Author's Note:

Upon request, I've broken chapter 3 into two parts so I could update sooner!

The POV in this chapter (and possibly some of my future chapters) is kind of all over the place! But just so it's clear:

/ -This separates settings as well as POV

… -This separates POV without changing the setting, and makes it kind of omniscient.

I'm going to try to keep it neater in the future though!

I own nothing!

/

As John followed Mr. Carson into the library, it took everything in him not to barge past his superior and run into the room. How could everyone be so calm? Anna and Lady Mary were missing! He knew that sometimes Mary Crawley was unpredictable, and that if she wanted to walk home, she maybe would have done so without informing the driver. But Anna would never have done such a thing. She would have told Clyde their exact itinerary in detail if they had decided to change their plans in anyway. She would have called.

Something was wrong—he could feel it in his gut.

"Clyde needs to take us into town and show us exactly where he last saw them!" Matthew was pacing in front of the fireplace when they entered. Bates could tell the young man was in the same state he was.

"Edith is just calling Ms. Bright to see if she's seen them since they left the dress shop." Robert tried to soothe his son-in-law. "You know how Mary likes to change her mind. They very well could have gone back."

"But wouldn't she have called?" Cora asked, her eyes shining with worry.

"They're not there!" Edith announced as she ran into the library. "Ms. Bright said they left hours ago and she hasn't seen them since."

"Alright," Robert sighed heading towards the doors, "Carson, would you please fetch Clyde? Bates, Matthew, come with me."

/

"So, who's your friend?" The second man—whose name she learned was Wolfe—sneered. "She's a little fancy to be a servant."

"We treat our servants quite well actually." She tried to hide the hints of Yorkshire that always appeared in her voice. After over a decade and half of living in Downton, she knew how proper Ladies spoke—surely she could mimic it when her life as well as Lady Mary's depended on it. "If they are to go out in public with us, they must look their best. We couldn't have our townspeople thinking we dress our help in rags." She scoffed.

"So she's your maid then?" Dugan queried, his stale breath indicated that his was very close hers.

"Yes, Anna is my Lady's Maid." Anna tried to sound more exasperated than nervous. "Now could you very kindly tell me what all of this is about?"

"That's a good question Love!" Dugan chuckled, patting her head. "But really, isn't it obvious?" He paused, allowing her time to ponder, but she wasn't in the mood for guessing games.

"You're our hostages." Wolfe informed her after a moment of silence. "We hope to get a mighty pretty penny in exchange for your return."

Anna sighed with relief, so they weren't planning to kill them. Her reprieve was short lived though, as Lady Mary began to moan from behind them.

Anna panicked slightly, "Anna!" She called to her charge. "Anna, are you alright?"

"Wh-what?" She heard Mary murmur as she slowly regained consciousness.

"Anna, just stay calm." Anna tried desperately to take her own advice as she continued, "These men only need me, I'm sure they will let you go. What good is a Lady's Maid in your plan?" She directed the last statement at their captors.

"We can ask for more money." She heard Dugan whisper to his partner, "I mean good help is pretty hard to find nowadays."

"I doubt my father would see it that way. He hardly cares what happens to our servants." She shrugged, attempting to be as aloof as Mary might have been in a less stressful situation.

"Anna…what are you doing?" Mary coughed and Anna winced when she heard her name.

"Did she just call you Anna?" Wolfe growled. The Lady's Maid hesitated before shooting out a reply. She was never very good at lying, even when it came down to the wire.

"I thought you said your name was Mary." Dugan's breath was hot on her cheek. Why did he have to be so close?

"I-I must not have been thinking clearly." She replied in a shaky voice. "Mary's my eldest sister…she's on vacation…in France…"

"We heard the lady from the dress shop say Lady Mary."

"She gets us mixed up all the time." Anna forced a terrified laugh, "She needs to have her vision checked if you ask me!"

"So, both of your names are Anna?" Wolfe demanded, "You and your Lady's Maid?"

"Y-yes."

There was a tense silence as she waited for the men to say something—anything. "I don't think you're being very honest with us…Anna." Dugan snarled with his mouth was so close to her ear that she could practically feel his teeth.

"Wh-What makes you s-say that?" She stuttered.

Suddenly she felt a sharp pain large man who had just spent the better part of an hour groping her, slapped her across the face.

/

After Clyde drove them into Ripon and showed them where he had last seen the women, Robert sent him home with the car as he, Matthew, and John walked into every shop, alleyway, and nook of the small town. There was no sign of them.

Matthew checked the hospital, and was distressed not to find them there, but at the same time relieved. Bates checked the library and the church, while Robert checked the hotel above the pub—in case they had grown tired and decided to rest.

They walked through the woods on the way back to Downton. A few men from the town—Dr. Clarkson being one of them—joined them as they called out Anna and Mary's names as they searched.

Bates's leg ached as he strode across the rough terrain, but he didn't pay it any mind. All he could focus on was finding his Anna. He needed to know that she was alright and safe from harm.

/

Mary's head was throbbing as she tried her very best to focus on what was going on. She heard someone calling out to Anna, asking her if she was alright and telling her to stay calm. What had happened to Anna? Was she injured as well?

It was then that she realized that the voice she had heard was Anna herself. She sounded as though she was talking to her. She heard some men as well, but the Lady's Maid's voice seemed to be calling out specifically to her. She was talking about her father and his disregard for servants. Wasn't Anna's father dead?

When she questioned the girl on this, everything went quiet. The men's voices grew tense and after a few minutes, she heard the loud crack of flesh hitting flesh, followed by Anna's cry.

"Anna?" She called out frantically. "What's going on?" She rolled around until she maneuvered herself into the upright position. All the while she rubbed her shoulder against her face in attempt to get her blindfold off.

…

"You stupid arse! You made her bleed!" Wolfe growled, punching Dugan in the arm.

"What difference does it make?" Dugan kneeled back down next to Anna and wiped the blood off of her lip as her body shook from holding in tears. "She's worth the same whether we mess her up or not!" He emphasized his point by slapping her across the other cheek.

"Anna!" Mary cried out again.

"Don't worry Poppet!" Dugan assured her, "We're just trying to get a few answers from your friend here." He took Anna's tender face in his hand and shook it a bit.

After a few more minutes of listening to the men coerce poor Anna, Mary finally succeeded in rubbing her blindfold off. She blinked as she tried to take in her surroundings. They were in a dark, damp room with walls that looked like they were made of tightly packed red mud and rocks. Judging by the tree roots poking out from between the rocks and from the ceiling above, she guessed that they were underground somewhere.

She looked across the room to where she heard all of the commotion and saw two men one very tall, one of average height, and both stocky. They were standing on either side of a bound Anna. Though her eyes were hidden by her blindfold, Mary could tell that the small woman was in pain. If the blood on her lips and bruised cheeks weren't indication enough, the furrow between her half-exposed brow and small shudders that racked her body were.

"I'm Lady…A-Anna Cr-Crawley…" Anna choked.

"And your friend?" Wolfe asked, holding up his hand to stop Dugan from striking her again. "We know she's not a servant. You can preach about appearances all you'd like, but never in my life have I ever seen a Lady's Maid with real pearls and a diamond ring." He held up Mary's necklace and wedding ring. He had taken them off of her while she was still unconscious.

Anna whimpered and shook her head. "She's just a friend of the family." Her voice was small and desperate. She just wanted to get Lady Mary out of there. Not only did she want to avoid having her Ladyship harmed, but she also knew that her freedom might lead to a rescue. She just wanted to feel John's arms wrapped around her.

"We're not going to get a straight answer from her Wolfey!" Dugan muttered, balling up his fist and raising it, but Mary's voice halted him.

"Stop!"

The men turned slowly to glare at the girl who, much to their surprise was staring back at them with her blindfold around her neck. "I am Lady Mary Crawley." She articulated in such a calm manner, that even her captors were impressed. "And I suggest that you keep your hands to yourself if you plan on living to see another sunrise."

Dugan chuckled at the woman's confidence, but lowered his hand nonetheless. "Now you're The Earl's daughter." He looked at Wolfe who looked quite fed up with the whole ordeal.

"I am." Mary raised an eyebrow and glared at the men.

"Don't listen to her!" Anna pleaded. "She's not well!"

"Anna, please." Mary tried to sound as forceful as possible as she scolded her terrified maid, but it was difficult to be harsh with Anna when she was doing everything in her power to protect her. Turning back to her captors, Mary continued. "Anna's my Lady's Maid. And I insist that you leave her out of whatever quarrels you might have with my family."

"See, now I don't know who to believe." Wolfe faked serious contemplation as he crossed his arms and looked between the two women. "What do you thing Dugie?"

"I think we should each interview them separately." Dugan smirked as he ran his fingers through Anna's hair. "You keep Lady Mary in here with you, and I'll take Lady Anna into the next room and see what I can get out of her." He patted the blonde's cheek eliciting a tiny whimper from her.

"No! Please leave her alone!" Mary begged. "I'm the one you want!"

"No, I am!" Anna snapped. "She's just trying to protect me! That's what servants do!"

"Enough!" Wolfe snapped ripping Anna's blindfold off and getting in her face. "Another word from you and I'll be sending you home in a box!" He glowered at her with beady brown eyes. Anna could see that he was missing quite a few teeth as well as most of his hair.

"And the same goes for you!" Dugan said to Mary as he waltzed behind Anna's chair and untied her wrists. She began to struggle as soon as she was free from her confines, but the burly man stopped her by gripping her upper arms tightly in his vice-like hands. "Now, now lovey! Don't be that way!" He growled into her hair as he pulled her back towards the door.

"No! Please let her go!" Mary cried out as she watched her dear friend be dragged forcefully out of the room.

"Shut your mouth girl!" Wolfe ordered grabbing Mary's arm and turning her around to face the wall. "She'll be just fine! Dugan will be mighty gentle if she cooperates. And if she doesn't…well, she's pretty enough that a few small scars shouldn't make a difference." His laugh almost blocked out Anna's screams as Dugan slammed the door shut behind them.

/

There you have it! I will try to update by tomorrow, but I'd really like to make a longer chapter, so it might not be until the weekend. I'll do my very best though!

Please Review: )