Pure Beauty
Chapter 2

The county dinner to celebrate the impending marriage of Matthew and Mary was a long and arduous affair with all the women wanting to talk wedding plans and the men county politics and sport. As the women left for the drawing room Scarlett touched her mother's arm lightly and asked to be excused for a short while to which her mother nodded and continued on with the other ladies.

Scarlett snuck out her usual escape route and meandered down the drive and around to the back of the house. Sure enough Thomas stood just around the corner from the back door smoking in the few minutes he had before he had to be back upstairs.

"Slacking on the job Mr. Barrow?"

Thomas started and looked up to see Scarlett leaning against the wall smirking at him.

"Not at all milady, neither his Lordship nor Mr. Carson has need of me at present and my other duties are finished as well."

"Mhm... Have another one of those?"

Thomas nodded when she indicated the cigarette in his hand. He reached his gloved hand into his breast pocket and pulled one from the pack inside. He handed it to her and lit it with his silver lighter.

"You don't normally smoke milady," said Thomas with a raised eyebrow as he watched with an expectation that she would begin coughing immediately.

"Oh there is much you do not know Mr. Barrow," she responded with a sultry smirk as she took a long drag on the cigarette and blew it out slowly as they locked eyes.

"Well you are a woman after my own heart then."

She laughed softly, " Mhm.. it is good to know that my only competition is Mrs. O'Brien then."

Thomas' features twisted in disgust as Scarlett laughed even harder. They smoked in silence for a few minutes before she turned fully to face Thomas.

"You have been keeping me woefully ignorant of all the gossip and goings on below stairs. I've missed our conversations."

"Very little has been going on milady other than the normal flirtations between the kitchen maids and Alfred."

"And I am sure Mrs. O'Brien is stirring up trouble as usual."

Thomas smirked, " I did not say it milady."

They shared a smile before Scarlett looked down and dropped her cigarette on the ground.

"Good night Mr. Barrow. I hope to see you tomorrow."

"Aye milady, I am sure you will."

Dawn broke on Mary and Matthew's grand day and Scarlett lay in bed waiting for Anna to bring a small breakfast before dressing her. It was odd not having having the freedom of the morning, but Papa had placed a hall boy outside her door to keep her from escaping. Two hours later and Scarlett looked at herself in the mirror. The odd one out in the family with clear, cold blue eyes that changed color with her mood and blonde hair that curled naturally allowed her the individuality in a group of sisters where she might have been overshadowed, but today was Mary's day and she was actually quite excited to see her sister marry her true love. She thanked Anna and waited a few minutes before leaving to join her sisters.

A beautiful ceremony, many happy returns, and a trip back to Downton for the wedding breakfast concluded the day. Carson, Alfred, and Thomas all rotated silently in sync around the guests at breakfast and it went perfectly.

-

Many months passed with many small disasters causing Lord Grantham's temper to be tried, but it was nothing compared to the terrible night of Sybil's death where nothing would ever be the same again. Lord Grantham had hired a special London doctor much to the consternation of Lady Grantham and Scarlett both. He was pompous and brusque to everyone besides Lord Grantham and Sybil. He and Doctor Clarkson began to disagree on Sybil's health, but nevertheless after several hours of hard labor later and Sybil gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. They all admired the little girl and Scarlett had turned to leave Sybil to rest when Sybil called her name softly.

"What is it my dear? You need to rest, we can talk in the morning after you have had a night's sleep."

"Scarlett, we have always gotten on so well and I want you to do that with Edith also. Please do this for me, I know you adore Mary but Edith is sweet in her own way too. Please do this and show my daughter how sisterly love is to be."

Scarlett listened to her sister's hoarse and catching voice with rapt attention before nodding and agreeing before telling her to rest again and adjusting her blanket and leaving the bedroom. The night turned long and soon everyone in the family was rudely awakened as Sybil took the final turn for the worst and the disagreement between Dr. Clarkson and Sir Phillip spilled into the upper hallway as everyone argued and chose sides between the doctors. A piercing yell from Sybil caused them all to turn and rush back to her bedside. A din erupted as soon as they all crowded into the room and all too soon Sybil's final wrenching breath fled her body and Tom collapsed on her begging her to come back.

The tears and shouts from Tom magnified inside Scarlett's head and she felt wetness sliding down her own cheeks as she wrenched her arm from Edith's grip and ran into the door in her haste to open it and escape from the black cloud of death that pulled her lungs and constricted her throat. She tripped down the stairs and out the front door unaware of anything but the tightness in her chest and the fog in her head. Unconsciously she ended up outside the servant's door in the fog and mist. No one was there and she waited by the door as though waiting for a sign. Time passed but she had no idea how long she stood there until a sliver of light settled on her face and she dimly heard an exclamation.

"Oh milady! What on earth can you be doin out here. Please come inside quickly."

The young kitchen maid gently led Scarlett into the main servant's hall when another voice cut sounded and cut through the fog in her head slightly.

"Now what's all this about?"

"Oh Mr. Barrow, I was just out to get the milk when I found Lady Scarlett just outside the kitchen door."

Thomas listened calmly while he took in Scarlett's bedraggled appearance. "Go upstairs and fetch Anna this instant." The maid dithered and looked uncertain before Thomas' venom erupted as he bellowed, "Go get her now!"

Thomas might not like Anna, but he knew that whatever his personal feelings were he could not take care of Scarlett alone. He knelt beside where she rested in a chair and gently lifted her chin to see how much damage was done. Her now dull blue eyes slowly took in Thomas' strained face and eyes shot with red from crying intermittently for many hours. No words passed between them, but they did not look away from each other until Anna appeared.

"Oh milady whatever happened to you?"

"One of the kitchen maids appears to have found her outside in the pouring rain and she not or will not say a word."

When Thomas first started speaking Anna seemed bowled over that he would answer for her but by the end she seemed quite recovered.

"Quickly, let's get her upstairs, warmed up, dried off, and tucked into bed. I will need your help if you would not mind Mr. Barrow."

"Not at all."

Between them they supported Scarlett upstairs and into bed with none of the rest of the house being any the wiser. Thomas waited at the door while Anna took care of Scarlett and was still waiting when Anna reappeared.

"I am very grateful for your help Mr. Barrow. Do you think sleeping tonight will help her out of this trance-like state she seems to be in?"

Thomas paused before answering as they descended the final steps back into the servant's quarters. "I saw many en at the hospital with similar symptoms. Not many made it, but she is young, strong, and beautiful so I have no doubt she will pull through."

Anna squinted a little at Thomas to gauge his sincerity before answering, " Well I do hope your faith is rewarded as there is truly a heart inside that chest Thomas Barrow and this house has seen more than its fair share of heartbreak and death."

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading! My muse has completely changed this story from where I thought it would go, but I am very excited!
Reviews are so appreciated! Any Feedback is Good Feedback!