Thank you again for reading and reviewing! Today I started to introduce a few new characters that are more familiar.
Disclaimer: I STILL don't own Downton...
March 1897
"Good heavens, girl!" Anna backed away from her needle and thread, and shoved it to Ms. Arthur. She took it with brute force and began pulling Anna's work out of the clothing. Anna sat submissively back, trying not to explode at the grumpy old woman.
"It's 'cus you were rushing me." She whispered under her breath, not audible, luckily.
"You'll have'ta start over, after ya eat. I'm running back to check on things, and I expect you to be washed up, and fed. I'll be back in no less no more than an hour." She took her coat and started for the path to her cottage.
As soon as she was out of sight, Anna put water over the fire, grabbed her coat, and headed the opposite way. She had an hour to herself, the first in weeks, and she knew she needed to get away from the house and have a little fun at Ms. Arthur's expense.
"I should be back by the hour, and if not, I'll-" Anna thought of as many excuses she could muster. "Flora! Flora needed me to run her… her lunch money! She forgot it!" It wasn't fool proof, but she was almost positive she'd be back in the hour. Afterall, Flora was new to the school thing, he first week in fact, and had already managed to go unprepared on several accounts.
She wasn't sure of an address, but she remembered what the house looked like, she'd passed it so many times going to the creek, and she had remembered being there once, for a garden party, when the whole village was invited. It was a rather large house, and hard to miss.
Anna remembered her mother saying if she ever needed her, to use the door in the back of the house, and she'd know it when she saw it. She remembered her mother telling her she'd be in big trouble if she tried to use any other door. Anna didn't really understand why, but her mother had been so adamant, she wasn't about to test it.
The house was much larger than she had remembered. Walking around the perimeter, the high walls cast long shadows that swallowed the earth. After walking the entire border of the house she found the backdoor in the courtyard. It wasn't as nice and friendly looking as the front door, but she was sure that this was the door she had been told to use.
She knocked, gently at first, than using her fists for a minute or two. No one answered. Anna was determined to take refuge with her mother, so she let herself it. She figured everyone was just busy, and took the liberty of making their job easier for them.
Anna snuck quietly around the hall, avoiding everyone she could in attempts to first find her mother and avoid trouble of entering uninvited. Her mother had mentioned she could only come if there was an emergency, and there was one.
She just didn't know what that emergency was, yet.
She found a woman with the same blue-green tinted dress her mother would leave to work in every morning, and although it looked like her mother from the back, Anna was forced to duck into a little crevice when the woman looked back and she discovered a different woman, a much younger one, gazing back towards where she was standing.
Anna hid in the corner until she heard a little squeak from behind her, and a bite on her arm. She jumped and turned sharply, not exactly sure what she was expecting to see.
"Shh! You're going to give me away!" A tiny girl, no bigger than Flora grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the darkness. "I'm playing hide and seek with Edith and Mr. Carson. Who-are you by the way? I saw you sneak in. You'd be good at this game."
She heard a giggle from around the corner. "Shh! Edith! You don't know how to play this game. You have to be quiet!" She turned to Anna. "Honestly. She'd loose her head if it wasn't attached… and that'd be okay with me. I'm Mary."
"I'm Anna, now-"
"Are you the new maid? Mama was talking about you; you're from the village. You look a lot younger than any-"
Anna chuckled to herself. "I'm not a maid, but my mum is. I'm trying to find her. Do you know where she might be?"
Mary nodded. "Oh! You're Flora's sister! I've seen you before. I know where she is. But I can't help you find her until Mr. Carson finds me! I absolutely can not loose to Edith!"
Anna grumbled. She'd be caught, and she'd get her mother in trouble. She had to think of a plan to convince Mary to help her find her mother.
"I WANT TO PLAY TOO!" Anna whispered loudly. Mary gave her a dirty glare.
"Then be quiet! Go hide somewhere over there!" Anna crept across the hall to an almost adjacent corner. She crouched down, and sat in the darkness. She could barely see Mary, who was also hiding in the darkness, but she had a clear view of Edith who had obviously found her. Anna put her finger to her lips, gesturing to Edith to stay quiet. Edith laughed softy, but repeated the same action.
They took turns making faces at each other, laughing so softly, when a rather tall man who was looking down on her blocked the light and her view of either sister.
"I don't remember you being part of the game. Get up." Anna jumped to her feet, brushed her hair out of her face, and beat the dirt out of her skirt. "Who are you?"
"That's Anna!" Mary shouted from her corner. "I invited her to come play with me today! We met last week when mama took us to see granny." Mary shot a glance at Anna and gave her a smile. She mouthed, "Don't worry," which made Anna feel relieved.
Mr. Carson raised an eyebrow. He though it was very noble for Mary to hide a fugitive, even if she was lying through her teeth. "Very well, Lady Mary. Will you tell Lady Edith that I've got to see your papa, so this game must end short? Lovely meeting you, Miss Smith."
Anna's eyes widened. How did her know her last name? She realized that he knew Mary, or was it Lady Mary, was trying to protect her all along. She was, however, thrilled that she had been saved.
"You helped try to get Edith out. That's priceless, even if she did win. I'll help you find your mother now."
"What about Edith? Does she know the game's over?"
"I don't think so. I'll let her hide a bit longer. Maybe I'll go get her before bed."
Anna chuckled. Edith was only two years old, and she was already allowing her sister to dominate over her. Mary had a bit of a superiority complex as such a young age, but she was kind and helpful, and Anna admired that. Mary led her into the servants hall, a room Anna had passed, but hadn't looked in.
"Mum?"
Mrs. Smith jumped out of her seat, letting threads fall all over the floor. Another maid, the youngest, Sarah, just rolled her eyes and went back to her work.
Never had she thought her daughter would come to see her. She had been fighting to get proper civil words out of her for the past two weeks, a comfort, as you could imagine, after a long day of work.
Mary sat next to Sarah, watching her mend Edith's stockings. The maid scoffed at her, and tried to scoot away. Mary persistently scooted towards her, mindful that she could still eavesdrop on the conversation.
"Anna. What are you- Are you all- Flora, is she-"
"Mum, we're fine." Anna sat down at the table, next to where her mother had been sitting. Mrs. Smith sat down next to her waiting for an explanation. She lowered her head and raised her eyebrows waiting for her daughter to speak.
"Ms. Bat- Ms. Arthur," Anna corrected herself, "is being atrocious today."
"You can't keep running away from her. You'll give her a heart attack. First it was the creek, then the school, and then to the village, ALONE, might I add, and now here? I know you're not fond of her, but-"
Just then a tall man dressed in black cast a shadow over the table. He cleared his throat, and that was enough to send everyone at the table to their feet. Mrs. Smith pulled Anna up from her chair and pushed her behind herself.
"Mae, might I inquire as to why you thought it would be a good time to bring one your children- not even the young one, to work? You know you're supposed to inform Mrs. Lark a day in advance."
Anna's mother stammered for a moment, not sure how to respond. Although the Crawley family was quite generous and understanding, their butler, Mr. Gossard, was a crotchety old man who wanted nothing more than to keep the Smith's out of the house.
"I invited her!" Mary chimed. "We met in the village. Near Granny's! I invited her to play hide and seek, Gossard. You can ask Mr. Carson!" Mary lied again, managing to keep a consistent story. She motioned to Anna to nod. "Her mother was angry at her because she thought she had come uninvited."
The under-house maid laughed. Mae shot her a glance that terrified everyone who saw it.
Of all the people to cover her, she never thought little Lady Mary would come to her rescue.
"Very well." He doubted Mary's story, but accepted it anyway in fear she'd try to get him in trouble, again. "Next time, do let me know." Mary nodded, proud she had pulled off this second act of harboring what she thought of as a fugitive situation.
"Thank you so much Mary." Anna said. Her mother tried to correct her whispering Lady in her ear. "Thanks ever so, Lady Mary."
"Mary, you're not hiding!" Edith said coming out of the hallway. "Did I win?"
"No, stupid. The game's still on. Go back to hiding!" Edith slumped her head and went back to hiding.
Anna tried to cover her laugh, but her body shook. Her mother grabbed her shoulder, trying to get her to stop.
"Anna, would you like to stay and play another round when Mr. Carson comes back? You're the most interesting thing to happen all week!"
"I'd love to!" Anna quickly announced. The idea of playing like a small child was much more exciting than being confronted by her mother and Ms. Arthur. Her mother shook her head.
"I think she'd better be getting home. Maybe you could ask her another time, Lady Mary."
Mary frowned. "Alright. I suppose I'll go play with the baby. Thank you, Anna!" Mary skipped off down the hall way and back around the staircase.
Anna began for the door to begin the long walk home when she was met with a loud interjection. "Straight home. No side trips. You'll apologize to Ms. Arthur. You'll be clean. And you'll be in bed by the time I get home. Now get."
It had just been a little over an hour since Anna left. She thought, if she were lucky, Ms. Arthur wouldn't have even noticed she was gone.
She had just enough time to come up with a story as to why she wasn't washed, the fire had grown cold, and she hadn't eaten yet.
Anna seemed pretty confident in her ability to make up stories. After all, she'd experienced the little Lady Mary do it so proficiently. She didn't think it could be too hard.
"Mae?" Mr. Carson inquired. "Were you aware that your daughter was here today? Not the youngest, the elder one? I wasn't sure why she was here, but Lady Mary seemed fond of her, and lied to get her out of some sort of trouble."
Mae grumbled. She was still furious Anna had the nerve to leave Ms. Arthur and come here. "I'm aware. She was running from our neighbor who was looking after her. Mr. Gossard's already spoke to me. I don't need your input neither."
Mr. Carson frowned. He wasn't trying to make her upset. "I was only asking. Lady Mary won't stop going on about how she saved the day." Mae laughed. She did find the situation comical, no matter how she tried to hide it. "Why did she try to run away?"
"Quite honestly? She hates the old bat. No one is actually fond of her. But we didn't really have much of a choice. My husband's got a new job, but he works longer hours, and the youngest is in school now. The best we could manage is that nasty old widow teaching her important things." There was an awkward pause. "She hates me."
"I'm sure she doesn't." He put his hand on her shoulder, which was rather comforting.
"I promise I wasn't eavesdropping. But you are in the servant's hall." One of the maids, the lady's maid, chimed in. "Her ladyship is going to visit her mother in America in a few weeks, and I'm not to go with her. I wouldn't mind teaching her sewing or bits like that, when I'm not busy."
"I think she'd love that- or at least behave."
"Well, then, it's settled. Besides. I'm sure she'll be a blessed relief from having to amuse the children."
Mae laughed. It's something they both could certainly agree on.