Mr Carson helped to unload the taxi, along with Henry, whilst Mrs Hughes and Aurelia went inside. As the house hadn't been used in nearly six months, it wasn't up to the usual cleanliness standard Mrs Hughes expected. She instantly began tutting and examining the surfaces and floors.
'I don't know why we bother hiring staff to clean if this is the condition they leave it in.' She said disapprovingly, her lips pursed together and her brow furrowed.
'Mam, will you please not think about work for just one minute. I really couldn't care less what state the place is in, it looks fine to me; the most important thing is that I'm with you and Henry and Mr Carson and we're going to jolly well have a good time.' Aurelia replied.
'It's very hard not to be thinking about work when I've done nothing else for forty years.' Mrs Hughes replied with a much softer tone and a hint of a laugh. 'But I can guarantee that Mr Carson will have a few choice words to say when he sees it.' She added.
'I'm sure he will.' Aurelia said with a giggle. 'I do hope he will relax, I hope you both will.'
At that exact moment Henry and Mr Carson appeared, having put Aurelia and Henry's cases into their bedroom and they were just about to put Mrs Hughes' and Mr Carson's cases in their rooms.
'Mr Carson, you are to stay in the Duke of Winchester room and Mam you're in the Princess Mary room.' Aurelia said and interrupted Mr Carson before he even had the opportunity to object. 'Mr Carson you are here as my guest, not as my staff. You will stay in the guest rooms.' She said, with a very final tone and Mr Carson couldn't help but smile.
He'd never noticed it before, then again he wasn't looking for it before, but sometimes the way Ella spoke or the looks she gave, she reminded him of Mrs Hughes. She certainly had the Hughes death glare down to a T.
'Very good Milady.' He replied with the distinct tone of defeat.
'Is there any chance I can persuade you to dispense with the "Milady" as well Mr Carson?' She asked hopefully.
'Not on this occasion, Milady.' He said with the slightest flicker of a grin and putting a particular emphasis on the Milady.
'I think we've gone against the tide enough for now Ella, enough to give Mr Carson nightmares for a week.' Mrs Hughes replied with a smile and suppressed the urge to laugh as she spotted Mr Carson's slight glare in her direction.
'Oh well, baby steps Mam, baby steps.' Aurelia said with a sigh. 'Right I quite fancy going for a walk.' She added as she turned to her husband, giving him no option but to agree with her. 'We will leave you both to your own devices; but if I find you cleaning, stock checking or anything else for that matter that is deemed work, then I will personally throw a book at you.'
'Don't you mean throw THE book at them, not A?' Henry asked with a perplexed look.
'No, I literally mean throw A book at them; I'll get the biggest, heaviest one from the library and throw it at their heads.' Aurelia joked and even Mr Carson gave a tiny chuckle.
'Please remind me never to get on the wrong side of you.' Henry said as he put his coat back on.
'Oh don't worry, I will.' She replied and kissed him on the cheek.
She then kissed her mam goodbye and much to the surprise of the butler, she kissed him on the cheek too, before she and Henry strolled out of the house together. Mrs Hughes watched as her daughter left and she felt so proud she could have cried; that was until she was brought round from her thoughts by Mr Carson shuffling uncomfortably.
'Come on Mr Carson, let's find something we can both enjoy doing, that isn't work.' She encouraged as she disappeared into the drawing room.
'But surely I can just do a little work.' He said as he followed her in.
'You heard what Ella said Mr Carson. She wants you to enjoy yourself. Now take a seat and have a drink with me.' She said as she poured them a glass of whisky each and Mr Carson wasn't sure if he was surprised or dismayed at how easy she seemed to find this adjustment.
The truth was, she didn't find this situation easy as such; it felt as equally strange to her to be sitting in a big house, drinking a glass that she would normally only have in her sitting room late at night once all the jobs were done and to be sleeping in a room fit only for the rich and truly aristocratic. But she was revelling in the fact that this was giving her a glimpse of what her life could have been like had things been different for her.
She was under no illusions that she would have ever found herself in a big house like the one they were now in; no, it wasn't that that she meant. It was the fact that she was getting a glimpse at what it would have been like if she had been married and had been allowed to raise Aurelia; the family that she sometimes grieved for.
'Do you not find this a little strange Mrs Hughes?' He asked after a few minutes silence.
'If I'm honest, yes I do Mr Carson; but I can't begin to explain what this means to me, to be able to openly be with my daughter after all these years and to not have to worry about keeping it secret, or fearing someone would catch me out. For all those years that she didn't know, it was harder than anyone can possibly imagine, watching her growing up and not being able to go to her, to comfort her or to even tell her how much I love her. No one can possibly understand.' She said with her voice confident at first, but slowly descending into a whisper as she fought against her tears.
After years of keeping all of her feelings bottled up and secret, it felt so refreshing to be able to talk to someone about it. Although she had been fairly open with Aurelia about how she felt, she never went into too much detail about how hard she really found it, even now, as she didn't want to make the young woman feel guilty for something that wasn't hers to bear. She knew that Aurelia already felt very guilty about what she had been put through and Mrs Hughes didn't want that for her. Never, in the twenty five years, had she ever blamed or resented Aurelia for what happened. She didn't even really think of her as a reminder of it. She just saw her as this beautiful person, free spirited and full of love, not to mention all of Mrs Hughes' hopes and dreams rolled into one.
'You are right Mrs Hughes, no one can possibly understand what you must have gone through and what you continue to go through; but I did mean what I said before. I want to be here to support you, no matter what.' He said as he sat next to her on the little sofa.
'Thank you Mr Carson; your support means so very much to me.' She said with a teary smile. 'It was lovely being able to share those memories with you today.'
'Well I have plenty more where they come from, especially involving Lady Aurelia; she was a very memorable child.' He replied with a fond smile and the slightest of chuckles as he remembered all the mischief she had gotten up to.
'She certainly was that; and do you think there is any possibility that you might be able to drop her title? Even just in front of me Mr Carson?' Mrs Hughes said as she smiled at his constant professionalism.
He gave an audible sigh before replying, 'Certainly not! She may be your daughter and we may be in one of the strangest situations, I can safely say, I have ever been in, but I still see her as one of the family and, therefore, I cannot bring myself to refer to her so casually; not yet anyway.' He added.
'Well if you don't mind, I certainly won't be referring to her as anything else other than Ella and I very much hope you won't object when she refers to me as her mother; I waited an exceptionally long time to hear those words and now that we are alone, well, away from the big house, I want to enjoy the time that I have with her.' She explained.
'Of course I don't object; I want you to be able to enjoy this time with her. You both deserve it and much more.' He said as he discreetly touched her hand, trying to gauge her reaction.
She sat for a few moments and looked into his soft brown eyes and felt her skin erupt with goose bumps at his slight touch. Mentally she chastised herself for being so silly as she was certain that his touch was accidental. He, on the other hand, felt delighted that his touch hadn't been rebuked and the fleeting look she had given him, gave him so much hope that he wasn't alone in his feelings.