Again, I am so sorry for not posting this chapter sooner, with it being Christmas time, I haven't really had much time to write... I am hopeless, I know, I hope you don't mind too much...
Anyway, here is chapter 7, I hope you enjoy reading it. I quite enjoyed writing this chapter, it has taken me all day so I hope you like it. Please don't hesitate to comment & leave a review, I would very much appreciate it if you did so. Your reviews encourage me to write more:) Please let me know what you think. x
Chapter 7:
Two days later:
"Well I still can't believe someone would do something like this..." Robert admitted to Carson.
"The downstairs staff are quite shaken up about it My Lord." The butler answered.
"Yes, I should expect so..." he replied, staring into thin air.
"There is something I wanted to discuss with you M'Lord, if that's alright." Carson said before straightening his composure a little.
"What is it?" he asked, turning his attention back to the butler.
"Well I wondered if Andrew - that is, the newest footman - had left any indication that would suggest he was leaving service here... Only, he seems to have taken off without a trace." Carson began.
"Oh?" he asked. "I had no idea that he was leaving, he must have only been here a couple of months..."
Matthew was on his way to the library when he came accross Carson and Robert in the hall and their conversation caught his attention.
"Well that's what I find rather intriguing, that and the fact that he left whilst you were in London, without telling anyone. And if I am not mistaken that was the night of the fire." The older butler added, staring at Robert with a knowing look, waiting for a reaction.
After realising what Carson was suggesting, Robert lifted his head slightly as though he was thinking the same thing before turning to face Matthew who had made his way over to the two older men.
"What's this about?" Matthew inquired, looking at Robert for an answer.
"It seems the footmen - Andrew" he began as he turned to Carson to make sure he had got his name right to which Carson nodded in confirmation, "It seems he disappeared the night of the fire." he replied.
"Disappeared?" Matthew asked. "How do you mean?"
Robert turned to Carson for an explanation.
"Whilst you were all in London, the other staff and I decided to head down to the village fair for the evening, but Andrew had insisted he stay here - he told Mrs. Hughes he had a headache - so we thought nothing of it and let him stay behind. Only, when we returned, just after the fire Andrew wasn't here but I simply though he had gone to bed, it was rather late after all, but the next day - yesterday - that is, he didn't come down so I sent James upstairs to fetch him but he wasn't in his bed and it hadn't been slept in..." he explained, feeling quite embarassed for not having spoken about it sooner.
"But why didn't you mention it yesterday?" Robert asked.
"You were all very busy, as were the downstairs staff... I didn't like to bother you so soon after the incident." Carson replied, turning a little red.
"Quite right." Robert answered. "It isn't your fault Carson, I-"
"You mean to say that this footmen was alone in the house, just before the fire began and then suddenly disappeared afterwards?" Matthew asked, cutting Robert off.
After thinking about it for a second, Carson replied. "Yes." he said before coughing nervously. "I thought I should let you know." he added.
"You did right in doing so." Robert answered.
Carson turned to Robert and nodded his head in appreciation.
"If that's all, My Lord, I should be getting back downstairs. I shall be ringing the gong soon." he added.
"Yes, that will be all for now, thank you Carson." Robert replied.
"Yes, thank you, thank you very much." Matthew added before rushing upstairs to find Mary.
Mary and Sybil were in the old nursery with George and Lily. The other nursery had been badly damaged by the smoke and flames so they had moved the children into another room that had been used as Mary, Sybil and Edith's nursery when they were young.
"I'm so glad we got back in time." Sybil said as she piled up some playing blocks with her daughter on the nursery floor.
"Oh, so am I." Mary replied. "I can't even begin to think what would have happened if we hadn't..." she added as she started to get a little teary eyed.
"Oh Mary, don't think like that." Sybil replied in a sweet voice as she stood up and made her way over to her older sister who was sat in a chair overlooking George in his cot.
Sybil place a warm hand on her sister's shoulder and smiled at her.
"I'm alright, truly." Mary said, taking a deep breath and gently wiping the tears from her eyes.
"No, you're not." Sybil replied which surprised Mary because she wasn't used to people answering back. "You've seemed... different in some way for quite a while now and you're starting to worry me." she added, waiting patiently for an answer.
"Sybil darling, I told you I'm fine." Mary answered stubbornly before standing up and walking towards the window.
"This is about Sir Richard, isn't it?" Sybil guessed as she walked over to where Mary was standing.
Mary quickly turned around after hearing his name and stared her sister in the eye.
"I don't want to talk about that man. I never want to see him or hear his name ever again." She said, raising her voice a little.
"So I am right then." Sybil said softly. "I don't think you should keep it to yourself any longer, Mary. What has he done that is so bad?" She asked.
"Didn't you hear what I just said? I don't want to talk about it." Mary replied stubbornly as she walked passed Sybil and scooped George out of his cot and into her arms.
Sybil didn't yet know what Sir Richard had done to cause Mary to react this way but she definatly wasn't going to give up.
"Tom told me, that you saw Sir Richard a couple of months ago." Sybil began, hoping this would persuade Mary to talk.
Mary was shocked, she had thought that Matthew and Tom were the only two people to know about that day.
"What?! What did he say?" She asked, clearly impatient to hear what her younger sister had to say.
"Only that he had been waiting for you and that he gave you a fright, he wouldn't tell me any more." She answered.
"I see..." Mary said, staring into thin air.
"Mary if you won't tell me what it is that is bothering you, perhaps I'll pay Sir Richard a visit and ask him myself because I don't like seeing you like this."
"Certainly not!" Mary replied suddenly in a much louder voice which caused little George to cry. "Don't go anywhere near that man. You don't know what he is capable of." she added before turning her attention to her son and stroking his hair to try to calm him down.
Sybil was surprised by her sister's reaction, she hadn't expected it. She didn't like seeing her like this, and she didn't really want to ask her all these questions when she very clearly didn't want to be asked them but she was doing it for Mary more than for herself.
"No, I don't know what he is capable of, so why don't you tell me?" she continued, awaiting an answer.
Mary could see that her sister wasn't going to back down. Sybil was just as stubborn as she was so she knew that if she didn't tell her now, she would end up finding out sooner or later.
"Alright, you win." Mary began as she placed George back in his cot before taking a seat.
Sybil was quite pleased with herself and took a seat on Lily's bed opposite Mary and listened carefully to what she had to say.
Mary took a deep breath and explained everything, down to the last detail.
"So now you see. I can't do anything or go anywhere without looking over my shoulder and I certainly cannot leave George whilst Richard is still out there." Mary sighed before swallowing and looking up at Sybil who was shocked at what she had just heard.
"Oh Mary, I- I don't know what to say." she said. "I had no idea it was anything this serious. What did he mean when he told you that he hoped Matthew was the hero you thought he wa-" but before she could finish her sentence, she stopped for a second and he eyes opened wider as she realised what exactly he had meant.
Mary looked at Sybil and realised she had understood. Sybil stared up at her sister and her lips parted.
"The fire?" Sybil whispered.
Mary simply stared back at Sybil and all of a sudden she understood, everything made sense.
"We must telephone the police." Sybil said straight away without even thinking.
"No." Mary answered which only confused Sybil. "If we inform the police, he will only twist the truth and we don't even have any proof. We must prove that it was him before we can go to the police."
"But how do you suggest we do that?" Sybil asked.
Just then, Matthew entered the nursery and stared at Mary as though he had something important to tell her.
"What is it?" Mary asked.
"I think I might know who set the fire." He replied quickly.
Mary and Sybil both stared at him.
"What?" Mary asked. "I know who it was." She revealed.
"How can you?" He asked, confused. "Has Carson already told you?" He asked as he walked over to where she was standing.
"Told me what? I don't need Carson to tell me who is responsable for this. Richard practically told me himself." she replied.
"What? Have you spoken to him recently?!" Matthew asked, shocked.
"No, of course not, I don't want anything more to do with him. But the last time I saw him, he told me to keep George close to me and to watch out because he was watching me. If that wasn't a threat I don't know what is." she explained.
"Well at least you haven't seen him since, that's a relief..." he began. "But you don't understand, you see, Carson has informed me that the footman, Andrew was alone in the house the night of the fire and he left Downton that same night without telling anyone where he was going." he told her.
After hearing this, Mary didn't know what to think anymore, it all sounded rather suspicious but she was almost certain Richard was behind it.
"Andrew?" Sybil asked, confused as to why he would do such a thing - he always seemed rather shy but pleasant.
"Yes, the footman with the ginger hair, you know, the one who arrived almost two months ago." Matthew clarified.
"Yes, yes I do know who you're talking about, but he just doesn't seem the type." She replied.
Just then their attention was diverted to Lily who had been listening carefully to their conversation.
"Red haired man." She whispered as she played with her toys.
"What was that darling?" Sybil asked as she crouched down by her daughter.
"We were scared and we were crying and he saved us." Lily continued, but she wasn't making much sense and they couldn't quite understand what she was trying to say.
"Lily, who was scared?" Mary asked softly as she approached her niece.
"Me and George." She replied without taking her eyes off of her toys.
Mary turned to Sybil who was beginning to understand.
"Darling, was this during the fire?" Sybil asked gently.
"Yes, I was scared and I screamed and a man with red hair picked me and George up and took us away." She explained which suddenly made the whole situation a little clearer.
"He must have been trying to save them." Sybil said as she turned to face Mary and Matthew.
"But why wouldn't he take them outside or telephone for help or try to put the fire out?" Mary asked as she tried to work out what had happened.
"The blanket..." Matthew said under his breath.
"What?" Mary asked as she turned to him for an answer.
Matthew looked up at them as if he had worked something out. "When Tom and I went into the nursery looking for the children, there was a blanket, on the floor covering some of the flames." he remembered. "It was as though it had been thrown over the flames to keep them down."
Mary and Sybil listened carefully to what he was saying.
"He must have tried to keep the fire down." He said. "We need to find this man, it's the only chance we have of finding out how this happened." he added.
"But how are we to find him?" Sybil asked.
"I'll ask Carson, he must have an address for him or something that might lead us to him." Mary decided.
"Good idea, I just hope we find him..." Matthew said.
"Ah Daisy, would you let Mr. Carson know that I would like to talk to him?" Mary asked the young kitchen maid.
"Oh M'lady, yes of course." She replied before rushing off to find Carson.
"Daisy has told me you would like a word, M'lady?" The butler said as he approached Mary.
"Yes, if you have time that is?" She asked politely.
"Of course." He replied before gesturing towards his pantry.
Mary smiled appreciatively at him and followed him.
"What can I do for you M'lady?" He asked as he closed the door behind them.
"Well, it's about the footman, Andrew." She began.
"Ah." He said under his breath, knowing what she was about to ask.
"You see, Mr. Crawley has told me about your conversation earlier today and I wondered if you might have an address for Andrew. Or if you knew of any way we could find him." She explained, hoping that he would have something for her.
"I'd have to have a look through my things, but I'm sure I have something that may be of use to you." He replied which caused Mary to sigh in relief.
Carson smiled at her and walked over to his desk and picked up a small key. He used it to open a drawer which seemed to be full. He pulled out the neatly organised pack of papers and placed them on his desk. He rustled through them and pulled out a small crumpled piece of paper.
"Ah, I knew I still had this." He said happily as he handed it over to Mary. "I don't think I have his own address but this is the letter his aunt sent us when she was trying to find a job for her nephew. Her address is on the back, perhaps that could be of use?" he asked.
"This will do quite nicely, thank you Carson." She said as she smiled appreciatively at him.
"You're very welcome My Lady and if there is anything else I can do to be of assistance just let me know." He replied softly.
Mary looked at him for a second and then smiled at him again.
"You've always been there for me when I needed you the most, why is that? God knows I don't deserve it." She asked curiously.
Carson looked at her and sighed before answering.
"When you were just six years old, Nanny Green told you off for playing outside in the rain and getting your new dress dirty so you ran away from her with tears in your eyes, you wouldn't cry in front of her, or your sisters because you were taught never to cry in public because it was a sign of weakness, so you ran downstairs into the servants hall and can you remember where you went next?" he asked.
"I came in here, looking for you." She replied softly.
"Indeed you did." He confirmed. "You stood in front of me, your long dark messy hair hanging over your shoulders, wearing a stained navy blue dress with tears in your eyes and I said to you-"
"It's alright to cry in front of me Miss Mary, you can cry all you like in here and Nanny Green needn't find out." Mary said as she remembered the day she was encouraged to cry and not told off for it.
"Exactly." He said, smiling fondly at her.
"Thank you Carson." She repeated. "Thank you so very much."
"It's my pleasure, My Lady." He replied before watching her leave the room clutching the letter in her hand.
The next day, Mary and Matthew got up early and followed the address to Andrew's aunt's house.
"I hope she's in." Matthew said as he helped Mary out of the car.
"So do I, I haven't got up at this time for nothing." Mary replied and smiled playfully at Matthew who returned her smile.
They walked up to the front door together and Matthew knocked on it, hoping that she would answer.
"What was her surname?" He asked Mary remembering that he didn't know what to call her.
"How should I know?!" She replied.
"So we're on this woman's door step and we don't know her name, surname or her nephew very well." He concluded.
"Well don't look at me, I found the address, you should have found her name." Mary replied stubbornly with a hint of humour in her voice.
"Yes?" An older woman said as she opened the door and found Mary and Matthew waiting. "How can I help you?" She asked.
"Ah, good morning..." Matthew began. "I hope we're not disturbing you." He said.
"Not at all, I don't mind waking up to a pretty face." She replied smiling at Matthew.
"We are here about your nephew, Andrew." Mary said, cutting her off. "He worked for us as our footman at Downton Abbey for a while." She said.
"Oh of course. I should have guessed a man as smartly dressed as you lives at Downton." She replied, admiring Matthew. How is he Andrew? I haven't seen him lately." She asked but noticing the more serious expressions on Mary and Matthew's faces she began to feel a little worried. "He is alright isn't he?" She asked again.
"Well, we wouldn't know." Matthew replied.
"You see, the thing is, he left service a couple of days ago without telling anyone so we wondered if you might have an address for him or if you could inform us of his whereabouts." Mary explained before pursing her lips together and waiting for an answer.
"He left service?" The older woman asked, sounding a little confused.
Mary rolled her eyes and turned to Matthew.
"He did, could you tell us where we could find him?" Matthew asked again.
"If you'll wait here, I'll go get his address for you." She answered.
"Thank you, it would be most appreciated." Matthew replied.
"It's my pleasure sir." She replied before smiling at him again.
The old woman closed the door behind her and went back inside to find her nephew's address.
"How rude!" Mary exclaimed, clearly shocked that she hadn't asked them in and that she had just left them waiting on her door step.
"Oh Mary, at least she is getting us what we came for." Matthew said.
"I know but honestly." She sighed.
Matthew just smiled, he found it rather amusing when she got wound up over nothing. She wasn't a morning person and was often quite groggy until luncheon.
A few moments later she returned to the door with a piece of paper in her hand.
"Here it is." She said with a smile on her face as she handed the paper over to Matthew.
But she stared at him too long for Mary's liking. "Alright, thank you for your help." She said as she took the paper from Matthew's hand.
"You're very welcome." The older woman replied.
"Goodbye." Mary said harshly before practically pulling Matthew away.
Matthew stared at Mary as she got back into the car and laughed at her.
"What is it?" She asked curiously.
"You're in a rather bad mood today." He answered, still smiling at her.
"I do think I am." She replied. "That woman took quite a shine to you." She added.
"So that's what's the matter." He replied in a joking voice.
"What's so funny?" She asked, wondering why he was laughing.
"My darling, no woman comes close to being as beautiful, as kind and as clever as you. I could never love any woman as much as I love you." He said truthfully, looking her in the eye.
Mary felt rather guilty now, she didn't know what to say. She simply smiled at him and hoped he understood just how much she loved him.
"I love you Matthew Crawley." She said softly.
"And I love you, so very much my darling." He replied.
When they arrived in front of Andrew's house, they stayed in the car for a minute before getting out.
"This man may have been responsable for the fire." Mary said.
"Perhaps he was, and if so, we will make sure he pays for what he has done, but you mustn't forget what Lily said; he saved her and George's life by putting them in another room.
"But he could have killed them both and what about Nanny? - She's still in hospital." She replied. She couldn't help but feel unsure about going to see this man, but she had to know if he was behind the incident, or if it was Sir Richard's doing.
"How about we go in, and find out?" Matthew suggested.
Mary took a deep breath before nodding her head and stepping out of the car.
Together they waited for an answer at the door. Suddenly it opened and Andrew appeared. Seeing Mary and Matthew in front of him, he knew exactly why they were there.
"I can explain, I can explain everything!" He said as he opened the door a little wider allowing them to enter his house.
"Do you mean to say you played a part in it?" Matthew asked, suddenly feeling rather angry. It was only then he realised that the man that stood in front of him could have killed his only son.
"Would you like to sit down?" Andrew asked, his hands shaking with fear.
"No, we would like you to tell us what exactly happened that night." Matthew said, trying to stay calm.
Mary just stood by Matthew and listened, she didn't know what to say and it wasn't often she was left speechless.
Andrew took a deep breath and began explaining what had happened.
"I never wanted to start that fire. I swear. It wasn't my idea." He began.
"So it was you. You could have killed my son and my niece!" Matthew shouted as he pushed the younger man, who was clearly terrified up against the wall.
"Matthew! Let go of him!" Mary screamed. She didn't like violence, she never thought that it solved anything. Richard had been violent towards her so she knew what it was like.
Matthew suddenly realised he was in the wrong and slowly backed away from Andrew and straightened his composure.
"You said it wasn't your idea." Mary began having listened carefully to what he had to say. "If it wasn't yours then who's was it?" She asked. Although she had asked the question, she already knew the answer.
Andrew hesitated a moment before answering. "Sir Richard Carilsle." he said.
Mary closed her eyes for a second to take in what she had just heared. She wasn't surprised of course, but it was still a shock to have it confirmed.
"But please, you musn't tell him I have told you." Andrew added, clearly terrified of what he might do to him if he found out that he had told someone about it.
"What exactly did he ask you to do? What happened?" Matthew asked, after having calmed down a little.
Andrew swallowed and stared at the ground as he answered. "He told me he wanted to hurt and humiliate you just as much as you hurt him..." He began. "He told me that you would be away in London for the night and that he wanted me to set fire to the nursery..." He took a deep breath before continuing. "As soon as he mention the fire, I immediately refused but he threatened me so I had no choice."
"No choice?! Of course you had a choice!" Matthew said, raising his voice again.
"Matthew, please." Mary whispered as she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I took a sheet from my room and pushed it up against the nursery door, I took a match and I..." He closed his eyes as though he was replaying the scene in his head. "I didn't want to. I regretted it straight away, I never wanted to harm anyone, I promise. I went back to the nursery and took the children into another room, where I thought they would be safe until someone arrived, I wanted to telephone the firemen but the wires had been cut..." He explained.
Mary and Matthew stared at him, not knowing what to say.
Andrew turned to Mary. "I never meant to hurt anyone. I didn't want to. I've felt ill for two days, I don't know what happened once I left." He said and then suddenly a thought came to him. "How are the children? And the Nanny?" He asked in a worried voice.
"The children are both fine. You got them out of there in time." Mary replied.
"Oh thank god." He said, looking genuinly relieved.
"The Nanny on the other hand breathed in quite a lot of smoke and is still in hospital." Matthew added.
"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I swear I never wanted to do any of this, he made me." He said.
"I believe you." Mary replied which shocked both Andrew and Matthew.
Matthew turned to her for answers.
"I know what it's like to live in fear, in fear of a strong and powerful man. If Richard doesn't get his own way, he turns to violence and although I find it hard to admit, I have been a victim of his and so it seems has Andrew." Mary said bravely, holding back her tears.
At that moment Matthew realised how much of an impact Richard had had on her life. Mary never admits defeat and she certainly never wants to be thought of as a victim so to admit something like that, she must have really been afraid of Richard. Matthew sighed and took Mary into his arms and held her tightly to let her know that he was there for her.
After a minute she pulled away from Matthew and looked him in the eyes for answers. "What should we do?" She asked.
End of chapter 7. Thank you for reading, I really hope you enjoyed it. Please don't be afraid to let me know what you thought. Suggestions and ideas for the next chapter are welcome as I have not yet finished writing it :)x