working and gave every penny I could spare to pay for her to be cared for.' She explained.
'But that must have cost you a fortune!' He exclaimed.
'It has cost me every penny I have, so I have no savings, I'll have no pension and I must go on working for as long as the Crawley family will let me. It was a decision I had come to terms with a long time ago Mr Carson, so please, don't feel sorry for me.' She explained.
'Well it's very clear where Ella gets her compassion from.' He said with a troubled smile.
Back at the house, the main course was just about to be brought out, but Ella had very little appetite. She felt sick to the pit of her stomach and had very little room for food. Her family kept looking at her furtively, especially every time David spoke and even though Violet had no idea what was really going on, she had occasionally caught sight of these glances.
'So what exactly is it that you do in New Zealand David?' Isobel asked as she tried to make casual conversation. Robert had paid her the courtesy of bringing her fully into their secret, some days after it was confirmed that David was in fact Richard Crawley. Naturally she was stunned to discover Ella's natural paternity, but she had promised to protect her along with the rest of her family and to protect Violet too.
'I run my own carpentry business, well I inherited it from my wife's father; she was an only child and we only have daughters.' He explained casually, but at his words about his children the atmosphere in the room changed quickly and everyone glanced at Ella.
'You…you have children?' Ella asked as her voice faltered and she looked down the table towards him.
'Yes, three girls; Abigail, aged thirteen, Charlotte, she's ten and little Roberta who has just turned four.' He explained proudly, but Ella's face turned whiter with every word he spoke.
She felt her father take her hand under the table, but it held no comfort for her on this occasion. The little appetite that she did have seemed to leave her completely and she could no longer bear to be in David's company or try to hide how she felt.
'Mama, Papa, I'm afraid I have rather a headache; will you excuse me?' She said as she stood from her place and all of the men stood with her.
'Of course darling, is there anything I can do? Perhaps I can send something up for you?' Cora asked with concern.
'No thank you Mama, I'm afraid I've rather lost my appetite; I'm sure I'll be fine once I have rested.' She said before parting from the room and Robert briefly gave a very controlled, but angry look towards Cora which said so much in one emotion; he was angry at himself for putting his child in that position in the first place.
As soon as Ella went up to her room, she grabbed her coat and hat and headed out into the night. She wanted to be as far away from the house as possible and as far away from Richard Crawley or David Casey or whatever his damn name was.
Since his return into their lives, she had never once thought about the possibility of him having a family or that she might have other siblings. She understood that it wasn't their fault that their father was a vile, cruel being who had taken someone so beautiful and almost destroyed her completely. When Ella thought about what Elsie must have gone through, long before Ella had become part of the equation, she wondered how Elsie could possibly have coped and admired her strength and courage even more.
As she approached the little cottage she thought about how homely it looked, with its chimney billowing smoke and the warm glow of lights flickering through the window. Every now and then a shadow would pass in front of it, as Elsie or Charlie walked past. She hoped and prayed that, even though they were in the house to avoid being at the Abbey, they had had a much more pleasant evening than hers and she hoped that they enjoyed the house; she had big plans for that house eventually.
'Might I come in?' She said once she was through the front door.
'You're back awfully early; did you manage alright?' Elsie asked as she practically leapt from her chair by the fire and rushed to her daughter's side.
'I had to leave early; I just couldn't take being in his company a second longer.' Ella replied as she took off her hat and coat.
'Come sit by the fire; I knew I should never have let you go back up there, I knew it would be too much for you.' Elsie said as she forced Ella on to the sofa. 'What happened?'
'Nothing you need to worry about Mam,' Ella said as she tried to brush it off, but her mother knew her better than that.
'Ella, tell me what happened.' Elsie said firmly.
'He has a family, over in New Zealand; a wife and three daughters.' Ella said with great sadness.
Both Elsie and Charlie glanced at each other and felt Ella's pain and it also hurt Elsie to think of the man who had attacked her, could have moved on so easily and led a happy life. He didn't deserve to be happy and to leave her and her daughter in such turmoil. She sat beside Ella and didn't say a word to her; after all, what could you say to that?
She placed her arm around her shoulders and pulled her head towards her own. Charlie didn't know really how to comfort either of them, but he still tried, by placing his hands on to Elsie's shoulders and rubbing them very gently with his thumbs.
The three of them sat together in silence for many hours until it was nearly midnight. By this time Ella felt sure that they would be safe to return home and they all reluctantly began the walk home. Both Elsie and Ella clasped tightly on to Charlie as they walked the dark, yet familiar roads until they saw the lights of the house looming in the distance.
'Now Ella, you've to go straight to your bed when we get in; you look exhausted and you'll make yourself ill if you try to burn the candle at both ends.' Elsie said as they approached the front door.
'You worry far too much you know Mam.' Ella whispered her reply as they walked into the glare of the entrance hall, just as they heard voices coming from the library. 'Oh I wonder if Henry is home!' She exclaimed in hope, but felt her heart stop completely as the door to the library opened and Robert walked out with Violet and David.
Charlie had been helping Elsie to take her coat off when they both looked up to see David standing in the doorway to the library, bold as brass. Elsie felt her knees weaken beneath her as she looked at the face that had tormented her for years and she felt Charlie's hand discreetly around her middle as he helped to steady her. As soon as Ella saw David, she instinctively took a step to the side so that she was now standing in front of her mam, as if she was trying to shield her from view, but it was too late for Elsie; the sight of him suddenly brought to mind her worst nightmares.