Mrs. Hughes thought a cup of tea would calm her nerves before she had to ready lady Mary for dinner. She left her room and saw that there were two female members of the staff walking down the hall and whispering. Mrs. Hughes approached them.

"Excuse me girls, I'm Mrs. Hughes, I'm visiting with Mrs. Crawley...I was wondering if you could tell me, would the cook mind if I went down to the kitchen and helped myself to a cup of tea? I could use a bit of a pick me up before I get Mrs. Crawley ready for dinner."

The red head with tight curls spoke first " Pleased to meet you Mrs. Hughes I'm Monica and this is Samantha, if you make your way to the kitchen, one of the kitchen maids would be happy to assist you."

Samantha asked "Would you prefer to take the tea in your room Mrs. Hughes I could bring it up to you?"

"Oh, thank you that won't be necessary. I won't keep you from getting your work done." Elsie thought the girls were very polite and continued to make her way to the kitchen.

Her thoughts kept taking her back to Anna and how she wished she could do something to help. What if Lady Mary were to become involved with Mr. Gillingham romantically? Anna would have no choice but to see Green. So many questions and scenarios were going through her mind. What if Lady Mary re marries and it's with Lord Gillingham? Will Anna be forced to look for work elsewhere. Would Lady Mary stay at Downton? Would Green come to stay at Downton. The questions kept swirling around in her mind.

"Ugh, speak of the devil..."

Elsie thought to herself...there he was sitting in the servants hall repairing what looked like a suit jacket feverishly. He didn't even look up from his work. No one else was in the room with him she couldn't tell how the others took to Mr. Green. Did he have a bad reputation here ? Did he have people fooled into thinking he was a good person here? If only he could be fired and out of their lives. What would be even better is if he was in prison for what he did to Anna.

The kitchen here in Cotswold was no different than Downton really. The smells and sounds were much the same. The maids we busy at work and she could hear the cook giving out orders and instructions. "Wendy, prick the cake to see that it is cooked all the way through if so remove it , if not I think another 10 minutes should do the trick"

"It appears to be finished Mrs. Nanticoke I'm going to remove it. Wendy explained to the cook as she was pulling it gently out of the oven.

Mrs. Nanticoke the cook noticed Elsie was observing the work being done in the kitchen. She looked up at Mrs. Hughes and didn't seem to be bothered by the spectator. Smiling at Mrs .Hughes she said "hello is there something we can do for you?"

Elsie smiled back and thought there were some differences between here and Downton; Mrs. Patmore may not have been as friendly If someone decided to come into her kitchen and observe. "Yes, would you mind if I made myself a cup of tea?"

The cook chuckled " nonsense, why don't you go have a seat in the servants hall and one of the kitchen maids will be out with a cup of tea for you, Mrs. Jane our housekeeper usually takes a cup at this time as well I'm sure she will be in there waiting, you can take your tea together. Are you hungry, have you eaten? I could prepare something quickly for you?"

"Oh you are too kind, but just tea will be fine, thank you."

Elsie made her way into the servants hall where she saw the abandoned articles of clothing Mr. Green had been working on but no sign if Mr. Green in sight. Elsie was relieved. She sat down and waited when a wicked little thought crossed her mind. She touched the scissors hanging from the loop on her dress and she thought of cutting all the buttons off of the jacket. Surely Mr. Gillingham would be upset with Mr. Green for losing all of his suit buttons. She came out of her thoughts when she was greeted by a lovely woman with brown hair and pretty smile and eyes. Elsie smiled up at the friendly face and introduced herself while extending her hand.

"Hello, I'm Mrs. Hughes. I'm visiting with Mrs. Crawley."

"I'm so pleased to meet you, I'm Mrs. Emma Jane the housekeeper, I hope you are having a pleasant stay with us?" Emma asked Elsie as she proceeded to take the seat across from Elsie.

Elsie began to relax a bit, chatting with Emma was a pleasant distraction. Emma's smile was comforting. Monica had brought in the tray of tea for the women and sat and chatted during her brake as well. The three of them had conversed as though they had been old friends and known each other all their lives. Telling funny stories and even teasing each other a bit.

The mood had shifted when Green had come back into the room to collect his things. Monica got up quickly and made her excuses and returned to work. "It was so nice meeting you Mrs. Hughes, I'll see you this evening at dinner I'm sure." She was gone in a flash. Mrs. Jane's smile disappeared from her face. She stared into her tea for a few seconds before she also excused herself. Elsie was beginning to understand that Green did not have a sparkling reputation here silence was deafening and Elsie also wanted to get out of there. She was a bit disappointed she didn't go through with cutting some buttons from the jacket.

" I should cut more than buttons off the coat, I should shove these scissors..." Elsie was stirred out of her thoughts when Greens voice interrupted her.

"It's not polite to stare Mrs. Hughes." Green was being a prick.

Mrs. Hughes redirected her gaze and stood from her chair to leave the servants hall; she should get started in preparing lady Mary's dinner clothing.

"Leaving me so soon, what a pity I was hoping I would get to know the lovely Mrs. Hughes a little better." He finished gathering his things and proceeded to walk past her. He had brushed his body against her back as he pretended to squeeze between the wall and her. This sent a cold shiver through Elsie which left her unsettled and disgusted again. There was plenty of room for him to pass her; he purposely pressed against her as he left the room chuckling.

Elsie spoke sternly and spat "Make no mistake about what I'm saying to you Mr. Green, you and I will never be friends. I promise you that."

He glared at her and left. She knew what he did to Anna and he wasn't about to let her hold anything over him.

Elsie was angry and outraged by his actions and his taunting.
She left and began her work. "Just a big longer Elsie we will be home before you know it." Elsie said to herself as she bit her lip and wrung her hands furiously.

Thank you for reading and sticking with me. The next chapter was the most difficult chapter to write. I will post it as soon as I've made the necessary corrections.