Please do not be angry at me for taking so long to update, I do hate myself for taking so long with these updates but I have been suffering writers block for months :L And you all know how I think about my own work.
Anyway, I hope you like this chapter.

Staggering under the sudden jolt of Elsies' weight in his arms, Charles knelt to lay her down. Stroking her cheek, repeating her name over and over.
He ran his hand over her entire face, begging her to wake up over and over – she didn't respond.

Doors banged, footsteps ran out, confused chatter filled the air before gasps of shock ran out and a hand came to rest on his shoulder.

"Carson, what happened?!" He turned to face a worried Lady Sybil.

"My Lady…" He couldn't answer before she was joined by her mother wearing a similar worried expression for the unconscious housekeeper.

"What happened?!"

"She…I…the lights came on, she collapsed, it frightened her."

Their expressions became confused.

"She must have been terrified if it was the lights that scared her…"

"It wasn't the lights."

They jumped. Turning to the voice.

Lady Edith stood with her back to them, staring up at the wall, tears beginning to glisten in her eyes. The family moved to stand with her following her gaze, noticing for the first time exactly had frightened Elsie.

'They all fall down.'

The haunting words were painted across the wall, over priceless paintings and tapestries, glistening in the dim light with an eerie crimson glow. All eyes were fixated on each letter, the way they curved and dipped over each bump and crevice in the surface they were on. The confusion of their meaning spread through the minds of everyone.

All but one.

Resting his forehead upon Elsie's, Charles begged her to wake up, repeated his words, his voice beginning to falter, he had to focus on her, refusing to look at the message anymore.

Reading the words over and over again, Robert couldn't make any sense of the situation, what had gone on here, why had Mrs Hughes collapsed, who had written the words, why Carson was cradling his housekeeper to him so desperately repeating her name; the questions surged through his mind until he had to rub his temples - something wasn't right.

Turning he saw his youngest daughter trying hard to force Carson to let go of Mrs Hughes' body, his unyielding called for Mary to step in, coaxing and convincing him if he wanted her to wake up she needed room to breathe. He refused, only tightening his hold on her.
It was Cora who demanded they move away from the Saloon, all but running to the library just to get the image of those awful words out of her mind. They all followed. Carson placing the limp bodied housekeeper on a settee, crouching beside with her hand encased in his.

"Carson what the hell is going on?!"

"Robert please!" One look at the butler told Cora it would be best to extract information gently, rather than demand some answers.

Edith, whom no one had noticed was missing, entered the room carrying a basin of water and some flannels earning her smiles of gratitude from her mother and sisters.
A gentle hand on his shoulder from Mary instructed Carson to stand up for a moment, allowing the younger Crawley daughters to tend to Mrs Hughes. His eyes never left her though, he observed as they wet the cloths, gently dabbing them over her face in an effort to wake her, he knew it was futile but it brought him comfort to see them caring for her.

Mary continued to rub a soothing hand over his back, sensing the change in his relationship with their housekeeper, his eyes had given him away more than his possessiveness, they were full of fear, and heartbreak. And she wasn't surprised.
Mrs Hughes' complexion had turned rather pale, her skin a deathly white colour, the dim like only highlighting the shadows that decorated her face, ageing her. The girls had stopped pressing the cloth for fear they might make her more cold. Sybil kept hold of her hand, her fingers subtly resting on the pulse point of Elsie's wrist, casting occasional worried glances to Edith who kept her hand on Elsie's cheek.

Cora's attempts to console her husband went to waste; Robert was pacing about the room, wringing his hands before bringing them to thread through his already ruffled hair, unable to process the entire situation. Despite Cora's efforts he continued pacing until he heard Cora attempt to question Carson.

"Carson, who wrote those words?"

For the first time in his long life of service, Carson couldn't find the words or the nerve to look at his employer.

"I.. I don't know milady"

"But you know what they mean?"

Pause.

"I do milady"

Another pause.

"Well?!" Roberts impatience was irritating his wife but Mary could see his trembling hands despite his folding them – he was scared.

"Carson…" Marys hand returned to his shoulder and he finally looked up, meeting the sympathetic gaze of his surrogate daughter, her kind eyes asking him to continue, as if comforting him that it was for the best.

"They mean… that is they are… they're a foretelling."

Roberts confusion only increased, he turned to his wife hoping she might understand however she wore an equally confused expression.

"A foretelling of what, exactly?"

"Mrs Hughes' death."

Okay so I did watch Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets recently… ;)
Please review if you have the time, I love to hear your feedback on this story.