'Are you honestly happy Mrs Hughes?' Mr Carson asked a little uncertainly as he lovingly clasped her hand in his.
'Mr Carson, you have made me the happiest woman on this earth. What do you suppose Ella will say when we tell her?' Mrs Hughes asked with a slightly concerned tone to her voice, which interrupted her previously delighted demeanour, and which made Mr Carson smile as he recalled his earlier conversation with his future stepdaughter.
'I don't think we will have to worry about Ella; in fact, it was she who told me to tell you how I felt and she gave us her blessing.' He explained.
'Oh I see; well it certainly seems that I missed quite a lot in the night Mr Carson.' Mrs Hughes replied with a large smile and a twinkle in her eye. She felt so ecstatically happy that she didn't want the moment to end or her time away from Downton for that matter. She finally had everything in her life that she had ever wanted, her daughter and the man she loved.
Mr Carson gave an audible, happy sigh and felt so incredibly happy his heart felt as if it was going to burst out of his chest. He remembered the time, some years ago, when she had asked him if he'd ever regretted the life he had chosen, if he'd ever missed not having a wife and children. In truth, he didn't, not exactly; he only ever wanted those things with one woman, the very woman who had asked him the question, but as he never thought he would have her, then he never yearned for them in other places.
'When would you like to tell her?' He asked after a few moments; he still clasped her hand in his and would occasionally raise her knuckles to his lips.
'Might we tell her in the morning; I would really like her to be the first to know and I really want to share our news Mr Carson.' She said.
'I would be delighted to tell her in the morning Mrs Hughes, delighted.' He replied. 'Perhaps I will make us a special breakfast to celebrate.' He added and he smiled with even greater delight when he thought that he would cook his first ever meal for his family.
As the clock on the mantelpiece in her bedroom struck ten o'clock, both Mrs Hughes and Mr Carson looked reluctantly tired. He hadn't been to sleep since the previous day and she still felt rather weak from the flu. As much as they hated the idea of parting, they both realised that they did indeed need their rest. He placed one final kiss to her hand, bid her goodnight and parted to his own bedroom feeling full of joy. Although she looked exhausted, Mrs Hughes looked like the happiest woman alive.
The four inhabitants of Grantham House slept soundly that night, with no cares in the world and an air of anticipation surrounding them. Mrs Hughes occasionally woke in the night and had to convince herself that the evening's events hadn't been a dream, but she always managed to drift off peacefully again with a smile on her face. She couldn't wait to tell Ella her news in the morning and she knew that she would be more than pleased for them, as she recalled how she had once or twice made suggestive comments about the heads of the household having a relationship together. Her earlier concerns were, of course, unfounded; Mrs Hughes knew that as long as she was happy, then Ella would be happy for her.
The next morning the first thing that Ella did when she woke was to check on her mother's condition. After days without sleep, she had closed her eyes as soon as her head had hit the pillow and hadn't woken again until late the next day. Her body still felt tired and she still felt as if she ached all over, but she knew a nice long bath would soon fix that.
She knocked on the door to Mrs Hughes' bedroom and quietly peaked in to find her propped up, but only just awake. Like her daughter, she'd not long woken, but she looked so much more refreshed than she had done the previous day. Her complexion was still quite pale, but Ella was glad to see that her usual bright twinkle was beginning to reappear.
'I wasn't too sure if you would be awake yet; how are you feeling this morning?' Ella asked quietly as she perched next to her mam on the bed.
'Much better thank you; still a little washed out, but I'm sure that'll go in a few days.' Mrs Hughes replied with a tired smile.
'Yes it will take a few days for you to get over it properly, but there's no rush; you can take it easy without any worry of anything needing to be done.' Ella replied. 'Oh and Sybbie and Tom are on their way down on the morning train, so they should be here with us by lunch time. She wanted to come as soon as she heard that you and Mr Carson were unwell.'
'That was nice of her; but does she know about our…um…well our arrangements?' Mrs Hughes replied, referring to the fact that she and Mr Carson weren't at Grantham House as staff members.
'Don't worry Mam, Sybbie knows all about the real reasons I invited you and Mr Carson down here, in fact she was most delighted when we talked about it and the fact that it was going to be as much of a break away from Downton for you as it is for us.' Ella explained. 'I'm about to make us all breakfast; can I bring you anything up?'
'You don't need to bring me anything, I can come down and get it,' Mrs Hughes replied a little flustered. She wasn't used to having someone take care of her for a change.
'Mam, you're still recovering from an illness that could have been fatal to you; you've taken care of me for the last twenty five years, now let me do the same for you.' Ella said with a concerned yet caring smile.
'Alright Ella, I think I could manage some toast.' Mrs Hughes replied with a little shake of her head. She couldn't get used at how normal all of this felt and it made her heart ache that they couldn't have always been like this and the fact that it would soon all have to come to an end, as life returned to normality for them.
Of course, she did have the joy and excitement of planning her wedding, but she didn't quite like the thought of having to share her joy with anyone else except the people she loved most and that thought led her to another. She really wanted Ella, her daughter and only child, to play a pivotal role on her wedding day, but how she could make that happen without raising a few eyebrows, she wasn't sure. In recent days she forgot about the existence of Lady Aurelia Crawley, daughter of the Earl and Countess of Grantham; to her, she was now simply, just Ella, her daughter and her life.
At that precise moment, just as Ella was about to go downstairs to make breakfast, Mr Carson appeared with a tray full of delicious looking food, flowers and juice for his future wife. He looked happier than anyone had ever seen him, in fact, he felt happier than anyone had ever seen him. He still couldn't believe that he had asked Elsie Hughes to marry him and that she had actually said yes. If you'd have told him a month ago that any of this would happen to him, he wouldn't have believed you; but he was so delighted that it had.
'Oh well Mam, looks like you're getting treated to more than just toast.' Ella said with a loving smile.
'Certainly she is! I couldn't allow her to start this special day with just toast; but I appreciate you may not have a great appetite at the moment Mrs Hughes, so I just made you scrambled egg on toast, with some fruit juice and tea.' He explained happily as he joined them on the bed.
'So does this mean you've had a little chat then?' Ella asked enthusiastically as she contemplated what the butler was so happy about.
'I have indeed; I took your advice last night Ella. In fact, your mother and I have some news we would like to share with you.' He said with a smile as he took a hold of Mrs Hughes' hand and smiled encouragingly at his bride-to-be to indicate that he wanted her to be the one to break the news to Ella.
'Well Ella, Mr Carson and I, well, we're going to be married.' Mrs Hughes said simply, hardly able to believe the words she had just spoken, but suddenly found herself in a tight bone crushing hug as Ella all but through herself at her mother and gave a girly scream of delight.
'Oh Mam I'm so happy for you, for the both of you,' she said as she then threw herself at her future stepfather 'and Mr Carson, I honestly couldn't think of anyone I would rather have as a second father,' she added as he enveloped her in a sweet, albeit surprised, embrace.
'Thank you Ella; your words mean a great deal to me,' he replied feeling genuinely touched by her words and actions.
'When Sybbie gets here we will have to celebrate.' Ella said as she mentally planned a nice, quiet celebration in her head.
'Lady Sybil is coming here? But when is she to arrive?' Mr Carson flustered.
'Mr Carson don't worry about her arrival; you know that she holds no airs or graces. She's coming because she heard that you and mam had been unwell and was concerned about you both. She wants to come and spend some time with us all and will very much appreciate our more casual way of life here. Being Lady Sybil Crawley sits as comfortably with her as being Lady Aurelia sits with me, which is not very. So please don't think you have to put on any pomp and ceremony for her; she would much rather we continued as we are, trust me.' Ella explained.
'Are you quite sure?' He asked uncertainly.
'Mr Carson, she married our chauffeur; at what point do you think she would appreciate leading the life of a Lady?' She replied with a laugh and a large smile.
'Will Branson be joining her?' He asked.
'Yes Tom will be coming too; I hope that won't seem too strange for you. He doesn't wish to be treated any differently either.' She explained, but she noticed that the thought of this seemed to trouble him more than how he should treat Lady Sybil. 'Anyway, it'll be another couple of hours at least before they're here, so perhaps we can revel in your news for just a little while longer?'
'Of course we can Ella,' Mrs Hughes replied with a slight frown as she watched Mr Carson wrestle with his feelings, but it did bring a small smile to her face at the same time.