A/N: Okay, so this one's a bit longer. I hope that after this, there will only be maybe three more chapters at most.
Please let me know what you all think! I'm not too used to this writing style, so feedback is always helpful!
I only own the plot!
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"I have requested that Detective Burroughs come out from London." Robert announced as the family gathered in the Study that evening. They had finally convinced Matthew and Bates to rest while some of the male servants resumed the search of the woods. "Rosamund tells me he's the best in the field."
"Well, she would know." The Dowager Countess muttered, shifting in her seat.
"When will he arrive?" Cora asked. The stress of the day was showing clearly on her face.
"By midmorning." Robert sighed as he took a scotch from the tray Carson was bringing around. "He'll want to speak with Matthew and Bates as well as Clyde and anyone they may have spoken to in town."
"Should we involve Mr. Murray?" Edith suggested.
"Not until we know who or what is responsible for their disappearance." Robert replied. He didn't want to involve a solicitor unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Could this be about ransom?" Cora was standing now. Her drink sat forgotten on the table by her armchair—like most of them, she was having trouble keeping anything down since her daughter's disappearance.
"What else could it be about?" Tom demanded.
"Then why take Anna?" Edith asked.
"She was with Mary all afternoon, if she saw who took her then she's a danger to them." Robert explained. "Besides, knowing Anna, she probably fought tooth and nail not to be separated from Mary."
/
The incessant pounding in her head made it very difficult to see as she came to. She went to take a breath, only to inhale a mouth full of dirty water. Sputtering, she sat up on her elbows to find herself in a mud puddle.
She could still hear the motor from the car she had just rolled out of, so she knew that she hadn't blacked out for more than a few seconds. Knowing that she didn't have long before they realized she was gone, she scrambled to her feet and began to follow the tire tracks in the direction they had just come from.
/
When Anna woke up, the first thing she was aware of was how quiet it was in the dark room. She looked around and groaned when she realized that Lady Mary being taken away wasn't a dream. She ignored the pain in her side as she sat up and pushed herself back against the wall.
"Please…please help me…" She whispered. "Please God, help me…"
/
"This is pointless." Jimmy sighed as he and Alfred trudged through the thick vines and brush about two miles deep into the forest behind Downton. "The men already looked here yesterday. We would have seen them by now."
"I suppose you're right." Alfred sighed, looking back in the direction they had come from. It was getting warm as the sun began to rise, and they hadn't brought any water with them. "I suppose we should head back." He began to turn, when something caught his eye. He turned to see a flash of green in the distance.
"What are you staring at?" James asked looking in the same direction.
"I see someone running over there!" Alfred pointed, before dashing off towards the figure. As he drew closer, he saw that it was in fact a woman, with long dark hair and a dirty dress on. "Lady Mary?" He called. The woman turned and squinted at him as he slowed his approach so as not to startle her.
"Y-yes?" She seemed to be in a daze as she took a cautious step back. She was slightly bruised in the face and she was missing a shoe. Her hosiery was ripped and her exposed foot was bleeding.
"We've been looking everywhere for you!" Alfred gave her a reassuring smile. He went to reach out for her, but she retreated quickly.
"No! I can't go until I find Anna!"
"Anna's with you?"
"Well she was and then they separated us!" She still held onto her haughty demeanor, which for once, was a comfort to the young footman. "But the tracks led back to here! She has to be nearby! I can't leave until I find her!" The fierce look in her eyes told him that it would be wise not to argue with her.
Alfred turned towards Jimmy, who was just now approaching them, "Go and fetch His Lordship!" He called out, "And Mr. Crawley and Bates! Quickly!"
James hesitated for a moment, not liking being ordered around by the second footman, even if they were outside of the dining hall, but he decided to choose his battles before turning and running back towards Downton.
Alfred followed Lady Mary as she stumbled through the thick brush. "Maybe you should down for a moment ma'am." He suggested, approaching the terrified woman with caution. "I can look around some…that is…if you tell me what to look for…" He led her to sit on a fallen tree branch.
"I don't know what to look for myself!" Mary threw up her hands in exasperation. "I just know that this is the area she was in! I need to get Anna soon! I don't want to be here when they come back!"
"When who comes back ma'am?"
"Those men! Those vile men!" She began to shake at the thought. Alfred took off his coat and draped it across her shoulders. It wasn't very thick—mornings in September weren't cold enough to call for heavy jackets—but it was doing more than the torn dress she had on.
"Don't worry milady." He said quietly. "I won't let those men hurt you again. Neither one of you." He looked around warily, hoping that James would hurry.
/
"Ah, you're up early sir!" Mr. Carson exclaimed as Lord Grantham stepped into the dining room. "Shall I go fetch—?"
"No, no need to fetch anyone Carson, I'm going to go walk the grounds for a little while." Robert told the Butler, waving off the chair he was pulling out for him. "Do notify when Bates and Mr. Crawley are up and about will you?"
"No need." Matthew's voice interrupted Carson's reply as he stepped in from the Main Hall, "I've been up for hours."
Robert gave him a look of pity before nodding in the direction of the study. "Then I suppose it's only fair that we wait for Bates before starting our search again."
"My thoughts exactly." The heir agreed, following his father-in-law.
"I'll go check and see that he awakens soon My Lord." Carson called before heading towards the servants' staircase.
In any other case, both Crawley men would have insisted that the Valet be allowed some extra rest, but given the circumstances, they did not argue with Carson. They wanted to find the women as quickly as possible. It had been nearly two days since they had last seen them, and their hopes of finding them were getting dimmer and dimmer.
/
Carson was just coming down from waking Bates, when he was nearly run over by a frantic blonde footman. "James!" He bellowed. "What in God's name-?"
"Lady Mary!" Jimmy wheezed pointing in the direction of the kitchen door he had just burst through. "Al-Alfred…"
"Take a breath lad!" Mrs. Hughes ordered, coming up beside the two men with a stern glare.
The boy took a deep breath before repeating, "Alfred, he found Lady Mary!"
/
"I can see the tire marks, but I don't know where they start." Alfred reported as he touched the tracks carefully. "Do you remember walking for very long before you got in the car?" When she didn't give an immediate response he looked up.
She had a look of terror on her face as she stared at a form approaching them in the distance. It looked like a man, maybe a little shorter than him, with a wool cap on. He looked frustrated as he peered into tree hollows and behind every bolder he passed—he didn't seem to notice the pair of them yet.
"Is that one of the men?" Alfred asked looking back at Lady Mary, whose paralyzed form was the only answer he needed. He gently pushed her onto her stomach under the tree she had been sitting upon. "Stay here ma'am." He ordered before crouching on his knees behind another tree, and waiting for the stout man to get closer.
He could hear him cursing and grunting as he stomped through the leaves and brush. When he got right next to them, Alfred jumped from his hiding spot and pushed the large man to the ground.
/
"Are you sure it was this way James?" Matthew sighed as they continued to rush through the woods. Bates and Robert followed close behind him, as well as Cora and Edith—they refused to stay home when they heard that Mary may have been found.
"Yes sir!" James replied with confidence. "Just a little further!"
"Do you hear someone screaming?" Edith asked.
They all stood still for a moment until a piercing scream filled the air. "That's Mary!" Robert confirmed before continuing at a more rapid pace.
They didn't have to go much further before they saw Alfred pinning a large bearded man to the ground. "He's got somebody!" Matthew announced, rushing to aid the young man. He took off his coat and began to tie the sleeves around the struggling man's wrists. When the man continued to thrash about, Alfred lifted a rock from the ground and hit him over the head with it—effectively knocking him out. "Well, that works too." Matthew sighed patting the footman on the back before helping him to his feet.
"Matthew!" Cora's voice startled him. He turned to see his mother-in-law kneeling next to a very terrified form.
"My God," The blonde man gasped, before moving towards them. His feet felt like they were stuck in mud as he tried to get to them as quickly as possible. When his wife finally came into view, he barely noticed the bruises on her cheeks, or the blood on her forehead. In that moment, all he could see was the breathing, beautiful woman he had been so desperate to hold in his arms for the past forty-eight hours. "My darling." He choked, falling to his knees and pulling her trembling body into his arms.
"M-Matthew?" She whimpered, as her arms slowly wrapped around his shoulders.
"Yes, my darling…I'm here my beautiful, beautiful darling!" He kissed the side of her head repeatedly as he sat fully on the ground and pulled her into his lap.
The family stared on with tears in their eyes. Edith sniffled and reached out to brush her older sister's hair affectionately as she clung to her husband. Cora hugged one of Robert's arms as gazed down at his wife, basking in the relief of that one moment.
His smile faded though when he saw Bates. The Valet looked happy for them, as happy as he could be. But his wife was still nowhere to be found. Robert knew that their search wouldn't be finished until Anna was safe as well.
As if reading his thoughts, Mary spoke up, "Anna! We must find Anna!" She exclaimed.
"You need to go to bed, my darling!" Cora told her daughter sternly.
"No! Not until we find her!" Mary pushed away from Matthew and scrambled to her feet.
"Mary, you've been through a horrible ordeal-" Her mother tried to reason.
"She saved me!" Mary interrupted, not caring what anybody had to say at the moment. "She saved my life!" Cora stared into her eldest child's determined eyes.
"Then I will see to it that she is found and brought home." She promised. "But you need to let Matthew take you home, so Dr. Clarkson can take a look at you."
"But-"
"The longer you take to have him see you, the longer Anna will have to wait to be seen when we find her!" The even more determined mother stood her ground. "Now go!" She nodded to Matthew, who was happy to pick his wife up and carry her towards the house.
"Mr. Bates!" Mary called.
John stopped his search of the area, and approached the young lady as Matthew stopped his retreat. "Yes Milady?"
"Anna's a fighter." She assured him, her eyes were beginning to droop with exhaustion. "She won't let you down."
John smiled and nodded. Though he was already well aware of this information, he was still grateful to hear it. "Thank you." He whispered, before patting Matthew's back signaling for him to keep moving.
Taking a deep breath, Bates turned to glare at the man still lying on the ground at Alfred's feet. If this was the man who would lead them to finding his wife, then he was in for a very painful awaking.
/
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