In all her life Mrs Hughes had never been somewhere like the natural history museum and was amazed by all the wonderful sights and sounds. She was all agog as she looked at the ancient artefacts and felt a little intimidated by the gargantuan size of the dinosaur skeletons. Mr Carson, on the other hand, was in his element. He had been to a few museums before his time in service and was delighted to share his knowledge with Mr Hughes. She always knew he was a very knowledgeable man, but had never realised quite how well educated he was.

As he guided her around the exhibits he allowed his hand to hover at the small of her back, never actually touching her and remaining a respectable distance, but there was a certain closeness there, very different to the way they had been before. It seemed that the more time they spent together away from Downton, the further they were able to distance themselves from their work personas and they were now really getting to learn about who the other was. She liked the fact that he was so attentive, respectable and non-patronising, but attentive just the same.

As they left the natural history museum, Mr Carson led Mrs Hughes into Hyde Park, just as Henry and Ella had done the previous day. The sun was glorious and they both enjoyed the heat on their faces. Mrs Hughes tilted her hat back a little in an attempt to cover her neck, as she felt the burning sensation, but she still had a delighted smile on her face as she relaxed. Even Mr Carson seemed to be enjoying the calm, leisurely stroll in the sun and even surprised her with the modern version of a penny lick.

'I can't tell you the last time I had one of these Mr Carson!' She exclaimed with gratitude and delight as he handed the cone to her whilst she sat on a bench in the shade of a large tree.

'Well it's certainly been a few years Mrs Hughes. I do like these new cones they've brought out, but I do miss the old glasses.' He explained as they both licked the cold ice-cream from the cone and Mrs Hughes had to laugh as she recalled the original penny licks.

'It's so nice being able to just sit and watch the world go by, without the worry of work to do, maids to chase, arguments to settle; it's actually quite refreshing.' She said honestly and was surprised to hear him agreeing with her.

'Yes, it has been rather nice so far; I won't deny that I am starting to feel more relaxed, but it does still concern me that I've left our house in the hands of Mr Molesley.' He replied with a tone of irritation as he thought about what could be going on back home.

'I'm certain Mr Molesley is very capable of running the house Mr Carson, he is a trained butler after all.'

'It's not that I'm worried about; God only knows what antics Thomas and O'Brien are getting up to in our absence and what mayhem they are causing.' He replied and both their brows creased at that thought.

And of course, they were right, as always; Thomas and Miss O'Brien were indeed plotting against Mr Molesley and Anna as well for that matter. They intended to humiliate Mr Molesley by swapping his shoes for a pair of Thomas's that squeaked terribly and they hadn't yet decided what to do about Anna yet; but needless to say, it wasn't going to be good.

Mr Molesley had been trying hard to make a good impression on the family and prove that he could be a reliable, temporary, replacement for Mr Carson. It was important to him that he should do well, so that if Mr Carson ever needed to leave again, then he might be asked to fill in once more and the opportunity to manage such a large house would only enhance his future prospects as well; but the lack of respect from the likes of Thomas, caused him more than great concern.

However, the antics of Downton were no longer the concern of Mr Carson and Mrs Hughes and after their temporary break, they set of again as they meandered the busy London streets in search of their next adventure. Through their chat Mr Carson realised that Mrs Hughes had never properly been to London and had never seen things such as the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London or even Buckingham Palace, which of course he had already seen, but many, many years before and with very different company.

So he took her on the bus down towards the Thames where they then walked along the riverside to the Parliament buildings, which of course made Mrs Hughes gasp. Mr Carson delighted in telling her about the building and the fact that the architect who designed the building also designed Downton Abbey, as well as a few other well know places in Yorkshire. He then led her up the busy streets towards Trafalgar Square, with the intentions of taking her to Buckingham Palace, but they bumped into Aurelia and Henry as they were coming out of the Portrait Gallery.

Aurelia was delighted to see her mam and Mr Carson looking so relaxed and noticed that they seemed much closer, their stout principles forgotten in the moments since their arrival. She had seen them walking towards her long before they had seen her and she had smiled with delight as she watched Mrs Hughes resting her hand on Mr Carson's arm, albeit briefly, but their body language definitely looked as if great barriers had been broken between them.

'What are you doing here?' She asked them with glee as she held on tightly to Henry's arm.

'We were just having a wander really; Mr Carson here has been taking good care of me and showing me the sights. We were just about to go to Buckingham Palace actually.' Mrs Hughes explained.

'Oh the palace is lovely, you'll really like it. The last time I was there was when I was presented; I remember feeling so nervous that I nearly fell up the stairs.' Aurelia replied with a nervous giggle. 'After you see the Palace you must walk through Green Park, it's really lovely at this time of day.' She added.

'I'm sure we can manage that next, it sounds like a lovely suggestion Ella. And where are you heading to now?' Mrs Hughes asked.

'Well I thought I would take Ella round a few more art galleries before we headed back.' Henry replied as he placed his hand over Ella's resting in his arm and gave her a gentle squeeze.

'Well then, we will see you both later; be sure to look after her Henry.' Mrs Hughes said with a slightly raised eyebrow as the young couple began to walk in the opposite direction and Mr Carson began to lead her towards The Mall.

They walked together in comfortable silence and with a respectful distance between them, but there were so many things that Mr Carson wanted to say to the wonderful woman beside him, but he couldn't manage a single word. He was just so delighted to be with her that his words seemed to fail him all at once and he found he had a lump in throat. Mrs Hughes was also exceptionally quiet, which made him unsure as to whether or not she felt comfortable with him, but her mind was on all the things that she wanted to say to him and on all the possibilities.

'I'm not sure I want things to go back to normal when we go home.' She said quietly after they were half way down The Mall and Mr Carson automatically assumed that she was talking about her relationship with her daughter.

'Well we'll just have to find a way for you both to spend more time together than you have been, rather than trying to snatch a few minutes here and there. I am willing to help where I can and maybe Aurelia could spend time with you in your living room in the evenings; I would make sure that you weren't interrupted and, if need be, I could permit you time off to go away with her, like we are now. I can see that this trip has already had a profound effect on you both.' He explained and Mrs Hughes was absolutely delighted to hear him say Aurelia, with no title added, but she did hear his voice falter a littler as he said it.

'And what about us Mr Carson? Will we stay the same?' She pressed rather forwardly.

Mr Carson didn't know how to respond to her as they now stood outside the Palace, but the beauty of the building was completely lost on either of them, as they now looked at each other with such earnest. Mrs Hughes feared she had pushed him too hard, or had read all of his signals wrong and he cursed and chastised himself for not being man enough to tell her the truth, but he just couldn't muster the courage to tell her how he really felt. So, instead, he took a hold of her hand and lightly placed a kiss to her knuckles; she then expected him to let go, but he didn't. He continued to hold her hand as they looked at the building in front of them, both completely uninterested in it now and when they moved off, he still didn't let go of her hand, but instead moved her so that she was now clasping his arm. He made the movement very obvious and deliberate, so that she knew he didn't intend to let her go.

By that evening, once they were all back in Grantham House, Aurelia noticed that their day together had done wonders for the butler and housekeeper. They were far more relaxed in each other's company than before and he was now sat much closer to her on the sofa, but they both still looked like they would need a push in the right direction and their earlier talk of walks and ice-cream had given her an idea.

'I was thinking about this coming Saturday and about something we could do, if you fancy it that is. I thought we could take a trip to Margate; I haven't been to the beach there in a very long time and with the weather being so nice, it would seem a shame to waste the chance.' She suggested.

'I think that would be a lovely idea; what says you Mr Carson?' Mrs Hughes replied.

'Well, I don't mind saying that it'd make a nice change of scenery.' He said, but he seemed to have a little bit of a hesitant tone to his voice, but Mrs Hughes didn't question it; if she could get him to agree to come along with the minimum of fuss, who was she to argue?

'Right well that settles it then.' Aurelia replied with extreme delight.