A/N: Edith is plotting to keep Anna happy and satisfied, Charles is thinking about marriage and retiring and Anna is feeling a lot better. We are making a bit of a jump in time, it's about two months after the surprise.

(comme toujours: Cookies for everyone who reads, choccy biscuits for those who review!)

This whole morning had a slightly strange tinge to it. First off she had woken up in Charles' bed, in his arms, and had to scramble to get away in time (which proved to be difficult, because Charles insisted on several goodbye kisses), then she had gotten downstairs and found Mrs Patmore and Daisy working together without any yelling and then Lady Edith had called for her.

Lady Edith did not usually ring for Elsie. If she ever needed anything, she called for a maid. When Elsie opened the door, she found Lady Edith on a chair next to the tea table and two cups ready. First she had thought perhaps Lady Edith was expecting someone, most probably Sir Anthony, but the girl had asked her to close the door behind her and gestured her to sit. She had calmly poured a cup of tea and now she was getting ready to start a conversation.

Surreal was the only word for the position Elsie found herself in.

"Mrs Hughes..." Lady Edith started and Elsie looked up. She smiled slightly. Now it was obvious Lady Edith was not entirely comfortable with the situation.

"Yes, milady?" Elsie answered. She did not deny being terribly curious.

"I have a few questions. A kind of a proposition. It's a bit complicated... Oh... i don't really know how to start." Lady Edith searched for words.

"Is it about Strallan House?" Elsie asked. The rumours were strong and even Charles thought it could not be long before Sir Anthony proposed.

"What? Oh... no... No, Mrs Hughes. Not yet anyway." Lady Edith smiled brightly.

"It's about Anna."

Elsie was surprised. About Anna? Whatever could be the matter? Mrs Hughes kept a close watch on Anna these days and she found the girl much her usual self, though perhaps a little subdued.

"Mrs Hughes... it is a delicate matter and i don't want to push in..." Lady Edith tried a different angle to start the conversation.

"I am sure you only want what is best for Anna, milady." Elsie brought the cup to her lips. Her mouth felt dry. Would Lady Edith know more about Anna than she did? Not impossible, the two women were much closer in age, Anna helped Lady Edith getting dressed in the morning, an intimate thing to say the least.

"True. I do. You see Mrs Hughes, i think Anna would like to start a family."

"Do you, milady?" Elsie was a servant and she knew how to keep her emotions to herself and to avoid to express her opinions and thoughts.

"But i think she doesn't dare to. Because she is afraid to disappoint you."

"Disappoint me, milady?" Elsie couldn't keep a slight edge out of her voice.

"You see, she thinks so highly of you and we all know you have been training her to follow you when you decide to retire." Lady Edith took a sip of her tea, probably to give Elsie time to gather her thoughts.

"But surely Anna knows i want her to be happy. By now i think i have taught her all i know, but that does not mean she is obliged to become a housekeeper. If she wants to have a family, of course i would be very happy for her." Everything in Elsie screamed: 'But i want her to have babies, to be the wonderful mother i think she would be!'

"You see Mrs Hughes, i think perhaps Anna could have both..."

"Has anyone seen Mrs Hughes?" Anna asked in the servant's hall.

"She is with Lady Edith." Jane answered.

"Thank you." Anna left the hall and picked up a hamper filled with freshly laundered and pressed sheets. She walked up the stairs, through the corridor, up more stairs to the servant's linen closet to put the sheets away. As she set to work, she thought of Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson and how happy and grateful they had been when they came to see her after the surprise.

They had sat in the small parlour of the cottage and Mrs Hughes had helped her make tea. They had talked and laughed and it had felt as if Anna had her parents visiting with her. Without anyone there watching them, they could be a family. Mr Carson was much more free in his movements and his words. He made jokes and Mrs Hughes laughed, even at the ones that were not particularly funny. After the visit, Mr Carson helped Mrs Hughes with her coat and the way she had smiled at him, made Anna feel all warm and glowy.

Anna was proud that they felt safe with her. Secure enough to let their love shine through a little. Lady Edith had shared she had seen Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson at the folly and that they had behaved like old lovers. Anna had only felt as if everything fell into place. How Mr Carson had given Daisy his arm to walk her down the improvised isle. How Mrs Hughes had held Anna whenever needed. How the pair of them retreated every evening in her parlour. The loving glances, the smallest of touches. The kindnesses they shared.

Now she knew. Though it did not really change anything. Not for her at least. Anna still went about her day in the same way she had done for months now. She made breakfast for her and John and they went to the house. They worked and saw each other during lunch and dinner. They passed each other in the hall and corridors. In a way, she and John were the same as Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson, the only difference being that they were not married and Anna was.

Going back down to fetch the things to sweep and clean the spare rooms in the West wing, she thought about Mrs Hughes. Had she ever wanted to get married? Had she wanted to have children? Would she have liked to live in a small house instead of Downton? While feeling so close to her, Anna had never really talked with her. Talked about things that truly mattered. Anna had revealed her fears and her secrets, her pain and her despair and gotten support and even love.

But she knew nothing about the woman who had held her in her arms and wiped away her tears.

"What do you think, Mrs Hughes?" Edith asked, observing the housekeeper. She was looking pale and seemed unable to speak. Edith had never seen Mrs Hughes at a loss for words. She had heard her lash out at cheeky maids, she had heard her being kind to homesick footmen and she had even found that Mrs Hughes had a voice so tender and loving it was only reserved for one man.

"Do you think this is a proposition Mama would approve of? Do you approve of it? Because this whole scheme depends on you. If you don't feel you are up to it, or if you simply don't fancy it, you must let me know." Edith paused. "Please, forget that you are employed by my family and you are under any obligation to do this. You are utterly free in saying 'yes' or 'no'."

Mrs Hughes' forehead was scrunched up in wrinkles.

"I don't know, milady... could i... could i think about it? It's quite a plan you have laid out for Anna. For me. For all of us, really."

"Of course Mrs Hughes. There is no real hurry. I realize my plan is highly unorthodox. You take your time and ask me anything you need to know. I am sure there are details that i have not thought of."

Mrs Hughes got up from her seat, placing the cup and saucer on the tray. Edith got up too, saying something she had not thought through:

"Perhaps you would like to discuss it with Carson, before you make a decision, i am sure you were planning to retire together."

Was Mrs Hughes blushing? Edith did not know. It may have been a trick of the light, but Mrs Hughes left the room rather hurriedly and Edith did not know how her plan had gone down at all.

All she could do was wait.

A/N: What could the plan be? Will Elsie discuss it with Charles? What will happen now more and more people find out about the love between Elsie and Charles?

Gripping, isn't it...