the surprise - part 8

A/N: In the seventh chapter we left Charles and Elsie wrapped under a plaid on the concrete floor of the folly, Anna is still in bed and Edith and Anthony were having tea with her ladyship. Anna hasn't had her surprise yet, but the one she planned for Charles and Elsie was a great success. Edith has been surprised by Anthony, who gave her a memorable first kiss and promises of marriage.
Lets find out where they go from here!
(As always: please do review, it's not just that i love them, but i am trying to learn, so don't hesitate!)

"How in the world are we going to get that gramophone back to the house?" Elsie asked as she tightened the laces of her corset.

"Huh? What?" Charles was distracted. While he adored Elsie in her most natural state, seeing her supported by her corset was very tantalizing. With those new knickers, she looked young and strong. Her long legs were toned and her hair was still hanging halfway down her back.

"The gramophone. How will we get it back to the house?" She pulled her hair back and was looking all over for her hairpins.

"Oh. I will have the boys bring it in. We can get the rest all folded and ready for them to pick up." He passed to where she stood. She was now doing her hair up. A few strands of hair escaped her expert handlings. He wanted to reach out to her, but he could not live up to promises. He was not as young as he used to be.

Not as young. Not old, mind. Maybe in a few short years he could find a proper replacement. He could retire and ask Elsie to marry him. The thought of 'popping the question' filled him with joy and happiness. He didn't really want to wait, but he had little to offer Elsie.

She had never complained of what they had together, saying that while she would never allow any of the maids to be entangled in a situation like this, she was intensely happy and there was no fear of any trouble happening. There were perks to getting older and being able to be absolutely carefree in that respect was definitely one of them.

"You are staring, Mr Carson." How he loved the way she rolled her Rs. Elsie always stayed true to herself. Perhaps this was why she had been so hard on Ethel when she first started working at Downton.

"Sorry, my dear. I was just thinking about how beautiful you are and how much i love you."

The way Elsie could look at him with a mix of fondness and exasperation was still exciting him. He sometimes wondered how he got any work done with her in his vicinity. Whenever she walked up the stairs in front of him - a lady never going up first, but there are times it just can't be helped when there is a lot to do downstairs - he could hardly stifle a moan. He knew what her bottom looked like under all those skirts. What it felt like under his hands when he pulled her close or held her against his chest in his narrow bed, so she wouldn't fall out after making love.

"How about we eat those strawberries and cream and watch the sunset. Then we go up to the house and send the boys out to pick up all these things." he suggested.

"Why Charles, you are an old romantic."

"Fool?" he added.

"Never a fool, always my love." she answered without hesitation.

Soon.

Soon he would ask her.

"Anna?" John voice drifted through the floorboards to Anna's sleeping ears. She opened her eyes slowly and found the room still and in shadows. Outside the sun was slowly setting behind the woods. She felt her head. Her warm hand against her cool forehead told her she no longer had a fever. Tentatively she moved under the covers. Her nausea had passed. All she was now, was tired.

Tired and disappointed and a little defeated.

"Up here!" she called out. She heard him take off his coat and shoes and his footsteps on the stairs.

All the while she thought about the difficult situation she was in. Her dreams were divided. She wanted a family, but she wanted to be a housekeeper as well. Mrs Hughes had trained her and she was giving her more and more responsibility. But her urge to become a proper family was so strong, she could not repress it.

She sighed, just as John opened the door.

"That is a very deep sigh for such a careless creature." there was laughter in his voice. Slowly but surely his smiles, his jokes and his laughter were returning. York had not gotten him down and he was here. He would not leave her again, not until one of them died. Anna hoped it would be of old age, a long day away from now.

"Ah... but you don't know the worries i've seen." she answered, more serious than she had intended. She didn't regret she said it. It was true. With John away and now returned to her, her worries of him away were gone, but she had gained others.

"Are you feeling better?" John reached out and touched her cheek. She put her hand over his.

"Much better. Thank you." How could she say she was bitterly disappointed? Didn't she have already more than she had ever dreamt of? She was trained by Mrs Hughes. She knew her pain wasn't visible on her face.

"Good. Well. I'll get washed and turn in."

Anna watched John take off his clothes. If you didn't know it, you could not see much of his war wounds. She saw a strong man, not very young of course, but attractive and all hers.

"You are looking at me." he assessed.

"Just keeping my eye on the prize." Anna giggled.

"You must be feeling better." He grinned.

"As i said... much..." Anna help the covers open and let John slip between them, pressing herself against him.

"I have missed you..." he whispered in her neck.

Tea was the usual affair. Mama carried the conversation, Edith answered routinely. Anthony did not add much, but kept his eyes on Edith. Edith did all she could to prevent herself from blushing.

Could Mama see that he had kissed her? That he had held her tight? That he had said he would carry her over the threshold?

Of course it had been a silly thing to say. First of all his arm wasn't probably up to the job. She ought to have known better than have him carry the gramophone to the folly, but she had been so full of her idea, she had not given his discomfort a second thought. How careless of her, how unkind. If she was to be someone's wife, the wife of a kind and gentle man, she would have to learn to be more attentive. To be milder in her judgment and to venture to be the woman he thought she was.
Her mind went to her future. To Anthony's house, which was beautiful and light. Perhaps it wasn't as large as Downton, but it Edith didn't need to have a large house. She wanted to be comfortable and to have a purpose. The war was still so fresh in her memory, the recuperating men for whom she had written countless letters, read page after page of Dickens and for whom she had played the piano.

She needed to care for someone and Anthony would let her.

After tea she walked him to the door herself. Carson was not back yet - a good sign indeed - and to have a footman called up just to let someone out who had been walking these halls for many years was just silly. The goodbye kiss was just an added bonus.

One that kept her company as she went to her room to think about how she could tackle Anna's problem. Though really, Anna had always been much closer to Mary. Mary needed more attention, her hair needed to be fixed just so, her dresses needed to be perfect, all because Mary was the eldest and needed to be paraded around and Anna would make sure the pins were all in place and all the fastenings secure. In hindsight, Edith did not know why she had envied Mary so much.

Mary had asked Anna to come to Crawley House with her, but Anna had preferred to stay here, at Dowton. Edith was not sure why. Of course it could be loyalty to her father, but she was sure Anna wouldn't think it disloyal if she had joined her employer's daughter. Edith knew how much responsibility Mrs Hughes gave to Anna, perhaps in hopes of Anna following her in some years from now. Most logical was that Anna wanted to stay in the cottage to raise a family.

But did the one thing shut out the other? Wasn't there a way Anna could do both?

Edith took out some blank sheets of paper and started to think and write.

A/N: A bit of a choppy chapter, but i need to get the plot moving. Being on vacation with all your inlaws kind of knocks all the inspiration from you. Today i am at work though and who knows...
Join me soon for Anna's surprise, Elsie crying and all sorts of good things happening!