A/N the final chapter of this little tumblr inspired fanfiction :) Thanks for all your reviews so far! Have fun reading (it's AU and OOC but... no regrets)

He somehow managed to read the first chapter without getting too distracted and was hoping to be done with reading for tonight but when he looked up from the last page two begging brown eyes looked at him.

Charles had a quick look at the large grandfather clock in the corner of the library. Ten minutes past ten, much too late for the young girl to be still up. "Milady, you should go to bed now."

"No! It was only one chapter and I want to know what happens next. Please Mr. Carson!"

He thought his voice had been insistent enough to match her fathers when he tried to convince the little girl to abide by the rules that came with an aristocratic title. But obviously he was incapable of talking to Lady Mary like that (whereas he had no problems at all to make his voice sound stern and insistent when talking to the male staff). Reading one more chapter meant more encounters with the name, more images in his head he had to cope with and probably a very vivid dream later. He reluctantly opened the book again and started to read out the first sentences of the second chapter.

"There comes forever something between us and what we deem our happiness."

These words made him think for a few seconds and he wished he had the possibility to grasp their full meaning but again Lady Mary's pleading voice urged him to go on. So he more or less stumbled through the text, forgetting to change his voice whenever "Elsie" talked, causing Lady Mary to let out several irritated sighs.

"You're not taking this seriously Mr. Carson." She adjusted her position on the chaise lounge. "Why do you read it all in your own voice?"

Charles eyes were fixed on the passage he had last read, the name Elsie staring at him. "I'm sorry milady?" He had not listened to what the girl had just said.

"This is no fun." She pouted.

He closed the book and put it aside on the small table next to him. "It is now half past ten, milady. You better go to bed." This time she would not make a fuss, he was sure of it. He had disappointed her and whenever that happened, Lady Mary held a grudge for at least one day. Sure, he was sorry that he could not concentrate on the book at all. Usually it was as much fun for him to read to her as it was for her to listen. But tonight, and especially with this book, he stood no chance of making it a pleasure for both of them.

ooooo

Elsie had remained as quiet as possible. When she had not found him in his pantry after returning from the kitchen, she had gone upstairs to look for him. She knew he had this little arrangement with Lady Mary tonight but it was worth a try to see if he had already finished reading to the girl. When she was about to enter the library through the hidden servant's entrance he heard his voice. It sounded so soft when he carefully gave the different characters a face by adjusting his low baritone accordingly.

Instead of entering the library she decided to remain by the door and listen. When he said her name for the first time she smiled, thinking it was just a coincidence. A very nice one though. But when she realized that Elsie obviously was the main character name's she paid even more attention to his voice. He pronounced her name in a different way compared to the rest of the words he read out. More carefully, softer. Sometimes he hesitated a second too long before he resumed reading. Then he stopped reading and she heard Lady Mary complain about it. She decided to go downstairs and wait for him in his pantry. He had a new story to tell as soon as he had finished reading.

ooooo

The clock chimed eleven when he went down the main staircase from the first floor bedrooms. Lady Mary had decided to finally go to sleep but it had taken him another thirty minutes to make her stop pouting. When he had left the girl's room she had curled up on one side of the bed, her eyes tightly shut pretending to sleep.

With a deep sigh, Charles opened the door to the servant's staircase and walked down the last few steps towards his pantry. A faint glow spilled underneath the door. At least the other woman was not angry with him, he thought and a smile crossed his face. Carefully and slowly he opened the door.

She sat in his armchair and he could only see the top of her head above the high backrest. "Elsie?" he softly called her name and it felt different to the many times he had used it before tonight. This was his Elsie now, not a fictional character from a book. She was real. Her head moved a bit but she did not stand up. He moved around the chair only to see an open book on her lap.

"Don't tell me you got this book from the library?" he eyed her suspiciously. He had left Lady Mary's book on the table when he brought the girl upstairs. Could she possibly taken it and read in it?

She looked at him briefly, eyebrows slightly raised, then turned her attention back to the book. He still stood before her when her soft voice began to read the first paragraph.

"Elsie, daughter, you are more precious to me than aught else in the wide world, and you need not fear that any other can ever take your place in my heart, or that I will make any connection that would render you unhappy. I want no one to love but my little girl; and you must not let

the gossip of the servants disturb you."

She closed the book and looked up to him again. "Do I have a place in your heart?" she asked softly.

He was lost for words for a few seconds. His hand nervously combed through his hair before he kneeled down in front of her. "It belongs only to you."

Her hand caressed his cheek and she placed a soft kiss on his forehead. "You are more romantic than I thought." A chuckle followed and he took both her hands and helped her out of his chair.

"I didn't know I was until tonight. You have seen the book, read in it I believe." He drew her into an embrace so that her head rested on his chest.

"To be honest, I heard you read it out to Lady Mary."

He placed a kiss on top of her head. "Then you know how difficult it was for me to do the little girl this favour."

She raised her head to look into his eyes. "I don't actually. But I would if you read it to me."

He knew by the look on her face that Elsie was teasing him but he would, only this once, play along. "Would you mind if we go over to your sitting room and share your settee?"

She did not and lead the way, holding his hand while doing so and resting her head on his shoulder as soon as they had settled down on the soft seat. Charles opened the book and began to read, kissing the top of her head eyes every time he spoke her name. When he reached the third page he decided to kiss her forehead and at the end of the first chapter his lips found her mouth, sealing it with a passionate kiss.

The End

This is what happens if you give Charles Carson a book to read... What would happen if he gets the Sonnets from Shakespeare?