Chapter One: Alone Among the Wreck

"SHRIMPIE? YES… IT'S… IT'S-AUNT-VIO-LET!"

Daisy smiled and did her best to smother her giggles into her shoulder as she made her way to the door that led downstairs. She hitched up the buckets she was carrying; hoping that their clanking noise would muffle her. There were few things that were more amusing than the Dowager Countess of Grantham fiddling about with technology, especially the telephone. Daisy knew she shouldn't laugh; she herself had only recently gotten over her fear of electricity. But there was something terribly funny about seeing such a stately lady, who had the ability to make even the biggest, grandest men quake with fear, be absolutely befuddled by something like a telephone. Daisy pushed the door open with her right shoulder, pausing before going down so that she could sneak a peek at Lady Grantham. Daisy's smile slipped when she noticed someone else standing by the telephone: An oddly forlorn Lady Edith.

What was wrong?

Suddenly realizing she had already lingered for too long, Daisy stepped into the stairwell and closed the door behind her. Even as she scurried downstairs she could still hear the Dowager Countess. After (loudly) exchanging brief pleasantries with Marquess of Flintshire, her ladyship asked, "Whom might we know on the board of Leeds General Infirmary?"

What did Old Lady Grantham want to meddle with the hospital in Leeds for? Daisy felt sorry for whoever had upset her. They were certainly in for a bitter loss and probably a hefty dose of humiliation for good measure.

Daisy hurried to put away the buckets and nearly bolted into the kitchen. She was running a bit behind schedule and she was sure she was in for a few insults from Mrs. Patmore. She could almost already hear Mrs. Patmore telling her, You wouldn't have been late if you hadn't been eavesdropping on her ladyship, you nosy girl.

"Oh, it's lovely to see you, Daisy," Mrs. Patmore said absent mindedly, not looking up from the dough she was flattening with the rolling pin. "I was beginning to think you'd gone on holiday without having the decency of bidding me farewell."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Patmore," Daisy mumbled. She decided it would probably be better if she did not offer up any excuses for her tardiness.

"Don't be sorry," Mrs. Patmore retorted testily. "Go and fetch a pan for me so that we can get started on baking the bread." When Daisy didn't move fast enough for her liking, Mrs. Patmore finally looked up and set the rolling pin down. "C'mon, now. Don't wait for the weeds to grow 'round my tombstone." She gestured with a rag to the cupboard where the pots and pans were kept.

Daisy hurried to do as she was told, scrabbling a bit with the door of the cupboard in the process and grabbed the first thing she could reach. Mrs. Patmore rolled her eyes and after a moment, Daisy realized that she was clutching a pot and not a pan. Feeling her face burn with embarrassment, she finally found a pan and brought it to Mrs. Patmore.

"What's the matter with you lately?" Mrs. Patmore asked, sounding both irritated and concerned. "The last three days it's like half your brain's gone missing. And that's saying something truly terrifying."

"I don't know what's wrong with me," Daisy admitted. She too had noticed that something was off about herself the last couple of days. "I guess it's because I haven't been sleeping well."

"Well, get a move on and maybe try to turn in early tonight."

Daisy nodded and was just about to go back to work when Anna's face appeared in the doorway. "Daisy? His lordship was looking for you."

"What does he want with me?" Daisy asked in disbelief. She was surprised that Lord Grantham even knew her name.

Anna raised then lowered a shoulder. She looked anxious. "I don't know. Best not keep him waiting, though. He's up in the library."

"Right. Thank you, Anna," Daisy said, unsure how else to respond. She fumbled to undo her apron and Mrs. Patmore sighed heavily. "I can't get any help in this place, can I?"

Feeling only a little guilty for abandoning Mrs. Patmore, Daisy left the kitchen and went back upstairs. As she finally approached the library, she began to feel nervous. It felt strange to wander around upstairs without her apron and she felt oddly exposed, as though she was parading around half dressed. The rooms seemed too big and too quiet without all the soldiers. Daisy knew that it was after one o'clock and that they were all busy eating and would be back soon. Even so, she had grown accustomed to their presence and boisterous noise. Their absence and the silence they left seemed eerie. And what did Lord Grantham himself want to speak to her for?

Daisy opened the door to the library a jar. "You've sent for me, my lord?" Daisy waited a moment, as if Lord Grantham was going to respond with, "As a matter of fact, I did not. I didn't even know you worked here."

"Ah. Yes, Daisy. Please come in," was his actual answer. Lord Grantham's voice was grave.

Daisy swallowed and walked into the room and Lord Grantham stood up from his desk. She saw that he looked every bit as uneasy as she felt. She avoided his gaze by scanning the room, her eyes flicking from the ping pong table to the piano. Both of them had been moved in the room for the soldiers' entertainment and still felt out of place.

Lord Grantham stared at her for a long moment before he began to speak. "We've had a letter from Captain Crawley this morning. He mentioned that you and William Mason are engaged."

That made her look up at him. Oh no. That kind of fraternization was typically discouraged among the servants. Was he going to sack her for it? She hastily tried to explain herself. "I'm sorry, m'lord. I—" But before Daisy could tell him that she had no intention of actually marrying William, Lord Grantham held up a hand.

"No, no. That's not what this is about. But before I tell you what I have to say, I want you to know that everything is going to be all right. I don't want you to panic needlessly. Do you understand? You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

Daisy forced herself to nod. She found she could no longer meet his eye and instead watched the piano as if it was going to start playing itself. She clenched her fists to keep her hands from shaking. He said there was nothing to worry about. Yet something was obviously wrong. Finally, he got the words out:

"A few days ago, William was wounded in battle…"

Daisy sucked in a sharp breath and she was suddenly aware of a slight weight pressing on her chest. A buzzing filled her ears, a sound rather like angry bees. She could no longer hear Lord Grantham. She thought of all the soldiers staying at Downton and the little bits of their horror stories that she had overheard from them. Whenever she had thought of William in the war, she had imagined him going on some kind of adventure, somewhere exciting and maybe a little scary but not dangerous. But that was not how it was at all. He had been in real battle. He had seen the same awful things those other soldiers had. And now he was hurt. Poor, sweet, foolish William had gotten himself hurt.

"Daisy? Did you hear what I said?"

"What?" she asked, quite forgetting to add, "My lord." She blinked rapidly and her surroundings slowly came back to her and the buzzing quieted.

"William's going to take a long time to recover," Lord Grantham explained. "And there might be some permanent damage but the doctors are confident that he's going to live."

"He's- he's going to be all right?"

"In all the ways that matter, yes."

Daisy breathed a sigh of relief. "Well… where is he?"

"He's at a hospital in Leeds."

That's why Old Lady Grantham was looking to harass Leeds General Infirmary, Daisy realized. "Why didn't they send him here?"

"Technically, Downton's supposed to be for officers. But you needn't worry about that," Lord Grantham continued trying to make his tone as comforting as possible. "If Lady Grantham has her way, he should be home within the next day or two. Lady Edith has already volunteered to nurse him. William was very brave and risked his life for Captain Crawley. And we are all very grateful. I want to assure you that he will be taken care of in the best way possible."

Daisy bit her lip. What was she supposed to do now? "Thank you, my lord. This is incredibly generous of you. We… we really appreciate it."

"What did his lordship want?" Mrs. Patmore asked as soon as Daisy was back in the kitchen. She toddled over to Daisy's side, wiping her hands on her apron.

"To tell me that William's been hurt," Daisy said flatly as she tied her own apron back on. "It's not fatal," Daisy added quickly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Mrs. Patmore's voice was kinder than Daisy had ever heard it. "What happened?"

"I don't know what happened. His lordship wouldn't give me the exact details. He was going on about war talk being indecent for a young lady's delicate ears. But he's going to be all right. And he's quite the hero now. It seems he saved Captain Crawley's life. They're trying to bring him 'round here even though Downton's only for officers." A lump rose in her throat and her eyes filled with tears.

Mrs. Patmore patted her shoulder. "What's this? What are you crying for? William's coming home from the war and he's going to live. It's wonderful!"

Daisy felt the tears spill over. "No, it's not wonderful," Daisy spat. "He's been through hell and he's hurt bad. He' s lying up in a hospital bed in Leeds thinking that he'll come home to me with a whole wedding planned and a list of names for babies and- and he won't. And it's my fault. William's always been good to me. The only one who's always been good to me. And how've I repaid him? By hurting him and by lying to him…"

Mrs. Patmore only picked up one word from Daisy's little tirade. "Babies?" She let out a laugh. "For God's sake, you're not even twenty til next month. He's surely not thinking about babies yet. You're still babies yourselves."

Daisy glared at her. "As soon as he's home, I'm telling him the truth."