Thank you very much to those of you who have reviewed and set alerts for this story. It is very encouraging. This is a slightly shorter chapter but I felt that if I were to continue with the next part of the story that it would be too long and contain too much so you will just have to wait and see if you agree.

Disclaimer: I still have gained ownership of any of these wonderful characters.

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Charles had been a bundle of nerves. He had kept the veneer up when he was carrying out his duties throughout the household but inside was a whole other story. It had been a Wednesday evening when they had decided on their outing and the following morning that in a brief conversation that Sunday would be the most appropriate day for them both to be off. He couldn't understand why he felt so flustered especially since there wasn't anything going wrong.

He spent every night going over his plan for Sunday and how he was going to make the little pieces of the puzzle fit together. This started with him getting Mrs. Patmore on his side, a task which was made much more difficult that this usually meant disagreeing with Mrs. Hughes. This was a very fine line to walk at the best of times but since he was so concerned that Mrs. Hughes would decide to cancel their plans. He chose his moments carefully; an extra compliment here and there and he knew that his request of her on Saturday wouldn't cause too much of a stir.

'Mrs. Patmore, I was wondering if I could make a little request of you. I was hoping you could put together a little picnic basket of the leftover food from today's lunch'

'Will this be just for yourself, Mr. Carson, or would you prefer if I added a little extra in case you have some company since Mrs. Hughes is also going to be off tomorrow, isn't she?' She was grinning from ear to ear.

Had she figured him out?

'Well, that would be a good, I suppose' He was blushing furiously and so excused himself to go and calm himself down.

He spent the next half an hour polishing silver to distract him from the butterflies that had formed in his stomach. He finally made his way back into the kitchen to check on the picnic basket and was delighted to find that Mrs. Patmore had put together a delighted lunch. Perhaps he would have to compliment her more in future to make up for this gesture.

He retired to his room that night as he was too nervous to spend the evening with Mrs. Hughes. He couldn't sleep a wink. If he was honest, he was just excited as he was nervous. As much as he wanted to get to the bottom of what was bothering her but he was, secretly, just looking forward to spend time with her on her own away from the house. Over the years, he had always enjoyed listening to her opinions especially when she was truly passionate about something. This is what he hoped would come back tomorrow.

He cursed himself for over-thinking everything. This was his problem, he always tried to control all the little details and then if one little thing went differently to how he had planned it, he would end up making a rash decision. These sorts of decisions had occurred all through his 'years of stupidity'.

He got up after enjoying watching the sun rising. It was one of his favourite things to do because he always found himself calmed by it.

He made his way out into the hall and issued the orders to the various members of the staff before getting himself ready to leave. He hadn't seen her all morning but one of younger maids had told him that she had been sorting some sheets in one of the rooms in the west wing of the house. He was hoping that she wouldn't get sidetracked by any of these tasks.

His worries were dissipated when he was greeted the smell of lavender. She must have washed her hair the night before because he had guessed many years ago that she must use lavender for her hair as he could always tell when she had changed her hair slightly. He turned to find her adjusting her hat. She looked breathtaking apart from the still slightly grey pallor of her face.

'Shall we set off, Mrs. Hughes?'

She smiled.

'Of course, Mr. Carson'.

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So the next chapter will be the day out and we will have to see if Mr. Carson gets his wish or perhaps more.

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Thank you for reading. :)