At Downton, things were ticking along nicely upstairs, but downstairs things were far more chaotic. Thomas and O'Brien were on the war path, as usual, and Mr Molesley was trying to get to grips with the responsibility of running a big house and large staff. The only one, who seemed to be taking everything in their stride, was Anna.
'Why didn't I get asked to stand in as butler in Mr Carson's absence? I am supposed to be the under butler.' Thomas whined as he stood in the kitchen courtyard at the back of the house.
'Well we'll have to discredit that imbecile Molesley, shouldn't be that hard to do.' Miss O'Brien conspired as she took a long drag from her cigarette. 'Do you really want to be taking orders from that oaf for a month?'
'No I don't; but I am more interested in why Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes went along with Dr Forbes and Lady Aurelia. I know there is no staff at Grantham House, but it's a bit weird that the honeymooning couple should want to take them with them.' Thomas said just as Anna walked out.
'Mr Barrow, when you have quite finished gossiping about matters that don't concern you, perhaps you could get on with some work, I'm sure I can find you plenty that needs doing.' Anna said sternly. She made an exceptionally good housekeeper, stern but fair, just as Mrs Hughes had taught her to be. Of course she thought it was a little strange for the two heads of the house to be away, but she, like the other stalwarts of Downton, believed it was because Lady Aurelia was so close to Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes, that she didn't dare trust anyone else.
Thomas glared after Anna as she walked back inside, stubbed out his cigarette and slumped back in doors without another word. He hated being rebuked; it was a free country and he should be able to say what he liked without fear of being chastised.
'Ah Mr Barrow, I'll need you to serve tonight in the dining room; her Ladyship has just informed me that the Dowager Countess and Mrs Crawley will be joining us.' Mr Molesley said, with an attempted at an authoritive and commanding tone, but without great conviction, just as Thomas entered through the back door.
'Right Mr Molesley; will that be all?' He said impatiently, irritated and annoyed that he had to take orders from this man.
'Yes, for now,' Mr Molesley replied, completely unaware of what chaos was in store for him.
Upstairs things were far more quiet and calm. Sybil and Tom were sat in their bedroom relaxing, his arm draped around her shoulders and her head resting slightly against his chest; they were in bliss, although there was something on Sybil's mind.
'What do you suppose Aurie is doing now?' She asked.
'I'm sure she's having a lovely time, doing lovely things and…whatever it is young, newly married, honeymooning couples do.' Tom replied mischievously.
'Tom!' Sybil chastised playfully. 'That's my sister!' She added. 'I hope they got there alright; I wouldn't like to think anything bad has happened to them.'
'Why don't you give her a ring and find out, put your mind and rest and then that way, we'll both get some peace and quiet.' He said with cheeky exasperation.
'Actually, I think I will, just to make sure she's alright you know.' Sybil replied as she got up from her loving embrace.
'Have you two really never been apart?' He asked.
'No we haven't. We've always been together, except for the one night when we eloped; even when we went to do our nurse training, we made sure we shared the same room.' She explained with melancholy sadness. 'I know you don't understand us, I don't think anyone does.' She added before disappearing out of the room into the gallery.
Everything was very quiet in the house, even though it wasn't that late. There were a couple of maids milling around doing some last minutes chores but apart from that, there was no one else around. Sybil made her way down the staircase and into the entrance hall, where their telephone sat on the little side table. She carefully placed the earpiece to her ear and waited for the operator to answer.
'Hello, can you put me through to Grantham House in London please?' She asked politely and after a few seconds of silence she heard Mr Carson's voice. 'Good evening Carson, I trust you are well?' She said.
'Yes Milady, quite well thank you.' He replied calmly, but his tone sounded a little tired.
'I wondered if it might be possible for me to speak with Aurie…I mean, Lady Aurelia.' She asked and quickly corrected herself as she used her sister's formal title, something she very rarely did.
'Certainly Milady; I shall get her for you now if you don't mind holding the line.' Mr Carson said and then he returned to the drawing room where he had been sat with the young couple and Mrs Hughes after their meal.
Aurelia almost skipped to the phone when Mr Carson said who it was at the other end. Whilst she was enjoying the company of the people she was with, she did miss her twin.
'Sybbie, it's so nice to hear from you!' She said as she spoke into the phone.
'Anyone would think we've been apart for weeks the way we react Aurie.' Sybil joked dryly.
'I know, but I miss you none the less; it seems so strange without you.' Aurelia replied.
The girls chatted and laughed happily for several minutes and although they couldn't hear exactly what was being said, Mrs Hughes still couldn't help but smile and laugh at them.
'You know, I don't think I've ever met sisters who are as close as they are.' Mr Carson commented.
'No I don't think I have either; but they have such a lovely relationship and friendship.' Mrs Hughes replied with delight.
'Well it is understandable that they are so close, they are twins after all,' Henry said but then quickly corrected himself, 'oh I suppose that isn't right is it?' He said with a furrowed brow and then concern that he may have offended Mrs Hughes.
'No they're not actual twins,' she said kindly and with a look that put the young man at ease. She understood, better than anyone, that their circumstances took a lot of consideration before it could remotely be understood. 'I won't deny I was very concerned that their relationship would suffer after Ella found out, well, after they both found out the truth; I think they did find it difficult for a few weeks, but they got over it and now, as you can see, they're just as close as ever.' She added with a smile and just as Ella walked back into the room.
'Sybbie was asking after you all; she wanted to make sure we got here alright.' Aurelia said with a tired smile as she sat back down next to her husband.
'That was kind of her,' Mrs Hughes said.
'She was also saying that Mary and Matthew are now away as well; they set off this afternoon for France, so Mama and Papa won't know what to do with themselves.' Aurelia explained. 'I still can't quite believe that she and Matthew intend to move. Home will seem very strange without them.'
'Why do you think they're leaving?' Henry asked.
'Well I think Matthew sometimes finds being the next Earl of Grantham and everything that goes with it a little difficult to deal with; so I think he hopes he and Mary will have many years on their own before they have the house and the estate to worry about.' Aurelia said as she stifled a yawn, which hadn't been missed by Henry, but he chose to ignore it this time.
'It must have taken a lot for him to adjust to I suppose; to one day be a middle class lawyer and then the next, the heir to a title and everything.' Henry pondered as Ella gave another, much more pronounced yawn. 'Right, I think that's a definite sign that it is time for bed.' He said.
'Yeah I think you're right.' She said sleepily as she stood from her position on the sofa. 'Goodnight Mam,' she said as she gave her mam a peck on the cheek, 'Goodnight Mr Carson,' and she gave him a gentle peck too.
Perhaps it was because he too was tired, but Mr Carson felt a sudden surge of paternal instincts as he watched Ella and her husband disappearing; it was a strange sensation. As the day had worn on he was beginning to think of her less and less as a Lady, and more and more like Mrs Hughes' daughter; the change of surroundings and the mother and daughter's open bonding, was certainly having a profound effect on him.
'I think we should be heading to bed ourselves Mrs Hughes; I'll just make sure everything is locked up.' He said as he forced himself on to his feet.
Mrs Hughes had rather hoped that they could have stayed up together a little longer, but she did have to admit that she was exhausted. So she followed Mr Carson up the stairs and they both paused outside her bedroom door.
'Well Mrs Hughes, although it has been rather a strange day, I think I could get used to this.' He said earnestly, if not with a slightly nervous tone to his voice.
Mrs Hughes gave a soft sigh of happiness, 'so could I Mr Carson, so could I.' She said as she then disappeared into her bedroom. 'Goodnight.' She added.
Mr Carson walked the few doors down to his own room, which was exceptionally luxurious and completely alien to him, but despite his lovely surroundings and the comfortable bed, he barely slept a wink. The thought of Mrs Hughes plaguing him, their current circumstances, Lady Aurelia, Downton, absolutely everything that mattered to him suddenly seemed to be screaming for attention in his head.
Mrs Hughes was also wide awake as she laid in thought about the way Mr Carson had held her hand earlier that day. She laid on her side facing the empty side of her large king size bed, a luxury she was certainly not used to, but the emptiness just seemed to confirm all of her feelings about so many things, mainly her daughter and now Mr Carson too. She kept trying to tell herself that she was wrong, that it wasn't right and that Mr Carson would never consider there to be anything between them more than friendship, but she still found herself wishing.
At some point in the night both Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes must have drifted off to sleep because it was morning before they knew it, with bright burning summer light streaming in through their windows and the sound of horses and a few cars milling around outside in the street. Mrs Hughes was up and out of her room before Mr Carson, or so it seemed, much to her surprise and that of Ella and Henry too. Mr Carson had always been an early riser, up long before any of the other staff, so this certainly was a surprise for them. She dressed and went down to breakfast, where Henry was sat at the dining table with Ella, who was exceptionally pleased with herself after making breakfast for everyone.
'Believe it or not Ella, my darling, you are actually not a bad cook.' Henry said as he tucked into a couple of pancakes.
Ella had made pancakes, toast, scrambled eggs, smoked haddock and smoked salmon, dropped scones, bacon and sausages. Whilst it might not have seemed all that difficult to cook to most people, for Ella it was a massive achievement, that didn't go unappreciated by her mam or husband. She had spent many an hour in the kitchens over the years and had learned some things, but deep down, she really wanted to learn properly; not quite to Mrs Patmore's standards, but more than the basics the kindly cook had once taught her.
'Did you sleep alright?' Ella asked her mam as she poured her a fresh cup of tea.
Mrs Hughes thought for a brief second, of course the answer was no, but she didn't need to burden her daughter with that now, 'Yes thank you; it's certainly a lovely room and a great treat to have woken up naturally this morning.' She said with a broad, if not tired, smile. 'Has Mr Carson not come down yet?'
'I haven't seen him yet; which is funny as I thought he'd be the first one down.' Ella replied and she revelled in being able to have such a normal conversation with two of the people she loved most in the world. She thought that it did still seem very strange, not to have to worry about keeping everything a secret, but it felt lovely to be open and honest for the first time in months, without schedules or agendas to get in the way.
As they sat and ate their breakfasts, they heard the front door opening and closing again and then heard Mr Carson's deep resounding voice, singing jovially in the hall way.
'Where have you been gallivanting to?' Mrs Hughes asked him once he joined them in the dining room.
'Well the sun is shining Mrs Hughes and I was the first one awake, so I thought I'd come down and read the paper for a while, but then I remembered that we don't get the paper delivered here anymore, so I took a jaunt to find a corner shop to buy one; it really is a wonderful day outside.' He explained with such bright enthusiasm that his good mood was almost infectious.
'And to what do we oh the pleasure of this great mood?' She added.
'Why shouldn't I be in a good mood Mrs Hughes? Haven't you been telling me to sit back and relax a little?' The usually grumpy butler replied, with a hint of mischief in his voice.
'Of course we do Mr Carson and it's nice to see you finally taking advantage of your time here.' Aurelia replied.
'Thank you Mi…thank you,' he said and stopped himself from saying Milady, which was a vast improvement on yesterday's conversations. He still didn't feel comfortable calling Lady Aurelia by her first name only, but this was a start and he felt his heart race as he saw the brief flicker of surprise and gratitude on Mrs Hughes' face. Whilst he did want to please Aurelia, it wasn't for her benefit that he had changed his mind about how he referred to her; he made the adaption for Mrs Hughes, to help her relax into her role as a mother and to try and prevent her from being reminded of the fact, that once they returned home, they would never be able to experience this kind of openness together again.
His time tossing and turning during the night had done him well; although he was exhausted, he had made a number of decisions that seemed to make it all worth it, the first, to be more accepting of Aurelia in Mrs Hughes' life and to adapt more easily to their current circumstances. It was something that was very alien to him and took him every ounce of courage and strength he had to do it, but he now had a firm plan in his head and he was going to do everything in his power to follow it.
Ella watched as he took his place at the table, sat opposite Mrs Hughes. She watched them both candidly, pretending to take sips from her tea, as she tried to hide the smile playing on her lips from watching them. They both seemed oblivious to the fact that every so often one would glance at the other, before quickly lowering their eyes again and slightly smiling to themselves before dragging their attentions to something else and busying themselves with it.
There was a nice, comfortable silence in the room and Ella was delighted. For the first time in her life she felt "normal". She felt no pressure to behave in a certain manner, she liked the fact that no one was waiting on her and she loved that she was allowed to act naturally towards her natural mother, which had been something she'd spent the last few months fighting.
Whilst at Grantham House, she felt as if it was her home with Mrs Hughes, whereas Downton Abbey was her home with Cora and Robert, whom she adored and loved with equal vigour. This arrangement seemed to be agreeing with her, well with them all, and a small part of her hoped that it would never end.
'Do you have any plans for today?' Mrs Hughes asked Ella as she lifted her cup to her lips.
'Well I was hoping Henry might consider taking me round the art galleries; there's a new exhibition on at the National Portrait Gallery that I am particularly interested in.' She replied to her mam, but with a distinct look at her husband, giving him a look that told him he had no other choice.
'I think that sounds like a lovely idea.' He said as he tried to muster some enthusiasm, which made Ella giggle with nervous delight.
'And what about you and Mr Carson, do you have anything planned?' She asked.
'I hadn't thought about it if I'm honest; perhaps you have made plans Mr Carson?' Mrs Hughes asked, not wanting to assume that he wanted to spend his time off with her, but she was very much mistaken; of course he had no intentions of spending his time with anyone else but her.
'Well I had a similar idea to…I had a similar idea; I thought we could go to the Natural History museum.' He stated and again had to stop himself from saying Lady Aurelia, as he so naturally wanted to do; it was clearly going to be much harder than he had first thought, but his efforts hadn't been missed by Mrs Hughes and she loved the man even more for trying and the fact that it was clearly torturing him to do it.
'I would be delighted Mr Carson,' she replied with the faintest flicker of a smile, which she thought had gone unnoticed by everyone, but both Aurelia and Mr Carson had noticed.